ADHD to Autism spectrum??? My 9yo DS

We have been told that it’s possible that DS1 could have a form of autism. Not officially though. PDD-NOS was mentioned by DS1’s ADHD Doctor (actually she’s a NP and I really respect her opinion) and also by my best friend who is in the school psychology program and is currently doing her internship. She said she did a case with a little boy that was so much like my DS, it was eerie. He had Aspergers.

I wrote a letter to the school district today and requested that he be evaluated. Since he goes to a private school, I deal directly with one of the district head school psychologists, which is good. From ADHD/ODD to ADHD and possibly bipolar….we’ve had a line up of suspected disorders, but nothing really matches up. 

Currently, his being on ADHD medication does make a huge difference, so ADHD has to be part of it, but I know that with his anxieties, emotional overreactions to being told no, to any criticism, to losing, his inflexibility, how he shuts down when he wants to get his way and doesn’t get it, all this and more….I know there is something more going on.

It’s starting to sink in that he really might have something on the autism spectrum. It’s hard, because he does do so well with conversation, pretend, being social (not that he is a social butterfly or anything, but he’s not antisocial either….) and many other things. He’s super bright, gets all A’s, plays in band and loves it. (obviously with the losing thing, sports were out, but we sure did try!!! 4 years of trying different sports and approaches to handling his meltdowns when he lost or made a mistake, got “out”, etc.)

DS2 was home sick today with a fever. DS1 had a fantastic morning getting ready, but when my friend came to pick him up, he refused to go with her, went and hid and pleaded with me to take him to school myself. I’ve learned that when he gets into that type of anxiety frame of mind, that pushing him/bribing him/pleading with him never works. It always makes him worse and makes the whole ordeal way too emotionally intense (on both our parts!) So I apologized to my friend (Thankfully one of my dear friends BTW and DS1 knows her well and likes her) and called L (our twice weekly housekeeper) who was able to come early so poor sick DS2 could stay at home with her and I could take DS1 to school. He went off to school just fine, but just apparently needed me to get him there.  

Please God, I just want answers. I want to know what to do to help him and I don’t want any guesses. I love this little boy with every ounce of my being and I just want to know how to help him be the very best he can be and to be who he truly is under all this. I hope the IEP evalution can give me that. We also have a very through evalution set up at UCLA, but that not until frickin JUNE.

Paying that you get the answers you  need soon.  It is really great to see how strong you are being in your search for answers.

DS was diagnosed at 5.5yrs old. We knew for a long time something was not right and put it together when we were watching something on tv about Autism. At the same time the school guidance officer was doing an assessment (we didn't know about it). DS was diagnosed PDDnos by a psychiatrist. The school G.O. was adamant that he had adhd. It wasn't adhd though.

Kids with PDD (asd) can have a lot of sensory issues (ie sensory processing disorder) and because of this it can give off the impression of adhd. For my DS, not being able to sit still etc may be because he craves sensory input and needs stimulation. In order to get that sensory stimulation he moves around a lot and likes to touch people and things. And being distracted or perceived as not paying attention can also be bought back to being sensitive & overwhelmed by sounds, sights, information etc. It's complicated and every child is different. I just wanted to give some examples of why they thought DS might be adhd but really isn't.

snakesnsnails:

but I know that with his anxieties, emotional overreactions to being told no, to any criticism, to losing, his inflexibility, how he shuts down when he wants to get his way and doesn’t get it, all this and more….I know there is something more going on.

From what you have described it would seem like your DS might fall under the asd umbrella also.

It took us a few months to get in to see an Occupational therapist but she was so worth it. I noticed huge improvements soon after starting. We still have lots of 'interesting' & stressful days but they are not anywhere near as extreme as they were. They help with things like writing, improving muscle tone & coordination, sensory input and exercises, problem solving etc. We went weekly this year to the OT but next year we can cut it down to fornightly or monthly. We got lots of great tips on how to manage everyday problems & situations.

Oh and regarding the therapist, we did try having someone come to the home once. It would have worked out great but they cancelled home visits and then we had to change OT's. Even though DS has had the same OT for a year he still gets anxious about going and what will happen there but once he gets started it usually goes well. So if you can get a good home visiting OT then that might work out really well for you.

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/index.html

I hope you get some answers as well.  Like chooks said, so many of these disorders have characteristics (symptoms if you will) that can look like something else AND they are often comorbid so it's really tricky to sort it out.  Add any environmental issues (moving to a new home, new sibling, new school, family issues, etc.) and it's REALLY hard to figure out if behaviors are a result of a disorder or coping with the environment.  I hope your summer vacation goes well and that June brings you some peace of mind.

Thank you both for your helpful and thoughtful replies. I have not wanted to jinx it by saying anything, but DS has been doing really GREAT for the past 2-1/2 weeks. We took him off stimulants over winter break and started him on med called Intuniv and he has been doing very well. His anxiety is gone, his aggression better too. He is still a "know it all" type personality and has trouble with transitions and with doing things he doesn't "want" to do, but it's a million percent better than it was before!!!!

And I am doing something for me too....I begin a Novice Yoga class this month! (I'm so excited!)