I just read the best differentiation between autism and AS in a book called "The Asperger PLUS Child - How to identify and help children with Asperger Syndrome and secen common co-existing conditions".
That book is amazing, it is VERY positive and even though I don't usually like the "mythical" sort of approaches (comparing autistics and Aspies to mythical sages and other historical figures), this book does them in a very factual and sensible way.
It also describes very well the "subtype" of AS crossed with Bipolar, which is the one whose rages are often assumed to be part of AS for everybody, with many very positive and insightful tips on how to help someone with AS and Bipolar cope better.
But what really blew me away was the section on differentiating AS from HFA - I am now left with no doubt whatsoever that I am HFA, not AS.
The most interesting bit was the idea that Aspies take in only one thing at a time, i.e. they are able to focus really well but find it hard to see the big picture.
Whereas with HFA you are more bombarded with "everything" at once ("gestalt processing"), and eventual focus on a part is more a reaction to this bombardment of the senses than stable, intense observation or attention.
The visuo-spatial differences are also elaborated on, and basically the gist is that unless someone has AS and NVLD at the same time, someone with AS will be a visual thinker but also more able to verbalise and to some degree think in words, and as a result their verbal IQ is higher than in HFA and often higher than in the average population too.
Whereas with HFA the thinking is much more visual (and spatial), with practical skills higher than those in AS but verbal skills are lower. He gave an example of how he detects visual thinking - he has noticed that people who later tell him they think visually tend to "screw up" their eyes upwards to either the left or right when thinking deeply.
Anyway I would very much recommend this for anyone seriously wanting to learn more about differential diagnosis - this book is well-written and avoids "disability" speak well without coming across as forcibly PC
Here's a link to the book: ttp://www.asperger.net/bookstore_9976.htm
Oops it's SEVEN conditions not "secen"
Does this author think a person can be both AS and HFA?
No - it's confusing from its title, but I tried to separate them by using the title AS + ODD, OCD, Bipolar, NVLD & AS vs. HFA, ADD & TS
In the first part he deals with combinations of AS + ODD, OCD, Bipolar or NVLD vs. the second with differences between AS and HFA, AS and ADD as well as AS and Tourette's (technically according to the DSM IV you can't have AS + ADD or TS, even though the symptoms of both ADD and TS are often 'part of' AS)...
Whatever you do, don't suddenly go off coffee as you will get withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and headache. If you want to try seeing if coffee is causing any of your symptoms, try reducing by one cup a day over a period of at least a month. It's probably not the coffee that's causing the difficulties (unless you're drinking more than about 4 cups a day)
The bold print is ridiculous. I very clearly have a lot of ADD going on with me, and stimulants such as caffeine are a massive help in terms of acquiring clarity, extra focus (sustained), and even learning things at a faster rate than usual. I'd be lost without stimulants.
It's still true - technically in the DSM IV, you *cannot* be diagnosed with ADD and AS, because one of the exclusion criteria in ADD in the DSM is that the ADD symptoms MUST not be caused by a pervasive developmental disorder.
Not that I agree with it as such, that's just the way the DSM is worded though. You can of course have ASD with attentional/executive dysfunction, tics etc. Nobody is denying that. But "officially" in the DSM IV, if you have an ASD then the executive dysfunction is classed as part of that.
Personally I think it's rubbish, because some people on the spectrum have ADD-like symptoms from Bipolar rather than ADD and to class that the same as someone who has an ASD and ADD traits can be very dangerous - Add stimulant meds to someone who is bipolar and you have mania and psychosis on your hands. (It has been probven to permanently mess withthe cycling frequency and rhythm of Bipolar patients)
Whatever you do, don't suddenly go off coffee as you will get withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and headache. If you want to try seeing if coffee is causing any of your symptoms, try reducing by one cup a day over a period of at least a month. It's probably not the coffee that's causing the difficulties (unless you're drinking more than about 4 cups a day)
From less than 4 cups a day he's it's not likely to have a massive withdrawal... I did "come off" all caffeine for about half a year (and still limit it to 1-2 small cans of diet Coke *maximum* per working day - coffee makes me sleepy anyway so I don't drink it) and I used to drink 2+ litres of diet coke per day before that. I was a bit grumpy and had a slight headache but nothing major.
Oh and the above about stimulants also counts for people with ASD and OCD type symptoms combined (which can of course also lead to "distractibility")
I know I have diagnoses of both AS and ADD. I've checked my psychiatric files.
I know in practice this is often the case, and the ICD-10 for example does NOT exclude a dual diagnosis. It's just that the DSM-IV seems to accept ADD traits as part of ASDs whereas with the ICD-10 you can have both diagnoses.
Although I have noticed that the stimulant meds I'm on make me feel weird...simultaneously giddy and anxious. Also, they seem to be a diuretic. The doctor swears they aren't, but I have to go to the bathroom a lot more when I'm on them, and when I don't take them I pee a normal amount.
I notice the diuretic effect sometimes but other times it seems to go the other way completely.
When I was using amphetamines, I would get manic and psychotic from even the smallest doses. It wasn't affecting me like it would with someone with ADD... I had read that some folks with ADD/ADHD can take up to 60mg of amphetamines (Adderall, Dexedrine) and still feel sleepy. With me it was the other way around... 10mg and I was focused and very energized, 20mg I was both incredibly focused and euphoric at the same time (but also paranoid/anxious), beyond that I was outright psychotic.
Eventually it seemed like the less I took of the stimulants, the better the effect... the more I took, the more "psychotic" I felt and eventually just 5mg (yes... FIVE milligrams) of amphetamine made me paranoid psychotic for up to 2 days straight.
Everyone I talked to about amphetamines thought my reaction was very strange, especially for someone who allegedly has ADD.
ADD/ADHD symptoms are the norm (most have them to a degree that would fit the diagnosis of ADHD) for people with Bipolar though, especially rapid-cycling as is the case with childhood-onset Bipolar.
Not everyone who shows ADD symptoms actually has ADD, just like a few moodswings don't make you Bipolar or a few tics don't make you Tourette's.
What I meant to say was ADHD meds do not cause psychosis unless
a) You hugely overdose on them or
b) You have Bipolar, Schizophrenia or another psychotic illness, or a predisposition for either of these, which can be triggered by small doses of such medications.
There are people with Bipolar for whom ADD meds work, AS LONG AS they are on a suitable mood stabiliser first.
In your next post you said that the "above also goes for those with ASD and OCD combined type, which leads to distractibility" and I HAVE NO IDEA what that means.
That people with OCD who get stimulants also tend to go psychotic or react otherwise very very badly.
There are a few rare cases of Schizophrenia and psychosis that appear to have been triggered by amphetamines at the doses you reported, however as with marijuana it is usually more a case of someone showing Schizoid and Schizotypal traits first and only developing full-blown psychosis etc. when a trigger occurs (often drugs, sometimes devastating or traumatic incidents etc.)
http://www.jabfm.org/cgi/reprint/15/6/498.pdf
What I do know is that generally someone with ADD is "not supposed" to get paranoid psychotic on amphetamine-type drugs, but I did, even when I was on an anti-anxiety med at the same time.
*Nobody* is supposed to develop mania and psychosis from such small doses of stimulants, but if schizotypal and esp. paranoid/OCD traits or signs of manic depression are present the risk is much higher. Whoever handed you those samples should have made careful note of your history before giving you stimulants.
I don't have OCD but I do have OCPD...
This thread isn't about you though it's about a book I read, and I had forgotten to add OCD to the list of conditions that react badly to stimulants but may look a bit like ADD (otherwise why would they be given stimulants?).
I like your new AV... did you make it yourself?
Thanks, I feel honoured that you think I have that sort of talent! It is actually one of the gallery ones on the forum, since the hacking incident I can't seem to change my avatar from an uploaded or URL one any more so I picked the best one I could find in the gallery. I was quite chuffed as it is rather marvellous and I could kick myself for never having noticed it before!