WAY OT...anyone have experience with PDD

[hannahsmomma]

My dd (6) is going through all kinds of testing and they think she has some type of PDD(Pervasive developmental disorder) All I can find is text book stuff on it and I am searching for some real life help. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who is dealing with this. TIA

 

[mamaminnie]

My DS (8) is PDD-NOS. What questions can I answer for you?

 

[hannahsmomma]

Well I have a ton, but right now I am focusing on school. She is in the first grade and has been struggling. We have her eligibility meeting next week to figure out what will help her. I know she will be getting Occupational Therapy and she all ready receives speech therapy, although I think she would be better off with a language therapists, but that is another bridge to cross. Her biggest problem is paying attention and understanding directions. She has a hard time following more than one step directions. She comes home with a lot of incomplete work and homework takes us hours. I have to walk her through the most basic steps. But, her IQ is perfectly average at 100. Of course she has problems with fitting in and making friends. She also struggles with remembering anything or relaying a story. It could take her 20 minutes to get out a 5 minute story. I really could go on and on...but any suggestions for handling school would be greatly appreciated or any other suggestions for figuring this all out. Oh, and how did you get your diagnosis and what are you doing to treat it? We are considering a couple of therapists right now. Thank you so much for your willingness to answer my questions.

Jaclyn

 

[Forevryoung]

I can answer your "language therapy" statement-

We (speech-langauge pathologists) shorten it to speech therapy for the ease of the students and the parents. We ARE trained to provide language therapy and can write the goals and provide the services as such. We can work on directions and all that stuff you were talking about as well as reading comprehension and literacy. Push for appropriate goals, we know what we are doing.

Feel free to PM me regarding speech/language therapy.

 

[shoegirl1020]

You mentioned you have a meeting next week at school. Does she currently have an IEP (Individual Education Plan)? If not be sure to get one in place. In my community there are a few agencies that will help guide parents and provide a lot of literature on preparing for an IEP.

In regards to your dd needing simple directions-BE SURE, to include that in any plan or IEP. It can be included that directions or instructions are to be in simple, one or two step increments (ie: 1. take off your coat. 2. Hang up your coat. 3. go sit down-instead of take off your coat, hang it up and sit down).

Also we have an agency called Austim Project. I think they are nationwide. They are a wealth of information and resources. Mine even offers classes for kids (social skills, karate, etc). You should give them a call.

Good Luck

 

[hannahsmomma]

Yes, she has an IEP for speech. We did a review of her IEP which included further testing with the scool Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, and the social worker. The meeting next week is to determine what service she qualifies for. Thanks for the advice and I will be sure to check out Autism Project.

 

[mamaminnie]

Some things you may want to consider (outside of the school system)

-A full neuro-psych exam ot testing. These results may help you in the IEP process. Your health insurance may cover this

-A social skills group- Usually run by a speech therapist, these have been very helpful for my ds.

-I still make my DS "playdates", usually no more than 2 kids at a time, usually at our house so I can monitor them. He can't really handle a big group of kids.

-As for medication or treating the PDD, I don't think you can. DS uses a daytrana patch for ADD but there's no pill for autism.

You can PM me with anything wlse if you want,

 

[Nik's Mom]

Hi,
My oldest ds had a diagnosis for PDD for about a year before they switched it to High functioning autism. Definitely come into that meeting with a list of questions and/or requests for your child.

Is she having trouble reading? If so, I have a suggestion. We have been using a workbook called " Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" by Siegfried Engelman and it has been unbelievable! My ds went from sounding out letters to reading short stories after the first 20 lessons. The lessons only take about 15 minutes a day. I was able to find the book on ebay.

Good luck to you and please keep us posted!