Could my child be misdiognosed???

[nkmpsl]

Hi I am the mother of a great boy who is eight. I am concerned that he has been misdiagnosed or is missing a diagnosis.... He has been diagnosed with severe adhd since he was five years old... He has been on all sorts of medicine as happens and we finally found a good one he takes focalin xr 15mg morn and focalin 5mg afternoon... But since he was five I have seen signs of asbergers he is so sensitive to sounds light tast touch sensations and sight. Plus he has severe social issues examples.. He exibits sensitivity to his clothing sheets towels not all just some.. he doesnt like to be hugged or kissed i know he is eight but this has been for the last three years his sound sensitivity is what keeps my interst in this he is sensitive to moderately loud and loud sounds like when the bus pulls away from the curb he plugs his ears or motercycles etc, his social experiences are fair at best ex when we were coming home from the grocery store he saw the nieghbor boys playing and got so acared that he started hiding behind the cars dashing from car to car so they wouldnt see him... am i wrong or is this not adhd???

Nik

[nkmpsl]

thank you all so much it makes me feel better to know there are some answers i will talk to his psyc if he does not help me ill go to childrens psyc thank you again

nik

[Rachel Thompson, Ph.D., BCBA]

As your post recognizes, Asperger's is characterized by social impairment. Repetitive or stereotyped patterns of behavior are also required. In Asperger's, this second category typically involves strong preoccupations with a particular topic or area of interest. Your description did not mention any such preoccupations. The DSM-IV-TR, the manual that guides diagnosis, indicates that many individuals with Asperger's initially receive a diagnosis of ADHD. I think it would be worthwhile to have your son evaluated to be sure that he is receiving the amount and type of support that he needs. Whether or not he receives a diagnosis, it will be important for you and your son's school to work with him on his social issues.

[Sally44]

You can ask your GP for a referal to a multi disciplinary team that has experience of diagnosing Aspergers.  But for Aspergers he must have had typical language development.  You can also google DSM IV for the diagnostic criteria and see if that sounds relevant.
Alot of what you describe is Sensory Integration Disorder.  That can be a diagnosis in itself, but also accompanies autistic spectrum disorders including aspergers.  
A book that I found very useful was by a woman called Olga Bogdashina called Sensory and Perceptual Differences in Autism and Aspergers.  This will explain more about how they perceive sensory information differently.  Alot of people recommend Tony Attwood books regarding Aspergers because they are easy to read.
I'm not sure about him being afraid of the neighbours boys.  Have they bullied him or teased him in the past?  Or he might have been anxious about this unexpected meeting in the streets and tried to avoid it.