/Holly/

[Guest guest]

<<Are all of you in agreement with your doctor's dual diagnosis? Did it

change the way you educated your child? Does it alter your expectations of

your

child? I hope you don't mind me asking, I'm just really anxious and now put

to

waiting another couple of months... >>

Hi, Everyone.........welcome to the group. My son, Gareth, is 18 and

was dx'd with autism at age 5. Back then, I didn't know the two could

coincide and thought the Drs were wrong. Unfortunately, they were right. As

for

the education part..... yes, that did change a bit because it was the autism

interfering with the learning: loud, noisy kids, bright lights, stimming,

etc. Once the autism was addressed in school, then school and learning became

enjoyable for him. As for expectations........ yes, they did change for a

while in the beginning (very negative) but now, I just don't know about the

future. Gareth's life plans are a lot more optimistic than mine our for him.

Gareth insists he is going to PSU and wants to marry Maggie. I don't know

how and if that will happen, but it's coming up close, so I will keep everyone

posted!!! What ever you do.....Do not drop your expectations for your child.

<<We do not have a full Autism diagnosis but a PDD diagnosis and I

personally think that can make a huge difference. That being said, as a

parents point

of view, PDD, or Autism or whatever.....It all is the same animal and we all

face similar obstacles. Holly>>

Holly.......autism is under the PDD umbrella.

.....glad to hear you chime in. Hope all is going OK with Mark in

school this year.

Take care, Everyone.

Margaret