pediatrician comment on pdd???

[mich97]

i've posted here several times about my son..he does not have a diagnoses of pdd/on spectrum..he does have some mild sensory issues/language delay/possible adhd..he is 5 now and he is progressing well..his speech/language is progressing nicely..i read sally's post about the criteria and after several consults i am finally believing he is not on the "spectrum"..however, he still is delayed and has some sensory issues that are improving as he gets older..
my concern or i'm confused about his ped. appt. we had last week for his 5 year check up..i went over the last year/progress/development w/ his pediatrician...my son was standoff-ish to the ped. did not want him to touch him (at first,then let him examine him) (he knew he was getting shots so was not happy about being there) anyways, my son was on my lap,hugging me and his ped. said, "if he had pdd he would not let u hold him like that"..i didn't say anything..from everything i've read and from this forum i don't agree w/ that..if i'm wrong someone correct me..i find it frustrating that these pediatricians are not up to date on pdd/spectrum..find it confusing that one md tells u one thing/another tells u the opposite....

[Sally44]

I know, it is very confusing and annoying, especially when our children's lives are in their hands!  My son does hug and is okay about me hugging him.  Didn't Temple Grandin make the cattle squeeze machine for herself so that she could get the deep firm hugs she craved?  Not all children on the spectrum are tactile defensive, and even those that are may not be all the time and their reaction will vary day to day and throughout the day depending on their level of arousal etc.  Or they may tolerate hugs from immediate family only, or from strangers only.  There is no black and white.  There is only a list of behaviours which give an indication of areas of difficulty, but can manifest themselves differently in each child.  For example some autistic children cannot tolerate change in routine and my son is okay with that.  He is usually okay about going somewhere for the first time as well.  However if we are going back to a certain place and he expects something to happen and the programme is different then he will have a tantrum.  
Have you considered getting a private Educational Psychologist report done?  If you contacted a law firm that deals with educational law they should be able to give you details of experts they use.  That might give you a definate diagnosis of either on or off the spectrum.
Are you sure your son has language delay and not disorder?  The different is a child has the possibility of catching up with a delay, but a disorder is something different and lasts a lifetime.  A good Speech and Lanaguage Therapist should be able to tell you if your child is on the autistic spectrum by how their language problems present.
As you are probably aware, sensory issues are not part of the criteria for a diagnosis of autism/aspergers, but I think it will be sometime in the future (which might bring your son onto the spectrum!).
If you cannot afford to do any reports privately, then ask your GP to refer you to a communication centre that specialises in diagnosing autism/aspergers and make the trip however far away it is.

[mich97]

All my reports say it is a delay..I am told that noone knows if he'll reach 100% but b/c the progress he has made there is a good chance...he continues to make progress all the time... He is still behind his peers but His speech is coming in appropriate..He has his own (i forget what they call it) speech..it's not scripted, his imaginitive play  really has taken off ..Just in the last few months..That was always a concern but w/ his speech progress so has his imaginitive play,it's amazing,it's like now he knows how to use words for all that imagination going on in his head..he's very social (always has been) has no problems people touching him, he wrestles w/ his friends,brother etc..transitions fine now..he can have an occasional outburst,but is easily redirected..he's a strong willed kid...
is still auditory sensitive at times (ex. at church when they play music and sing at first he covers his ears first few mins then settles in and is fine w/ the singing)
honestly, at this point i am content w/ just the "delays" for a diagnoses..even if by chance he has been mis-diagnosed by all these specialist i believe he is still getting all the appropriate therapies he would get anyways..he will continue to follow up w/ specialist this fall and be monitored....
i just find it funny how his pediatrician made that statement... after going thru' everything i would think w/ all the children being diagnosed w/ autism/pdd these MD's would be up to date on literature..

[mich97]

just wanted to add he was evaled by school psychologist for his IEP..she never mentioned pdd/autism but i did ask and her opinion was NO he was not on the spectrum....the other specialist was ped. neurologist who says he is a child w/ receptive/expressive delays and mild sensory issues....

[888mom]

You're right about the sensory issues not being part of the criteria for autism/PDD/aspergers!  Why is that not one of the things?  Of course, I might fall under the autism spectrum if that was included.  Or maybe it might exclude people who do have autism and don't have sensory issues?  Am interested in if and when the criteria might be changed, if it ever will in the near future.  I find things take forever to change in life, especially when government is involved.

[Sally44]

Yes, that is what the professionals are saying anyway.  Infact there has always been information about sensory differences from the very beginning of autism being diagnosed, especially autistic people themselves talking about how they experienced their world.  But they just werent listened to, neither the professionals nor the people with autism.  So it is not a new discovery.  There can also be sensory differences without the autism.  But I think that if there are sensory issues within the family circle that that might even be an indicator of a tendency towards autism, especially if there are speech problems as well.  And once you factor in the sensory issues you can see that quite alot of the behaviours we call 'autistic' are actually sensory based.  But on top of that with autism there is still the cognitive function differences which are also tied in with different perceptions.

[888mom]

I wonder if they will account for the differences in how PDD/autism presents itself between the two different genders (boys/girls).  I wonder if autism is underdiagnosed among women.  I have been starting to wonder if I have aspergers.  It would explain a lot of difficulties and problems that I have currently and that I had while growing up.  If they added sensory issues to the list, I would definitely fit the criteria.  Also would explain my husband a great deal as well.  Aspergers diagnosis wasn't made back in the 80s and early 90s when we were in school.  I don't think it was around until 1994?  I was almost out of college at that point. Thing is, I appear to have a lot of friends.  I have a lot of acquaintances.  But not friends.  I do have problems communicating when emotional topics are on the table or if people are in disagreement with me (they always seem to talk around me in circles, and by the time I have figured out what to say, they don't want to talk about it anymore... usually it takes me awhile for something to sink in before the words come to my head).  I think in pictures, feelings, and emotions, and rarely in words, so that makes coming up with the correct thing to say during a real-time conversation difficult.  I guess also the sensory thing ties into the conversation thing as well.  I can converse one on one with people wonderfully.  You had a third person into the mix, and I can't keep track of who said what, and when I can say something.  

So, yeah, I'm a normal person who has lots of acquaintances, I can socialize well enough and get around, I can hold a full-time job.  I hide a lot of things from people or make excuses if I can't go out and do something (I have problems with parties for example and I always have some excuse or another not to go, whether it is migraines or just feeling too tired from lupus symptoms), and in private, I just feel either depression or shame or just feel like I'm a wierdo.  Or I go to parties, and I can sit in a corner, and especially now with my daughter who is overwhelmed by stuff too, I can use her as an excuse.  She legitimately has difficulties as well.  Problem is, you try to explain this to people (I have tried for a couple people), they just don't get it.  They think you should just get over it.  So I hide a whole lot of things and know how to fake a conversation if I've lost track of where we were or don't know what to say (I learned to always ask questions... people love to talk about themselves... which I guess is myself included).  

So do I have aspergers?  Can you have aspergers and appear not to have it?  Or am I just borderline and am normal except for a few odd quirks that I shoudl just grow up and get out of as people who notice them seem to say?

[Sally44]

I think it does affect women differently to men.  Women tend to be more social anyway.  I also think alot is down to individual personality.  I think your off quirks are probably down to personality and traits (some of which could be on the spectrum, but that is probably true of alot of people).  But I also find that those on the spectrum who are high functioning are much more aware of what they can/cannot do.  Whereas so called 'normal' people or institutions can be so inflexible and unaware of that that their behaviour is more autistic than the autistics themselves!