Has anyone's child ever been misdiagnosed....

With autism? If you could FM me or share your story that would be appreciated.

Has anyone's child ever been misdiagnosed....

I don't know anyone personally that was misdiagnosed. However, I did read a NY Times magazine article that 10% of children that were diagnosed with autism "dropped" their diagnosis as they grew up. But the range was wide, some before kindergarten and some during high school.

The article also noted that of the children that "dropped" the autism diagnosis, other developmental or learning disorders became apparent. A majority of the children were later diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.

It also mentioned that since the spectrum has changed again (crtieria- for example no more PDD-NOS diagnosis) experts believe that the percentage of children "dropping" the diagnosis will decrease.

Message edited 5/26/2015 5:02:32 PM.

Re: Has anyone's child ever been misdiagnosed....

My friend's daughter. I don't know if it was misdiagnosis or more that she grew out of it. She was diagnosed with autism at 3. Very high functioning, but eye contact was poor, walked on her tippy toes sometimes, played next to children rather than with them. She received speech, OT, Speech, and was in a self contained class and went to school 12 months. My friend still doesn't know if her daughter was autistic or just didn't fit into the mold of what they thought she be doing.

She transitioned to regular kindergarten. She is about to start first grade and is extremely bright and very funny. Her teachers in her school do not know. My friend did not want to bias them and wanted to see what they said. No teacher has ever brought it up to her. Just once one teacher said her daughter tends to repeat directions back to herself quietly. She was just letting her know, but said she always follows them perfectly.

Re: Has anyone's child ever been misdiagnosed....

I'll PM later (short on time now), but my son has always been very borderline. As he has gotten older, he has picked up additional diagnoses, Tourette Syndrome and generalized anxiety disorder. I Don't think it will ever be clear if has has autism plus these disorders, or if he was misdiagnosed (the original diagnosis was never conclusive).

So yes, I think it's possible especially if a child is young when diagnosed. Things become more clear over time, but there is overlap with many disorders. The main thing IMO is that problematic symptoms are treated appropriately. In his case, anxiety has been the root of many, many problems.

Message edited 6/1/2015 4:11:07 PM.