What is neuro musculoskeletal disorder?

Autism Spectrum Disorder / Auspergers?

• My son is to see a Neuro Psychologist in June. His Neurologist decided that his diagnosis of ADHD does not quite fit, as he has other things going on. He has the "classic" symptoms of ADHD, but also has some other things going on. He has vocal and motor tics now, has some sensory issues, and is a very smart child. (I'm not just saying this because he is my son) He is in 2nd grade and does math and reading at a 4th grade level. My question is this- what would a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder or Auspergers help us with? Is there a treatment for these disorders? Do you have a child, or know one with this issue? If so, do they do ok as they get older, in school, life, etc.?

• Answer:

  My son who is six years old has been dealing with mental health issues all his life. He was different as a baby. He did not like to be held which I knew was very different as most babies can't be held enough. He was always easily overstimulated by light, noise, smells, all his foods had and have to be bland, certain clothing always bothered him... He had major sensory issues since infancy. He rocked side to side from the time he was two. He used to bang his head when he was two and three years old, but grew out of it. He still had major behavioral issues and always looked confused. He never understood other people's feelings. He was diagnosed ADHD and Bipolar at the age of three. At four years old we made the very hard decision to put him on meds. In his first year of school this year in kindergarten they diagnosed him with Sensory Processing Disorder. We changed psychiatrists to a wonderful doc at a teaching hospital a couple months ago. At my son's first visit with him he said he is clearly PDD (Pervasive Development Disorder which is part of the Autism Spectrum). During a recent psychiatric hospitalization they confirmed that my son has PDD-NOS. They were first thinking he had Asperger's Disorder, but because of his level of confusion they are thinking he is a little more severe than that, but still on the higher functioning end of the spectrum. I talked with the doc at the hospital and asked him how my son could go six years without a diagnosis and he told me that it is not uncommon for this to happen. He told me that because my son talked on time (he never did learn how to converse appropriately and has a certain monotone to his voice but in a loud pitch) and makes a little eye contact (He did this late though) that is why they missed his diagnosis. He said anyone with a trained eye would have seen his other signs though. He said many docs don't know what to look for in high functioning autism and that many cases get misdiagnosed because of this. The doc in the hospital told me that my son will always be a little manic because of his autism. Back when the school told me my son had sensory processing disorder I bought him a weighted blanket. He loves this. It helps calm him and helps him sleep better at night. As I read about Autism weight therapy has been shown to help. Sensory Integration therapy is important with this diagnosis. What can help you? Try the weight therapy. If your son does not have an IEP request testing in all areas. Children with Autism are eligable for services like PT, OT, Speech, Social Skills Training at school and more depending on the individuals symptoms. It is also important to get him into counseling if he is not already. You should also look into a neuropsych evaluation with somebody who is knowledgable about Autism. Genetics testing might be a good idea too. You should Google Autism and your state to find out what other services are available. I live in MA and there are many organizations here to help children with Autism. I have found help with educational advocacy, social skills groups, etc. There also is a special part of the Department of Developmental Disabilities which used to be called DMR in my state that has a whole Autism Division... although they only accept 80 clients at a time. They offer financial assistance for things like parent training, behavioral training, applied behavioral analysis, social skills training, respite, and other things individualized to each client. What I have found helps my son most is a picture schedule I made. Consistancy is very important with autistic children. They need to know when whatever is going to happen. We have a morning routine and a night routine that we do the same each day. I put these on our picture schedule attached to his door. Also on his door is one half of velcro strips and the headings morning activities and afternoon activities. Then I made little cards from Google Images and pictures that I had in the computer of everything we might do. It helped to brainstorm first thinking of all the places we might go, appointments, outings, things he likes to do, his chores, anything else he might do. I put them into five categories and made little envelopes out of paper for them. They are categorized as Daily Activities, Outings and appointments, no school day activities, chores, and active activities. I found most picture I needed on Google Images or for his appointments on the agencies websites. Then I went to WalMart and bought some laminating paper and velcro. I copied and pasted the pictures into my word processer and then underneath I labeled it with what ever activity it was. One word works best for him because he is so young. Then I printed them, cut them, laminated them, and put a little piece of velcro on the back. I put them in the appropriate envelopes I made. Oh and on the envelopes I put two holes with a paper puncher and put string through so we can hang t