Diagnosing autism in an adult
Thursday January 5, 2006
Parents of children with special needs quickly become familiar with the runaround of testing and assessing and getting diagnoses and reconsidering diagnoses and getting services and advocating and staying on top of everything. It may take a long time to get things right, but you assume at some point that you'll hit the correct combination and put your child on the right track and feel assured that you've done what you can. But what happens when you begin to suspect that your adult child may have a diagnosis you'd never considered? That's the problem faced by a poster on the Parenting Special Needs Forum, who has come to suspect that her 21-year-old daughter -- diagnosed early on with LD and ADD and serviced by the school district accordingly -- may be autistic. What can she do to get that confirmed, and how should she help her daughter? If you have some ideas, or just want to lend support, stop by the forum and share.
Comments
My 24 year old son was diagnosed learning disabled with severe ADD. He on one hand is a genuis. Very smart! On the other had he can not tell a friend how to get to his house. He can’t find the trash can even though we have lived in the same place for 5 years. He is obsessed with film (as art) and can not really talk of much else. He gets one thing on his mind and can not be swayed to thinking any other way. He can’t drive or do many things that other kids can but he does have friends. I know that some say things about him behind his back because they truly don’t understand him. Maybe he does just have ADD but I have always wondered.
My 28 yr. old son has been labeled ADD, ADHD, oppositional disorder, possibly autistic, antisocial, and on and on. From the day he was born I knew as a mother all was not right. He has seen at least 10 professionals without a diffinitive diagnosis or plan for treatment. Where do I find help for him? I can not give up and I am so worried what will happen to him when we are gone. We live in NW Arkansas.
Jo, the About.com guide to Autism has some information on adults and autism that might be helpful. There’s also a good guide to getting a diagnosis on a UK site, The National Autistic Society. Hope this helps.