Hi all

Well a quick update on how things are going. We went to the Neurologist who ordered an MRI and an EEG to look for seizures. She is pretty certain that my daughter is having them but they are hard to detect. But looking at what all of us are seeing including teachers and even my daughter it seems verylikely that she is having them.

Also the neurologist diagnosed her with Asperger's. Now the neuropsychologist has diagnosed her with nonverbal learning disability The neuropsych said though that asperger's should strongly be considered. So we aren't exactly sure...she may have both from what we are told. Also she was diagnosed with depression and we have been referred to a psychiatrist for an evaluation. We are also asking the psychiatrist to give a diagnosis of either asperger's or NLD...or both. We would like to know which it is so we know how to get her hte help she needs. It seems as though both are pretty similar and requires the same kind of treatment. Some things may be handled a bit differently so it would be improtant to know in the long run. We have also notified the school and asked for them to do an evaluation but I don't think we're going to get any help from them. I think they've been hiding this for years but because she "got good grades", they didn't feel she had a disability. But from what we see with both asperger's and NLD...having good grades doesn't matter...they still need help in other areas.

So, we're gonna put up a fight and try to get her help. She has been a handful and I do feel bad because I have been getting frustrated with her for years. I wish I would've known what was really going on.

Take care...enjoy the weekend.

Hi Momzpeachy,

Where to start? How old is your daughter? I don't know if it was this post or another as I went back and read a couple of your posts you mentioned that you daughter gets good grades. If she is non-verbal how did she learn to read? I ask a lot of questions. Sorry. I am the mother of an adult autistic daughter who is almost non-verbal. She learned a few sight words because she was not verbal enough to try phonics. When she became a little more verbal I was able to teach her to read.....long story. Lets just say that she had some good school experience and some was a major waste of time.

I can't help you with the other physical problems, but with the Aspergers or Autism, it is mostly a descriptive term so an accurate diagnosis is not that important as the learning disabilities would be treated the same. You may need an accurate diagnoses to get funding though. My daughter was diagnosed with autism by ruling out everything else.

Right now does she talk, read at all, and what grade is she in? What would indicate that she has Aspergers? I would like to help if I can.

Judy

AS and NLD are very similar in nature, but there are key differences, too. I have shades of NLD, and my son, 12 3/4, was dx'ed with autism at 2 1/2. My mom thought I had autism when I was very young because my sensory integration dysfunction resulted in some bizarre behaviors, such as shaking objects in front of my face.

One thing I have noticed that is a huge way to tell is direction ability. I have absolutely none. My son, on the other hand, can get anywhere from anywhere and even corrected me when I made a wrong turn going to his dentist when he was about 7 yo and could barely talk! Auditory memory is also apparently quite sharp in AS kids, where it's classically deficient in those of us who have NLD.

Good luck, whatever you find out. There is help and hope!


LIZARD

Lizzard,

I found that so interesting what you said about a sense of direction. My daughter can tell you which freeway exit to get off when she has been somewhere just once.

I have a problem with getting turned around in buildings. My husband is always leading me out the opposite door of what I think it should be, but what do you think of this one....At night I have this type of Vertigo (Diagnosed it myself LOL) in which I seem to want to go to the right. I don't mean dizzy. I mean my sense of direction will tell me I am going south when I am actually going south-west. My mother seems to have the same problem.

My daughter started getting symptoms of Autism when she was 3 yrs old. When she was 2 1/2 was probably the prime of her young life as she talked in sentences. By the time she was 4 she had lost almost all speech and her toileting skills. She did have a bad virus when she was about 2 1/2.

BTW, Lizzard, nice to see you. I used to post as Sally's Mom and then went to Judy M. I am back. (My daughter is in her late 20's)

Judy

My daughter has an official dx of AS. Buit after a lot of researching I am convinced she actually has NLD. She has no sence of direction too, poor body awareness, poor balance, can asses speed and distance with cars and so crossing roads is not an option for her (she is 19 now). She cant feel time. If you told her to close her eyes and turn around 3 times she would probably fall over. She hasnt been able to extend her math ability into senior levels, she stopped comprehending and managing beyond multiplication/devision addition/subtraction. She also has sensory issues, and has lost most of her fixations and need for routines that mark AS. She has no obsessive topics anymore.