Getting a non-ASD child an ASD diagnosis to qualify for ABA

amother

Seafoam

Mon, May 13 2024, 8:38 am

Realstuff wrote:

This sounds like my son exactly.hes brilliant…I was advised to get him a diagnosis for the ABA services…got him the diagnosis and found this very beneficial for my son ….also in NY all diagnosis in this area go away at 5yrs and everything is retested.so I went based off that.bechasdei hashem I also was able to put him in the non mainstream preschool but one with aba trained paras teachers etc.ot rooms etc. I’m very grateful we have the opportunity and I get asked all the time how I pulled it off,no one really knows he has a diagnosis

That sounds like a real diagnosis and there nothing wrong with that. If a child qualifies for an ASD diagnosis, they qualify. And there is a lot of overlap between ASD and ADHD.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, May 13 2024, 8:40 am

miami85 wrote:

In my mind ABSOLUTELY. Every kid in my school that has any kind of extreme behavior pattern comes back to us with an ASD diagnosis and it drives me crazy. I've tried explaining to parents that it is a behavioral diagnosis so they can go get behavioral health services, but if they press me on it then I have to evaluate for it, and for many kids with severe ADHD (aka Ring of Fire) there is very little that can tease out the two. In one year I think I had 4-5 cases (3 in one week) where it was literally a "red herring" evaluation that involves a lot of people and a lot of pieces to compile all because a doctor said "autism" and the kid was MAYBE ADHD, maybe an OCD, maybe some other neurotic condition based on family history (drug abuse, bi-polar, anxiety etc.) but having worked with real autism and seeing how they need the conditioning and reinforcement, calling all these cases "level 1 autism"--who does it help? The whole point of "level 1" is that it is "mild" and does not necessarily need interventions. But when I see kids misplaced in special education and not getting the right services just because they got an "ASD" diagnosis, it drives me crazy. I had a student who I am 99% sure was really a case of "non-verbal apraxia" but placed in a TEACCH classroom and she would act out every time she was "forced" to follow her visual schedule because she could not verbally communicate that she wanted to do something else. She would look us in the eye as she would run to turn off the lights of the classroom--because she could not talk. TEACCH and ABA are not the right curricula for kids with Apraxia because they cannot always perform skills on command and therefore get frustrated when they don't make progress in their programs.

This year I had a student where the outside agency literally wrote "ICD 84.0 (autism) student displays symptoms of ADHD."--it's like is this a mistake? Or are you in the clinical opinion (which has not been a firm conclusion in the research) that ADHD is on the Autistic Spectrum? Meanwhile we did a full ASD evaluation, the kid has clear signs of ADHD, and we made her eligible as such.

With severe ADHD, ASD is often comorbid.

amother

Cinnamon

Mon, May 13 2024, 8:47 am

amother OP wrote:

I’m actually considering this. He loves sugar. He wakes up and goes to sleep asking for treats. He does eat his meals well, but is stubborn and incessant about cookies and candies. Not sure I’ll have the commitment for two weeks (shabbos party?!!) but I’m curious enough to try.

I'm curious as to whether he has had strep often- reason why I'm asking is because the way you describe him is reminding me of my son.
My son did not have strep that often or at least we didn't catch it that often, was getting out of control with diagnosis of PTSD and Anxiety blamed on covid related traumas etc. Primary dr refused to do bloodwork. Last summer (my son was 7) the school called down a top psychologist who recommended DBT training for myself and my son, which did help with reducing behaviors and accepting the situation and my child for who he is. From ages 5-7 it just got worse and worse, we did every therapy possible and the DBT therapist and primary dr were suggesting psychiatrist. My son would be much better whenever he was on antibiotics. Primary Dr does not believe in PANDAS and kept on saying the timeline matches for the diagnosis. I wanted more testing prior to going on psychiatric medications....
I finally went to a random PA, got bloodwork done and the strep numbers where through the roof. Went to a PA that I trust very much with the results, my son is on azithromycin for the last 3 months and is literally a different child, so much so that when he had testing for next year services they cut hours and removed services! Which is bittersweet, I'm happy he made so much progress but concerned that he needs the intervention to continue to progress. So we are looking into ways to make sure he is set up for the coming year with enough support. He is now on a half a dose and will go to quarter dose soon, iyH. PA is also suggesting strong probiotic that targets throat to prevent reinfection.

Basically long long story short, my other child with disabilities presented so black and white clear cut that I just trusted my Primary Dr and it worked. This one my gut was telling me to do bloodwork for so long and my dr just kept saying add more counseling, add more therapy and so on. My son had art therapy, counseling in school, DBT, OT, PT, Speech, craniosacrel, reflex intergration, aquatherapy etc etc. Some helped manage the symptoms, some were a safe place where he learned he was a good kid that people enjoyed talking to, which was an extremely valuable thing for him but did not actually get to the root of the problem. I am in the field, had access to top providers and networking with colleagues and this did not change the outcome until I finally listened to my gut intuition.

Listen to your gut.

Anonymous out of respect for my kiddo, but open to PM if you need.

amother

Aubergine

Mon, May 13 2024, 9:19 am

amother Cantaloupe wrote:

Can anyone help me I Live in BROOKLYN
Who can I go to to get NEUROPYCH done
Can anyone explain the process
Does it cost $ ?
I dont know anything
What is done at the eval
How long is it
Im Not just looking for a diagnosis Im looking of someone who will actuslly pin point the exact problem and direct me how to help my child

Posted in a local special needs group:

My Brooklyn based clinic has openings for Neuropsycological evaluations. We accept Medicaid and private pay.

Please email evaluations@crowncounseling.com with any inquiries.

amother

Mon, May 13 2024, 3:10 pm

amother Cinnamon wrote:

He’s never had strep… although my other son who I truly believe needs help, (we keep running up dead ends) has had ear infections non stop as a baby. I don’t know if that means anything, but I’d love an easier answer!

miami85

Wed, May 22 2024, 2:32 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

With severe ADHD, ASD is often comorbid.

There is newer research further breaking ADHD into 7 subcategories which I think makes much more sense than just "comorbid". There's now "hyperfocus" and "ring of fire"--which is closer related to other psychoses than ASD.

It's often labeled as "ASD" because of the vague language in the DSM-5 that just uses the word "deficit" without a clear marker of what is considered a "deficit"--because a lot of annoying behaviors in kids--are actually age appropriate depending on what it is and severity, like "stubborn" or "defiant".

I once got told by an ABA therapist working with a 2-year old (when all the other diagnostics--adaptive, cognitive, speech and langauge eval etc. were coming out average) "She's so self-directed and stubborn"--and I responded "Yes, she's 2"

I often see it as originating from different parts of the brain, but because Insurances will only cover behavior services for ASD, that's the go-to diagnostic code. They dont' take into account other functions of the behaviors. To them a "hand flap" is a "hand flap" or repetitive motion--but I've seen it be different in children with clear autism vs sometimes it can be a form of communication.

I don't like that the diagnostics don't factor in NORMAL and TYPICAL behaviors for certain developmental periods or that somethings are socially conditioned, or the Sensory issues can be found in neurotypical individuals as well as autistic or can be triggered by other neuroses like OCD or Bi-Polar or other personality disroders.