PDD-NOS: Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified
Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. This is what my son Bashar has. His teacher and a school psychologist have confirmed what tests done two years ago tentatively said. He will be evaluated by a pediatric specialist (psychologist/developmental/behavioral specialist) in October, maybe sooner if my husband can use the “I’m a doctor at Western Psychiatric at UPMC” card to get an earlier appointment. My feelings are all over the place. On one hand, it’s nice to have a name. PDD-NOS is dealt with differently from ADD or ADHD. On the other hand, it feels almost surreal to say “my son is on the autism spectrum”. Now that I think about it, based on what I, his teacher, and the school psychologist have observed, how could I not see it?
Bashar has a tendency to not read other people’s social cues very well. He gets overly stimulated easily. The lack of attention. The tendency to fixate on one subject and talk incessantly about it. The difficulty with body boundaries, especially when dealing with strangers. Come to think of it, some of these traits describe my younger brother, too. Interesting. So today when Bashar talked to me for the millionth time about how one day he and I will go to buy school supplies for his kindergarten, it hit me. That is the PDD-NOS speaking. Be patient. Hug him and tell him that yes, I am joining in his excitement to look for school supplies, markers, crayons, glue sticks, and small scissors for him. It’s been a rough road to get to this point. When he was screened back in June, he scored 20 points lower on the verbal IQ test and about 20 points lower on the non verbal iq test. He is still the same child after a diagnosis as he was before it. I keep telling myself this, hoping that somehow, some way my heart won’t ache so much. It is like I am back to the grieving stage all over again, where I was 2 years ago, and I can’t explain why.
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My daughter is 5 years old, she is been placed in an autistic school since 3 .. now i’m looking to start integrating her to regular ed.. and I’m so scared, but she needs the opportunity to learn form the regular class kids (behaviors) I would love to have someone to talk to, someone who already go through all this. I do feel alone and I’m very scare to make the wrong decisions. but my fear will not stop me from giving my daughter the opportunities she deserve.
Blessings
If everyone could realize these things and truly be affected by them, the world would be an entirely different place.So, tell everyone
I like this concept.
Thank you for your tips!
My grandson has been diagnosed w/ppd-nos at age 3. He is now 4 and my daughter and I need help with potty training. He is doing very well in school, very few behavoral problems, very loving and sweet little boy. Can anyone give us ideas on that topic? He fights us when we take him “potty” for either standing or sitting. Thanks for any advice.
Texas Nana
My son is now 28 and was diagnosed with PPD-NOS when he was about 5 years old. At that time, there was no internet for most people, I couldn’t find any books or articles on the subject. How much I appreciate the writing out there today! And the information available.
My son, too, has had particular interests that have lasted his entire life, and I’ve tried to direct these into hobbies and even ways for him to earn money. He is very creative and artistic and sells his creations now, and I have become more informed about “outsider art.”
My son has also a progressive hearing loss and severe skin infection issues, as well as behavior issues. But we have made great progress over the years and many things that worried me when he was younger sorted themselves out. He’s had a girlfriend now for 5 years, his first real friend. He and his brother (an intellectually gifted 26-year-old) share a special bond and the discrepancies in their lives are obvious but accepted.
I’d like to encourage all the mothers of young PDD-NOS kids to know that you are not alone. For I suspect even with the Internet and great blogs like this, one might still feel quite alone. Stay strong, stay optimistic, be comfortable asking for help, take time for yourself (and don’t feel guilty about it), accentuate the positive, and be the “expert” on your child.
The IQ test only measures cultural awareness, not intelligence, so don’t despair on that front.
@sparkle1202@xanga – I will admit that there are times when I struggle to like my oldest. But I don’t avoid contact with him. I still take him out shopping with me and we take him to social gatherings and such. We’re trying to work with him and teach him what is socially acceptable and what is not. I’m reading a book right now by Temple Grandin, she has autism but has become an expert in a field related to animals/livestock. She talks about her experiences growing up as a child with severe autism and I find myself asking, well, what is it then that is behind my son’s behaviors? I liked something mentioned in that book–take the topic that your child is constantly asking about, and turn it into an asset, rather than a liability. Thanks for stopping by.
My sister is also PDD-NOS. She is 21, but seems as if she has the mind of a 5 year old sometimes. She fixates on certain things and repeats them over and over again, easily gets overstimulated/anxious/angry, throws tantrums in public, doesn’t pick up on social cues, etc etc. The horrible thing is that my parents can barely stand dealing with her and limit their contact with her.. you can see that she understands that they don’t like being around her, which is awful.. it makes me sick. It’s hard enough having a sibling with this disorder.. I can only imagination what it would be like for my child to have PDD, but I hope you deal with it better than my parents have. Best of luck to you.
@MiaHysteria – Thank you for that. I contacted an autism center in my area on Friday. I’m going to contact parent to parent. There is a part of me that is worried about how my son will do at kindergarten. Kids can be cruel. I remember when he was 3, we were just starting the process to get him special ed services, and another child asked me “is he stupid or something”. The constant barrage of questions every minute of every day is a reminder that he is indeed different.
It does seem surreal the first time we ever say those words. As for grief…it continues (at least for me) in cycles:
http://www.generalhysteria.com/2008/12/the-acceptance-of-grief-the-long-version/
Hope that’s helpful.
Mia.