The Autsim Spectrum and ADHD/ADD

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Comment by Charles Shinaver, III on September 23, 2009 at 8:46am

I am a clinical psychologist in Carmel, Indiana. I do Cogmed with people who have ADHD. What is very cool about this is that it is 80% effective in improving attention (by increasing working memory) with double blind placebo controlled studies. It is an alternative to medication and can be done either when someone is on meds or not. Also, I can do this with people out of state because you do the sessions at home over the internet. My oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 8. He has been off meds since he was 10. He is 14 now and he is doing Cogmed. You can read more about his story and mine at www.charlesshinaver.wordpress.com. Please feel free to contact me through charles.shinaver@gmail.com or 317-641-7794. Also, I encourage you to comment on my blog and ask me to cover topics that interest you. One last thing, if you go to www.fitfamilies.com you can watch videos of me covering topics that relate to ADHD. Charles Shinaver, PhD.

Comment by Angie on January 18, 2009 at 8:54pm

wow........I can't beleive that there is not more members than this here? anyone else?

Comment by amy wang on December 12, 2008 at 2:33am

Hi All-
My classmates and I are trying to launch a website geared toward parents of children with special medical needs. It will also be connected to you pediatrician and be interfaced with your child's electronic medical records at the physician's clinic. If you could please fill out this 5 minute survey (1 page + short demographic section), I would be really really grateful!!!
Here's the link:
http://ucla.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_entUAzYju2oIbY0&SVID=Prod
Thanks a million!
Amy

Comment by Nina on October 8, 2008 at 12:03am

HI Girls.
Michael is not on any meds...have talked about it but we and ped decided that, for now, it is not the route to go. He does see a behavioral specialist that helps him/us deal with the "mis-behaviors" and the emtional stuff...
Like Sassy, we have ran the gaunlet of diagnoses...still not sure that he have the right one but it is the closest, explains alot of what is going on w/him
Michael also has cerebral palsy, tho it is very mild. He has done 7 years PT, OT and 3yrs of Speech. And we are considering starting OT and PT again.
Autism was mentioned once when he was about 20mths...however it was only by one dr and, to be quite honest, we didnt think that it was true, we didnt know anything about autism and thought that one must be like Dustin Hoffman in the movie "rain man" to be austic.
My dd is 16mths and has asthma but is advanced for her age. I must say that I am nervous for her to get to 3 or so...worried about what may happen. Yes, I know that I have no control over that and whatnot, but I guess since I'm the mom, I get to worry.
So, anyway, enough babbling for now.
Talk to you both soon
Nina

Comment by Angie on October 7, 2008 at 10:49pm

Yes....My son is on Adderall XR 30 mg. Tenex and Clondine. and my dd is on a new med..Focailin XR..and also Clondine....It was hard to decide..but we did it..it was like trial and error...we tried different meds to see what worked best and this is where we are at now..

Comment by Sassy's Family on October 7, 2008 at 10:39pm

Hi Angie, we moved from eastern Canada (where we are originally from) when my son was 7 and up to that point, we had no answers. He was tested for everything under the sun, although there was never any mention of austim, although I suspected it. Of course he's since been diagnosed with what I mentioned below and that happened when we moved to western Canada. We had lived here for about 8 months when his school put us in contact with the Children's hospital and things went from there. We have since found a great PED and have found many resources to help Ryan get this far - and his schools (he's been to 4 different ones since moving here - have been helpful. Although we are at a standstill on his eating (because of his sensory and tactile issues, his diet is severely limited and mostly pureed foods and has to be supplemented with Ensure) and we are having a hard time finding the help we need in that area. Hopefully his new school (he just started grade 7) can give us some resources to tap into.

Question for all: Are any of your kids on medication? If so, how did you decide that was the right route for you? Or if not, have you considered it? Currently Ryan ISN'T on any meds but his anxieties prevent him from venturing out in life and we know that the older he gets, the further he gets away from being able to relate to his peers. His SM prevents him from (the fear of speaking) talking to peers, teachers, anyone not in his small circle of family. We've talked about medication to lessen his anxiety but haven't gone that route thus far.

Comment by Angie on October 7, 2008 at 10:28pm

Here is my story.....
I have a ds who is 8,,,he has a couple dx's.....1 that stands true is ADHD,,and the others have been debatable.....Autism, Aspbergers, PDD-NOS...non the less...hes got it...no matter what you want to call it...Then I have twin girls who are 5,,,,one excels..the other....well.....ADHD...and MIld autism.....no disagreeing with this dx....how about you guys? have you found the right doctor.....

Comment by Sassy's Family on October 6, 2008 at 8:36pm

Hi Nina and welcome! Look forward to getting to know you and chatting!

Comment by Nina on October 6, 2008 at 8:05pm

Hi
My name is Nina (nine-ah) and my almost 12yr old son is very similar to Sassy!
He doesnt have Selective Mutism but does have DSI and is bright (NASCAR, planes, trains) but again, simple things go over his head.
I would like to find other parents of special needs children to talk to and you both sound like the ones I would like to start with

Comment by Sassy's Family on September 30, 2008 at 8:33pm

Hi all! My youngest son Ryan (12) is not autistic and not classified as being on the autism spectrum BUT does display a few characteristics from the autism spectrum (after being tested). He has been diagnosed (at age 8.5) with Selective Mutism (anxiety disorder) and also Disorder of Sensory Integration (formerly known as Sensory Integration Disorder) and suffers from cognitive delays. He's 12 but overall, about the age of a 7 or 8 year old and displays behavior of a younger child in some instances. He is a very bright child in some areas (technology for instance) but often struggles with the simplest of tasks. I hope to get to know other moms (dads too!) who are raising special needs children - it's nice to share experiences and realize we're not alone. ~Sassy~

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