ASD or autism.. whats the difference

[MumOfThreeMonkeys]

dd got her dx 3 weeks ago she also has m/s LD. the lady from early intervention (dd aged 5.4 so not that early ) nade a home visit yesterday. she said dd was dx with autism and not asd, i was not aware that there was a difference??
confused??

also dd behaviour has gone off the rails in the last few weeks.. she also said that this is very common after dx.. she was shocked at the change in her thou, she last seen her 3 weeks ago.. she is getting us some emergency help from ss in the form of a family support worker that specialises in autism also gonna get her some extra ot as well as what she gets at school...

makes me wonder, maybe she is worse than i think

[cyberseraphim]

I think autism is the term used in the dx criteria but it is commonly referred to as a spectrum disorder and obviously she is on the spectrum in that sense. I'm glad you are getting extra help but I can't think of a reason why dx would cause this - sometimes professionals just like to give waffly reasons that make them sound important.

[magso]

Autism is as I understand it a specific diagnosis within the group of autistic spectrum disorders. In some areas autism as a diagnosis carries more weight for educational support whilst the broader term ASD (which includes disorders that do not fully fit the autism diagnosis)is ignored. However I have noticed that people in the ASD world have started using ASD as the 'politically correct' word instead of autism I do not know why!
The paed who diagnosed ds ASD wrote ASD on his diagnosis. The Phychs who assessed him (cars scored v high) but cannot diagnose said he had severe autism. So its all a bit of a muddle to my mind!!

[MumOfThreeMonkeys]

cyber that is my thoughts exactly- how would getting a dx change her as a person we still treat her as we always did because i have always known there was a problem. the lady from ee kept enphasizing the fact that it was autism and not asd just confused me very much . yeah i think its great that we are getting the help, everyone involved with her are a bit shocked by the change, she is absoultly hyper and violent, she attacked my sister on sunday and me on monday.

[MumOfThreeMonkeys]

thanx magso you have made a bit more understandable, like every think in the sn world it confusing- can't they make anything easy for us.

[grumpyoldeeyore]

Its really annoying as professionals use these terms in totally different ways there is no consistency so even if we tell you how these terms are used in our area it could be totally different to yours. We have an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) diagnosis - they have stopped calling it a disorder here as many autistic people think they do not have a disorder just a different way of looking at the world. Unless you get a clear Aspergers diagnosis (no language delay) - everyone gets ASC (even if high functioning autism). However my son could just have easily been diagnosed with moderate-moderately severe classic autism. In the USA they are thinking of changing their criteria so it will all be one spectrum - not the current autism-PDDNOS-eccentric/odd-normal criteria with Aspergers / Retts etc as separate diagnoses. It will all be one spectrum from severe to mild. The important thing to remember is that children move along the spectrum all the time - and that they can be severe in one area (eg language delay) and mild in another (not very repetitive). So my son was diagnosed in July - but since then he has developed language, better eye contact etc so he is already moving to a less severe diagnosis. This is so common in young children that they often don't like to say this is where you are on the spectrum because the children will keep changing. But your worker is wrong to say autism and ASD is different, autism can still be severe, moderate, mild etc - only if a child is very mildly affected would they get a diagnosis of high functioning autism or aspergers around here at a young age. Also don't agree a diagnosis would change her behaviour - that makes no sense at all - if anything now you know what you are dealing with she should be better. I don't think this person sounds like someone you should be relying on for good advice! If you have seen a regression / deterioration go back to paed - might need to rule out something like epileps. But it could just be being back at school as that would fit with timescale??? Might suggest she is finding it hard to cope with demands of fitting in at school? Is she better on a weekend?

[MumOfThreeMonkeys]

thanx for that reply grumpy, my dd only started school on monday as there was a major mix up but thats a whole different thread. her worsening problems in all areas started about a month ago.

[MoonlightMcKenzie]

pmsl at a professional suggeston that children get worse after a diagnosis. I would have thought in that case it was a very good reason not to give one.

I think parents get worse after a diagnosis though, - worse in themselves for a short while and then that is usually redirected at the piss poor provision they are offered subsequently.

[MoonlightMcKenzie]

Mumof I'm sorry sorry you're having a hard time at the moment. This bit is the absolute worst and extremely stressful. Be kind to yourself, accept help etc BUT, do evaluate the effectiveness of that help.

You 'might' be offered all kinds of appointments, support groups etc. but it doesn't mean that they are always right for you and your family and you don't want to waste energy going to something just because it is offered. I think I got a bit tired out at first, dragging my family from one thing to the next hoping that this was something I could do to give my ds the best chance. In actual fact, carefully selecting the 'help' and thinking through my own strategies has been the most effective way of doing things.

[MumOfThreeMonkeys]

thanx moonlight - the advice on here is better support than most groups

[grumpyoldeeyore]

agree about the help only 10% of it been useful in our case. However meeting other parents through our local NAS has been invaluable. If you have a local group think about going along - you will find out so much more useful local info than you will from the professionals.

[magso]

My sons behavior changed when he started school and his autism became much more obvious. I think this was partly developmental (he started to develop verbal communication) partly the difficult enviroment going from constant 1:1 at home to having to sit still and conform and stop when asked (!!none of which he could do)- but mostly the changes in his life!( and ds does not cope well with change). I do not think that he became more severe at that time - just it was not as well disguised! I suspect he has a finite number of mini challenges he can comfortably manage on an average day (getting dressed uses up a lot before he gets to school)!
Maybe your dd coping with changes too - new people ( therapists, teachers assessors) in her life - perhaps more noise- changes in routine. Also I think some children do go through difficult patches often associated with developmental leaps (like the learning the power of asking for what you want ) without yet having learned patience to wait for it!
I found the weeks after diagnosis (even though I expected it) suprisingly difficult. I attended some help courses run by the nas and it did help - even though I am often the only mum with a child with m/sLD. The fight for a statement and sn place left me drained too and I am aware that this has all happened at once for you too so I hope you are OK. Take care - Magso

[claw3]

Would totally agree with Magso, my ds's problems become much more apparent when he started school. Also the older he gets, the more obvious things become, i have found ie things that were age appropriate when he was 4 are no longer age appropriate now.

I also noticed that once i was made aware of his disorder, i started to notice more.

[MumOfThreeMonkeys]

thank you so much magso and claw i totally agree with all you are saying the last few years have been a battle and now im actually taking the time to notice my dd difficultys instead of just talking about them, trying to convince people.

[Denmal]

There is a programme run by the NAS for newly diagnosed parents of ASD kids - it's called 'help' and it runs over a few days; we found it really really helpful when our ds was diagnosed. Type nas in google and it's one of the first to pop up then type in help and you should find it

[MumOfThreeMonkeys]

thanx denmal, ive left my details and they will let me know when something comes up in my area.

dunno if any of you have heard of a lady called Donna Williams, im gonna hear her talk today- she's an australian lady with autism.

[cyberseraphim]

I went to one of her talks last year - It was very interesting. Hope you enjoy it too

[BobbingForPeachys]

According to the ladi I encountered MOnday (on the NICE committee re asd dx for 2011) it should really be autistric spectrum consition now

The way we use it as Uni is asd is the continuum, the autism / HFA /AS the specics

bit like cancer- you have ancer, but also a more specific dx that gives you specifics iyswim?

Our Paed is moving towards asd for as presentations but becuase it is a way to bypass the SSD ban on suport for people with AS, so a functional basis

[BobbingForPeachys]

It will be intruguing what happens if pdd etc fall under \ASD as atm I have a bag full ofseparate dx criteria and tests- wonderif they havea preferred ytest? (big essay on that tro doatm LOL)

I refer to ds1 as asd asalthough he is technically AS (dx isas / hfa) his issuesare generally more in line with a dx of atypical or hfa; ds3 is clearly autism- straight, language delaysetcetcwith regression