-=> Quoting Gary Perkins to Nancy Backus on 06-11-11  13:15 <=-

 GP> By: NANCY BACKUS to SEAN RIMA on Fri Jun 10 2011 12:02 pm
 > ADHD does affect people differently... in some respects it can be a
 > catchall term, with various manifestations...

 GP> A better way to put it might be that ADHD can be symptomatic of a
 GP> larger issue. In my reading, if it manifests with other symptoms, it
 GP> can be anything from an autistic disorder to an improper diet.

I've done some (but not extensive and certainly not exhaustive) reading
on it as well...  True, sometimes it is a symptom.

 GP> Before my research, I just thought my daughter was ADHD.  Then I
 GP> noticed her becoming more aggressive, prone to outbursts, while other
 GP> times seeming down, and so on.  Her mother was diagnosed ADHD when she
 GP> was young, but in adulthood was found to be bipolar, so I thought she
 GP> may be bipolar.  Then I noticed that her social development was a bit
 GP> stunted (she can be described as "odd"), and along with a few other
 GP> small signs, we now think it's Asperger's (which encompasses for
 GP> symptoms the ADHD, bipolar symptoms, social awkwardness, loudness,
 GP> defiance and aggression (frustration, which she has yet to learn to
 GP> handle)). 

And Asperger's is a spectrum, not a specific... at the top of the
autistic spectrum.  I don't envy you your ride.  Your son might have it
too?  There seems to be some evidence that it runs in families...

 GP> After all my research, I believe her mother also has Asperger's; it
 GP> wasn't very well known in our childhood, and it wasn't believed to even
 GP> be possible for a child to have manic depression (now called bipolar
 GP> disorder).  Unfortunately, since we're divorced, my concerns carry very
 GP> little weight with her, and she refuses to believe she even has a
 GP> problem and seek medical, let alone therapeutic, help.

At least you don't have to live with her Asperger's every day... I've
learned some skills in dealing with people with undiagnosed but probable
Asperger's...  Putting a name to it is often the best first step in
cutting down some of the frustrations... not that it gets all that easy,
all the same...

ttyl        neb

... The answer is "maybe" ... and that's semi-final.

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