Symptoms versus diagnosis

[Anonymous]

I realize this is a broad issue, but can a child have motor planning problems, social engagement issues with peers and auditory processing issues and NOT be on the spectrum? I have a friend who swears to me that her son had all the same issues as my daughter, and she had teachers telling her to go for further evaluations, etc. She never did but did do some OT. She said he wold stand in the corner by himself in kindergarten. But now, in fifth grade is on the honor roll and as social as can be.
Are these symptoms sometimes just present in kids that take longer to develop for some reason?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize this is a broad issue, but can a child have motor planning problems, social engagement issues with peers and auditory processing issues and NOT be on the spectrum?

Absolutely.

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who swears to me that her son had all the same issues as my daughter, and she had teachers telling her to go for further evaluations, etc. She never did but did do some OT. She said he wold stand in the corner by himself in kindergarten. But now, in fifth grade is on the honor roll and as social as can be.
Are these symptoms sometimes just present in kids that take longer to develop for some reason?

Yes, sometimes they are. And everybody in the clinical world knows this. However, because early intervention can make such a profound difference in the child's life (whether or not they are actually on the spectrum or just exhibiting strong secondary symptoms that are frequently observed on the spectrum) you have NOTHING to lose by engaging with a good, qualified professional. It is very likely that ASD is over-diagnosed. Having said that, one reason for this is that in casting such a wide net, children who are aren't on the spectrum but are exhibiting secondary symptoms in common with children on the spectrum can get the treatment they need to normalize more quickly. I'd refer you to the first chapter of Dr. Stanley Greenspan's book "Engaging Autism."

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize this is a broad issue, but can a child have motor planning problems, social engagement issues with peers and auditory processing issues and NOT be on the spectrum?

Absolutely.

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who swears to me that her son had all the same issues as my daughter, and she had teachers telling her to go for further evaluations, etc. She never did but did do some OT. She said he wold stand in the corner by himself in kindergarten. But now, in fifth grade is on the honor roll and as social as can be.
Are these symptoms sometimes just present in kids that take longer to develop for some reason?

Yes, sometimes they are. And everybody in the clinical world knows this. However, because early intervention can make such a profound difference in the child's life (whether or not they are actually on the spectrum or just exhibiting strong secondary symptoms that are frequently observed on the spectrum) you have NOTHING to lose by engaging with a good, qualified professional. It is very likely that ASD is over-diagnosed. Having said that, one reason for this is that in casting such a wide net, children who are aren't on the spectrum but are exhibiting secondary symptoms in common with children on the spectrum can get the treatment they need to normalize more quickly. I'd refer you to the first chapter of Dr. Stanley Greenspan's book "Engaging Autism."

Good luck.

I agree completely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize this is a broad issue, but can a child have motor planning problems, social engagement issues with peers and auditory processing issues and NOT be on the spectrum? I have a friend who swears to me that her son had all the same issues as my daughter, and she had teachers telling her to go for further evaluations, etc. She never did but did do some OT. She said he wold stand in the corner by himself in kindergarten. But now, in fifth grade is on the honor roll and as social as can be.
Are these symptoms sometimes just present in kids that take longer to develop for some reason?

OP, you really need more information here. What, exactly did your friend do with her son between K and fifth grade. Lots of ASD and Asperger's (sp?) kids are on the honor roll, so that does not tell you anything. And have you seen her son? How socially adjusted is he? He may be fine, but if he is, I seriously doubt that "a little OT" is all the parent did to transform her child. Parents hide the fact that their child has issues, and hide the things they are doing to ameliorate the problems because they don't want to admit to the world how challenged their child is. We all want our kids to be "normal."

Your child may outgrow some issues, but at this point, you don't know, so it's best to take them seriously and try to head off any future problems with OT or whatever's needed. My child needed OT to learn how to hold a pencil correctly. That little adjustment made a HUGE difference. I'm all for OT, and other interventions, but generally the earlier you do it, the faster and easier it is to deal with and eliminate problems.

[Anonymous]

PP. Oh, and all the OT we did at home. The therapist gave us exercises to do at home, and I supervised them. We checked in for progress reports about every six weeks. You don't have to go once or twice a week, and it's unbelievably expensive if you don't have fantastic insurance.

[Anonymous]

I understand everything you are saying but this is a VERY close friend of mine and that type woman that lays everything on the table. I am not saying that what she did was right but I literally think she avoided further evaluations because she was afraid of what she would find out. I know her son well and he is amazing well adjusted socially. He has a few good friends, he is a bit shy but his friends are close. He has a sense of humor and he is really sweet and well balanced. When he was younger he was a loner, was asked to repeat kindergarten and took a long time to read. She did nothing more than in school OT and had him given longer time for tests (based on his IEP). Yes, she did do an IEP, and he sat near the teacher for years. He no longer has an IEP, but I find it remarkable that without any social groups or forced playdates, he just got it on his own. Kind of like the book, "look me in the eye."

I am a HUGE believer in early intervention, But I'm wondering what percentage of kids do just get better?

[Anonymous]

There is a concept called a "shadow syndrome"; kids who have many or all of the hallmarks of a diagnosis, but with less severity and therefor not rising to the level of a diagnosis. Perhaps your friend's child falls in that category. Kids with a "shadow syndrome" will benefit from intervention, but need less intensity/duration and have a higher chance of "outgrowing" the symptoms.

[Anonymous]

I have a brother with Aspergers who never got any intervention. He is socially "incompetent" and it is a sheer miracle that he is engaged to a woman who can deal with him. Growing up with him was very hard because he was such a loner and would say very inappropriate hurtful things to me (we're very close in age) I suffered from that and I know for a fact that he suffered. He would have benefitted from some sort of intervention, something early on that would have helped him in social settings. His grades were always lower than his actual exams because he did not participate in the classroom.

I have a 4 year old son who is on the autism spectrum. We started intervention at 26 months of age, starting with speech and then with OT. We enrolled him in an autism program. He is thriving and is literally not the same kid anymore. He had a very serious stage of regression at the age of 14 months until about 19 months when he went completely silent and was withdrawn. He didn't tolerate solid food anymore. He slowly got out of it when we spent lots of one-on-one time to get him to say his first word (well his 2nd first word, he had words before he was 14 months)

That being said, the diagnosis is a guidance for a treatment plan. Nothing else. It does not define my child but it helps understanding why my child does the things he does. It will help my daughter understand him better. I never understood my brother. If a child shows enough red flags, I think the wait and see approach is unwarranted. I don't think my child would have outgrown anything. He needs the diagnosis specific treatment and I needed guidelines to deal with his behavior.

[Anonymous]

ABSOLUTELY!

[Anonymous]

ABSOLUTELY! you described DS precisely. It may look like autism sometimes but it's not. He was dx by the best in the psychiatric business, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, the autism genius. After evaluating him he told us DS was not autistic at all. But DS has auditory processing issues. He used to not answer to his name many times. He has sensory issues. He has problems socializing. He is sweet and warm and nonaggressive but doesn't have enough focus on his peer/play date. Apparently there are very very clear distinctions between autism and regulatory issues. All kids with autism have regulatory issues. But not kids with regulatory issues have autism. DS falls into the latter category and maybe yours does to.

Dr. Greenspan is in Bethesda btw. He's pricey for sure but well worth the big initial fee. Good luck with everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ABSOLUTELY! you described DS precisely. It may look like autism sometimes but it's not. He was dx by the best in the psychiatric business, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, the autism genius. After evaluating him he told us DS was not autistic at all. But DS has auditory processing issues. He used to not answer to his name many times. He has sensory issues. He has problems socializing. He is sweet and warm and nonaggressive but doesn't have enough focus on his peer/play date. Apparently there are very very clear distinctions between autism and regulatory issues. All kids with autism have regulatory issues. But not kids with regulatory issues have autism. DS falls into the latter category and maybe yours does to.

Dr. Greenspan is in Bethesda btw. He's pricey for sure but well worth the big initial fee. Good luck with everything.

PP, you just described my DD to a T. I've read Greenspan's book btw, and based on his description I know in my gut she is NOT on the spectrum. Now here's the quandary: I'm not sure I have a problem with the Aspie diagnosis for the time being as it brings a boatload of exactly the services I want to get. With the diagnosis I don't have to fight so hard for them. So am I wrong in not fighting the diagnosis for now?

[Anonymous]

Who is paying for the services? insurance, or a county, or someone else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ABSOLUTELY! you described DS precisely. It may look like autism sometimes but it's not. He was dx by the best in the psychiatric business, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, the autism genius. After evaluating him he told us DS was not autistic at all. But DS has auditory processing issues. He used to not answer to his name many times. He has sensory issues. He has problems socializing. He is sweet and warm and nonaggressive but doesn't have enough focus on his peer/play date. Apparently there are very very clear distinctions between autism and regulatory issues. All kids with autism have regulatory issues. But not kids with regulatory issues have autism. DS falls into the latter category and maybe yours does to.

Dr. Greenspan is in Bethesda btw. He's pricey for sure but well worth the big initial fee. Good luck with everything.

PP, you just described my DD to a T. I've read Greenspan's book btw, and based on his description I know in my gut she is NOT on the spectrum. Now here's the quandary: I'm not sure I have a problem with the Aspie diagnosis for the time being as it brings a boatload of exactly the services I want to get. With the diagnosis I don't have to fight so hard for them. So am I wrong in not fighting the diagnosis for now?

[Anonymous]

22:38 here.

Let me make this clear, she A) DEFINITELY currently qualifies for the diagnosis at the present time and B) DEFINITELY needs the services or else cannot engage academically. She will not easily just grow out of it on her own any time soon. I just strongly believe that she will in fact grow out of it -- assuming she receive the proper therapies, for which she does currently qualify.