I don't understand

[kyrenia]

My daughter is 15 and has been ahandful ever since pre-school. Knowing there was obviously something very wrong we took her to see doctor after doctor who eventually diagnosed her with ADHD. After being on ritalin for several years with no change in volatile and violent behaviour and uncontrollable mood swings she was sent to Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital in London.. who confirmed she did NOT have ADHD but was autistic spectrum They explained she was not completely autistic as she could communicate and her vocabulary was far too good, but in every other aspect she was autistic. So we tried everything . But nothing has helped her and now she lives in a childs home with staff who have no idea how to control her. She has become manipulative, violent, abusive, consistently lies and cannot interact socially with anyone for more than a short period of time. We've tried all we can and failed... is there any other diagnosis possible? I don't believe this is all down to autism.

[Myrna Libby, Ph.D., BCBA]

There is going to be no easy answer to your problems but I do agree with other responders that you need to get your daughter screened and evaluated by people who are knowledgable about both Asperger's and behaviorally-based services.  Applied behavior analysis remains the best documented treatment strategy to date for people who have these kinds of behavioral and emotional issues; however, your daughter should also be evaluated by a developmental pediatrician or pediatric neurologist and or a psychiatrist with experience with disorders that lie on the spectrum to support or rule out that diagnosis. These professionals should also be able to provide you with information about alternative treatment options that exist in the UK.

[Sally44]

As well as looking into Aspergers have you looked at Oppositional Defiance Disorders?  There is also a school (Sutherland School, Nottingham, UK), who also talk about Pathological Demand Avoidance, as being another category of autism.  This school can also carry out diagnostic assessments.  This sub-group tend to be quite capable on some levels, and can be manipulative, violent, devious (eg. involving lying and quite complex avoidance behaviours).
I am not a professional, but I have an autistic son and I think there are alot of things that they are not supposed to be able to do because of their diagnosis which they can do.  For example they are not supposed to have 'Theory of Mind', but my son can lie quite convincingly.
But with autism there is usually alot of frustration on their part because they are struggling to function and navigate themselves through our systems.  But I am sorry that you have found yourself at this point with no real answers.

[MaryannesMom]

She could have Asperger's Syndrome (which is on the autism spectrum & appears as the behaviors you describe), and if the people around her do not understand it, or understand her, it would cause her behavior to be even more unmanageable.  Please research Asperger's Syndrome yourself and see if it sounds like your daugther.  If it does, you need to get in contact with professionals who understand it as well, and get her away from people who do not understand her.  There are online forums for people with Asperger's, like wrongplanet.net, that you could also read to get a further understanding of how they think and feel.  Good luck to you.