Physical and Tempermental Differences

M

Mishi

New member
Hmm... I was pouring over my childhood psychological records yet again... and there was something that struck me. My problems were not just emotional/social skills back then, but I also have muscle weakness (not getting any worse though) and I couldn't run, coordination problems, and lazy eyes.

Could these various problems be related in some way?
 
Many developmental disorders on and off the Autism spectrum combine physical delays/disablities with psychological ones. A mild to moderate case could go undiagnosed till adulthood. I know PENN State has a Adult Developmental Disorders program.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/developmentaldisabilities.html

Maybe a mild form of Rett Syndrome? It's on the autism spectrum but effects females almost exclusively.
 
Looking over Rett, I doubt it. But anyway, I resemble HFA/Asperger's, but I have good conversation skills, can read expressions and make eye contact. I knew about that possibility and it was an obvious choice, but I wanted to see what else.
But a lot of it could be explained by childhood bipolar, which is likely in my case, but I didn't read anywhere that childhood bipolar could cause physical problems too.

Multisystem Developmental Disorder hmm... I dunno if that is the answer, but I had everything on this list as a kid except toe walking and I did like cuddling... interesting, I never thought of many of these things as being symptoms before. Especially the hair brushing, I used to SCREAM when my hair was brushed, cause it hurt too much.

What behaviors are seen in MSDD?

* Emotional outbursts or "meltdowns"
* Refusal to eat certain foods
* Insistence on wearing certain clothing, or not liking clothing at all
* Extreme reactions to noise or movement
* Avoidance of sensory experiences or seeking out extreme sensory experience
* Abnormal reaction to pain
* Sleep disturbance
* Avoidance or lack of pleasure in being touched or cuddled in spite of interest in being with you socially
* Refusal to have hair washed, touched, combed, cut, etc.
* Toe walking. Refusal to walk on certain surfaces (such as walking on grass in bare feet)
 
I'm bipolar, have been since early childhood if not infancy. Pediatric bipolar is a neurodevelopmental disorder so developmental delays, regressions, learning disabilities, etc are all common. Circadian rhythm disorders are also common.

From the Individuals with Disabilities Education act of 1997 (IDEA):
"Children with pediatric Bipolar Disorder often have learning disabilities such as auditory, visual, tactile, sensory, central processing and executive processing deficits that hinder their ability to comprehend both the spoken and written word. This often makes it difficult for the children to express themselves, despite their often high intelligence. Some children with pediatric Bipolar Disorder may have more significant neurological impairments that can affect their balance, fine motor skills, and other executive functioning skills. All of these areas must be tested to determine the extent to which these factors are hindering your child's ability to learn."


Interestingly, so-called classic bipolar (bipolar 1) actually has many similarities to TLE - Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Both disorders of the temporal lobe, have eerily similar symptoms despite their differences and are treated by the same medications.

And for the record, I would run screaming from the house whenever my mother came at me with a hairbrush. She finally just gave up. I looked like a tiny homeless person. :p
 
I've read a lot about Asperger, ADD, and the like. I seem to resemble a combination of Asperger and ADD-I (inattentive) myself.

As for being able to tell Asperger and the Bipolar spectrum apart, this shouldn't be too difficult, except for the fact that Bipolar is a common comorbid condition for Asperger. In other words, they go together, just like the ADD/Asperger combo.

You don't need to stim or toe-walk to have Asperger/HFA. AFAIK, the diagnosis requires the following 3 criteria to be fulfilled to some degree: repetitive behavior, liking for sameness or specific routines; difficulty with social interaction; idiosyncratic language (pedantic or monotonous speech, etc.)

There is also NVLD (non-verbal learning disorder) which shares a *great* deal of similarity with Asperger, but it's not in the DSM and not diagnosable by a psychologist per se; NVLD is treated as a learning disability, while AS is seen more as a developmental disorder. Some experts think you can have NVLD without AS, but some counter that NVLD is an unnecessary splitting of the group. One figure speculates around 50% of people with Asperger fit NVLD criteria.

Myself? I think NVLD should be abolished. If you have NVLD, just call it Asperger... my two cents, anyhow.
 
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