diagnosis

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Autism, Parenting, and Summer: Keeping Busy

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com What do we do when my eleven-year-old autistic son Leo is out of school for the summer? We plan, and we keep very, very busy. We rely heavily on visual schedules to structure Leo’s unstructured days. These can be laminated paper (below) or via iPad apps like First-Then Visual Schedule, […]

Selfie of Jean, a white woman with long medium-brown hair, smiling. Background: a body of water and a city skyline.

Jean’s Adult Diagnosis Story

I am very grateful to have this new piece of information about myself. I don’t consider my diagnosis to be an answer to all my life’s problems, nor do I consider it to be a deficit. What I see it as is a new lens to see my behavior through.

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IMFAR 2012: An Update on the ASD DSM-5 Recommendations

Sue Swedo M.D.  Chair, DSM-5 Neurodevelopmental Disorders Workgroup An Update on the DSM-5 Recommendations for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders We spoke with Sue at length both at the IMFAR Stakeholder’s lunch, and after her IMFAR talk. Any errors or omissions in this summary of her talk are on TPGA. -SR —- The

Undeniably Autism: The NY Times and Asperger’s Diagnoses

Sarah MacLeod quarksandquirks.wordpress.com The New York Times recently printed two op-eds questioning the existence of Asperger syndrome. The articles came soon after a flurry of media coverage about upcoming proposed changes to the DSM-V, the newest version of psychiatry’s diagnostic guide. These changes remove Asperger syndrome and PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder — not otherwise specified)

Early Ignorance

Karen Velez solodialogue.wordpress.com My son was diagnosed with autism in April of 2010.  He was almost four years old when we received this news.  It was not the shocking blow that I’ve heard other parents describe.  For me, that blow came at Christmas 2009. To me, my son was always a “sensitive” child.  I never

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PPD-NOS and DSM5

Jon Brock www.crackingtheenigma.blogspot.com/ Some cases of autism are obvious. Anyone who knew anything about autism would agree that the child or adult in question was autistic. Other cases are less clear cut. Indeed, the term “autism spectrum” implies the existence of a continuum that fades gradually into what we think of as the “normal” population.

Joy, Guilt, Tomatoes: Parenting & Autism

Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com My son Jack is a long, lean, boy with an odd gait and a subtle smile. His first diagnosis was benign congenital hypotonia, which was later upped to cerebral palsy, ataxia. He added his autism diagnosis just after he turned three, about the same time he began to walk. He can

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Checking the “Autism” Box

Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com My son was almost three when we realized how much he needed a label. Without an official diagnosis, it would be nearly impossible for him to get services he needed from the county or state. A label is required so bureaucrats can check the correct boxes, which allows everyone to take

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