Autism and ADHD

[forbsay]

I went to a review last week for M. It was ok. He is very capable however he has problems with his concentration. This has always been the case.

 

School dr started asking if i wanted him tested for ADHD. I said not at the moment, however i would consider it in the future. He is very immature for his age. School teacher did not agree that he has this. She says he needs to know boundaries. School have never given us this concern before and it a school specifically for autistic children.

 

The dr was basing this on what we were saying around the table. She did not even have his notes with her...............

 

With the concentration and attent ion span. How do you know if it is related to autism or ADHD?

 

Dr has now planted this seed of thought in my head...............

 

One of my old school friends came up today and M was playing up big time........At least she knows what i have to deal with now on a daily basis...............

[darky]

Right here goes! This is complicated so try and stay with me! My daughter has ADHD. Well, if she did not have PDD that would be her diagnosis. In the diagnostic criteria, ADHD can only "officially" be diagnosed if there is no better explanation for the symptoms. In other words, when there is PDD the ADHD subsumes in the over riding diagnosis of the PDD. It's like if you have a PDD then that is classed as a more complex condition than ADHD alone.

 

Now the confusion. ADHD is said to be a co-morbid of PDD, so that leads you to believe that a child can have both conditions. BUT not according to the diagnositic criteria.

 

My daughter was unofficially diagnosed with ADHD in addition to her PDD, only to help with statementing along with Dyspraxia (something else the consultant said subsumes in the over riding diagnosis of PDD). This was done so that all of her symptoms did not have to be listed one by one. It's easier to say ADHD and Dyspraxia than it is to say, hyperactive, impulsive, unable to concentrate, unable to sit still, poor coordination, low tone, clumsy, etc. She is treated for ADHD via medication.

 

So for us, it was worth her having the assessment for ADHD, as the symptoms can be recognised and treated. In addition this is noted on her statement and further recomendations were put in place.

[pookie170]

Hey Forbsay!

 

My AS son also has a dx of ADHD, and is treated for it with methylfenidate (sp???) which has been extremely successful. The tablets help his concentration and impulsivity, making his life a heck of a lot easier and allowing him to access things he never could before, from doing taekwondo to schoolwork. When these things are under control (along with the aggression that goes hand in hand with it!) his AS traits are more noticable and easier to deal with, as we're not constantly battling with him over the ADHD related stuff.

 

With regards to working out whether poor concentration/attention span is AS or ADHD based, that was a problem. Because Cals behaviours have never fitted snugly into the dx criteria of one or the other, many (many,many, many!!!!!) strategies were implemented totry and help Cal and others deal with them. When it came to the point that we didnt know what else to do, the psych suggested ADHD meds. She said that if he DID have ADHD, the meds would work, and if they didn't, then ADHD was ruled out and we'd have to try something else. (Im paraphrasing here, she didnt put it quite like that!)

 

If I could go back and do it all over again, I'd have him assessed for ADHD sooner, as the benefits for Cal have been immense, personally, socially and academically. I have to add that we've had differing opinions from each of the schools that hes been to. The ASD specific unit insisted he couldn't have AS as he wasn't like the others in the unit, the Learning disability unit thought he DID have AS, the mainstream school were simply baffled and his current behavioural/emotional difficulty school were the only ones who said that they could see both AS and ADHD traits. We agreed, and the psych did too, hence the DX!

 

Not saying that he will definately get a dx of ADHD, or that meds are the only answer if he did get that dx, but when I think on all the years we wasted with Cal I could scream.....

If you did go for DXing, what would you have to lose? If he doesn't have a co-morbid, then thats that. If he does, he can access specific help for it...... Just remember teachers are not always right, its what YOU think that counts.

 

Esther x

[Enid]

Hi, my ds is also dx with ADHD , ASD, Dyspraxia, when he is on the medication, he is definately calmer, much more able to concentrate at school, but more "autisic" if you know what I mean I was not happy about him going on the medication at first, and used to only give it him on school days, but now, well I find myself clockwatching and thinking how soon can I give it him Enid

[clair]

My son was diagnosed ADHD first and was medicated. Although we had never been sure what was wrong with him, we had gone back and forth between the ASD or ADHD diagnosis'. The teachers said that he couldn't be ADHD at first when he was medicated as "Children that take Ritalin for ADHD usually are sorted out on medication". When the medication started working at the right dose, all his autistic traits started coming out like not being able to go in to the classroom, too bright, too loud, too smelly. He is now waiting for a diagnosis on this. The ed Psych basically said that he doesn't know how he has been missed, but his ADHD symptoms took over his life, that is why the family could see it but the teachers were only looking for the one lot of symptoms, if you know what I mean.

Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees.

[purplehaze]

I went to a review last week for M. It was ok. He is very capable however he has problems with his concentration. This has always been the case.

 

School dr started asking if i wanted him tested for ADHD. I said not at the moment, however i would consider it in the future. He is very immature for his age. School teacher did not agree that he has this. She says he needs to know boundaries. School have never given us this concern before and it a school specifically for autistic children.

 

The dr was basing this on what we were saying around the table. She did not even have his notes with her...............

 

With the concentration and attent ion span. How do you know if it is related to autism or ADHD?

 

Dr has now planted this seed of thought in my head...............

 

One of my old school friends came up today and M was playing up big time........At least she knows what i have to deal with now on a daily basis...............

 

 

Something similar happened to me when I went to my Doctors recently without my son. We were talking about behaviour support and out of the blue my Doctor said he thought my son might have ADHD and started to talk about wanting to give him retalin he has only met my son a few times and he has always just sat their not moving or talking.

[teachermum1]

My son is dx'd ADHD and autism. He was dx'd ADHD first, and when they also dx'd the ASD, the psych said that some psychs believe that ADHD symptoms are just part of the autism, but that others see it as separate. It was good for us to have the dual dx as the CAMHS here only sees children with both dx's after initial dx. If it had been one or the other, we'd have had no support bar medication post-dx!