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  1. #1
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    Default Social Communication Disorder

    Anyone heard of this? Apparently it's going to be a new diagnosis when the DSM-5 comes out next year.

    We finally got the report from DS1's neuropsych eval. He's almost 6, was dx with ADHD last summer (combined type). The psychologist gave him a new dx of PDD-NOS. His behavioral challenges (aggression, poor social skills) are beyond what's usually seen with ADHD. But then, he doesn't meet criteria for ASD or Asperger's, and he doesn't really act like either of those either. Thus the PDD-NOS label...From what little I can find the Social Communication Disorder really seems to fit him - he can't seem to learn social skills on his own, but he does understand & can learn them from his counseling sessions and social skills group. But since it's not in the manual yet i have no idea what the actual diagnostic criteria will be.

    Tomorrow is the IEP meeting for school & it's his 3-year re-eval for SPED. I'll be interested to see what the team makes of this report - it's 17 PAGES long!

  2. #2
    Gena's Avatar
    Gena is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    You've probably already seen this, but here is the description of SCD from the DSM-5 workgroup:

    http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision....aspx?rid=489#

    There has been a lot of press lately about how the DSM-5 criteria for ASD will exclude a certain percentage of people who currently have Aspergers or PDD-NOS diagnoses. But many doctors feel that most of those individuals will likely qualify for the SCD diagnosis. It's basically for people who have the social and pragmatic language impairment, but not the sensory or repetitive behaviors.

    It actually sounds similar to the diagnosis of Semantic Pragmatic Language Disorder, which is used in the UK but is not recognized as a diagnosis here in the US. There are some good articles on SPLD available on the web, so you might find it helpful to do a web search on that.

    Good luck for your IEP meeting! I hope it goes smoothly.
    Gena

    DS, age 11 and always amazing

    “Autistics are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It's that you're destroying the peg." - Paul Collins, Not Even Wrong

  3. #3
    niccig is offline Clean Sweep forum moderator
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    No help with the diagnosis, but the clinic at the college where I'm studying to be a SLP has a social skills clinic. If there's a college near you that offers Masters in Communication Disorders, they might have a similar clinic.

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    Oh wow!!!! That could totally be my older DD.

    She definitely does not have ASD, but does not learn social skills easily on her own. But she learned a TON from her social skills class and benefits greatly from direct instruction from us and from her biweekly therapy sessions.
    Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)

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    hellokitty is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by egoldber View Post
    Oh wow!!!! That could totally be my older DD.

    She definitely does not have ASD, but does not learn social skills easily on her own. But she learned a TON from her social skills class and benefits greatly from direct instruction from us and from her biweekly therapy sessions.
    DS1 has the same issue. However, there are no social skills classes offered in our region. I have checked everywhere and if I want to get him into classes, that would mean driving him an hr away to do this. The school has not been helpful about this issue, since academically he is one of the best students i his class, but socially, he's a bit of a mess and he still has yet to make any close friendships (he's in 2nd grade).
    Mom to 3 LEGO Maniacs

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    hellokitty is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Pepper, good luck with the IEP mtg! Please keep us updated on how your school responds to this diagnosis and the doctor's report. I have not had any luck with our school regarding DS1's social issues, since academically he is doing fine, so I'm interested in how schools will handle kids with this diagnosis.
    Mom to 3 LEGO Maniacs

  7. #7
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    Thanks all -DS 1 started in a social skills group at the end of January, and so far he loves it. the clinical psych explained to me that kids on the autism spectrum usually don't "get" social skills, even when they're explained to them, whereas kids like my DS will get it once they're taught. He doles have sensory issues but he makes good eye contact, doesn't have repetitive behaviors, etc. So I think he truly isn't on the autism spectrum, at least insofar as that spectrum is currently defined!

    The IEP meeting went really well. I got the sense that the whole team came in with an idea of what services he needed, and just wanted to figure out how to work things so that he got those services. I was prepared to fight if necessary but it wasn't...they will continue everything he's currently getting, plus he gets the summer program ( it's 9-1, 4 days a week for six weeks). I am HUGELY relieved because I had no idea what to do with him all summer!

    Think it helps that DS's teacher really seems to like him. And I feel terrible dfor saying this, but since DS is disruptive and sometimes aggressive, I think that makes the team more motivated - I think it'd be a tougher battle if DS was shy and withdrawn.

    An interesting thing was that they wrote into the IEP that DS should have 990 min a day in a regular classrom (he's currently in an individual management class for kidney). Which means that a paraprofessional will accompany him and help him whe he's there. He does need academic support, but behavioral...there was some dialogue going on that I didn't fully understand where his teacher was asking if shed have a "slot" for him in the regular class.

    I also found out that he tested in the above average range for pre-reading when he entered kindergarten, and has also progressed during the year and is reading at a first-grade level. So although he has this huge problem with ADHD and social skills, he's still managing to learn! Again, if his behavior wasn't so disruptive, I wonder how much harder it would be to get m services. I'm grateful that it's worked out so well, especially insight of everything that going on with DH (but that's another story that I need to update another time).

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    Yokes! I'm typing on an iPad and I thought I'd prooferad for error but mo, a few got through. It's kindy, not kidney!

  9. #9
    Gena's Avatar
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    It's great to hear that your IEP meeting went well. It sounds like the school is really in tune with what your DS needs and is willing to provide it. It also sounds like he has made some great progress this year!
    Gena

    DS, age 11 and always amazing

    “Autistics are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It's that you're destroying the peg." - Paul Collins, Not Even Wrong

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