aspergers syndrome or ADHD?

Question

my 6 year old was diagnosed with ADHD after a long battle with schools, countless trips to counselers and doctors. He was on strattera for 7 months and within the past 3 weeks has started to have tics. The doc is thinking once of strattera they will go away then will start zoloft 25mg. My mother saw a show on discovery health network about aspergers syndrome and said it was like watching my son. Everything he did the kids on the show did also. My son has had many medical problems such as EE bi-lat hernia surgery, multiple allergies and tubes in ears to improve hearing and reduce infections to multiple skin infections. He has fine motor skill problems such as writing and this is his second year in kindergarten. Once he started strattera we and his teachers notices a huge improvement in his behavior and socialization skills and he showed intrest in things other than puzzles and starwars. im not sure what questions to ask doctor about similiar disorders. what should i do?

Answer 1

Take him back to the doctor and have him tested for aspergers. If you feel you need a second opinion, get one!

Answer 2

take your son to a neurologist and a gastrointerologist....

i am a firm believer in adhd is a symptom to an actual disorder...

two diseases that will have adhd as a symptom are:

IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) happens due to a lack of an enzyme in the intestine that regulates the serretonin in the brain (and bowel movements). I would assume going by what you have said, ie, allergies ect, that he would be indicative of constipation type IBS. (when toxins build up in the system many things like rashes and allergies are noticed). Medications such as zoloft would help or should help regulate the serretonin, however, many kids who have tried this approach actually made symptoms worse.

As far as aspergers syndrome, it's likely, but, if strettera has been added along with the zoloft, chances are it is IBS if the medications are working.

It still would not hurt to have him tested for both. You can start by asking your son not to flush the toilet when he has a bowel movement.

You will need to look at several things:

Bowel movement: soft, hard, loose, and size or amount (guestimate)
How many days does he go without a bm (if at all).

Keep a diary of this and if you notice anything abnormal figure out what it is he ate the previous 48 hours. If its IBS you will know just by his bowel movements and you can correlate the effects to certain foods (allergic to certain foods might play a role, not just in IBS, but other allergies as well)

The doctor can also run a blood lab, but the true outcome will be effected because he is already on medications that help the serretonin.

Furthermore, ask the school if they have a social developement class...the sooner you get him interacting the appropiate way the better.

Answer 3

Aspergers is a form of Autisism. My son is 21 years old. I had been thru hell getting help. 1-he was also diagnosed adhd 2-he had some social skills, but as he became older, you can quickly tell/see the difference. 3-I had my son in therapy, psychologist, social worker and psychiatrist.....my days and nights were filled up. 4-how is the sleeping habits? Kids awake more in1 day then anyone person in 3 days. 5-Never stop asking questions.
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Improve aspergers syndrome children's social skills by extinguishing their fear, anxiety, and depression. ... diagnosed as Aspergers syndrome has grown ...www.aspergerssyndrome.net -
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ASPERGER DISORDER HOMEPAGE
www.aspergers.com. by R. Kaan Ozbayrak, MD. since 1/1/1996. What is Asperger's Disorder? ... What are the diagnostic criteria of Asperger's Disorder? ...

www.aspergers.com -
Online Asperger Syndrome Information & Support (OASIS)
Online Asperger Syndrome Information & Support (OASIS) Online Asperger Syndrome Information & Support (OASIS) Developed by a parent of a child diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, this site is directed at educators who teach children with AS, ...
Category: Asperger's Syndrome
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www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger - More from this site

Answer 4

Aspergers is a form of Autism. You can ask the doctor for information regarding Autism / Aspergers Syndrome. You can also do some research online.

Does your health insurance cover Autism? I noticed a lot of insurances don't. That's the tough part.

Your son may need to see a behavioral health specialist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, etc.

Questions to ask your doctor are about your son getting a psychological/neuropsychological examination; (if he hasn't already).

Find out if there are any specific providers in your area that specialize in Autism or even facilities. Here in the state of WA, we have only a select listing of individual doctors and facilities that specialize in Autism.

I am in the Health Insurance Industry, and in the state of WA alone there are many cases of Autism and/or Asperger's Syndrome. Contact your insurance company for resources and maybe have a case manager assigned to your son, so they can help you find resources or information.

A great source is : http://www.autismdigest.com/

Good luck to you and your family. God bless.
Karen

Answer 5

My son has both conditions. Do you have any other children at home? It is harder to diagnose aspergers in a child that is an only child they tend to act out less and they can actually go untill there teen's before they are diagnosed. I was told my son had full blown autism when he was 21/2 but they say now he is just aspegers. If you get them diagnosed early the more chance you have at helping them get all the resource they can get for social behavior and so on. Any questions just email me I will try to help you.

Answer 6

My daughter is autistic and was diagnosed at the age of 3, but they cant make a final decision until they turn 5. Anyways, watch his body language and it he hollers or when he starts bucking something is out of place , With autism everything has to be repetitive over and over and over,,, thats all they understand. The more you do the same routine and the more they start understandin how to better communicate. Ive learned tht thehard way, but for the past 3 years ive worked along the side of my daughters teachers and therapists in learning how she thinks and interacts with differnt things. She is currently on Risperdal we have been thru so many meds its not funny,,,, She was on Ritalin at one time for one day, it made her put her head thru a window. But they say girls act differntly on meds than boys..

Answer 7

Hi,

I'm a 21 year old person suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. Many patients who suffer from this are diagnosed lately in their life. Recognizing characteristics in a younger child is more difficult due to confusion with ADD and ADHD. (see further how to diagnose)

CURE?
Recently I made an astonishing discovery. Some Asperger's Syndrome sufferers, mainly children, would have been healed almost fully by the intake of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's). EFA's might also aid in overcoming ADD and ADHD.

Even though some children showed remarkable progress witin 3-4 weeks, others may not. It is definitely worth the try. EFA's are fully natural and consist of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. There are no side effects. Speak about it with your doctor. This is very important!

The story of an autistic child that was "cured" by EFA's:
http://www.biovita.fi/suomi/terveyssivut/autismi_hope.html

EFA's:
http://www.biovita.fi/english/tuotteet/abc-epa.html

DIAGNOSIS FOR ASPERGER'S SYNDROME
A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

- Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction
- Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
- A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people
- Lack of social or emotional reciprocity

B. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

- Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
- Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
- Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms
- Persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning

D. There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years)

E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood

F. Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.

http://info.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/autism/asdiagnosis.html

(There are more diagnosisses that can be found on the web)

MY EXPERIENCE
I, as a child, experienced language retardation. I was immediately placed in therapy for logopedia. Later, at the age of 6-8, I became obsessed by dinosaurs. I could nearly name every dinosaur. I was also very frustrated. Everytime I came from school, I threw myself on the ground and cried for hours.

Later, in my teenage years, I became very shy and had a severe lack of social contact (even up to today). I acted very clumsy and confused in situations where I was nervous. I avoided any contact, if possible. I had trouble holding eye contact and spoke in the same, low pitch. I also had troubles understanding jokes, body language and symbolic means. Later, I overcame this, but not my lack of social contact.

Even, later, my obsessions became more severe. I started listening to the same song more than 1000 times, I seeked patterns in the stones on the floor, I have reoccuring phantasies and I am obsessed by changing myself. Everytime I would seek a new subject to fulfill my obsession. I would use the internet to look up tons of information on the internet. My obsession also utters itself in washing my hands frequently and doing things in the same order and way repeatedly.

CONCLUSION
Hopefully this gives you an idea of what Asperger's Syndrome's symptoms are. If your child has Asperger's Syndrome, you must first get a diagnosis. Talk to your doctor about EFA's and about the dose. There are certainly no disadvantages in taking them.

Answer 8

You should go to a doctor.