ADHD with ASD

[mum22boys]

Hi,

 

I am really confused with the ADHd testing system, so this question is to anyone that has gone through it.

 

M was diagnosed with ASD several months ago, his consultant said at the time that she strongly suspected he had adhd. He was referred by her to CAMHS. Now I have no faith at all in CAMHS as they have been no use to us in the past especially the psychologist M is under. The ADHD clinic sent us and the school questionaires to fill in. The shool were asked to give their completed forms back to me and I was to send them all in together. I read their answers and couldn't believe how wrong some of them were answered, it was as if his teacher had scored for another child!!! Anyway, forms went in with ours and today i rang the clinic to find out whats happening. I was told the questionaires do not indicate ADHD! and his file has gone back to his original psych at CAMHS and she will ring me tomorrow. Well we have more chance of seeing pigs fly than her ring me because she is so unreliable.

So do the clinic just add scores together and not even bother to see your child? I can't believe it. Deep down i know M's behaviour is not down to his ASD alone. I don't want to keep labelling him but i know there is more to it.

 

I did go on the DORE website and fill in the forms. He scored highly likely there as well to have ADHD, so I can't understand the clinic saying it looks unlikely he has ADHD.

 

Any advice anyone? I feel very confused.

 

mum22boys

[lisaalfrob]

Hi,

My son is 13 and jis adhd was diagnosed at 7 years old.He has only been diagnosed also with asd this april although I always knew there was something in addition to the adhd.

How is your sons concentration level at school,that is normally a BIG factor of adhd.

 

lisa xxx

[brooke]

My son has asd and has just been referred by his teacher to his pead for adhd diagnosis. He cannot sit still and cant concerntrate or give attention to work for very long at all. I just assumed this was part of his asd but its not. Can you get in touch with your sons pead? Hope you can get it sorted out. <'>

Brooke

[baddad]

Hi mum22boys -

 

the dx criteria for ADHD involves demonstrating significant traits in two different environments, usually school and home, and then further evaluation. From your POV you need to be talking to the school to confirm that their connors form is an accurate reflection for his school day(do you have a day book or 'behavioural issues' dialogue that confirms/contradicts the schools connors scores?). If there genuinely is a major difference between the home/school behaviours CAMHS will want to look at that discrepency first.

 

Hope that helps

 

L&P

 

BD

[JsMum]

Hi the problem with the conners rating scale is that the school dont nessasarily understand the actual symptoms they thinks its all about poor behaviour, throwing chairs, and running around the classroom, so it could be they havent understood the actual difficulties your son has, the main difficulties in ADHD is inattention, and not listening to the teacher so they constantly need the instructions repeated, more than most of his peers, they can often interupt the teacher and fidget even in their seat.

 

Js scores where defanitly different to my scores because the school where playing down his difficulties, why I dont know, but they did and they tried to insinuate that he wasnt a problem but then again if that child isnt even in your classroom then he isnt going to be, he was often in an area of no more than 6ft by 4ft because he had continued to be disrupting the class, and not listening to the teacher and removed all together to a very small room.

 

I was sick of the school fobbing me off and requested a residential assessment, where they did pick up the difficulties I was on about and in their conners it almost matched mine and so there was a more definate assessment, Js ADHD/ODD signs where also masking the ASD signs at this point as he was only 6yrs old and so they didnt diagnose ASD at this point and I wasnt thinking Autism at this point myself because I had a different view what an Autistic Child at the time.

 

J was diagnosed after 6 months assessment and he returned to school without any more support and continued to struggle at school until we left that school and he went to another that was very similair and so removed him again and placed him into another school and they have recognised his symptoms and difficulties and he now has a statement.

 

I would say that the problem with some schools is they are anti ADHD, and some dont even believe in the disorder, so these conners in school can be like a bit of a blind eye study, place your child in a different school who achknowledges it and recognises the symptoms then your son might well get a different score altogether.

 

 

Do you feel your son has ADHD, if so then I would ask for an re assessment and for maybe a day unit that recognises the symptoms.

 

I would also talk to the senco and ask what do they put in place already for children with ADHD and request they use the same tecniques with your son as you suspect that your son has ADHD he doesnt need a diagnosis, all it needs is a parents request and concerns, it may need to be put in writing but all these are kept in their school record so if they choose to ignore this then it will be proof in later years.

 

The previous school that ignored Js ADHD some of the older children that attended went to high school where there signs where more prominant as the work became more challenging, and they assessed them for ADHD and found to have it even though there was concerns raised in primary school.

 

I feel that ADHD and ASD are very similair and the symptoms that are in ADHD are also in the ASD symptoms as well and some do reguard ADHD as a spectrum disorder and when J was younger his ADHD was more apparent but now he is 10 the ASD symptoms are very prominant and this is more to do with development because as his peers are making progress he remains very behind.

 

I can recommend you this website but its american still it has a good discription and videos are good too.

 

there is also ADDISS who may help you regaurding school because you are not the first to have this issue.

 

http://www.drthomasebrown.com/

 

I would also look at books that help kids deal with ADHD for now.

 

JsMum

[LittleRae]

My DS tested as not ADHD when school and I filled out Connors rating forms. However, when they invited him to a social skills group, they contacted me to say he most definitely was ADHD, and they listed the traits he displayed. He's not too hyper at home and at school is always on best behaviour - must have let himself go when he was with the other kids lol!