Tag Archives: PDD-NOS

What To Do When Someone Hurts

Posted on February 11, 2014 by | 25 comments

When Emma was just two years old she was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified or PDD-NOS, which is the “it-may-be-autism-but-we-can’t-be-sure-maybe-she’s-just-a-bit-different-so-let’s-just-wait-and-see-what-happens-before-we-say-it’s-autism” diagnosis.  Two years later, Emma was diagnosed with autism.  But in 2004, when Emma was given her PDD-NOS diagnosis the neuroscientists, Kamila and Henry Markram, had not come up with their Intense World Theory for Autism.  The idea that Autistics have a brain that is far more sensitive to all stimuli than non autistic brains, was not something people were talking about.

Emma has since told me that she can “hear” people.  When I asked her what she meant by that, she wrote that she could sense people’s emotions and inner turmoil.  She could hear their moods.  I have been told and read similar things from other Autistic people.  This is something Barb Rentenbach also talks about in her must read, book, I might be you.  Now add to the intense sensory sensitivities that ebb and increase suddenly and without warning, lights, noise, touch, smells, tastes, feelings and you will begin to understand how overwhelming and unpredictable life can be.  Or, as Emma wrote last week, “On Monday a noise is pleasant, but on Tuesday the same noise is not pleasing to me.”

Yesterday, Emma wrote about what happens when she bites herself and the things others can do to help, as well as the things people do that make it worse and it made me think about my reactions to seeing my daughter hurt herself.  I can go through a fairly quick series of feelings.  I might feel scared, oh, no!  She’s hurting herself, this is terrible, I have to make her stop! and concern mixed with confusion, what can I do to make her stop?   But I also may feel other things too, like a desire to control the situation, annoyance and embarrassment that she is screaming in a public place, stress and overwhelm from the tears and her obvious upset, feelings of inadequacy that I should be able to help her more than I am, wondering whether I am a bad parent, believing that if I were a “good” parent, she wouldn’t do these things.  Questioning my own reactions, worrying that if I don’t force her to stop, people will harshly judge me or criticize me or believe I don’t care that she’s hurting herself.  Or maybe the situation is also stressful for me and I’m also in overwhelm.  And on it goes.  But as Emma wrote, “I know it upsets people, but it’s not about them, it’s about not being able to describe massive sensations that feel too much to tolerate.”  So if I don’t spend the time to think about and become aware of what I’m feeling as I witness her, I will react in ways that actually exacerbate her overwhelm.

I am once again reminded of my car ride with my beautiful, friend Ibby while visiting her in Chicago this past December.  I wrote about that ride ‘here.’  What Ibby did was such a perfect example of what I needed, though I did not realize I needed it and could not have asked for it, had I been asked – what do you need?  A calm, loving voice, carefully telling me what was going to happen next and why, a calm loving voice coming from someone who genuinely loves me, who I know has no agenda, was not trying to control me, whose words and concern were completely for me, with no other motivation than to truly be there for me… this was what Ibby gave me during that car ride.  Ibby did not try to take away my feelings, she didn’t try to control them, she wasn’t judging them, she was calm, patient, accepting and above all, incredibly kind and loving.  And, by the way, Ibby could not stop the noise the wind shield wipers made, it was not something that was within her control, it was snowing hard, she could not drive without them, yet even so, what she did instead made all the difference in the world.

It seems so simple, it seems so obvious, but it is actually quite rare to have someone do this for another.  So I will end this by encouraging all who want to know what they can do to help someone who is deeply distressed, examine your feelings, really look at them and make sure you understand what you are feeling before you attempt to help another, because if you’re becoming upset with someone else’s upset, anything you do will cause the other person to only become more upset.  Until I can get to a place of having “helpful thoughts of calming kindness.  Reassuring words of understanding, instead of irritation and impatience”  my response will add to the other person’s overwhelm.

*I just have to add here, this is something I find very difficult to actualize.  It is a work in progress, but it is vitally important.

Ariane & Emma ~ 2011

Ariane & Emma ~ 2011

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Posted in Autism, Parenting, Self Injurious Behavior

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Functioning Labels

Posted on April 25, 2013 by | 37 comments

When my daughter was two-years old she was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified).  People assured us she was “mild” and she would certainly be mainstreamed by kindergarten.  When she was not mainstreamed, people shrugged and suggested any number of things we might do to ensure she have that meteoric rise that everyone kept saying was just around the corner.  When that meteoric rise did not occur people stopped using the word mild and the word “autism” replaced the initials PDD-NOS on her IEP.

During those early years I didn’t spend much time considering or questioning functioning labels, what they really meant, how they were being used, other than to say when people inquired, that my daughter was “mild”.  And then we went to Em’s  neurologist where I happened to say something about how Emma was “mild” and the neurologist said, in a tone of poorly concealed shock, “Well no.  I wouldn’t say she was mild.”

“You wouldn’t?” I asked in surprise.  “Well what would you say?”

He looked away from me before answering, “I would say she was… moderate, but mild?  No.”

I was stunned.  The idea that my daughter was not “mildly autistic” had not occurred to me.  Those two words that I had clung to during those early years, were suddenly ripped from my grasp.  I stood there trying to remember to breathe.  And I remember that sinking feeling in my gut.  That feeling you feel when you see something massive barreling toward you and you know there’s no chance you’ll be able to get out of the way in time.  There have been a handful of defining moments during this crazy journey that began when I first heard the word autism uttered in reference to my young child and this moment at the neurologist’s was one of them.  At the time I couldn’t speak.  What was there to say?  My knowledge of functioning labels was almost non-existent and what I thought I knew about them caused me to make a whole series of assumptions I would later find were wrong, each and every one of them, completely, categorically, wrong.

It has taken me many, many years to deconstruct what people are attempting to say when they use functioning labels.  I have found the use of these labels is uniformly inaccurate, misguided and does far more harm than good.  I understand they serve as a short-hand for insurance companies, schools and various medical institutions, but I strongly believe we as a society need to re-examine the words we are applying to a great many people and the disservice these labels are doing.  Rather than labeling someone mild, moderate or severe we should be looking at the specific needs each person has, breaking those needs down into more specific language that would better serve them.

As an example (this is in an ideal world):

A eleven-year old Autistic girl who has some verbal language, but relies heavily on scripts should be encouraged and taught to type and/or write.  An iPad should be made available to her during school hours and in the home.  Pointing skills should be a priority and supportive typing techniques should be explored.

Teaching grade level material in an engaging way, using visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic teaching techniques is essential.

As this young girl shows a need for intense sensory input and craves an audience, as well as displays strong leadership qualities – drama, acting and theatre classes should be included in her curriculum.  It turns out she is also very musical and is a talented singer with excellent aptitudes for both melody and rhythm – therefore music should be incorporated into her day as well.

This same young girl has shown athletic abilities.  She has core weakness and sequencing issues, therefore gymnastics, swimming and track should be essential components of her day, etc.

I could go on and on here, but the point is, if this same young girl is presented simply as “moderately” autistic how does that help her receive the specific things she needs in order to flourish?  Does the label help her at all or does it suggest a level of incompetence?   Is she relegated to a special education classroom where she is taught “life skills” at the exclusion of all else?  What does this functioning label do to our expectations of her?  Do we “dumb down” her learning materials because we assume she cannot possible understand?  Just because she enjoys watching the same video over and over for years on end, do we assume this is an accurate gauge of intellectual capability or do we entertain the notion that this is a way to calm herself with something that is familiar?  How does the label help her parents understand their child? How does the label “moderate” help educational and medical establishments help her?  How does a “moderate” label directly influence the goals that are then listed on her IEP?

Functioning labels are more than just meaningless constructs; they are doing damage. I understand the arguments for why people feel strongly they are necessary, but I disagree.  Functioning labels need to be tossed aside.  None are being served by them.

Em during her gymnastics class

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Bloggers, Writers, Autism and a Huge Amount of Hope

Posted on November 13, 2012 by | 40 comments

When Emma was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified) in 2004, I was lulled into believing it was a temporary condition, nothing that a few years of therapy wouldn’t resolve.  I saw it as a kind of throw away diagnosis, not exactly full-blown autism, more like a mild version of something that resembled Autism, but wasn’t.  Kind of like a bad cold, not exactly a bacterial infection requiring antibiotics, but troublesome never-the-less and we’d have to ride it out.  Besides, I reasoned, just because many of Em’s behavior looked autistic-like, seemed autistic-ish, she probably wasn’t autistic because, well, no one really understood what autism was and so how could she be labeled something that no one understood or really knew what it even meant?  Or so my thinking went.  During this initial period I kept my eye out for any Autistic adults I could find, just in case, you know, she really was autistic, I wanted to know what we might expect.  I found none and concluded that since I couldn’t find any, there must not actually BE any to find.

Still, just on the off-chance I was somehow wrong, I kept looking.  Every now and again I’d find someone, read everything they wrote or said and conclude that my daughter wasn’t really like them or wasn’t like them enough to give me much hope that they were good examples of what she might be like later in life.   (In retrospect, since Em wants to be a singer, I should have been looking for performers who are autistic, but even so, would, most likely, have come to the same conclusion.) By the way, I have never met a neurotypical adult who seemed like an adult version of my neurotypical son, but this thought didn’t occur to me for a great many years.  Despite all of this, my search continued.

In 2005 Em’s PDD-NOS diagnosis officially became “autism”.  As time went on and my thinking continued to change, Emma remained Emma with all her “Autistic-like behaviors” very much in place and I continued to grapple with what this meant.  I wasn’t one of those parents who understood that regardless of her neurology, she was who she was and it was all good.  I bought into the autism is like cancer idea, and therapy was chemo.  (This idea was very popular back in 2004, though I hope it has waned.)  It took me awhile to question this thinking and it took me even longer to see how these beliefs made any “therapeutic” program somewhat reasonable, because, after all, nobody signs up to have chemo and talks about what an enjoyable experience it is.  The idea that Autism is NOT cancer, that this thinking in and of itself leads us down a very dark and dangerous path was something I didn’t come to until much later.

Now fast forward to this morning.  This morning I read a terrific post, The Princess, Her Socks and Her Late Pass on a wonderful blog I’ve begun reading regularly by Aspie Writer called, Twirling Naked in the Street and No-one Noticed, (love that title) which she describes as “A blogged book: Growing up with undiagnosed autism”.  Reading her post about how she hated wearing socks, (so does Emma) how the fabric bunched and the seam on her toes hurt and how the socks had tiny rocks in them that no one else could see or find, kept reminding me of Em.  Aspie Writer recounts how she was always late to class and keeps saying over and over, “I have to see Mr. Hiler for my late pass.”  It is a wonderfully written description about a baffling behavior.  She does such a terrific job describing her actions and words that they made total sense to me.  Not only was I able to identify with her thinking, it gave me a little glimpse into some of Em’s seemingly baffling actions or repeated sentences.

And I was reminded (again) of why reading blogs by Autistic people is of such vital importance to me.  It’s not because I think to myself, oh Emma is going to become this person when she’s an adult.  I don’t assume that because Aspie Writer is married, a mom of 3 and a wonderful writer this will be Emma’s future.  I haven’t met a single adult, autistic or otherwise who seems to be just like either of my children.  How could I?  There wasn’t an adult version of me when I was a child and I’m certainly not an adult version of anyone else’s child.  It’s kind of a ridiculous idea when you stop to think about it.  And yet, that’s what I wanted for all those years when I was searching.  I wanted to find someone who seemed just like Emma was.  I wanted this desperately because I was so fearful of her future.  Yet, all those autistic adults who are not exactly like my daughter  are the very reason I am no longer fearful and why I have so much hope.

Blogs, both the writing of this one and finding those written by Autistics have changed my life.  Blogs are a slice of life, immediate and interactive.  I can read a post and “like” it, comment on it, even though I may or may not get a response from the writer.  I can then tweet the post out, share it on Facebook and engage in a dialogue with the writer if they care to respond.  The immediacy of blogs is compelling, engaging and makes the reader feel more apart of than when reading a book.  Books are wonderful too, but they’re different.  They do not have the interactive element to them that makes blogging so wonderful.  Blogging is very much about “us”.  We, whether as a reader or writer, have the opportunity to become part of the process, a part of “them”.  Another aspect of blogging is – anyone can blog.  You don’t need an agent, you don’t need to even write “well” (though there are many wonderful writers who also blog), you just need to want to write.  So you have a great many people who may never have bothered to look for an agent or publisher, who are writing and because it’s a casual writing form, you also find some amazingly beautiful blogs written with honesty, unedited, raw and complex.

To all the Autistic people who are sharing your stories, your words, your lives, whether by commenting or by having a blog of your own or both, here’s a very loud and heartfelt thank you!  You are making a difference.  You have changed my life.  How does “thank you” even cover the enormity of that?  It doesn’t.

Emma – 2003

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Posted in Autism, Blogs By Autistics, Parenting

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A Call to Listen

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | 4 comments

I’m reposting Ariane’s recent Huffington post below. I think it’s one of her most eloquent, powerful and important posts. Whoever is in charge of Huff Post Posting apparently didn’t agree with that assessment since he/she buried it in the Huffington morgue and  now it’s been wheeled away for cremation. Ariane wanted the piece to generate some excitement about her intention to post the writings of autistics on Huff (and here) in an effort to make people more AWARE of what life is like on the inside of ASD. Reading the blogs of autistics has completely changed our perception of ASD, our children, our goals, our life together. Hopefully Ariane’s “call to listen” will spread (hint, hint) and more people will hear the joy, laughter, hopes, fears and frustrations of autistics who have been discriminated against, marginalized, disenfranchised, bullied, or simply ignored by ‘normals’ who can’t bear to look, listen or care. So without further ado:

A Call to Listen

The beginning of my “awareness” regarding autism came in the form of an apologetic voice over the phone.  “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you,” she began.  I don’t remember the exact wording of the rest of the sentence as I was too distracted by her apologetic tone and sadness.  I remember fighting the urge to make her feel better.  Responses like – “It’s okay”, or “it’s not your fault” or “don’t feel sad,” went through my head as she continued telling me that my daughter Emma had been diagnosed at the age of two with PDD-NOS.   Then she asked, “Do you understand what that means?” I wanted to say, “No, actually.  I have no idea what that means.”  Not wanting to appear rude, I said nothing.

I knew very little about PDD-NOS (Pervasive, Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified.)  Did it mean she’d become an independent adult?  Would she be able to live a happy life, filled with things and people she loved?  These were some of the questions ricocheting around in my mind.  When I didn’t answer, the voice said, “Do you agree with the diagnosis?”  Was this a rhetorical question?  How could I answer that?  If I disagreed, would it somehow change the diagnosis?  I remained silent.  “Are you there?” she finally asked.  And suddenly all I wanted was to be home with my husband, Richard, my son, Nic and my daughter, Emma.

Two years ago I began a blog out of pure laziness because I hated writing emails updating those members of my family and friends who were asking about Emma.  I figured I’d write a blog, relieving myself of the more cumbersome mass emails I felt obliged to send.  I have documented everything from Emma’s initial diagnosis of PDD-NOS to her diagnosis two years later of “autism” to our (successful) attempts at getting her out of diapers, to the evolution of my perceptions, regarding Emma and autism.  The blog began as a way to document Emma’s journey, but it became a document of our journey too.

I have never stopped researching and trying to find ways to help Emma with her GI issues, her articulation and language processing, her discomfort with transitions and her need for routine and rules.  But it wasn’t until recently and because of a comment left on my blog that everything changed.  I discovered a world I didn’t know about – blogs written by autistic adults who were more than capable of speaking for themselves.  My views and “awareness” have dramatically changed as a direct result of reading and listening to those voices.

What if, instead of receiving the phone call I did when Emma was first diagnosed, I received a call that went something like this:

“Your daughter has been diagnosed with autism.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let me give you a list of blogs and people you can call who have been where you are now.  I think you’ll find them invaluable.  These are parents whose children are autistic and autistic adults who are happy to speak with you.  They will help you help your child.”

“Really?”

“Yes!  Your child is not broken or damaged.  In fact, your child is simply different. There are ways to help her.  Don’t worry.   Even if she is non-verbal, there are methods that will help her communicate.  There are countless things you can do that will mitigate some of the stress neuro-typical parents sometimes have in trying to understand their autistic child.”

“Oh thank you.  That’s wonderful.  I so appreciate your help.”

“It’s my pleasure.  I’m sending you some links and contact information to get you started.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Remember, this diagnosis is not a death sentence.  It is a starting point.  Don’t be frightened by it.  Don’t ever underestimate her potential.  You are not alone and neither is your child.”

What if autism awareness began with listening to adult autists describing what their lives were like?  What if those same autists were on the boards of every autism group?  What if all of us, whether we had an autistic child or not were aware of autistic adults living happy, fulfilled lives?  How would that change our “awareness?” I am profoundly grateful to each and every one of the autists who are speaking out and expressing their opinions on their blogs and through other forms of media.  If we want autism awareness, these are the voices that need to be heard.  It is up to us to listen.

Throughout the month of April in commemoration of “Autism Awareness” I will be posting the writings of several autistic adults in a series of posts entitled:

Autism Awareness = Listening to Autists

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