BusynMember
Well-Known Member
My won Sonic is now 21. When he was very young, he was quite impaired, although always appeared social, even before he could talk. He would pull us and point. He always had a sense of humor, an animated face, and learned to read by rote at age two. Yet he babbled more than spoke until age four and a half. His diagnosis was Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified.
Today, to the untrained eye, he looks a little shy as he is kind of still timid about full eye contact, although he is much better. Many people assume he has ADHD because he fidgets a lot (this is anxiety). He still does not like to try new things, but he will without a meltdown. He lives alone and is doing great. Due to early intervention, hard work on his part and his own unwillingness to give up, he lives a fruitfull, full life and is a very happy, kind, caring young man. It can happen.
Notice that in this video, which I find very good, there is no talk of ASDers hurting others or animals or refusing to behave. There are ASDers with co-morbid disorders however. Sonic is lucky that the only other disorder he has been connected to is ADHD. medications made him crazy so he deals with it.
To this day, it is hard to have a give and take conversation with Sonic unless it is about his obsessions. It's not that he can't speak. He actually speaks like a Professor with a huge vocabulary...lol. He also has a wonderful sense of humor (this stereotype is so untrue...that ASDers don't get humor...most seem to). But he will monologue at you more than give and receive and will answer with one word answers unless it is one of his obsessive interests, in which he can go on and on and on! He likes to socialize with the friends he has known for long periods of time, but also likes to be alone and do his own thing. Unlike some ASDers, Sonic never had physical delays and is pretty coordinated and enjoys sports, as long as he knows his teammates well. He walked on time and could do flips on our trampoline by age three! He is good at bowling and baseball and soccer.
LIke many autism-ers, he is picky about what he eats and will gag on green vegetables and even throw up!! His bad diet, which we have no control over, has made him obese and we hope one day he'll care about this. Right now it doesn't slow him down and he doesn't care. He does not have "typical" interests as far as hanging at malls or meeting girls for dating, but some ASDers do. He has younger interests, but an average IQ. Thus, the pervasive developmental not otherwise specified diagnosis (Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified) still fits to a "T." He is still growing and still behind emotionally, which is part of the disorder, no matter how smart you are.
We have had a lot of discussion about autism spectrum disorder of late. I think this video nails it, based on what I've seen in my parents of autistic kids group and what our neuropsychologist from Mayo told us. Enjoy! Hope it helps somebody understand what this disorder is.
Today, to the untrained eye, he looks a little shy as he is kind of still timid about full eye contact, although he is much better. Many people assume he has ADHD because he fidgets a lot (this is anxiety). He still does not like to try new things, but he will without a meltdown. He lives alone and is doing great. Due to early intervention, hard work on his part and his own unwillingness to give up, he lives a fruitfull, full life and is a very happy, kind, caring young man. It can happen.
Notice that in this video, which I find very good, there is no talk of ASDers hurting others or animals or refusing to behave. There are ASDers with co-morbid disorders however. Sonic is lucky that the only other disorder he has been connected to is ADHD. medications made him crazy so he deals with it.
To this day, it is hard to have a give and take conversation with Sonic unless it is about his obsessions. It's not that he can't speak. He actually speaks like a Professor with a huge vocabulary...lol. He also has a wonderful sense of humor (this stereotype is so untrue...that ASDers don't get humor...most seem to). But he will monologue at you more than give and receive and will answer with one word answers unless it is one of his obsessive interests, in which he can go on and on and on! He likes to socialize with the friends he has known for long periods of time, but also likes to be alone and do his own thing. Unlike some ASDers, Sonic never had physical delays and is pretty coordinated and enjoys sports, as long as he knows his teammates well. He walked on time and could do flips on our trampoline by age three! He is good at bowling and baseball and soccer.
LIke many autism-ers, he is picky about what he eats and will gag on green vegetables and even throw up!! His bad diet, which we have no control over, has made him obese and we hope one day he'll care about this. Right now it doesn't slow him down and he doesn't care. He does not have "typical" interests as far as hanging at malls or meeting girls for dating, but some ASDers do. He has younger interests, but an average IQ. Thus, the pervasive developmental not otherwise specified diagnosis (Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified) still fits to a "T." He is still growing and still behind emotionally, which is part of the disorder, no matter how smart you are.
We have had a lot of discussion about autism spectrum disorder of late. I think this video nails it, based on what I've seen in my parents of autistic kids group and what our neuropsychologist from Mayo told us. Enjoy! Hope it helps somebody understand what this disorder is.
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