Yes, it is PDD-NOS after all!

We finally got the neuropsych (neuropsychological testing) results and it is PDD-NOS after all! (See the entry “Autism 101: A basic definition” for more on PDD-NOS.) That may sound like I’m happy and someone might be thinking “Has she gone crazy?” but it’s good to finally have one doctor agree with another (see the first entry “Personal Introduction” about our history of testing and diagnosis. And as far as PDD-NOS goes — we knew it’s a high possibility. It is not the end of the world.

In fact, when I made the same remark in the doctor’s office, she emphatically said “Of course not! Just go and take a walk around the MIT campus!” Laughing out loud, but she’s right, and not just regarding the MIT. I suspect a lot of academics, especially the spacey, absent-minded type ones, have some undiagnosed conditions. I work with academics, so I’ve seen these types often enough to wonder about that myself sometimes.

The doctors haven’t recommended many changes to his IEP, they said they were quite impressed with it being so detailed and with the whole “team” at our son’s school. That was good and comforting to hear.

But they did give us a list of books “helpful in explaining and guiding [...] in fostering play.” We’re supposed to encourage him to “just be a kid.” We’ll try…

Oh, and he may have “challenges with higher-order processes such as executive functions.” (No kidding. We have problems with it too.) So we got a title of a book about executive skills as well.

Looks like I have the reading list all cut out for the next several months. (I’ve also been planning to read all the books mentioned in the “Unwrapping the Gift of ADD” series, and there were quite a few of those.)

There’ll be plenty of material for blogging.

Comments

  1. Hi there,

    My 15 year old son was just dx with PDD-NOS yesterday. He has been dx with Aspergers and Nonverbal Learning Disability in the past.

    I’m curious about your IEP. Would you mind posting it on your blog?

    Thanks so much! Kathy

  2. Hi Kathy,

    I’m afraid my son’s IEP will not be of much help or relevance in this case, because your son is almost ten years older than my kid and probably needs completely different accommodations and interventions than a Kindergartner does.

    That said, please see if you can get from your local library network either A Parent’s Guide to Special Education: Insider Advice on How to Navigate the System and Help Your Child Succeed or Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy: The Special Education Survival Guide. Both of these books have a lot of useful tips on developing IEPs and working with the school in general. I hope to be able to write a bit more about them some time soon.

    Good luck!

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