ADOS test results are in -- No ASD

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@NTmama, your neurologist is in for a big shock when the new DSM comes out. And even based on the existing DSM, it sounds like he is diagnosing outside of the accepted framework.

Thank you all for your advice and input. I've reread your postings to try my best to absorb it all.

As for the pragmatic speech issue, the crazy thing is that they're ONLY going by me telling them about it as opposed to the ADOS results. To my knowledge, his pragmatics weren't tested. The issues that we deal with on a regular basis weren't analyzed on the test, nor was the questionnaire I filled out prior to coming in even a consideration before the results were discussed with me. I wasn't asked for it. I volunteered to give it to an intern who sat in on our post consultation test.

I'm thinking that like others have said, he is just too young for an accurate diagnosis. Maybe we'll revisit a second opinion in a few years.

Also, to NTMama, after my experience with my son's testing, I think I agree with that neurologist. What my son was tested on seemed to be geared towards classic autism and less for Aspergers.

To Caitlin: I don't think diagnosing outside of the accepted framework is such a strange concept to consider. There always are trailblazers in various fields of study of which sometimes their work sets a precedent for massive change. ('Germ theory' and 'earth is flat' are a few that come to mind.)

I don't want to speak for Caitlin, but my take on what she meant was that she thinks the ADOS is also used to test Aspergers - it was how my son was diagnosed with Aspergers.

Just FYI - our diagnosis went a little differently from yours. First, they had the entire family and DS's teacher (I recognize this is difficult for a preschooler, but it was helpful) fill out a BAS-C - a general screener for anyone who is near to the child. This has nothing to do with autism, but does screen for some warning signs in a couple different environments - home, school, etc. (it covers Anger Control, Bullying, Developmental Social Disorders, Emotional Self-Control, Executive Functioning, Negative Emotionality, and Resiliency)

Then we were given an autism screener for parents, the ASDS: http://portal.wpspublish.com/portal/pag ... ema=PORTAL
which was a HUGE eye-opener for us and extremely helpful in and of itself. This allows for variances in behavior, so the issues you mention wouldn't have skewed the results.

Then they did the ADOS which took a couple of hours and involved several interviews.

Then they came back, went carefully over the results and gave us an 8-page report on the findings, and said they needed further testing in pragmatics...which we did.

My point is that Aspergers IS on the Autism Spectrum, as per the DSM, and the new DSM looks like it may well erase the line between AS and HFA even more. For a neurologist to be telling parents he doesn't think AS is autism, strikes me as somewhat irresponsible in terms of confusing and misleading parents who will, with a new diagnosis, be needing to find resources. For a child with AS, those resources and connections are going to be found in the autism community. I worry that it sounds less like a "trailblazer" and more like someone who's afraid of the "a" word.