If your dc was described as 'spacey' 'away with the fairies' 'daydreamer' and it wasn't ASD then what was it?

[PaulHeymanHairline]

Basically I'm looking at the most recent criteria for ASD diagnosis and I'm not sure my dd fits anymore. I'm not too bothered as she seems to have caught up in school more or less but I'm still concerned as her teachers say she's very much 'not present' during the majority of her lessons.
ASD was first raised when she was 2 and I suppose I've always thought of her in this context, she didn't have a diagnosis but her nursery made special care plans around her sensory needs and anxiety. I didn't mention to them that the health visitors had mentioned it but they independently raised it with me.
The school have been great but even they disagree amongst themselves whether it is ASD or ADD or some other sensory processing thing.
I just wondered if it could be personality. Has anyone else had a similar type of child who hasn't received a diagnosis? And if so then did they grow out of it and become more present or do they continue to live in a sort of half day dreamy state of semi reality.
I have a lot of empathy for my DD as I also spend my time with a sort of internal story playing in my head. I am very creative and think sort of visual images and narratives for things rather than rational plans. I genuinely thought everyone's mind was like this until recently. I am not ASD and I can focus if I need to, it takes a lot of concentration. If I have to do something with numbers or dates I have to work up to it and break it up and I will get 50% of the numbers wrong. Luckily I don't have to di this in my job!

From your OP, the fact that ASD was raised at such a young age and by multiple professionals still suggests ASD as a strong possibility. And girls learn to mask incredibly well.

I see people mentioned ADHD, seizures, dyslexia and dyspraxia already which also seem worth exploring.

I also thought of OCD as a more outside possibility. When it manifests in childhood it's also essentially a neurodevelopmental condition and frequently comorbid with ASD and ADHD. When she seems to be disengaged she could be enacting mental OCD rituals/compulsions. OCD in general is very interlinked with information processing differences - very complex to explain so I won't try! But another one for the list of possibilities.

My comment was based upon what I was told by a paediatrician, so perhaps that's her experience. Statistical evidence doesn't mean much when we know that girls and women with Autism often don't get diagnosed at all.

But yes, I'm completely with you on functioning labels. Functioning labels are an ableist thing designed by NTs so they can decide which people with a disability are the most 'useful' to them. Which doesn't help anyone with a disability.

Functioning labels are an ableist thing designed by NTs so they can decide which people with a disability are the most 'useful' to them. Which doesn't help anyone with a disability. I couldn’t disagree more. The use of levels of “functioning” was originally to help tailor support for autistic people who presented differently to their actual ability. That vital insight has been almost entirely lost by the appropriation of the term by people who did not understand that it referred to IQ not “how easy it is for you to look NT”. When it was originally used it conveyed a very important message. That being, this individual who might appear intellectually impaired actually has normal to high IQ(so is described as High Functioning) OR perhaps this individual has significantly below normal IQ (so Low Functioning)

Quite often, it does.

I concur. I'm 55 and 'away with the fairies' on a regular basis. It's a good place to be. I lead a perfectly ordinary life 😚

I am not autistic, don't have ADHD, and am in no way neurodiverse. I'm just a Pisces, that's all 🤷

I was described as spacey and a day dreamer and not really seeming I present. I didn't like loud noises , too much going on

Turned out I'm profoundly hard of hearing (severe in one ear moderate in other ear) and needed hearing aids . It was mixed type so deteriorated after baby screening hearing tests

it took until I was an adult to be diagnosed as apparently I'm an excellent lip reader and no one noticed ...

@SweetSenorita interesting. It doesn't sound like you've been tested for any neurological disorders though. There's a good reason for diagnostic testing, strangely enough health professionals don't just rely on your star sign. FFS! 🤦🏼‍♀️

I was and am a daydreamer. Like a pp always have some narrative going on in my head. No diagnosis or need to get one. But interestingly, I have two nieces like this and one has dyslexia, the other dyspraxia.

Apparently my mum took me for a hearing test aged 4 because of my dreaminess and I passed with flying colours 😁

Me too @SweetSenorita !

DD2 was like this - to help you, now she has diagnoses of dyspraxia and autism and is on the waiting list for an ADHD assessment. She also has poor auditory processing and some issues with higher level language processing. However she works around these well and is still just holding her own at expected level in terms of schoolwork and she's a sweetie.

That was my thought too

Adhd

Could be epilepsy but it would be for max minutes at a time.

Unless you're ND yourself, you aren't in a position to judge the impact of functioning labels on those they are used about,

And thank you for illustrating my point. There are plenty of autistic people with high IQs who still struggle. Functioning labels are meaningless.

Unless you're ND yourself, you aren't in a position to judge the impact of functioning labels on those they are used about,

Bollocks.

@MyopicBunny (apt name) I don’t need to be ND (though I didn’t state what dx I have/don’t have) to see how it might be a problem for a high functioning autistic (and by that I mean an autistic person who has a normal or high IQ) who doesn’t and can’t pass as nt because they stim/can’t communicate verbally/can’t manage self care, being treated as though their challenges involve a low IQ or Learning Disability. Frankly my sympathies are more with the individuals being sat in front of CBeebies and taught their alphabet on repeat, than with people who are able to express their frustration at people not realising “it’s hard for them too”