Autism Spectrum

Autism Spectrum questions and answers

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Q: What can you tell me about PDD and high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders?
What can you tell me about PDD: Pervasive Development Disorder? Especially the higher functioning end? My son was a new preliminary diagnosis of PDD. They say that he is on the higher functioning end of the Autism Spectrum. What can you tell me about high functioning autism... and PDD?

A: There is no cure bio medical or other wise right now. My son was first diagnosed with PDD-NOS as well and was then given the aspergers diagnosis because he is so high functioning in that his speech and gross motor skills are good. His main disability would be social aspect. He does not engage like other kids do and should. Aspergers is the term for high functioning autism technically speaking.Here are some site in my sources for you to look at. Educating yourself is key to you and your child's future.

Q: Children on The autism spectrum what kind of medical professional diagnosed your child?
For me when we got our final diagnoses of Aspergers ,Mood disorder and non verbal learning disorder, I had a neuropsychological assessment done by licensed psychologist provider ,Clinical neuropsychologist .Who in your opinion best qualifies to give our children a accurate diagnosis's?

A: Well Thomas was refereed to the local Child developmental centre at our local hospital he was watched by various professionals over a course of 6 weeks, but was formally diagnosed within 3 weeks. But before he was sent for hearing tests to be done they were fine. Thomas was diagnosed with severe autism when he was just over three his statement was rushed through because it was nearly time for him to start school

Q: What accommodations would I need for going to college? My disability is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
I would really like any information , If you want my e-mail address I will give it to you so I can get the full answer. Thank you

A: hi i have asperger's and go to college. the accomidations i get are extended time on tests, Permission to use a taperecorder to tape lectures, notetaking, help finding another student who i can get the notes from. I also get full time status even thought im only takeing 9 credits ( u need 12 to be considered full time) for insurance company purposes. Also i use earplugs during tests to cancel out any backround noise

Q: Parents of children with diagnoses on the autism spectrum?
Couple of questions.. Where did you begin your search for a diagnosis? What age were they when you first realized there was something different about your child? What were the various steps you had to go through in order to get it? What type of doctors/therapists had your child seen when the diagnosis was made? Who actually made the diagnosis? Was there another diagnosis before PDD was given? How long did it take? Any personal stories with this are appreciated.

A: my son was different when he was about 2 yrs old. He had horrible tantrums. We thought when the family doc diagnosed him with ADHD at 6 years old that that was it. we just dealt with the violent outbursts and waited for them to end. 5 years later he had a violent outburst at school. they referred him to the local mental health center because after the attack he was borderline suicidal.mental health decided that he did not need crisis care, so it took us 6 weeks to get him in. I filled out reams of papers about him and the psychologist talked to us for like 30 minutes and said he had PDD-NOS. I was not sure about the diagnosis so I had the school do another more detailed eval. They agreed with MH even though MH did not share records with them. that was when I felt the diagnosis was correct. Mental health did not give me much support at all. I felt lost. Luckily I found out that 2 people I know have children on the spectrum. I cry to them and they give me support. The one lady told me to call MR/DD and see what they could do for me. My son now has $8000 a year in state and federal funds to help pay for therapy and meds and things like that that he needs. Both of them reccomended the same autism specialist...it has been almost a year now since we have switched docs and I could not be happier. I found 2 books on amazon.com that really helped me a ton " the out of sync child" ( about sensory disfunction) and " a parents guide to aspergers syndrome and high functionsing autism: how to help your child thrive" ( autism spectrum). they are very parent friendly books that explain a lot of things in ways that we can understand without a medical degree

Q: For parents with children who have Autism/Autism spectrum?
What was the first signs you noticed including hind sight? Do you feel its releated to vaccinations? I just wanted to thank people who were willing to share their stories with me.

A: We first noticed echolalia at 18 months with our daughter. We just thought she was being clever, repeating anything we said, then we realized she did it all the time. She had other symptoms by 24 months, including rocking and tantrums, but hey, everyone says, "terrible twos." Adia was never immunized by schedule, so I can't blame it on immunizations. We always broke down the shots so she never got more than 2 at a time, and we refused several (mmr, varicella, yearly flu). She has the whole HiB series and the Hep B & A series (Grandpa has hep A, we wanted them to be able to spend time together safely). She also has DPT. The MMR-autism link was disproven in a book I recently read, it said the research was heavily biased. I have forgotten the book's title though: our diagnosis is new and I've been reading so much I think my brain might explode.

Q: Where can I network with other teens who have Autism Spectrum Disorders?
I am currently on Facebook.com, Myspace.com, disaboom.com, autism-pdd.net, and bebo.com and want to network with with other teens who have Autism.

A: try www.wrongplanet.net great site for those with high functioning autism and asperger's

Q: Can kids under the Autism spectrum be covered under Social security disability?


A: Autism meets the Social Security Administration's criteria for disability for both children and adults. Children and adults who meet criteria for disability, and who have limited income and resources can qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Adults who became disabled before age 22 can qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) if their parents have paid Social Security taxes and have worked for a certain number of years. You can learn more about financial assistance for people who have autism and other disabilities at: http://autismassistance.blogspot.com/

Q: What does it mean if somebody scores 44 on the Autism spectrum quotient test?


A: It means they should make an appointment with their GP to discuss it. The GP should be able to refer them to a specialist who can do a proper assessment to see if the person has Asperger's syndrome. A score of 44 is a strong indicator that the person does have an autism spectrum disorder, however it is not a formal diagnosis. I believe that Baron-Cohen originally said that a score of 32, plus a significant degree of distress (i.e. the person believes that they are different and it bothers them) warrants further investigation. If you are interested, google Baron-Cohen autism quotient and the original research paper will come up.

Q: How can I teach my 5 yr old boy, who is on the autism spectrum, to defend himself physically frm school bullys?


A: You shouldn't have to teach your 5 year old boy, who has autism, how to physically defend himself. There should be proper supervision so that he is not bullied. I would be sitting in the principals office tomorrow morning if I was worried that my 5 yr old child, who has autism, was being physically bullied. Heck, I would be sitting in the principals office if my typical 5 yr old child was being bullied. I would make sure it was stopped immediately. It's a supervision issue. In your case, the words disability harrassment might get you a long way. Check out http://www;wrightslaw.com regarding disabled students being bullied.

Q: What are therapies for autism spectrum disorders?
In mild cases.

A: My son has speech therapy and occupational therapy. Individual cases vary for what kind of sensory input is helpful. My son like s to swing(they utilize swinging at his school and it helps the children to pay attention and think more clearly.) He likes to be massaged .Some children don't like to be touched when they have autism. My son has a normal IQ but has speech and attention problems because of the distractions associated with sensory integration disorder-Mild autism

Q: Can you have PDD-NOS and not be on the autism spectrum?
Our son has a huge line-up of testing that is scheduled to be done, but the neurologist said that he more than likely has PDD-NOS. Our speech therapist said that PDD isn't autism, it's just a delay, is that true? I thought they both go hand in hand.

A: In short no. PDD-NOS is on the autism spectrum, it is NOT classic autism, but it is still an ASD- Autism Spectrum Disorder. Long answer- Your son might end up with a provisional diagnoses of PDD-NOS- meaning they will diagnose him with that, but then later might drop it. Its very difficult especially at a young age to properly diagnose a child if they have classic autism, or Aspbergers, or a general developmental problem. It can take years for them to know for sure what your son has- but it doesn't change what type of help he is going to need, however for most state/school programs as well as insurance cases, they need some form of diagnoses to pay for speech/occupational therapy whatever they determine he needs. Because the treatment plan decided on will be individual to your son, it doesn't really matter what "label" he has as long as he is getting the help he needs. The name PDD-NOS literally means- Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified, meaning they just don't have enough data to decided how to specify it. While he has the diagnoses of PDD-NOS he is considered to be on the autism spectrum- however in time they may decided it was a general delay and he won't be considered on the spectrum anymore. Right now, my son, has just gone through a bunch of tests, and has a couple more lined up in the fall. He has PDD-NOS, but they feel he will end up being either classic autism or Asbergers, or even OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) but right now he shows signs of all three, so they aren't sure which he has. His neurologist describes it this way- when a plant is very small, sometimes you aren't sure what type of flower is going to grow on it, however once it blooms it is obvious what kind of plant it was- but it doesn't change that it is a plant. Meaning my son has something, we aren't sure what, but it doesn't change the fact he has something. The main concern is how do you help him get better.

Q: Can anyone recommend some good background reading on Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Particularly the social aspect of the disorder. I am beginning preperations for my thesis next year and I wanted to have a look at some general maintream books before I get deep into the specific journal articles & studies.

A: Oh, you have to read Alan Greenspan's book "The child with special needs" and his work on the DIR method is very interesting. I wrote my thesis on ASD in children ages 2-6. I was mostly looking at the behavioral changes, but in the end I discovered that the social aspects really changed dramatically when the DIR (also called Floor Time) method was implemented.

Q: telling children that they have an autism spectrum disorder?
I often work with families who have a child with autism, Asperger's Disorder or PDD-NOS. Sometimes, parents ask me if/when they should tell their children about their diagnosis, and how. For those of you who have received this diagnosis, I'd like to know your point of view and recommendations. Are you glad that you were told? In what way should kids be told, and is there an age "cut-off?" What were some helpful or not helpful things people said in telling you? Thank you very much, I just want to know this so I can be more helpful to the people I work with.

A: My parents always kept the truth from me. They deny things to this very day. I hate it. For instance, My mom allowed me to believe that my step dad was my father from age 1 until age 8. She told me because I was acting out in response to noticing the differences between how my younger brother was treated by his "real father" What ended up happening here is my mom told me all about HER negative point of view about my "real father" which caused me to develop bad eyesight. I needed glasses 3 years after I was told that I would probably have bad eyes like him. Anyways. My mom doesnt like to talk about me being "broken" she wont believe it, even though I have always been treated "special" like being set up with friends who were younger than me and likely also on the spectrum. My little brother arranged things and set up social situations for me to be in. I hated all of it. It was like they were silently frowning on my normal everyday existence. I am not good enough on my own. I experience depression and low self esteem. I set myself up for failure over and over because of the traumatic events associated with my asperger's. I met my father for the first time at age 23 and I dont know why. I never "wanted to" and I remember being influenced. People take advantage of my open subconcious that begs to meet everyones expectations of me, whether good or bad. RESPECT YOUR CHILDREN LIKE THEY ARE YOUR EQUALS BECAUSE THEY ARE. Autism is not a disorder. It is a diversity. We think differently, not wrongly. We act differently, even strange in an unusual, or unfamiliar sense, but our actions have reasons too, like Neurotypical people. We need your warmth and understanding. Your patience and wisdom. And above all your acceptance of us for exactly who we are. Stop looking to cure or prevent us. Diversity is the nature of life it should be reasonable that life would diversify all aspects of being, and not just physical traits.

Q: Assessments for autism spectrum disorders?
I'm 16 and I'm getting tested for asperger syndrome/high functioning autism. The assessment takes place over the course of two sessions, and for one of them, the autism docs want to have not only my parents, but my 13 year old brother there as well. This sounds kind of unusual considering my age. Why would they have my family there for my assessment?

A: My nephew has asperger's. The Doctor wanted the input of everyone in his life. Since he and his Mom (my sister) live with me they wanted me to come in too. Partly it is because things he thinks are "normal" may strike someone else as odd or different. Since you don't know anything different than your experiences he may want other's opinions too. The Dr.'s also like to see how the family communicates and works together...It may just be a communications disorder and not Aspergers... Good Luck!