had neuro appt. still concerns?

[mich97]

Hi i have not posted in a while, in fact had to change my id b/c forgot my other.. I posted before  holidays about concern for my 4 y.o. son who had some senory issues and delays. he is on an IEP at his preschool gets speech (for language/receptive delays) OT for sensory diet. Mainly goes to swing or trampoline to jump if he needs time outs(get that energy out) or sits in cube chair,or has weighted blanket  to help him sit at circle... fine motor skills are average, gross motor is a strength. has lots,lots of energy..Sensory issues he has is he rocks on couch while watching tv (very hard for him to sit still) he occasionaly will do the "hand flap" or a "stim" example while playing he may turn,jump and rub hands up and down legs while making a humming noise (last 3 seconds) then go back to playing.very intuned to peoples emotions..
Will play other toys but is obsessed w/ Thomas the train still. (He will be 5 in May)Have to encourage playing other toys(rescue heroes,spider man) he will but always seems to go back to thomas at some point..plays appropriate w/ trains,imaginary play etc.. He is very social w/ other kids. Plays well if it's of course trains or trucks run around chasing eachother,playground activities,sand box,bike riding ect etc but he does not have the novel language skills to play appropriatlely for his age...In the past he has been known to be sensitive to loud places or people singing but that has improved greatly esp now that he is able to sing along w/ Happy bday..He has been in program since 3 and has made unbelievable gains (teachers say this year he is a different child) but there is still some gaps there w/ his delays etc BTW all teachers have said to me is that he is a "puzzle". one even said to me "he doesn't fit into one category" whatever that means.....anyways...........had my neuro appt. few weeks ago and MD basicaly spent one hour w/ us talked to my son and got my concerns/history then did a physical..
At the end she told me she did not think he has PPD (that was my concern) but did give me a packet on Adhd and said we need to think about this over next few years. We are going back in March b/c she wants to see test that school is doing soon (some IQ test) My husband is annoyed w/ me that I am still concerned or worried she may have misdiagnosed my son.. Is it true he can do these few quirky things and not have the PPD? Maybe he is Adhd w/ some sensory issues and delays?? It's all so confusing..should i get second opinion? listen to my husband and not worry anymore about PPD?  Sorry so long anyone w/ input or experience similiar situation w/ their child...

[mjthewriterdad]

In some cases low doses of an SSRI like Prozac takes the "edge" off some overwelming stimulus in persons with autism/PDD.  

Also sometimes anti-psychotics are indicated for management of manic behavor.
I have a friend whose son with PDD-nos is on Geodon.  

[portuguese mom]

ADHD can be managed with medications, such a Adderall or Ritalin, and with behavior management technics. That is why your doctor probably  told you to read the information about ADHD.  Many parents of ADHD children have a hard time deciding to medicate their children for ADHD.  I do not believe that there are any medications for PDD-Nos or Autism, unless the person with PDD-Nos or Autism also has ADHD. About 40% of children with ADHD outgrow their ADHD symptoms around puberty. I believe that most people with PDD do not outgrow their diagnosis.  ADHD children are also socially delayed, speech delayed and fine/gross motor delayed by 1 to 2 years versus their peers with same age.  Unlike most PDD children, ADHD children that are treated with the correct medication and with behavior management therapy tend to like their peers, have good eye contact and do well from a social point of view. If you want to find out more about ADHD, please check out from your library any of the ADHD books by the ADHD writer Russell A. Barklay. Good luck.

[mjthewriterdad]

Sometimes, the therepies are pretty much the same. But with autism when children are older, they start to differ.  Our daughter had some kind of "point system" behavior mod program that only worked temporaily.  This 2nd grade teacher was more accustomed with add/adhd issues and she learned to "act" better.  That was all it was, just an act.  They didn't address the real issues root causes. Just an example, she gets points for not licking her hands, well, her hands are still dry.  Maybe hand lotion is a more appropriate way to deal with the real issue.  But she There should be more sensory issues addressed.  This is when there are things like sensory integration, or brushing.

[MJIthewriter]

Yes typos are easy to make. I figured out what you were trying to say anyway.

[MJIthewriter]

I think it was just a typo too.

[mich97]

hahahha sorry, i do that all the time i did mean PDD-Nos

[Rachelinpain]

i think she means PDD-nos

[mich97]

thanks for the response...i think i will check into a 2nd opinion. I'm not even sure they'd do anything different w/ his therapies... I've heard that too that ADHD and autism can overlap too.. The neuro MD said b/c my son has a hard time focusing/sitting still in a class room or lets say if there is a lot of "sensory background" other kids,noises,toys etc he is all over the place,energy level goes up and behavior goes bad. Testing one on one w/ teacher/therapist he is great can focus and sit for an hour. She said that CAN be a red flag for the ADHD..I just wonder about these quirky behaviors i mentioned previously..

He is very verbal lets say his expressive speech is behind (for his age) and receptive is also behind..(been testing about one year behind across the board)he does better w/ kids younger then him....

The IQ test(school psychologist will do) was recommended by his teacher now to see what we will do for next year (kindergarten)I want him main streamed (he needs it socially) but he may need an aide in the class to redirect if he is disruptive,and for xtra help and pulled for his Speech The neuro MD also wanted to get an idea what we were looking at in terms of delays..He did pretty well on her "informal test in the office"I too was a little hesitant to do IQ test (in fear he will not do well) but will take w/ a grain of salt and realize he is just 4 years old......

thanks agin for the input

[mjthewriterdad]

what is PPD?

[888mom]

If you want a second opinion, you could try a developmental pediatrician instead of a pediatric neurologist.  You should check with your health insurance and see what they cover and what they don't, and if you are able to get a second opinion (most insurances allow you to).  The developmental pediatrician can diagnose PDD or ADHD as well.  I think they have different methods of diagnosing, but either is qualified to make a diagnosis.  I was recommended by one of my daughter's therapist's when I went in for our visit to go in with a journal of notes, summarized of course, of behaviors that we were concerned about.  She also wrote up a summarization sheet of what she was concerned about.  Anyways, trust your maternal instincts.  One of my daughter's therapists has a son with ADHD who can not sit still.  He also has sensory issues.  She said at one point that there are lots of overlaps between ADHD and autism (because she saw a lot of similarities between my daughter and her son in some of the behavior but her son could not sit still for the life of him where my daughter can).  Some of the sensory integration therapies I do for my daughter, this therapist does for her son with ADHD, so I guess there is a lot of overlap.  Doesn't mean ADHD shouldn't be of any concern.  Anyways, no matter what he has, figuring out therapies that work for him, however they want to label him is most important.  I guess an accurate diagnosis would help you better figure out what works more quickly, though.

IQ test?  Okay, this is all in my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, but I think IQ tests are not great to judge by at a young age unless they break down the IQ between verbal and nonverbal.  If your son is less verbal, he may have better spatial relations and math skills, so don't think your son is stupid because of their stupid IQ test.  It might give you a sense of where is strengths lie and what he needs help on, and maybe they can figure out what type of educational environment would be better for him, or maybe it won't tell you anything, so personally I'd ask the doctor why he wants to do the IQ test and what the information will do for you guys.  I had my IQ tested as a kid because my verbal skills were pretty bad, but my math skills were high.  They were really confused why I was testing in elementary school on those yearly aptitude tests like around 10% in English and above 99% in math and spatial relations, so they wanted to do an IQ test on me.  Just way my brain worked.  I eventually got better on the english because they told my parents to tutor me at home in vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, etc.  So, in that case, the information from the test provided my parents with some useful information.  But if the info ain't going to help, then I'd be skeptical about having it done at so early an age.