As in the AUTISM SPECTRUM. This includes Asperger's, even if inclusion of Asperger's in the spectrum is somewhat controversial.
So far there's me, Lamb (kids AND a grandkid), Stoney and Marietta. Am I missing anyone?
I have PsA and my brother has Asperger's.
I believe all of Lamb's children were adopted. My son had some interesting learning disabilities. He had to read through a colored transparency and write on blue paper. It is call Irlene's syndrome. He has no symptoms of Aspergers nor autisim. He is wayyyy social and wants to be an ambassador!
I think the newest diagnostic thing states that Asperger's is part of the Autism Spectrum. Regardless, it's a joy. What an interesting question. And my daughter is not on the spectrum, but likely has ADHD. We just have never gotten her evaluated, as she holds it together well enough at school. But at home? A different story.
Asperger's runs in my side of the family. My sister, my dad, and my paternal grandmother are all classic. We didn't have a name for the family oddities until my son was diagnosed. It was quite a shock. My son is more impaired by his Asperger's than the others in the family.
I have PsA, my eldest has Aspergers. I'm also taking him to the doctor today because he had what appeared to be psoriasis on his elbow (my darn short-term memory ... he told me about it on a Saturday night, I meant to make an appointment, forgot about it by Monday morning, and he didn't mention it again) and now has a couple swollen finger joints.
Count me in...living with PsA and my 9 year old is on the spectrum...is this a correlation, perhaps? My kiddo also has a whacked-out immune system and numerous allergies (food and environmental).
My youngest son has severe ADD, so its like ADHD but with no hyperactivity. He also tests positive for HLA B27 and has Sever’s Disease ( inflammation of the heel bones before they fuse) which he should of grown out of at 20 but still suffers pain when standing too long(?!) He is primarily inattentive and impulsive with his ADD and has been out of work since leaving education. My eldest son is dyspraxic which has caused all sorts of accidents as he is so clumsy…numerous A&E visits and broken bones dislocated joints…this seems to come from my side of the family, brother has undiagnosed ADHA tendencies, eldest brother was also incredibily clumsy…makes you wonder doesn’t it?
My 15 year old son has Aspergers, and I have PsA. Aspergers is still part of the spectrum. The newest DSM has merged it in with Autism, so it is not a seperate diagnosis now. The powers that be have said it has too many characteristics of Austism to be a seperate diagnosis. So now, it is just to what degree a patient has Autism.
Also, someone else asked if there is a correlation, and yes, there is. Studies done have shown that mothers with auto immune diseases have a higher rate of having autistic children than the general population. You can do a google search on it, and tons of information will pop up.
No Autism in my children, I do have a nephew though. As for ADD or ADHD I think I would test ADD and thought so from the time it first became commonly known. But being a child of the 60's I was long out of school by the time that happened.
I don't believe they will find a correlation with this though. My thinking is that Autism is going to be found to be caused by common food ingredients or something so mundane that we never would have thought to look there. But it's probably being covered up because of protecting an entire food industry or chemical company or something. LOL! No, really. I'm not normally a conspiracy theorist but lately I have come to believe our country knows far more than we do about what is going wrong with our health but they are protecting tax $$.
When 10% of the population has "something" there will be all kinds of anecdotal connections to something else especially occuring in a smaller population. making it look pretty convincing that the connection is related especially when parents are looking for a blame/easy fix. I could literally draw a picture as I used to do for my Stats students, but danged if i can figure out how to post it here. In any event "this dog don't hunt"
My guess is that we will discover that a fair amount of ADD, ADHD, and Aspbergers/Spectrum especially in boys will be discovered to be the result of too much pre-school intervention, TV, puters etc and more than anything mislabeling little boys who act like little boys, instead of little boys and little girls being different developmentally and differing learning styles. We put too much on our kids too early. Societies that delay formal learning until later have their students surpass ours (not to mention many fewer "learning problems"
No blame here. My nephew also has asperger's. . . There seems to be a familial pattern in the family. Along with genius!
I have Psa and a son who is in the process of being diagnosed and whos doctors can not agree if he has autism or asperbergers but either why he is on the spectrum. My husband is diagnosed with severe psoriasis and has ADD and our 15 year old has ADHD.... we also have 16, and 13 year old sons and a 2 year old daughter so needless to say life is never boring in our home.
I've had to homeschool my son with Asperger's due to crap school district / not having the energy to fight them. That's a whole 'nother layer. I've got to explain autoimmune disease, homeschooling, AND autism. Whew. I've been part of an online community for years for people homeschooling their kids with Asperger's, BUT so few of them are also dealing with chronic illness.
ilika said:
I'm finding when I'm with the autoimmune group that I have to explain autism. And when I'm with the autism group, I have to explain autoimmunity.
.......
It's just nice to know you other parents are out there. I wish you all lived closer. I could use that kind of peer group right now -- I'm feeling a bit isolated...
I had no idea that there was any connection between autoimmune disorders and ASDs before now. My nine year old son has Aspergers and ADHD. My mother and sister both have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was initially diagnosed with RA in 2010, but now my rheumatologist is thinking it may be psoriatic arthritis instead. This connection is very interesting! Thank you for bringing it to my attention! Its also wonderful to find a group of people who can understand the challenges involved in dealing with both issues!
Well if you want to drive yourself REALLY nuts. The common thread actually seems to be varying forms of celiac disease and Gluten intolerence. NO I'm not one of the diet and Autism folks. I suspect the improvement on Gluten Free is because of less pain......
tiredmama,
An informal survey like this doesn't even imply a connection much less prove one.
How about I ask how many people with PA are Capricorns? I'm one! I bet I would get a bunch of replies!
Before you can draw any conclusion at all, you have to ask how many people with PA are NOT Capricorns. Then you have to compare your result to 1/12 to see if it's even worth doing statistics.
Exactly.
There is SOME statistical linkage between autism spectrum disorders and having relatives with depression, schizophrenia, and learning disabilities. But even that is still being worked on (my family was actually involved in a study on this at the University of Washington).
If you try hard enough, everything can be linked to everything else. Correlation does not equal causation people!
I am a Pisces, not even one Capricorn, even in extended family!
You said, "What does that say about smart people not breeding with other smart people??"
Neither my brother or myself who both have kids w/ Aspergers bred with smart people. So there! My husband is average, and my ex sister-in-law is average as well. Too funny.
ilika said:
WOW! Thanks for responding, everyone. I often feel all by myself out there, the only disabled mom with a spectrum kid -- and am charged up that so many of you chimed in.
I don't necessarily think there's a correlation between autoimmunity and the autism spectrum. It was more of a question of finding people with a common dilemma. I'm finding when I'm with the autoimmune group that I have to explain autism. And when I'm with the autism group, I have to explain autoimmunity.
(And for those of you that like to torture your school districts, especially when they resist helping your kid to the extent that they can, remember that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as it pertains to schools, applies to students, teachers, administrative staff AND AND AND parents/caregivers of students! Don't be afraid to rattle their cages.)
The most troubling thing I'm finding about autism is that it seems to occur in an alarmingly high percentage of parents who are both of far above average intelligence. I live close to Silicon Valley, and the state programs and school districts in the area are virtually overwhelmed with kids on the spectrum. I'm glad I live in the next county... But boy, is that disturbing. What does that say about smart people not breeding with other smart people??
Now I'm even more concerned - lots of autoimmunity and ADD/ADHD out there, too. Nothing like being exhausted all the time and having an active kid with a short attention span.
It's just nice to know you other parents are out there. I wish you all lived closer. I could use that kind of peer group right now -- I'm feeling a bit isolated...