a diagnosis on the horizon?

[tsukikage]

Well... As usual, when I have the most to blog, I do the least blogging, Bad Nastassja.
This morning I had an appointment with my psychiatric nurse, Deb Orman. After I updated her on what had been going on in my life, she started getting strong suspicions that I may have Asberger Syndrome. She wants me to read up on it so I can get a better sense of whether this is me or not.


found here

Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been recognized by professionals and parents.
Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting".
By definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naiveté, those with AS are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying. While language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors." However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.
At this time there is a great deal of debate as to exactly where AS fits. It is presently described as an autism spectrum disorder and Uta Frith, in her book AUTISM AND ASPERGER'S SYNDROME, described AS individuals as "having a dash of Autism". Some professionals feel that AS is the same as High Functioning Autism, while others feel that it is better described as a Nonverbal Learning Disability. AS shares many of the characteristics of PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder; Not otherwise specified), HFA, and NLD and because it was virtually unknown until a few years ago, many individuals either received an incorrect diagnosis or remained undiagnosed. For example, it is not at all uncommon for a child who was initially diagnosed with ADD or ADHD be re-diagnosed with AS. In addition, some individuals who were originally diagnosed with HFA or PDD-NOS are now being given the AS diagnosis and many individuals have a dual diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism.


I'm not sure how I feel about this... I've kind of gotten the sense that treatment for Aspergers basically consists of learning to cope. If I were clearly an ADHD case, I could just take on Ritalin and go on my happy way... But I'm really hoping that having an accurate diagnosis will speed up this "trial and error" process so I can move on with my life more quickly.
We were running out of time at the appointment today, so we didn't really get a chance to discuss what the next step would be. I am going to be taking some tests with John Pribble (sp?) to help with this and other diagnoses... Until then, I'll be seeing a lot of my library card and/or Barnes and Noble.

In other news, five minutes after I sent Dad an e-mail informing him that Patrick and I were considering going the rest of the way on our camping trip, Patrick told me that he had decided he doesn't want to. Yay, embarassment for nothing! I sent Dad another e-mail telling him this, but he'll probably still want to talk to me when he gets home. Blech.

Comments

[o3nsmash.livejournal.com]

My brother has Asperger's Syndrome. It's a pretty mild case, though. Plus, ritalin doesn't work very well for the most part. Plus, it's an amphetamine and it may be too late for it to show positive results.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Do you mean ritalin doesn't work well for ADHD or for Asperger's?

Asperger's

[ladyozma.livejournal.com]

I have two friends with Asperger's kids. They are fascinating. It is on the very high functioning Autism spectrum. The one has a daughter who can play anything by ear after hearing it once. She can't read music to save her life but you hum something and she'll sit at the piano and play it note for note. It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. She watches American Idol religiously.

The other friend has a son who was reading at 2. He's other gifts but we aren't sure where he is going to end up at. He is obsessed with traffic lights and maps. He can tell you how to get anywhere after going once by how many traffic lights there are. You can also tell him where in this town you live and he can tell you how to get there and how many traffic lights it takes.

The intelligence of the Asperger's kids amaze me. I don't know why your article says they are of normal intelligence. Everyone I've heard has talked about how bright Asperger children are. In fact the friend with the little boy obsessed with maps? She tried for several years to get her doctor to change his diagnosis from Autism to Asperger's. He's way too high functioning to be fully Autistic! She has an older son who is very much autistic so it wasn't like she didn't know. But her doctor kept saying, "Ben isn't bright enough. Asperger kids are usually very very intelligent, even more sometimes than Autistic kids." She finally was able to get a recommendation for another specialist and that specialist moved Ben to Asperger's. He's dang cute. He's freaking 6 and I kid you not, I went to see him and he asked where I lived and he said "There are two traffic lights to your house if you go this way but if you go this other way there are three." I was like "Um... OK..." Especially considering one of those ways isn't really a way that his mum would go ANYWHERE so he remembered that from a map.

[angrykeyboarder.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'd never heard of AS till now and I thought I was up on this stuff. Myself I'm Bipolar II and have ADHD. I've also had therapists hint at Borderline Personality Disorder...

Re: Asperger's

[o3nsmash.livejournal.com]

Actually, my brother, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's has had a very different (and nearly polar) experience. He's been struggling a little bit academically, but with interests he's pretty good about them. But that's just one case. In my experience, the kids with more serious diagnosis just have a lot of trouble understanding social situations or communicating with others.

But take this as you want.

- Corey

[o3nsmash.livejournal.com]

I meant, in general. The effects of ritalin for ADHD in adults are different than that in children. As a person gets older ritalin doesn't treat the condition. Also, considering it is an aphetamine, it's not the best treatment.

- Corey

[o3nsmash.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that your psychiatrist thinks you have this condition. I've met a few AS children and you were nowhere as bad as them (including my brother.) When I met you in June, I didn't see it at all. You were very attentive and understood the concept of having a fair conversation. I'm not doctor, but I'm always skeptical of these diagnosises. I think everyone has some of the above symptoms, and it only requires treatable when it gets in the way of treating. But then again I don't really know your situation, so I'm just giving my two-cents.

- Corey

Re: Asperger's

[ladyozma.livejournal.com]

Academics have no bearing on intelligence. Einstein flunked out of school. Just because you "struggle academically" doesn't mean you are not very highly intelligent. From what I've learned about Asperger's, this is common due to the fact that the children are intelligent and let's face it... school is not made for the intelligent. Asperger's is more than just understanding social situations. It deals with how your brain translates the world, which is why it is on the Autism spectrum. The brain does not translate the world the way the "normal" brain does.

For example, a lot of autistic children do not see people's faces. Their brains do not translate "hey those are eyes and that's a nose and that's a mouth...", not like ours do. There are cases when some children just see people almost as a set of stacked blocks or like an artist's crude sketch of a form... the shape is there but not the detail.

This detail is something that asperger's has in common with autism. Which is why those with AS do not do well in social situations. They can function in the world better than an autistic person, but they just don't seem to notice the fine details like say... sarcasm.

I didn't say that my two friends' children aren't struggling in school. That's hardly the case. But I struggled in school because I was bored out of my skull. Well I guess I didn't "struggle" so much as I did what I needed to get by and the rest of the time I sat in the back of the class and I read books. In fourth grade my teacher put me in remedial reading and it drove me up the wall. That was the year I was sent to the principal's office for reading Shakespeare and Homer's The Odyssey in class. (I believe that's the year I read MacBeth but it might have been when I read Midsummer's Night Dream... Maybe I read them both? I don't know, too long ago.)

I don't come anywhere near close to Asperger's, but I can at least relate with some of the issues Asperger's children have. Especially with dealing with peers. I could never cope with my peers for other issues. :)

Re: Asperger's

[o3nsmash.livejournal.com]

All right, I see your point and the academia and intelligence is a whole other can of worms. Either way, in my experience, my brother and the other kids I have met have never really shown any other sort of "intelligence" as compared to your situation. The only intelligence that my brother "knows" is current and popular children's fads such as Yu-gi-oh!, previously Pokemon, and other such cartoon/commercialized game fads.

My point is that I don't really see any corellation between AS children having any really spectacular talents or high intelligence because of the AS.

- Corey

PS "School is not for the intelligent." Depends on the timeframe and the person really. Einstein flunked out because A) the mathematics and sciences were both outdated for him and B) Einstein's intelligence was very connected to academia considering he was involved in teaching and such for a good portion of his life.

[pkat.livejournal.com]

That sounds frighteningly like Steph...the Asperger Syndrome. Still, it seems to me that that is just the way she is. It's part of her personality and she wouldn't be Steph without it. I think that until your emotional and/or mental situation becomes intolorable or painful, I think that it's fine the way it is...who thinks or feels like everyone else, anyways? Who should?

Strangely enough though, from what I know of you, you don't remind me of this. Hm...

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Ah... OK.

Re: Asperger's

[piman.livejournal.com]

Einstein's failure in school is a myth; his school switched grading methods halfway through his years there, and his report cards were misinterpreted by his earlier biographers. In reality, he did fine in mathematics for most of his schooling, high school and university (he did enlist help when designing a new branch of calculus for working with relativity).

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Dr. Orman did say that if I do have AS, that it's definitely not a textbook case. She's pretty sure that I'm somewhere on the autism spectrum, though. Yay "Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified"!