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<blockquote data-quote="PassedExhausted" data-source="post: 617019" data-attributes="member: 17556"><p>Thank you all for your responses! Let's see if I can accommodate the requests for additional information <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p> </p><p>He has had multiple diagnosis's over the years. His PCP and I have always thought he was on the spectrum...especially since he has a family hx. I won't say that his PCP couldn't have done more...but this was 11 years ago...and serious mental illness/Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children...were still on the "let's not rush into anything" side of the equation. If I had a penny for every time I heard, "We don't want to put a label on him this young," I'd be rich. It's not so much that I wanted a "label" or diagnosis....just to throw one out there...but it helps to have all necessary information (if that makes sense). So, we had early intervention assessments done...the first team of 5 people...5 PEOPLE...met with my son for a couple of visits equaling like 2 hours. They sent the findings up for a higher level of review because they felt very strongly they were looking at a case of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID). A woman came out to speak with my son a month later, took him into a side room at his preschool for 10 minutes and said, "He's fine...immature for his age, developmentally delayed...maybe ADHD."</p><p> </p><p>I raised holy hell...as did his preschool teacher who witnessed him fall backwards in his chair onto their hard floor, do nothing to stop himself, and not even bat an eye after his head bounced off the floor...let alone shed any tears. That was actually why she made the referral..it scared her lol. He had lots of sensory type stuff..leaning into people, no regard for personal space, attention issues, lack of response to pain/cold,lack of eye contact, social awkwardness, developmental delays etc. So, we started ST, Occupational Therapist (OT), and resource help for him. He had these therapies with great success for 6 years.</p><p> </p><p>Then the violence/aggression he was always showing at home started rearing its head at school. This led to diagnosis's of bi-polar, ADHD, even possible schizophrenia....as he started having visual/auditory hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia...extreme depression. Around this time...the daredevil he always was disappeared (around 8-9?) All of a sudden he wouldn't go down steps without my help. I had to carry him down steps that had spaces between them. He was hospitalized a few times. Again, shying away from any definitive diagnosis. Though ADHD stuck...and my very favorite...ODD emerged lol. He was finally placed in a longer term inpatient adolescent unit and right away the psychiatrist and psychologist there thought he was on the spectrum. The psychologist even went so far as to do a diagnostic assessment with me and her own findings from observing him over a nearly 3 month period (in two different visits) and she confidentally made the actual diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) based on the assessment and her findings. That was three years ago.</p><p> </p><p>My son has been in a school program with day tx services since he was 11...this is a blessing and a curse lol. When we were going through the hospitalizations and then the Residential Treatment Facility (RTF) placement, his day treatment counselor was so great. She had always believed he fell on the spectrum and she shared with me that although my intuition was correct that many people at the school program did not agree with the diagnosis..that there were many people that <em><strong>did </strong></em>agree with the diagnosis. Since then, it's been a mixed bag of opinions...including the Residential Treatment Facility (RTF).</p><p> </p><p>Currently, he still exhibits many, many social deficiencies and doesn't read cues. He still has a mostly flat affect...but not like when he was younger. He can make eye contact with prompting. He still needs a strict structured routine. He has no concept of how his behaviors affect others and he truly believes that when he is over something...everyone else should be too. And it's not the normal teenage attitude. He truly doesn't grasp why people aren't moving passed whatever the issue is. And it's all issues...from bumping into someone to throwing a phone against a wall. It's not an empathy thing...he can be empathetic...he just can't see how someone else feels...nor can he see outside his own needs/wants.</p><p> </p><p>He has no concept of abstract ideas...this makes learning consequences difficult. I can tell him, "You're going to be 16 soon and then you will be treated as an adult if you attack someone or destroy property," and he can know that...but the idea of how to avoid it is totally alien to him. When he is in the moment 95% of the time he can't access coping skills to make a good choice. It's like there has to be a planetary alignment and the Earth spinning in just a certain way on it's axis so that he will make a choice to seek out help when he feels himself losing it. This leaves his whole team scratching our heads as to what was different about this time as opposed to the last 20 times?? But, there's NEVER an answer. Interestingly, I really don't think he knows the words he needs to express himself. That is one thing we all agree on. We are positive he parrots what he's heard us (his team) use to describe his feelings/behaviors.</p><p> </p><p>He's still developmentally delayed...around the age of a 12 year old. He still has bowel movements in his pants..and doesn't care. I have to literally drag him to the bathroom to make him clean himself up. If someone comments on his smell..he gets upset/angry. But he still won't independently clean himself up...and it won't stop him from doing it again. I don't think this is just mental illness and just developmental delays. I feel strongly (as I always have) that it's the big picture. These things are linked. Aspergers typically presents with both ADD/ADHD and bipolar..plus Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I don't think it's a million little things. I think its one big thing with a mental illness.</p><p> </p><p>Hope this helps. Thanks for the validation!!! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p> </p><p>MK</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="PassedExhausted, post: 617019, member: 17556"] Thank you all for your responses! Let's see if I can accommodate the requests for additional information ;) He has had multiple diagnosis's over the years. His PCP and I have always thought he was on the spectrum...especially since he has a family hx. I won't say that his PCP couldn't have done more...but this was 11 years ago...and serious mental illness/Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children...were still on the "let's not rush into anything" side of the equation. If I had a penny for every time I heard, "We don't want to put a label on him this young," I'd be rich. It's not so much that I wanted a "label" or diagnosis....just to throw one out there...but it helps to have all necessary information (if that makes sense). So, we had early intervention assessments done...the first team of 5 people...5 PEOPLE...met with my son for a couple of visits equaling like 2 hours. They sent the findings up for a higher level of review because they felt very strongly they were looking at a case of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID). A woman came out to speak with my son a month later, took him into a side room at his preschool for 10 minutes and said, "He's fine...immature for his age, developmentally delayed...maybe ADHD." I raised holy hell...as did his preschool teacher who witnessed him fall backwards in his chair onto their hard floor, do nothing to stop himself, and not even bat an eye after his head bounced off the floor...let alone shed any tears. That was actually why she made the referral..it scared her lol. He had lots of sensory type stuff..leaning into people, no regard for personal space, attention issues, lack of response to pain/cold,lack of eye contact, social awkwardness, developmental delays etc. So, we started ST, Occupational Therapist (OT), and resource help for him. He had these therapies with great success for 6 years. Then the violence/aggression he was always showing at home started rearing its head at school. This led to diagnosis's of bi-polar, ADHD, even possible schizophrenia....as he started having visual/auditory hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia...extreme depression. Around this time...the daredevil he always was disappeared (around 8-9?) All of a sudden he wouldn't go down steps without my help. I had to carry him down steps that had spaces between them. He was hospitalized a few times. Again, shying away from any definitive diagnosis. Though ADHD stuck...and my very favorite...ODD emerged lol. He was finally placed in a longer term inpatient adolescent unit and right away the psychiatrist and psychologist there thought he was on the spectrum. The psychologist even went so far as to do a diagnostic assessment with me and her own findings from observing him over a nearly 3 month period (in two different visits) and she confidentally made the actual diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) based on the assessment and her findings. That was three years ago. My son has been in a school program with day tx services since he was 11...this is a blessing and a curse lol. When we were going through the hospitalizations and then the Residential Treatment Facility (RTF) placement, his day treatment counselor was so great. She had always believed he fell on the spectrum and she shared with me that although my intuition was correct that many people at the school program did not agree with the diagnosis..that there were many people that [I][B]did [/B][/I]agree with the diagnosis. Since then, it's been a mixed bag of opinions...including the Residential Treatment Facility (RTF). Currently, he still exhibits many, many social deficiencies and doesn't read cues. He still has a mostly flat affect...but not like when he was younger. He can make eye contact with prompting. He still needs a strict structured routine. He has no concept of how his behaviors affect others and he truly believes that when he is over something...everyone else should be too. And it's not the normal teenage attitude. He truly doesn't grasp why people aren't moving passed whatever the issue is. And it's all issues...from bumping into someone to throwing a phone against a wall. It's not an empathy thing...he can be empathetic...he just can't see how someone else feels...nor can he see outside his own needs/wants. He has no concept of abstract ideas...this makes learning consequences difficult. I can tell him, "You're going to be 16 soon and then you will be treated as an adult if you attack someone or destroy property," and he can know that...but the idea of how to avoid it is totally alien to him. When he is in the moment 95% of the time he can't access coping skills to make a good choice. It's like there has to be a planetary alignment and the Earth spinning in just a certain way on it's axis so that he will make a choice to seek out help when he feels himself losing it. This leaves his whole team scratching our heads as to what was different about this time as opposed to the last 20 times?? But, there's NEVER an answer. Interestingly, I really don't think he knows the words he needs to express himself. That is one thing we all agree on. We are positive he parrots what he's heard us (his team) use to describe his feelings/behaviors. He's still developmentally delayed...around the age of a 12 year old. He still has bowel movements in his pants..and doesn't care. I have to literally drag him to the bathroom to make him clean himself up. If someone comments on his smell..he gets upset/angry. But he still won't independently clean himself up...and it won't stop him from doing it again. I don't think this is just mental illness and just developmental delays. I feel strongly (as I always have) that it's the big picture. These things are linked. Aspergers typically presents with both ADD/ADHD and bipolar..plus Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I don't think it's a million little things. I think its one big thing with a mental illness. Hope this helps. Thanks for the validation!!! :) MK [/QUOTE]
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