The PDD and ADHD connection? | Autism PDD

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i have heard of ASD misdxed as ADHD often especially in high functioning kids

There's this 8 yr old boy in my son's class... he's definitely a simple ADHD or stand-alone ADHD. He has exhibited extremely violent tantrums and simply uncontrollable... but on other occasions when he's alright, he can conduct a SUSTAINED NORMAL CONVERSATION with you with PERFECT EYE CONTACT and also ENGAGE IN NORMAL PLAY with other kids!!! Definitely something you don't or rarely see in ASD kids.

So he definitely has primarily ADHD only and not mixed with ASD.

But on the other hand, as many parents can testify, primary ASD kids do have an overlap with ADHD signs.

Sensory integration dysfunction is present in both adhd and asd.  I have yet to meet a single child on the autism spectrum who doesn't have focus prblems, organizational problems, hyperactivity or some combination of these classic add/adhd symptoms.  However, kids with simple adhd don't have autistic symptoms.  Simply put, kids whose primary diagnosis is ASD can have adhd, but if the primary diagnosis is ADHD, they don't have autism -- autism trumps ADHD in the heirarchy of severity of diagnosis.  Our son's psychiatrist, who is an autism expert, is participating in research on whether the ADD/ADHD that occurs almost universally among ASD kids is actually different from stand-alone ADD/ADHD.  For example, kids with simple ADHD tend to naturally outgrown some of the symptoms at adolescence (or some experts think so) but kids on the spectrum do not. There is some talk about included ADHD symptoms eventually as part of the dx of autism.  For scientists, this is important. For parents, it's really not.  Whatever symptoms our children have, for whatever reason, we have to deal with those symptoms.  If it walks like a duck....

I think the adhd component with asd is basically the same as sensory disorder.  Sensory dsiorder goes hand in hand with ASD.  And ADHD is a bit of a redundant label with ASD. 

Sensory dysfunction can (a relatively new term and not yet officailly dsm) cause hyperness, fidgetting, attention issues.  OT can sometimes help or if it's too much meds.  Hyperthyroidism also can cause hyperness etc... I think when there is nothing else to explain the hyperness, impulseness, and control issues such as sensory or hyperthyroidism, anxiety or fear responses etc. then ADHD is warranted dx.

ADHD's  external symptoms in children can overlap with those who have ASD's but internally they may not have the same intention.

With ABA, attention is one of the first compenents along with compliance.  This doesn't mean it readily transfers itself to a group or is self directed.

Working on social connection and social interest along with pragmatics of speech if your child is verbal.  As well as highlighting how your child is the same as other specific children in stories, movies or in real life. It could start with physical similarities and work into more abstract.  So, he incorporates that skill of identifying connections in other ppl and it lends itself to mutual conversations of interest.   When we recognize what we have in common it is easier to connect and we also become a bit more forgiving of our differences... on both sides.

My ds has an pdd-nos & adhd diagnosis. When in a busy setting or in
school he clearly looks adhd but at home not so much. Personally I am
not so sure about the adhd part of his dx, I think the inability to focus or
break focus and the hyprerness are all part of the asd. Some people say
that adhd is just a continuation of asd.
Anyway - there is a book called the 'the autism adhd connection'. I did
not think it was all that well written but if you are looking for anything
you could check your library ( I did not think it was worth the money
buying).
The other part is medication. My insurance does not offer anything for
the pdd-nos but everytime I see the docs they keep incouraging stimulant
medication for the adhd part. We tried two different medication and my
ds had daylong meltdowns on them. However I have heard that some kids
do actually improve on them so it might be worth a try. Since generally
adhd meds are less likely to work (and more likely to work on a very low
dosag ) I'd strongly recommend getting the prescription from a doc who
is knowledgeable about autism.

Bumping to garner more attention ...

I am wondering if T wil leventually get an ADHD dx ... once she matures past some stuff.  Her symptoms that I would consider autistic are mostly Auditory-sensory ... and we see  them mostly when she is stressed.  I won't say only, but MOSTLY.

Most childern are misdiagnosed adhd but really have a form of autism, SID, dylexia, auditory processing disorder, bipolar.  amberwaves39285.4577430556

Good morning everyone,

One of Ryans main challenges is in his joint attention- which encompasses eye contact, sitting still while engaged in an activity, and just overall hyperactivity. When I look at  where he was a year ago, hes much improved and I think maturity and occupational therapy have helped, but this still continues to be an issue for him.

I have heard that many kids with the pdd-nos diagnosis eventually get an ADHD diagnosis- either in lieu of or in addition to the pdd dx. Ryan is catching up in language every day but his social skills are extremely poor, there is no interest in other kids. I think the attention and hyperactivity play into this too.  Here are my questions:

 Thanks!

 

We monitor my 5 yr son for ADHD. At his last eval by a nuepsyche, she
had told us that a proportion of children on the autistic spectrum exhibit
impairments in the area of attention and executive functioning. In the
next couple of years if his difficulties persist and intensify and contribute
to ongoing challanges in this regard we will see a psycopharmacologist
(suggested by two members on this board) to see if meds will help.

My son has the tendency to test limits and display opposition to work
requests so we have developed ways at directing attention. ABA has been
great at developing joint attention. I can not think of just one or two
specific programs that helped with it however. With the   gradual
mastering of his programs his attention has gotten better. Preschool with
a shadow aide has helped tremendously. For us time will tell.


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