Calling Midwest Mom and others

[SuzyfromTexas]

I've posted on the board before.....Here's my story. I have a six year old son who I suspected as having Aspergers. I took him to a psychologist who conducted a neuropsychologist exam. I know she's only a psychologist, but she was very detailed/knowledgeable/highly recommended and I told her in advance that I suspected Aspergers and/or ADHD.

In my opinion, if he is Aspergers, he is very boderline (good eye contact, good expressive/receptive language skills, motor coordination within normal limits, etc....) We have problems with frustration, disrespectful attitude, always wanting to win, interest in maps/globes (not perseverative according to psychologist)and he chews on his shirt sometimes. Also, he was very verbal at a young age.

I received a very comprehensive report (25 pages) and basically the conclusion is that he has some characteristics of NLD. 14 point difference between Verbal IQ score and Non-verbal score. He scored in the gifted range for verbal and average to above average in non-verbal areas.

Midwest Mom, the only reason I single you out is that you seem to have experience with misdiagnosis and maybe boderline cases?

Although my family thinks I need to let go of this issue, I can't. I think I may schedule an evaluation at our Childrens Hospital in Dallas. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I guess at this point that is my last evaluation for my son. Also, I'm not even sure any type of intervention will apply to him....Thanks everyone....This board has been a Godsend.

 

[kris]

<span style='font-size: 14pt'> <span style='font-family: Georgia'> <span style="color: #663366"> a diagnosis of NonVerbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) should get him IEP services, i believe. do you not think these will be sufficient? does he already have an IEP they can add services to or is this to try & get the IEP in place?

another evaluation will not hurt anything & may even clarify things more clearly for you. a 25pg report does sound like she was quite thorough.

kris </span> </span> </span>

 

[SuzyfromTexas]

Kris,

He did not meet the diagnostic criteria for NLD. A 14 point spread just means it's significant but not enough for a label. I'm not necessarily looking for an IEP (school is fine so far).

I'm just looking for answers as to why we have the problems we do.

 

[SuzyfromTexas]

Maybe I should clarify some more....I'm worried about my son when he is 15. Will his problems get worse? Is there something I should be doing at six years old that will help make his teen years and beyond better? I guess I don't want to regret not really taking any action now. However, I'm not even sure what type of action to take. I don't know much about interventions, but Occupational Therapist (OT) and speech don't really apply. Social skills training may not apply either, but perhaps it could help. I do encourage lots of play dates and running around with kids in the neighborhood.

 

[skeeter]

you say school isn't a problem now. I'm sorry, but I don't remember reading any of your previous posts, so could you clarify for me what some of the problems currently are?

NL is highly gifted/ADD. He had some fairly big spreads on some of his testing, too (he was "officially" tested by a educational facility at age 11). He's also got some characteristics of Aspergers, but no where near enough to begin to be truly on the spectrum (actually, I think a LOT of gifted kids have some of those characteristics!).

As far as school is concerned, I'd be worried about getting him the education he needs in the style he needs and at the level he needs. Many parents of gifted kids I've talked with say the kids do "ok" until about 5th grade, then it all begins to fall apart (which was our experience). Currently in 10th grade, our biggest problem continues to be homework - hearing it assigned, getting the stuff home, doing it, getting it back to school, and getting it turned in - just too many steps!!! This is to the point that it continues to bring his overall grades down (my older son was the opposite - he did fine on homework, but was a terrible test taker).

 

[Steely]

Suzy,

I have had all of my son's evaluations, and a hospitilization, done at Childrens here in Dallas. Hands down, they are the best around this area. Maybe a second neuro-psyche evaluation from a neurologist there at Childrens would be helpful, althought sometimes our difficult children never quite fit a label. My son never quite fit the exact diagnosis of AS, but he has about 75% of the characteristics and NonVerbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) - and the same thing with his BiPolar (BP) - he did not have one major attribute of the illness (although now, at 16, he does), but he had all of the others. Truthfully, the labels only help in us understanding our difficult children, and with the schools being obligated in getting them the help they need. We have to remember every person is different, and therefore every illness within a person is different, so we cannot use the doctors diagnosis as our reality, necessarily. We, as the parents, have to realize how our child works, label or not, and get them the help they need accordingly.

On a side note - I was almost sure 14 point descripancy was an automatic Learning Disability (LD)???? But I could be wrong. For my son, that sort of point difference was when they said he had NonVerbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) - but that was ten years ago, and my memory may be failing me.

Good luck - and if you need to chat about options in Dallas feel free to PM me.

 

[BusynMember]

Hi, Suzy :smile: I have had WAY too much experience...lol. in my opinion, and this is only MY opinion, it doesn't matter if he has a NonVerbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) or Aspergers. They are so much alike that they are pretty much treated the same. I have a NonVerbal Learning Disorder (NVLD), and nobody will say I have Aspergers because my eye contact is too good (although I had to learn it) and because I'm too friendly (although, trust me, I struggle in social situations). I have a verbal IQ of over 120 and a performance level IQ of 85. It's NOT fun...lol. I have tons in common with Aspies, except that my obsessions are not rote and my thinking is flexible. I wouldn't even worry about what he has, since both are so near one another. I'd make sure he got the same interventions he'd get if he had Aspergers because it's pretty similar. I was also told I have bipolar and so was my son. I think I do have it--I can feel significant mood switches and, without my medications, I can't function. I know my son doesn't have it--he never did have moodswings. The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) "quirkiness" made the psychiatrist feel he was mentally ill, but he's not. He was on medications for years for something he never had. I think NeuroPsychs are the best diagnosticians, but I had one who worked out of Mayo for ten years and he told me, "We make mistakes in diagnosing at Mayo all the time. There are no blood tests. We do our best." I feel he, and only he, nailed my son correctly, and my son has been much better since getting his Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) diagnosis, but with my son it's pretty obvious. I'm shocked that anyone missed it! With your son, if it's marginal, I'd just get him the help he needs in the area he needs them. You can see ten professionals who will probably give you five different answers. If he does worse on certain medications, I personally would discontinue them, weaning him off of them with a doctor's help. My Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) son did terrible on stims and certain antipsychotics. He was lethargic on the other medications. I'd trust my "mom gut." I swear, mom's seem to know. And just remember that any professional can be wrong. I learned!!!! Take care :smile: