Expert: Catherine Ridenour - 3/21/2007

Question
I have a 12 year old who was diagnosed with mild pdd-nos 1 1/2 years ago. He was raised in an abusive home and then in foster care for 2 1/2 years. We have had him for 3 years and adopted him. He has recently been dimissed from counceling but still has aba. He has lately been disobedient doing things that we directly tell him not too and saying I forgot which we do not believe. His aba thinks he has a deep issue and needs to be back in counceling. He has only been out 3 months and his therapist was excellent and knows of many past issues including; adhd, pdd-nos, post traumatic stress disorder, sensory issues. His birth dad was mentally ill and two of his older brothers are odd. Is this a symtom of Autism he has always been this way and he tests everyone constantly but he had gotten better and is at it again. He has absolutely no self control with food, money, even library books and free stuff ( grabbing excessive amounts), very negative attitude and always saying I'll probaly get an F. If this could be bi-polar or? we will want help. We really trust his past therapist that dismissed him. He has had many and she was the only one he made progres with.

Answer
Hi Penny,

All of what you describe fits into the autistic spectrum. Adolescence is a time of testing for all children and those on spectrum have an even rougher time of it.

Lack of self control is typical and persistent. I have found that mild ASD kids are about 3-5 years behind their peers in emotional maturity. Expect him to bounce between his physical age and about seven years old. Lack of self-esteem is usually part of the package, as well. He is used to not measuring up. Focus on his strengths and help him find his passion. If he's a computer whiz, for example, find him a mentor in that area.

Getting him back into therapy with a successful counselor is a good idea. Many spectrum kids can't hold on to their gains unless it is continually reinforced over a very long time.

I have to tell you that ABA has its place, but I wish more effort was put into teaching these kids to think for themselves. While they tend to lack understanding of the feelings of others they can learn to analyze the possible outcomes of their actions. He first needs to identify his own feelings which is something that can be very hard for these kids. It is said that their emotions are less subtle than "normal". That is, they are never annoyed but often furious, for example.

I don't think you are looking at bi-polar disorder. It is often mis-diagnosed in these kids as they can go from zero to 60 in the blink of an eye. Volatility is just part of the syndrome.

Check out some of the information at the following links.

http://www.aspergers.com/Adolesc.htm (adolescence issues)  

http://www.neurodiversity.com/main.html (many links to books, articles and resources)

http://www.patientcenters.com/autism/news/resources.html (books and resources)

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/asperger.htm (the definitions and government links)

http://www.autism.org/temple/meds.html (about medication)

http://www.autism.org/ (many links to information)

Best wishes,
Catherine