The loop I was thrown for

For the past six weeks or so Nick has been doing a series of psychoeducational testing at the middle school across the street. Yesterday I found out the results. It turns out that he has PDD NOS, which is a form of Autism. The psychologist who performed the tests said that she also believes he has a thought disorder. When I asked her what that meant, she said that it means he should be watched because it could turn in to Schizophrenia. Have you ever really freaked out? I mean, just felt like you were falling apart? Having a doctor use that particular "s" word in connection to your son will do it to you, take my word for it.

She said that it seemed to her that Nick wasn't always in touch with reality. Also he answered some of the questions in such a way that it seemed like he was paranoid and heard voices. For instance...do you think people are out to get you? His answer was often. And he said he heard voices.

Personally, now that I'm calmed down some, I think that Nick may sometimes be out of touch with reality. But he isn't paranoid, and he doesn't hear voices. I asked him about those answers. He said that he said 'yes' to 'are people out to get you' because the day before a couple of boys had chased him home from the park and scared him. And when they asked about voices he said 'yes' because when he was in the hospital for the bipolar disorder that he doesn't even have, he was hearing voices--induced by the ADHD and antidepressant meds that he was on at the time. He doesn't hear voices now.

Part of PDD NOS is that Nick takes things very literally. So if you asked "do you hear voices" and he sometimes hears his own voice in his head when he's thinking he would say "yes."

So the school district is going to change Nick's classification from Severely Emotionally Disturbed to Autistic. This is a HUGE victory. I've been trying to remove that classification since the third grade. Because the kid isn't emotionally disturbed, and as long as he had that classification the school only focused on his behavior. He'll be eligible for many more resources now. That's a good thing.

I found a few things online last night and today. One is something called MCDD--Multiple Complex Developmental Disorder--which is basically PDD NOS with a thought disorder thrown in. Very much what the doctor said about Nick. MCDD is a fledgling thing and there isn't a lot of information out there. For me it is enough to know that there are enough other kids like my son out there that someone coined a term in the first place.

The other thing was information about how a Gluten and Casein free diet can help autistic kids, especially with their behavior. Nick and I are going to go on that one together after Christmas--see how it goes. It won't be easy. No wheat or dairy. But if it helps it will be worth it.

If anyone has any experience with a GFCF diet, please let me know. I'd love to pick your brains.

The testing also showed that Nick is likely depressed, and that he has a reading and writing learning disability. I knew he was depressed, somewhere deep down I knew and I was putting off calling the doctor because I'm scared she'll put him on meds. Nick has only had bad experiences with meds. He's hypersensitive to them, and so far he's only been medicated for problems he doesn't really have. ADHD and Bipolar.

I'm not against meds. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they save lives. The problem wasn't the meds themselves, but that Nick didn't need them.

In other news my baby is two today. Look for a birthday post tonight :)