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Hi ~~

I have a 9 year old son who was diagnosed with PDD-NOS two years ago. Life with him has been interesting and rough to say the least. Just this week he managed to get to a phone at school and dial 911 because he was mad. Like I said, interesting. I realize that PDD is no longer recognized as part of the spectrum but it's all we have to go on.

I'm probably going about this wrong but I need to have a place to discuss him and all that he brings to our life without judgment and hopefully a place where I can get some answers/advice about how to help him grow up strong and self-sufficient.

Thanks,
Ddannysmom

What was he mad about? Has he explained his thinking process, what drove him to call 911 as a result of being mad?

Situational autopsies, getting inside our kid's heads. Always fascinating.

Welcome!! !

No idea what he was mad about (though being at school, it probably had something to do with writing... he has low muscle tone which makes even the simplest writing assignments a chore) and when we asked him what he was thinking all he could say was "I don't know. I was just really mad". He doesn't handle his anger well at all. He also has issues realizing danger. Just this afternoon while he was getting the mail, some idiot approached him asking him about their dog (I mean, in the day and age, who does that without the having some sort of death wish?). Turns out there was someone out behind our place actually looking for a dog (we could hear them whistling and calling out) but Dan didn't say anything until almost an hour afterwards and he truly didn't get what was wrong with it. Just some examples of what I call Life with Dan.

Thanks for the Welcome

This is a good site. You will find many people who can relate to you and your son's experiences here, and a lot of good advice. Some parents here are NT (neurotypical or "normal") and some are on the spectrum themselves. Welcome.

I don't know much about the new DSM 5, but all of the prior designations like PDD-NOS, Aspergers HFA are just not being separated out, because they decided the distinctions are not as meaningful as they thought. We still use these terms here, b/c a lot of our kids got diagnosed under the older system. So, don't worry about using the older terms.

In any event, not that calling 911 is so great, it shows he knew he was mad and wanted help, so the logic is not terrible, if you think about it. it also showed he was aware enough about his anger to do it, so also a good sign, despite the actual call.

Welcome.

Anyone with a DSM-IV dx of PDD or AS is supposed to be grandfathered in and considered to have a ASD.

Writing issues are super common. It was actually my son's difficulty with the physical aspect of writing that drove us to have him tested. For everything, anything that could get him an IEP, lol. And ASD it was.

If I recall, you can find some of our posts on the dysgraphia/hypotonia/hypermobility issue in the "Parenting Index" stickie. Long and short of it, my son had writing accommodations through elementary school (reduced assignments, scribing, etc) and was taught to keyboard in 6th grade when his hands were ready. Since then, everything is typed. Definitely look into get a better protocol for how to handle this area of his life, if it hasn't been super-thoroughly addressed already.

I do recommend going back through at least the hour or so before the incident with him. Every little detail he can remember. This process is really important to finding the triggers and figuring out how to teach him some self-mitigation. I can't emphasize that enough; you have to go through the process. When I did that with my son it was so enlightening. I could see all the tiny things in his day that were building up stress, things that you and I would never think of. And it also showed me so clearly how much he did not understand. He would tell me things like, "and that was when John tripped me." I'd back up over that with him and find out John was sitting in his chair working intently and his foot was maybe an inch beyond the desk's boundaries, but somehow my son was still holding him accountable for not knowing my clumsy son could trip on that. Which obviously we had to talk about (gently). Like I said, these discussions are super enlightening and very important.