#Autism alone can be challenging enough but what happens when your child has other diagnoses?
My kids have multiple diagnoses, ranging from very minor to extremely serious. These comorbidities can make it much more challenging because they can blur the lines between disorders and making it difficult to address the symptoms.
Today’s #Autism discussion is about multiple diagnoses and how they impact your child with. Also, how does it affect your ability to parent?
Does your child with #Autism have additional diagnoses? If so, what are they? Do those additional diagnoses, make things more challenging, and if so, how?
This was posted via WordPress for Android, courtesy of Samsungs Galaxy S III. Please forgive any typos. I do know how to spell but auto-correct hate me.
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@autismfamily What is your experience with natural supplements helping autistic children and teens?
@VickiZerbee ,y 17 yr old has been taking melatonin since he was five. My other son takes an anti-psychotic med. I take sups for eczema
My 16-year-old daughter on Autism Spectrum has Asperger's, ADHD and most serious was born with genetic condition called Galactosemia, http://www.galactosemia.org, this caused us to miss her Autism stuff for long time. Happy to report she is handling all of them quite well, but has been challenging. Biggest issue as parent to handle was accepting the challenges that go along with all these challenges to get over it quickly, hide it and be the cheerleader to make sure she can be the amazing person she is. Learning the Ying Yang of wanting to protect her and protect her…I have to push her & fight her so she will be ready for the world because the world isn't going to treat her special.
She tells us what is going on and how her brain works now so things have gotten a lot easier as she has gotten older. One thing I've noticed as she has aged is her confidence level; it is actually quite high and she doesn't submit to peer pressure. She could care less what is popular, knows what she likes and is finally giving up on the fact that she cannot just do the stuff in school and in this word that she wants to do.
Last, she has gotten to a lot of life's lessons a lot sooner than my other children or I ever did. It was a lot uglier…but she is there.
My oldest has PDD-NOS (high functioning autism), ODD and ADHD, and PANDAS. We think the ODD and ADHD are actually just symptoms of the PANDAS, because they seem to diminish when his PANDAS is under control. The autism will probably always be there to some degree, in my opinion, but he's doing much better this year. My youngest just has PANDAS.
I am not a mum of a child with complex difficulties or multiple diagnoses, but I am lucky to know many of these wonderful people!
I have had the privilege of helping children with a wide range of diagnoses and their families. The most common diagnosis arriving at our door has been Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Aspergers. Many of the children had additional diagnoses that included medical, neurological, genetic and developmental diagnoses.
At BrainChild we are less interested in a label. We want to know what the specific problems are that are affecting your child so we can select the best program and take action to help your child.
We work with the foundations of their problems and this has a positive effect on the whole child.
Did you know that your child's development may be affected by aspects of brain function that are present even before birth? These are so fundamental that they can influence a child’s future development in all areas of functioning ranging from sleep problems, bedwetting, co-ordination, attention and communication problems to aggressive behaviour, anxiety and fears. Your child cannot control the problems because they relate to automatic reflex responses. These difficulties are different expressions of immature brain function. We can help to release your child from the limitations.
Many of our grateful parents want you to know how much their child has improved. We love to hear about their successes. Go to http://blog.brainchild.org.uk to find out what they have to say. Many of them had diagnoses of genetic syndromes, cerebral palsy, ADHD, Language delay, Dyspraxia………..
My son will be 3 next month. He was dx in July of this year and has Hypotonia (low muscle tone), Fine Motor Delay, and Mild ASD. He qualifies for ST, OT and PT. We have started ABA Therapy which has already helped TREMENDOUSLY! The other dx, those issues can easily be worked into his schedule with 40 hrs of ABA Therapy. My husband and I work full time, so coordinating the ST,OT and PT once he turns 3 will be a challenge since they want us to go to the hospital for those services and are only there during hours in which we work! Also, there are no "in-network" providers for those services and our State mandate doesn't say much about those 'other' therapies having to be in-network like they do for ABA. So – it's just a constant battle of wondering if and when things will work out to give your child the best help they need and deserve. Luckily, for us, our son is mild. After reading so many stories of the severity of some children, I'm thankful for my own situation. I still wouldn't change a thing about him. Autism is what makes him who is – and I think it's wonderful. The other delays – well, we are working on those, but he still is who is. LOVE HIM!
@AspieKid My aspie son also has ADHD but my Autistic son only has a plaster allergy besides his Autism.
Good topic! Sam, at 19, is diagnosed with childhood onset bipolar disorder and high functioning autism. The hardest part for me is that in my head I want to know which disorder is at play when he acts out. It makes a difference when you're constantly trying to determine what you need to medicate and why. Some things work either way. Others will only fix one broken issue. The rest is pretty much "who gives a crap" like we need to fix what's broken no matter WHY it's broken."
It took a long time for anyone to look me in the face and say, "Severe Autism." We heard everything from inner ear imbalance, hormone imbalance, vitamin deficiency, failure-to-thrive (even though she weighed 31 lbs at a year). But after finally getting a diagnosis, it took several more years and several appts where I pushed and pushed and said, "I know other kids with autism and they don't act like this." In addition to the autism diagnosis, Carrie has the label of juvenile bipolar disorder. She is now medicated for her manic cycles and I could scream in a rage over the years she spent suffering from uncontrollable emotional roller coaster rides.
UCLA has been doing amazing things with meditation at their Mindful Awareness Research Center (part of the Semel Neuroscience Institute) and autism and ADD… .http://marc.ucla.edu/
My oldest is 30. Besides being diagnosed with Aspergers, he has a seizure disorder & is bi-polar/schizophrenic. He hasn't lived at home since he was 13. The mood swings were too much to handle. He was in and out of hospitals & group homes for years. He has resided at Pilgrim psychiatric hospital in Brentwood, NY for the past 5 years. He is as stable as he is going to be. The roller coaster ride is over. It's such a shame because he is very bright.
my oldest has autism, a cleft palette. speech and language delays due to cleft palette, sensory processing disorder and apraxia.my middle son has asperger's syndrome, speech and language delays and a severe allergy to bug bites.My youngest has facets of autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, OCD, ODD, childhood conduct disorder, anti-social behavior disorder, reactive attachment disorder, severe adhd, and is a diagnosed kleptomaniac. He also has been diagnosed as having frontal lobe brain damage.
As far as psychiatric diagnosis, Anthony is only diagnosed with ADHD and Aspergers Syndrome. But he also has chronic migraines, allergies, and is growth hormone deficient.
My 19 year old is diagnosed with autism, mild mental retardation, convulsive and non-convulsive seizure disorder, OCD, severe anxiety and panic disorder, tic disorder NOS, and some others as well.
My six year old is non verbal, Down Syndrome, Autism, SPD and possible Apraxia.
My 14yr old child is diagnosed with PDD-NOS, Severe Anxiety Disorder, Non verbal Learning Disorder, ADHD, Psychosis-NOS, Fibromyalgia, Sleep apnea, chronic migraines, asthma, as well as, specific learning disorders in reading comprehension and math. Yes, it affects how I parent….I have no idea sometimes which issue is causing behaviors so it is hard to get to the bottom of the problem.