About this blog.

My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 24 months. I created this blog to bring meaning to the often-confusing label. Sometimes I have answers. Other times, just more questions.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Quick Hit

New study reports on what I blogged about here and here: kids are growing out of PDD-NOS. [Via Left Brain/Right Brain]

5 comments:

Patience said...

This is where I have a big problem with early diagnosis that becomes a label in the school system.

A child like mine who was diagnosed and labeled with ASD then became PDD-NOS and would most probably now not have any label.

It took us years to get it removed from her school records and also ruined a lot of her early school experiences and mine because people's expectations of her were generally low because she had a "life long condition' that made her different from you and me.

I know my dd's developmental pediatrician would say that once an autistic always an autistic so I'm sure this study has a ways to go to become mainstream.

However I'm pretty sure in ten years; your ds will be groovin with the crowd and indistinguishable from his peers.

Laura said...

Thanks for your perspective Patience. You are wise. Only time will tell for Brad.

Anonymous said...

That's certainly a hopeful study. A little disheartening for me to read "the presence of seizures" part, but just like you say... Only time will tell. I have great expectations for all our kids.

Anonymous said...

Hi. :)

This may not be the best place to post this comment, but I found your blog via Bonnie Sayers and I just wanted to say "thank you" for blogging in general. I've really appreciated a lot of the information you've shared.

I received a late diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome in Portland last year at the age of 34. It basically ruined much of my childhood and has been since working at ruining the rest of my adulthood as well. I'm really grateful to see concerned parents like yourself taking the time to both thoughtfully investigate the research and the options (which I'm apt to think unfortunately many parents don't), and then on top of that to share that information with the world. Autism was virtually unknown when I was a child in the late 70s, so my mother never heard the term although she did take me to doctors, wondering why a 2yr old would choose to sit and stare at a book without moving for 8 hours at a stretch... among other things you've mentioned in your blog. My childhood was really awful and I'm really grateful that it will be different for your son and children like him in the future. :)

I'm working on learning about the research myself and getting vocational counseling. I'm also interested in what neuroplasticity research has to say about the potential for someone at my age to change my brain function so that I can do more than "just cope". I'm told the research is promising, like this one you've posted.

I've posted a few articles about autism on my otherwise tech blog here in case you're interested: http://ontap.riaforge.org/blog/index.cfm/autism

Laura said...

Ike, thanks for your note. My heart really breaks for the last generation, growing up without a diagnosis. In terms of the mind's malleability, I've read a little bit about what Robison is doing at Beth Israel - fascinating stuff. I'll be interested in reading the results. Best wishes to you.