How to tell manipulative or not

amother

Mon, Jun 15 2020, 8:07 pm

So my son is grade school age and he has cone a long way in learning how to get along with all of us. He has ADHD and anxiety and possibly ASD.

Here is my question. He is very rigid. Once he gets an idea into his head he doesn't move. He's works himself into a tizzy over it. So for example he decided he can't eat wile other family members watch certain silly videos. And he just won't eat. He eats a select few foods in general. The things he ate at 3 that he loved he doesn't eat anymore. And of course he eats all types of junk. If you speak about certain things he won't eat bec it grosses him/scares him. He won't let you talk about these things ever. There are other things but too tired to think.

Starting to think maybe it's more serious.
Therapy would be super complicated so really just want resources to figure out starts wrong ahs be able to hep him one my own.

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Jun 15 2020, 8:09 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

what you are describing is ocd. Coupled with the adhd and possible asd, it sounds very much like pandas

amother

Tan

Mon, Jun 15 2020, 8:24 pm

Therapist here. Sounds like sensory/anxiety typical of children with ASD. Sometimes therapy will help, sometimes OT, sometimes ABA and sometimes you need medication. I hope you are receiving services through an agency that has a team to treat this. If so, speak to them or change agencies or seek a psychiatrist. Sometimes a big bribe/behavior chart can help but generally you need a good professional.
PANDAs generally appears suddenly in a child who had little or no similar symptoms previously.

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Jun 15 2020, 8:34 pm

amother [ Tan ] wrote:

your last line is incorrect

anonymrs

Mon, Jun 15 2020, 8:38 pm

amother [ Tan ] wrote:

I have to disagree with your statement that symptoms are sudden-onset. Many parents of children with pandas do not report this. It's possible but not necessary for diagnosis.

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Jun 15 2020, 8:38 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Treating it like OCD made it worse. Could be OCD but it feels more like rigidity and or manipulation, autism

how did you treat it like ocd? Rigidity is a standard ocd symptom. The rigidity in autism can also be ocd. Many kids with asd can also fit the criteria for ocd, they are not mutually exclusive. What’s more, autism, rigidity, adhd, sensory, manipulation, those are all descriptions of behaviors, they say nothing of a cause. But behaviors do have causes. Pandas is a cause. And it causes precisely the behaviors you describe.