Reply to Which is "worse", major ADHD or minor Aspergers?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Love the way everyone here is dismissing AS.  As the parent and sibling of people with AS I can tell you that cute and quirky becomes something very different in adults.  And the demands of holding a job are very difficult for many people with AS.

As for "labels", a correct diagnosis does far more than get your DC treatment, it gives your DC an understanding of himself and why he is the way he is.  People with AS have elevated rates of depression and suicide for a reason.  My DS has grown up knowing his diagnosis, and not being defined by it, he thinks he's no big deal.  And when his AS causes challenges, he knows why.  I know from my siblings experience, not having a diagnosis, how incredibly important that is.

Also keep in mind that elementary school is the golden age for kids with AS.  The ones who seem to be doing so well can encounter great difficulties in high school and as they go off to college, if they go off to college.

[b]I hope you are being tongue in cheek when you say you expect your DC to attend the same Ivy as his parents.  I have a senior and can tell you how much pressure this creates for any kid.[/b][/quote]

Nope.  Perfectly serious but then our developmental pediatrician had the same reaction.  We also have AS in our family other than my DS who was diagnosed with AS.  DH, his brother, their father, my mother and both my brothers all have AS characteristics and I'm pretty certain would be diagnosed with AS if the diagnosis existed when they were children.  Their AS symptoms are much worse in every way than my DS's.

My brother-in-law is the college professor described earlier on this thread.  Despite the AS, my DH, his brother and their father all attended the same Ivy and graduate schools, became gainfully employed and lead pretty normal lives.  Of the three, grandpa has the worst symptoms and the AS seems to be pretty diluted when it comes to DS although enough to give him an AS diagnosis by everyone who has ever evaluated him including the aforementioned developmental pediatrician, neuropsychs, OT, SLPs, etc.

My mother and one of my brothers are highly gifted in math...  were math prodigies.  My mother is worse than my brother when it comes to AS symptoms.  Everyone was an academic superstar without IEPs or supports.

So that's been my experience with AS:  I don't think of AS as "quirky" (hate that term actually) - it's my "normal."   So I choose to believe my son is perfectly capable of attending the same Ivy as his forbears with all the understanding, supports, and IEP since he hasn't shown me anything so far that shows that he won't be able to.  Let a parent dream...[/quote]

Everybody's AS experience is different. Sometimes its hard to accept for those whose AS experience is starkly more darker, more challenging... who have a hard time reaching "a normal life" with college, a job, and a family.

I'm glad your family with AS did so well.

But for those who have family members who didn't skate on by easily, I think they need to know that they are not alone and that for many people with AS, it doesn't come so easily and the endings aren't as ... the endings sometimes are not Ivy league and for those parents, i think they need to know, thats okay...[/quote]

ITA.  It is different for every family.  I should add that that in addition to AS - where my family members do well - the other disease that runs in our family is schizophrenia and not the misdiagnosed childhood schizophrenia that is probably ASD kind but the seemingly perfectly normal kid until they hit late teens when they start hearing voices.  Thankfully, no one has had both AS/ASD AND schizophrenia: so if given a choice I'll take ASD anyday.  The family members who had schizophrenia did not lead normal lives, far far from it, so I understand what you are talking about.  You hope for the best anyway.

[/quote]

Schizophrenia and ASD and bipolar disorder are likely to share some genes in common. 
http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html

In my family, the things that run with the ASD are: ADHD, depression, bipolar mood disorder, dyslexia, dysgraphia, addiction, alcoholism.

Bipolar is especially disabling in my family. I'd take a kid with an ASD over a kid who develops bipolar any day of the week. [/quote]

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