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Diagnosed Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified.. is it really ADHD/ODD
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 355818" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>I think most of us, at one time or another, have had our difficult child diagnosis'd with ADHD and/or ODD. As one person above said, ODD is kind of useless. It is less helpful than a forecast of "rain". It tells you the child is not going to do what you want him to. It gives NO idea as to why, what is causing it, how to motivate the child, how to help/treat the child.</p><p></p><p>ADHD is often given a separate diagnosis because then insurance companies pay for services for that also. ADHD is more a symptom of the problem than it is the problem itself. I cannot remember if any of us have had our child's diagnosis go from something on the spectrum, or other disorder, and then go to "just" ADHD. It is vastly more likely for it to go the other way. </p><p></p><p>The diagnosis often changes as a child grows. Be prepared for this. It does NOT mean that the previous diagnosis was wrong. It just means that something else is being seen. As a child grows they do different things and different symptoms show up. Or old symptoms evolve into other things. So a diagnosis can change quite a lot over the child's life. The trick is to weed through all the diagnosis's to figure out which ones fit now, and how best to treat the child.</p><p></p><p>As others have said, no 2 kids on the spectrum are the same. My difficult child lies like a rug. He is vastly better now at telling the truth. But for years the ONLY way we knew he was lying was because his mouth was moving. It was awful. He has Aspergers and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and unipolar depression. Unlike many spectrum kids, he is quite good at lying, or was in his early-mid teens. He is also very adhd, and he obsesses on magic/D&D to near insanity (in my humble opinion). </p><p></p><p>We went the medication route because it was clear that with-o it he would have NO life. He responded immediately to stimulants for the adhd. Taming that let him pay attention to the tools we were trying to teach him to use. Wiz was very violent, esp to his little sister. It is another reason we used medications. We were able to lower the level of aggression with antipsychotics. This was crucial.</p><p></p><p>Each child needs different kinds of treatments. There is NO recipe that says "If child has Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) then use XYZ. If Apergers, XZQR &L." Every medication and therapy will work differently for your child than for others. There is a HUGE amount of trial and error. </p><p></p><p>Just remember, no matter how confusing it seems, there is still a LOT of hope for our spectrum kids to grow up to be productive members of society who are reasonably happy. There are a LOT of ways to help a child iwth a spectrum disorder, regardless of what they call it.</p><p></p><p>The single most important rule to follow when raising a difficult child: Follow your instincts. Moms have instincts for a reason - to help us keep our kids safe. If a treatment, therapy, doctor, teacher, or cucumber feels "wrong" in relation to difficult child, stop it, refuse it, leave it. The doctors know their field of study. They are experts in whatever. Same for teachers, therapists, etc... They do NOT know our kids the way we do. They spend a few minutes every few weeks-months with our kids. WE spend every day with them. If your instincts say it is wrong then it is wrong. Period. If you are unsure, do some research and come back another time if you must. (These are the same instincts that let you know when difficult child is getting in trouble and how often are they wrong then??)</p><p></p><p>I would suggest a private Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation. Most spectrum kids have sensory problems. A private occupational therapist will be able to evaluation difficult child for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) - sensory integration disorder (the brain not appropriately handling input from the senses). School Occupational Therapist (OT)'s look at what will impact school. You NEED to know what will impact all of his life. The changes that proper help for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) will make are amazing. the therapy is NOT invasive, no medications, just various ways to provide the right kinds of stimulation to help. The difference in my youngest child before and after treatment for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) is astounding. Of course we are not really "done" with the treatments, but they are routine and not really like "treatment" right now. At the very least you want the Occupational Therapist (OT) to help figure out what types of sensory input difficult child needs and to teach you to do brushing therapy. </p><p></p><p>Brushing therapy involves using a very soft brush over the body in a specific pattern. It can be done over or under clothes and is often very pleasant for the child. If you do the therapy in the wrong order, or brush certain areas you can create real problems so it is important that you learn to do this from a certified Occupational Therapist (OT). It is often combined with a series of gentle joint compressions that the Occupational Therapist (OT) will also teach you. To learn more about this, read 'The Out-of-Sync Child' by Carol Kranowitz. She also has a book full of various activities to help called 'The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun'. All of my kids and their friends have enjoyed the activities in this book, so the whole family can join in them. The types of activities a child likes can give insight to what kinds of input he needs.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, sorry I rambled. Welcome to our board!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 355818, member: 1233"] I think most of us, at one time or another, have had our difficult child diagnosis'd with ADHD and/or ODD. As one person above said, ODD is kind of useless. It is less helpful than a forecast of "rain". It tells you the child is not going to do what you want him to. It gives NO idea as to why, what is causing it, how to motivate the child, how to help/treat the child. ADHD is often given a separate diagnosis because then insurance companies pay for services for that also. ADHD is more a symptom of the problem than it is the problem itself. I cannot remember if any of us have had our child's diagnosis go from something on the spectrum, or other disorder, and then go to "just" ADHD. It is vastly more likely for it to go the other way. The diagnosis often changes as a child grows. Be prepared for this. It does NOT mean that the previous diagnosis was wrong. It just means that something else is being seen. As a child grows they do different things and different symptoms show up. Or old symptoms evolve into other things. So a diagnosis can change quite a lot over the child's life. The trick is to weed through all the diagnosis's to figure out which ones fit now, and how best to treat the child. As others have said, no 2 kids on the spectrum are the same. My difficult child lies like a rug. He is vastly better now at telling the truth. But for years the ONLY way we knew he was lying was because his mouth was moving. It was awful. He has Aspergers and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and unipolar depression. Unlike many spectrum kids, he is quite good at lying, or was in his early-mid teens. He is also very adhd, and he obsesses on magic/D&D to near insanity (in my humble opinion). We went the medication route because it was clear that with-o it he would have NO life. He responded immediately to stimulants for the adhd. Taming that let him pay attention to the tools we were trying to teach him to use. Wiz was very violent, esp to his little sister. It is another reason we used medications. We were able to lower the level of aggression with antipsychotics. This was crucial. Each child needs different kinds of treatments. There is NO recipe that says "If child has Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) then use XYZ. If Apergers, XZQR &L." Every medication and therapy will work differently for your child than for others. There is a HUGE amount of trial and error. Just remember, no matter how confusing it seems, there is still a LOT of hope for our spectrum kids to grow up to be productive members of society who are reasonably happy. There are a LOT of ways to help a child iwth a spectrum disorder, regardless of what they call it. The single most important rule to follow when raising a difficult child: Follow your instincts. Moms have instincts for a reason - to help us keep our kids safe. If a treatment, therapy, doctor, teacher, or cucumber feels "wrong" in relation to difficult child, stop it, refuse it, leave it. The doctors know their field of study. They are experts in whatever. Same for teachers, therapists, etc... They do NOT know our kids the way we do. They spend a few minutes every few weeks-months with our kids. WE spend every day with them. If your instincts say it is wrong then it is wrong. Period. If you are unsure, do some research and come back another time if you must. (These are the same instincts that let you know when difficult child is getting in trouble and how often are they wrong then??) I would suggest a private Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation. Most spectrum kids have sensory problems. A private occupational therapist will be able to evaluation difficult child for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) - sensory integration disorder (the brain not appropriately handling input from the senses). School Occupational Therapist (OT)'s look at what will impact school. You NEED to know what will impact all of his life. The changes that proper help for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) will make are amazing. the therapy is NOT invasive, no medications, just various ways to provide the right kinds of stimulation to help. The difference in my youngest child before and after treatment for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) is astounding. Of course we are not really "done" with the treatments, but they are routine and not really like "treatment" right now. At the very least you want the Occupational Therapist (OT) to help figure out what types of sensory input difficult child needs and to teach you to do brushing therapy. Brushing therapy involves using a very soft brush over the body in a specific pattern. It can be done over or under clothes and is often very pleasant for the child. If you do the therapy in the wrong order, or brush certain areas you can create real problems so it is important that you learn to do this from a certified Occupational Therapist (OT). It is often combined with a series of gentle joint compressions that the Occupational Therapist (OT) will also teach you. To learn more about this, read 'The Out-of-Sync Child' by Carol Kranowitz. She also has a book full of various activities to help called 'The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun'. All of my kids and their friends have enjoyed the activities in this book, so the whole family can join in them. The types of activities a child likes can give insight to what kinds of input he needs. Anyway, sorry I rambled. Welcome to our board! [/QUOTE]
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