The PDD Assessment Scale

[hereidrawtheline]

I saw this linked to when I was catching up here on SN yesterday and today I took the test answering for DS. He got a score of 165 "Severe PDD". I was just wondering what that actually meant?? I know it isnt like a diagnosis as such but any information is helpful for me right now so I am trying to translate it all. I need to know what I am talking about as I am not getting co-operation from doctors. Thanks!

I'm not sure which scale you used, but interestingly I did one again for dd1 this morning, and she scored lower than previously.

Dd1 has not been cured of some of her ASD, but rahter, things change with time.

I think what I am trying to say is that (it would appear to me, with my great insight of 3 years in the autism world ) the toddler years are the hardest, just as with an NT child.

I'm not sure that you can make any predictions of how things will turn out form what score your ds got. I know that last year dd1 scored 150+, and this morning she scored 110. What the assessment is for (imo) is flagging up whether your ds would benefit form intervention, which is something you are already sure about.

sorry, have just read that back, and it sounds quite abrupt, but I'm being hassled (in the nicest possible way) to get off the computer by the girls...

thanks silverfrog no worries about sounding abrupt! God I know what its like to desperately snatch 5 mins on the laptop! DS not not entertain himself! I am only here now because he is at preschool, I leave to collect him in 20 mins.

I took this questionnaire here

I know DS needs a lot of help & clearly ASD I guess what I was wondering is what exactly the PDD scale means. I mean, my understanding from the NAS site is that it is an umbrella term that includes ASD but can also be more things as well. So if you have ASD you will have PDD but you could have PDD but not have ASD. I guess I was wondering if it meant I had hitherto not picked up on some need DS had that this revealed.

I am getting no support whatsoever from the NHS and in fact am now on my 4th referral as each one has been "lost". I am trying to arm myself so as soon as I get in the door I can flatten them into submission!

DS "does" not entertain himself it should read!

Also to add I know without a doubt no one is going to help me help DS. So I am totally in charge of every aspect of it rather than waiting around quietly for the non existent doctors to take an interest.

I think the NHS is brilliant and as I have said before my DH is a manager at our local hospital so I appreciate the job they have is difficult. But in our case they have really let themselves down. They are leaving a young child and his family suffering out of pure negligence.

PDD means pervasive developmental disorder, of which Asperger syndrome and autism are two types. It seems to be a general checklist for the autism spectrum, so is trying to work out how closely a child may match typical autistic behaviour?

Thanks Amber.

Can someone please explain to me what Atypical Autism is?

The PDD test is quite good although having tried a few times over the years, I know how to tweak the answers to get higher/lower scores ! Also, we used to get lower scores when DS1 was non verbal as we could answer 'no' to any of the 'odd speech' questions. Now that he is verbal, we have to say the speech is echolalic and repetitive which means a higher score !

Right! DS is very verbal but has the classic echolalia speech so I think that made his score higher as well. It was funny when I took it he was markedly more "extreme" on the imagination scale.

atypical autism is when it's very similar to autism but has one or two things that are different (could be any one or two things) and they just can't find a better diagnosis.

Right, thanks Amber

another term for atypical autism is Pervasive Developmental Disorder -Not otherwise specified or PDD-NOS which is what my DD has been dx,d with (privately) getting the NHS to dx her is another matter,as they are just concentraing on "oh but shes soo sociable" which she is but on her own terms.

we have been fighting for nearly 3 years go get her a dx and CAMHS have admitted there are "traits" but dont want to seem to go any further than that,but we go on and we shall until we get the dx for her.