Pdd

Updated on January 23, 2007
A.T. asks from Boston, MA
10 answers

Hi, my son was diagnosed with PDD and ADHD, he is considered "high functioning". He is seven years old and needs extra help in terms of social skills, speech and academics, especially in reading. My son is overly friendly and has a few friends, but most of the kids think he's weird...some of his words don't come out right and at times he's in his own animated world. I'm doing the best that I can at home, I play school with him which is great, and he is currently in an after school program but he is still behind. Should I be doing more? Any suggestions? Thanks

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So What Happened?

Hi, thanks for the quick response...I will talk to the school about changing a few things on his IEP. I'll try the play date thing to...thanks. I'm glad you think my playing school with him is a good thing... some people think it's too much. I'll let you know how it went.

A.

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C.M.

answers from New York on

Hi, my name is Jacqueline A. I also have a son with PDD. He is 3 years old. My son is also considered "high functioning"
My son just started to comunicate with other children.
I know how you feel...I felt helpless. So what I did was I had special teachers who work with children with PDD come to the house for 2-3 a day. It did help. Chris is 3 years old and know how to count and abc's and all his colors and shapes.He is in school full time now with other PDD children. He loves it!!!

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D.F.

answers from Providence on

Hi A.,
I am sorry to hear about your sons problems however I have a 9 yr old who has adhd combined typed, ocd,odd,ptsd,anxiety disorder, sleep disorder, tourettes syndrome associated with severe tic displaysia. So I know exactly what your going through, even though they have these problems it makes them more special than they already are. There really is nothing else you can do except keep positive, these disorders take over and display them selves, it's not easy having a child with problems when it comes to other children because they don't know how to deal with it, as far as kids making fun of him I have been down that route and you just have to explain that our children are different in a special way and you should try to find children for him to play with with similar conditions, I have done that and found my son does so much better then with other children, as far as school goes the school and special ed should be involved working with him and eventually he will progress, good luck with the after school program my sons walked right out of it and no one could find him he hated it so much, he has been hospitalized 2x's because of his conditions and so far the last hospitalizion has worked along with med change.It is definitly ok for your son to play imiginary by himself there safer that way just if you can try to take in some of the conversations he has as he's playing alone with his imiganary friends is what i call them. this is something a child tends to do when they feel left out of the crowd they make up their own friends. I hope I was some help to your questions Good Luck and if you need anything please feel free to contact me.
Sincerly,
D. F

1 mom found this helpful
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C.A.

answers from Lewiston on

oh boy i'd like to think i'm an expert on this..my son too has disabilits and lacks alot of things your child does. what i have done is set up a, parent teacher confrence, with his school and put a plan in place that helps him deal with his lacking. hes in special ed though i dont think they call it that anymore. he also gets the PT and OT and they have a behavior classroom for him. he too has ADHD, is overfriendly, easily frusterated and sometimes too much stimulation makes him lash out. so i have it set up where he splits his time with the regualr classroom and the other thigns he needs. my son doesnt seem to get along with sertain children as well. you have to kind of watch out for that. i'm starting to think my son may have a high function autism too. i also have him in therapy outside of school with a psycologist. this seems to help him deal with anger and frusteration as well. i hope this helps you out. if you have any more questions or woudl like to chat more. feel free to leave me a private message. it seems we have alot in common..my son is almost 8..next week is his b-day!
C.

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J.G.

answers from Springfield on

Hi A.,
First, congrats on taking the time to play with your son. You should check with the school system and see what they offer for support and resources. If he is not on an IEP, get one. If he is, maybe it is time to add to it or change it a bit. www.Wrightslaw.com is a great site that has regulations for special needs, as well as tips on how to get what your child needs. Social growth is key to development and should be implented into his plan, if it hasn't yet. I hope this information helps. Keep up the good work with school and parenting... You are doing great.
Jenn

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W.C.

answers from Bangor on

Ok wow it seems so many moms out here in the area are also dealing with many of the same things i too am. My son is 11 now and has ADHD, bi-polar tendencies, and has or had problems with anger control issues. he also needs extra help at school with social skills speech and everything else. he also is overly friendly and way to outgoing which tends to scare some kids away. He is also taken as being weird cause in alot of ways he acts more like a 9 1/2-10 yr old rather then an 11 1/2. there are some really good programs out there for extra help. you can contact Michelle at the CHarlotte white center ###-###-#### they have helped my son out a lot and another program that they can refer you to use to be called BH1. that program is wonderful, they have workers that will help work with you and will also work with your son and take him out in the community so that he can work on his social skills and many other wonderful things. my son loves his worker they do lots of special activities plus she also has him volunteering at the bangor humane society helping to socialize animals and such cause he loves animals so much. ive seen lots of improvemnt thru that. at school he is what they cal a self contained unit which is similar to special ed but i think is much better. he also sees people there for speech and such. he is in main school for gym and art n music.

i hope some of this helps if you have any question dont be afraid to ask.

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M.K.

answers from Buffalo on

Are you linked up with any other services? Do you have service coordinator? If so, you should talk to him/her about in home res.hab., maybe a program that deals with mentors, such as Compeer, or other such programs. Also, try rec. groups with kids of similar backgrounds. there are plenty out there. Again, talk to your MSC. If you dont have an MSC, GET ONE!

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B.D.

answers from New York on

My daughter has PDD and ADHD and she is 8. This email will be long so bear with me. My daughter is on Ritalin 10mg to counter act the ADHD which she is focusing well and her handwriting is excellent. Now, you need to contact certain agencies: DDD-Division of Disabilites of NJ. www.nj.gov and go under Families. You need a Case Worker to apply for programs that will help your son. This is not for welfare this will help your child. Now there is alot of money and different programs with Autism. (I have recently moved and I am not setup to send you direct links) Next, www.cosac.com they have several clearinghouses for assistance. Next Special Education for the school he is attending if he is attending a school with children of disabilities. Then you need to contact your doctor and have your child to see a Neurodevelopmental Specialist for more assistance and suggestions. Not for nothing you need to do some research for some support groups in your area especially dealing with the feelings on what did I do wrong, why is my child like this, why are there any more programs for assistance, and what can I do to help out. The ARC of Essex and Union counties are doing so much - www.arcessex.org is another website. If you want some more please email me privately - ____@____.com . I am going through the same things but my daughter has one more disability-she is partially blind.

B.

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C.N.

answers from Boston on

Hi can you tell us what PDD is. But all I know is the best thing to give a child is total love and attetion.

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T.S.

answers from Utica on

first let me say WAY TO GO on the full time student ( let alone a law student) Hat is off to you mom, I don't know anything really on PDD and/or ADHD but here's a suggestion about helping with reading, is there any activities that your son likes ( fottball, baseball, science, animal's just for example). if there is get a subscription to magazines of that activity, get books on it. He might not be reading "school" books, but he is reading and getting better at it, also you are making it fun. That is what I had to do to help out my nephew and it worked wonders!! Good luck and once again WTG.

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J.

answers from New York on

Hi. You playing school is a great idea and technique. Is there a way you can get one friend to come over for a play date and model there as well? That way you can back off an dlisten to why they think he is strange. Doe she get speech therapy? You should contact your school psychologist and ask for tips and resources too. There are also many books on both diagnosis and usually have suggestions in both. I like Mel Levine's books and videos. Finally council of exceptional children (cec ) and any other organziation like that have web sites with resources for parents. Many have places you can post there and given its with other parents going through the same things they will give you support. They will have links to specific groups for PDD and ADHD. Wish I could help more.

J.

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