Hello everyone.
My ds will be starting school this fall at our intermediate school district and I was wondering if he will learn bad behaviors off of some of the other kids. Has anyone else experienced this? We have been lucky so far that he doesn't have the meltdowns that I read some kids w/PDD have and I'm afraid he might start to copy other kids.
Since our kids are picky eaters, what supplements do you have luck with? My son gags at the sight or smell of foods he doesn't approve of - he even gags when we give his baby sister a pacifier.
Is PDD-NOS basically just a mild form of autism? I've seen HF autistics do remarkably well - does that mean my son will too? This is just all so confusing to me.
Thanks for your help.
Okay here intermediate schools is generally for sixth grade and up. So maybe you need to explain a bit further what intermediate schools are in your area. Secondly, sorry to disappoint you but a average kid going to school would pick up on bad behaviours from school. Here they don't like to "acknowledge the behaviour, we just redirect" but sends the kid home when they can't handle him. If it is still here there is a thread on medical assistance screwing up on Gabes meds one day so the school sent him home.
Kids with pdd-nos do have a better chance of leading a normal life than a kid that is truly autistic, on the low functioning side of autism. It is really hard to tell or predict anything in the future for anyone, regardless of whether they are on the spectrum or not. Early intervention is the key but each kid learns so differently. Now the clinical diagnosis for pdd-nos is:
299.80 Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (Including Atypical Autism)
This category should be used when there is a severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction or verbal and nonverbal communication skills, or when stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities are present, but the criteria are not met for a specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, Schizotypical Personality Disorder, or Avoidant Personality Disorder. For example, this category includes "atypical autism"-- presentations that do not meet the criteria for Autistic Disorder because of late age of onset, atypical symptomatology , or subthreshold symptomatology , or all of these.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PDD#p dd
Tammy
Hi Stephanie. Each kid on the spectrum even with an identicle diagnosis is different from the next child. And even 2 kids who have many of the same characteristics don't respond the same way to identicle treatments and therapies. Its one thing that makes ASD's so puzzling!
There is no way to predict if your child will pick up bad behaviors from other kids at school. SO much depends on his abilities. Does he pick up and mimic things other people around him do at home? If so then chances are yes he will pick up behaviors of his peers. MOST KIDS (NT Kids) will pick up the behaviors of their peers, its what they are around all day and its often a part of fitting in. The child being able to learn right from wrong and learn from discipline is the seperating factor if they pick up BAD behaviors.
Regarding supplements.... I give my son a multivitamin with flouride (since I have well water) his pediatrician prescribes. Talk with your childs pediatrician what they feel might be best for your son.
PDD NOS is a catch all category, It means theres not quite enough characteristics and delays to be diagnosed with classic autism but more then that for an aspergers diagnosis such as a significant speech delay for example)
How well someone will do remains unknown. .... Heres an article from www.childbrain.com that might help...
Prognosis (long term outcome) of autism
The long-term outcome for autism is variable. It is difficult to determine during the first visit of a 1 to 2-year-old child what his future ability will be. It is however clear that this is a life long disorder that will leave its impact one way or another on the individual's life. The most important prognostic factor is the I.Q. ability of the child. Also, the degree of social interaction impairment and lack of appropriate communication early on correlates with the severity of the outcome. Early intervention that includes behavioral modification and speech therapy may also change the outcome positively. The most accurate predictor of outcome, however, is the progression over a period of about 1 year from early diagnosis. Those with mild PDD and few autistic features may do remarkably well.
1. What is PDD or autism?
2. How is PDD or autism diagno sed?
3. The DSMV IV criteria
4. Review of the different PDDs
5. How does a typical child with autism present?
6. The PDD assessment questionnaire
7. Who should be evaluated for PDD?
8. What are the causes?
9. Lab testing, medical consensus g uidelines
10. What is the best treatment?
11. Behavioral modification
12. Prognosis (long term outcome) of autism
13. Differential diagnosis for autism
14. Secretin and autism
15. PDD and the educational system
16. Associations related to PDD (Links)
It must be an early intervention program within the ISD because it is the ISD who I contacted and who set up an appointment with me at the ISD educational center....sorry for the misuse of the wording but I am new to this and that is why I ask so many questions.
I guess I never thought of the fact that all kids come home with some bad behavior that they learned off someone else...I know I did when I was younger. I was just afraid that my son would come home and try to kick my butt. The other day while I was changing my newborns diaper my son copied her. It was so annoying. I don't know if it's just age-appropriate or what but I would be happy to never hear that again.
I realize that the prognosis for children especially this young is hard to tell but I hear so many negative stories that I get scared. I have a cousin who is HFA and he is living on his own, working, has a girlfriend and a son. He is still kind of socially inappropriate at times and if you didn't know he was autistic he would totally p*ss you off by the things he says. Maybe I'm just trying to hard to dig for anything, anything positive, because at this point I still feel the pain in my heart for my son. I will always love him, I will always be happy to care for him....my real fear is wondering about who will take care of him when his father and I are gone if he is unable to care for himself. It scares me to death to think that he might be abused or mistreated in any way. He is my precious baby.
Hi Stephanie...we're a picky eater here too...very picky!Stephanie I dont know if you are aware but HFA (High Functioning Autism) is NOT a diagnosis. It is a way of describing a person on the spectrums abilities. It generally refers to their IQ. So I wonder your cousin's actual diagnosis? Aspergers? PDD NOS? Classic Autism?
Having an average or above IQ is definately going to make some difference in the future, but keep in mind that even some mentally retarded people can be taught to live a fairly independent life too.
From the Low / High Functioning Autism Please Read thread.....
http://autism.about.com/od/autismdefined/qt/differencetip.ht m
One of the most confusing aspects of autism is how it is unique to every person on the spectrum. No two people with autism are identical in how they display symptoms and behaviors; they also are completely unique in how each responds to a variety of treatments. Much of this uniqueness presents a struggle for the autism community.
One hint that I can give all parents and educators is to mentally divide autism into two major categories. Remember this isn't hard and fast, but it will help you as you search for information and read the stories of other parents and their experiences. These two categories are:
Low-Functioning Autism
Children with low-functioning autism are more likely to display mental retardation, epilepsy, and extremely limited receptive/expressive language skills. They are extremely weak on “theory of mind,” and overload on too much sensory stimulation quite easily. As a rule of thumb, testing will show IQ ratings of 70 or below.
High-Functioning Autism
Children with high-functioning autism are much more efficient with expressive and receptive speech, less likely to suffer from epilepsy, and have IQ scores of 71 or above. Although too much sensory input can overload them, they have a higher tolerance and learn to desensitize themselves. These children have a stronger grasp on the theory of mind and can empathize with the feelings and reactions of others.
Just a Tip
Remember, these are general rules. It is a guide to tuck in the back of your mind for those times you are with other parents of children on the spectrum. In a forum or support group, you may find that the needs of one family differ greatly from the needs of your own, and you might be tempted to interject thoughts of what works for you. And that is good; that is what support systems are all about. But, if a parent is trying to decide if dating and driving is appropriate for their child with Asperger's, a parent of an LFA child is apt to react negatively. Those are dilemmas that those parents don't share. Misunderstandings and sometimes rather heated debates can be the result.
The needs of the child with low-functioning autism are very challenging. Parents are stretched to the limits emotionally, mentally, financially and quite often, physically. They worry about the future. And they worry about what others will say about them and unfortunately the tendency turns toward isolation.
I can't tell you how many emails I have received from parents with LFA children. They are afraid to talk about the serious problems they have because of the responses they get. “If you would just do.....,” or “The parenting methods you use are causing much of your problems and...” You get the idea. I know the readers of this site are very informed about autism, so this is probably just “more-of-the-same” information.
But just maybe, it is a reminder about the bonds we have regardless of the roads others travel that we can never walk. Peace and blessings to all of you in 2005!
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