Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Asperger's - "20% grow out of it"

That's a good idea, I will write up a log and send it with the GADS. I am not sure what tests have been given so far or if we are done with testing, DD was there for 6.5 hours and at the end the diagnostician said she didn't observe anything that would lead her to question AS but since I had listed that as a concern on the paperwork she gave me the GADS to take home and mail in.

In the waiting room I saw an article on ADHD and sleep issues which I commented on because it said the typical person with ADHD has an internal clock causing them to prefer to sleep 4am til noon which is spot on for my DD. The Diagnostician then said she did see some things that raised flags for ADD/ADHD and then described her grown daughter who has ADHD so I am guessing that is probably where she will head with the diagnosis. We will meet on Valentines day to discuss the results. I suspect if they feel the GADS warrants it, there will be more testing since they initially quoted 2 prices: one with, and one without the AS test and they charged me sans AS testing.

DD has only had one conflict with a teacher that I am aware of (I too had trouble with that teacher but that is a whole 'nother story), that was over 2 years ago. She does seem to have trouble with missing deadlines/not turning stuff in though. I have been inclined to think this was mostly by choice in less than stimulating educational settings where she deemed the "missing" work to be pointless busywork but I could be wrong.

This may sound awful but one thing I worry about is that because my DD is highly intelligent, somewhat manipulative and quite an actress, I don't know for sure how real on uncontrollable some of her issues are. I know she reads about the different exceptionalities so she knows what traits are typical for which diagnosis. I believe she has studied them in order to help herself figure out her own issues and I may be being overly pessimistic, but it seems that some (not all) of her issues have developed/become worse lately. I don't think she ever had meltdown tantrums or overt displays of anger in public like she does at home but the at home stuff seems to be getting worse. Maybe it's just teen hormones adding to the mix, or the fact that I am suddenly so much more involved now that I am not working and she resents the new level of "supervision".

Gee this is long, I guess I should start my own post on this...

Hi Nik,

AS and ADHD can be very hard to distinguish, especially in girls/women. And sometimes they co-occur. I hope your tester has a lot of experience with both spectrum and attention issues.

In your shoes I'd phone them about the GADS and ask them the question you posted here about how you should fill it out... see what they tell you to do. Especially since there is a lot riding on it (whether they decide to test further or not) you surely want to do it accurately.

Our practitioners use the ADOS as the best test for distinguishing who's on the spectrum, not GADS. The ADOS is more thorough and has different modules that are tailored to different age groups; it may be more appropriate for your DD. It doesn't take long to give (45 min.) and is very informative.

If she's spending time reading about diagnoses, she may just be trying to figure out why she's different. This is tough stuff at any age, harder for a teenager. Having an accurate diagnosis (if one is appropriate) might help her start to make sense of her difficulties. I'd find it unlikely that she's purposefully mimicking a disorder, though I suppose anything's possible.

If she is highly anxious or impulsive, some behaviors may look "chosen" that are really driven by anxiety or impulsivity. Our DS is like that; sometimes his choices are wholly unreasonable from others' perspective. It is very frustrating for the people around him; it looks like sheer manipulation, but he's sometimes terrified and behaving accordingly. Anxiety meds and attention meds both made a difference for him, as did behavior therapy.

HTH
DeeDee

Interesting, my DD has claimed many times that she doesn't know the meaning of the word stress and has never felt it. (She loves to take tests and does very well on them, even the ACT and SAT, she never bothered to study for either yet she did really well). The Diagnostician told me however, that my DD has loads of anxiety and that she observed especially extreme anxiety during the writing portion of the test. The extreme behaviors at home seem to be related to discussions of work progress (or lack thereof) and/or the dreaded taking away of the laptop (like taking heroine from a junkie).

I'll call the center tomorrow for help with the GADS if the freeze doesn't shut everything down again. I am now hung up on all of the cognitive development questions: "Does child learn like average children?" etc yes or no. Of course the answer is no but only because she is so far beyond average, but I suspect they will interpret "no" to mean she doesn't learn as well as average children...sigh...I am not very impressed with this test.

Nik, our DS8 has Asperger's and had a hard time learning to identify his own emotions. He just didn't always connect how his body feels (heart pounding, etc.) with the words we used for those feelings (stress). Learning to deal with anxiety has been in part a process of learning to recognize how he's feeling so he can manage himself effectively.


She sounds really frustrated. Is she "stuck" on the laptop? (i.e. at the expense of other things a person her age should do?)


Me neither. I hope the tester will understand the inappropriateness of these questions to your DD's particular situation...

DeeDee

Hahaha, that's the big question: what things should a person her age do? As she has pointed out, around here most people her age are pregnant, smoking, drinking, getting tattoos and piercings, doing drugs, making drugs (meth) or working at becoming pregnant. So her laptop and cola addictions really pale in comparison.

She was doing volunteer work twice a week until the college classes started and now she is driving herself to school 5 days a week (50 miles away) and Karate, and she does practice her musical instruments, but I would say that she still spends 8-10 hours a day on the lap top and if I don't take it away, she'll be up all night on it and sometimes has trouble getting up in the morning. It's like she has no control over it so I am taking it away in the evening which isn't going well. We are in a rural town and she has no friends here other than her online ones scattered around the globe so I can understand a need for a certain amount of interaction online but I think most of the time is spent playing games and watching TV shows. I never let my girls watch more than a couple hours of TV but after my ex bought them laptops a couple years ago it became a huge struggle since they believe I have no right to take them away. The battle continues...

I'll say. She must feel like a fish out of water with those peers.


I'd be concerned too. Even if it's "social" time, that's too much if she can't regulate it.

This is tough stuff-- I hope you get good answers from the eval.

Best,
DeeDee