having other Disabilities???

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I'm not officially diagnosed with AS. This is probably because I was on an IEP as a child, but I was declassified from all special services in 1993, the year before AS was added to the DSM. I am, however, offiially diagnosed with ADHD-Inattentive Type, and dyspraxia. In other words, I'm an absent minded space cadet/ daydreamer, and I'm horribly uncoordinated (my dypraxia is quite severe). As a child, it was also noted that I have some visual processing problems, and I basically couldn't copy any pattern or design that wasn't ridiculously simple. Luckily, I always read significantly above grade level, so I came up with a relatively effective compensatory strategy for copying off the board early on. I'd simply read the word, then write it. On the rare occasion I did come across a word I wasn't familiar with, I couldn't copy it.
I was also observed to have various other features, which were not attributed to any specific diagnosis. I was noted to have "gravitational insecurity," which basically means that I don't have a well established center of gravity, that I'm "off center." This means that I don't ever feel really steady on my feet when I'm just standing, and I tend to stand in all kinds of awkward ways to compensate. I also tend to lean ways forward or way back when I sit, otherwise, I don't feel steady, and wind up rocking back and forth to steady myself. I also need the solid ground behind my feet at all times. I can not climb anything other than a standard staircase, and as a child I was afraid of nearly everything on the playground. I went on a *kiddie* roller coaster at the age of ten, and completely freaked out. I screamed like someone was trying to murder me, and nearly strangled the friend who was sitting next to me. I have not been on a roller coaster again since. I also have auditory, tactile and some visual sensitivity, and a very poor sense of my body in space. I most likely also have sensory processing disorder.
It was also noticed that there was a HUGE deviation (52 points) between my verbal and performance IQ, and that my skills were very uneven across the board. I basically wasn't on age level with anything. For some skills, I was way below age level, for others I was way above. My verbal skills are significantly higher than my skills in anything that is not based in language to some degree, and I mos likely also have significant NLD.
I was also noted that I had significant social difficulties, and tha I couldn't seem to figure out how to relate appropriately to my peers, and that I tended to obsess on certain topics, and go on and on about them. Of course, that's completely beside the point, since they couldn' find any label to attach to *that.* Anyway, that doesn't fall into the category of "other disabilities" in this forum, so I'm dropping it now.
As an adult, I've also been diagnosed with chronic depression, severe anxiety, social phobia, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, and my personal favorite, Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. In other words, there's something *wrong* with my personality, but the professionals can't quite pinpoint what it is.
Wow, this got long, but my neurological profile is quite complex. Additionally, my odd and complicated neurological profile is one of my special interests, so once I start "talking" about it, it's hard for me to stop. If I said too much, I'm sorry. If that's the case, feel free to ignore this and continue on with the discussion. I'd hate to kill a thread when there's still constructive discussion happening.

I have cerebral palsy, NLD, mild hearing loss (not been diagnosed as hearing impaired), arthritus, and connective tissue pain/disorder.

I have hearing issue's though it is hardly noticeable, and I am also a insulin dependent Diabetic on an insulin pump.

My ASL is terrible. I can limp by with a kind of broken signed English -- using ASL with English grammar structure. But I'm not deaf, and my mom was told that if she wanted my speech to be pretty --- no sign language for me. My mom is a horrible critic of my speech, and everyone who knows me wants to kill her when she broaches that topic. Like Henry Higgins on crack.

What sign I know I really started picking up from a deaf guy I dated/was engaged to for two years, and a couple of his friends.

Growing up, there were the awesome fights over me wearing hearing aids. Too. Damn. Loud. Thanks.

Fact is, I'm planning to get tested for concurrent auditory processing issues, which were likely simply attributed to hearing loss. Many of the issues I have simply don't make sense with the type of hearing loss I have.

My youngest son aged 11 has ; aspergers,generalized anxiety disorder,adhd, ocd and tourettes. He also has a complex urinary disorder (which has resulted in 8 hospital addmissions which include 6 surgeries, one undiagnosed bleeding problem and a minor stroke-apparently no lasting damage) he is a complex young man- but I wouldn't have him any other way. My little miracle.

Recurrent major depression. I've made peace with it. Among other mental-health quirks.

Oh, and ADHD, which I am learning to handle and honestly think is going to eventually be an asset, once I learn how to use the craziness to my benefit.

Okay, your mom is terrible. Seriously. You should be allowed to sign as much as you want, and you shouldn't have your speech picked apart at every opportunity. Growing up bilingual doesn't cause language problems (except for the usual minor delay early on while differentiating the two languages); and that includes being bilingual in speech and ASL. Whoever told her you wouldn't speak if you were allowed to sign should have their license revoked.

I do have one Aspie friend who has some sort of hearing loss and some sort of auditory processing disorder. She's fluent in ASL (and about six other languages--language savant, lucky her) and identifies as Deaf. She is culturally Deaf, though like many Deaf folks she can speak and lipread/hear well enough to carry on a conversation, in a quiet room, if she's wearing hearing aids, and if you're facing her. Her hearing aids seem to help both her auditory processing and her hearing. You really should get checked out for auditory processing issues; I got tested for them and apparently I do have CAPD, though it's mild. Maybe you're a bit like her, with two things going on at once, partly with your ears and partly in your brain's auditory processing center. Wouldn't be surprising.

If mental illness counts, I used to have Panic Disorder and I've struggled with anger managment problems for years. My doctor did a screen test for depression once but I was never diagnosed despite having those symptoms for most of the year.

I have VSD - Ventricular Septal Defect, or a "hole in my heart." Doesn't affect me much though.

I have scoliosis but it's very mild and it doesn't effect me. The bottom of my spine just curves is all. I heard it's common. The doctors mark it off as normal since it does no effect.

dysautonomia/neurally mediated hypotension/CFS
cognitive dysfunction/ED

My hearing loss isn't strong enough to require sign and I generally don't have a use for it. Writing is my first language, instead.

Oralism is an old school of thought - at its peak it wasn't uncommon to hear about deaf people's hands being tied in order to force them to speak and lipread. Having someone like me be oral-only is extremely minor in comparison as my hearing loss is mild up to the high frequencies, at which point I go deaf - I am missing some speech sounds but the equivelent is like someone who is somewhat near-sighted and needs glasses, rather than someone who is legally blind.

ETA: In NTs (I was not diagnosed with AS until two years ago), this notion makes sense to an extent because with that much residual hearing left, it will be easier for someone like me to function almost normally as far as hearing/speech goes. It forces the person to develop sharp lipreading skills, good speech, and in the case of hearing aids, helps them really learn how to hear. For mildy hearing impaired children, this may be ideal as it's the time in their life when they truly develop coping strategies for their hearing loss.
IT's a tricky situation, as there is something to be lost regardless of which tactic you take. I try not to worry about this too much because there is nothing I can do about it twenty years later.
Your friend may be a language savant, but most children are not, so this is also important to take into consideration.
((Incidentally, I'm not a popular person with many Deaf people because I think SEE should be taught to deaf children before they learn ASL, in order to better help them understand/communicate with English later in life. Either that or deaf education needs to get its head out of its ass and properly educate deaf people. I just figure the former is going to happen before the latter, unfortunately)).

I like sign, and I probably would have used it quite a bit if I'd had the choice as a child, but at this point in my life it's not something I feel a particular need for.

For the most part I simply advocate for myself in small ways -- let people know I'm HoH and tell them to look at me/move their hands away from their face/etc when they are talking. I rarely wear my hearing aids because of sensory sensitivities. If I'm not making eye contact, I'm still pretty good at lipreading with peripheral vision.

Mom has been forbidden from talking about my speech unless she wants me to unleash an ungodly rage on her. I think it was the most obvious form of her overbearing demands on me to be 'normal' growing up so I just go bugnuts when she sees fit to remind me about that.

AS, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, depression.

I have epilepsy.

ASD, hypotonia, dyspraxia (motor and verbal), dyslexia, CAPD, Mild high freqency hearing loss. suspected ataxia.

On top of having Asperger's, I was born with a bone disease called osteogenesis imperfecta.

I look normal (average height, weight, etc.), but my bones break like glass because my body doesn't produce enough collagen. In bones, collagen acts like the steel rebar in a concrete structure, in that it gives them tensile strength which allows them to bend slightly before they break.

It's the same thing Samuel L. Jackson's character, Elijah, had in Unbreakable.

I don't know exactly how many bones I've broken, but I know it's somewhere over 100. When I was younger, I tended to break my wrists a lot simply by trying to catch myself when I fell down. I think the worst break I've had was when I broke my right knee-cap in half in a car accident. It was actually worst than breaking my back because it required surgery to fix.

I have (on top of the high functioning autism diagnosed at 5 but had it since birth) schizoaffective disorder bipolar type (I don't agree but this is what the docs say) GAD severe memory problems but this is inconsistent meaning sometimes I have incredible memory (almost photographic) but other times my old age syndrome comes in and don't remember anything even as recently as 2 seconds ago. I can remember tiny details in things and notice patterns but not remember what I am doing. I also have fibromyalgia but it hasn't been as bad recently. I have been weird since birth though. I don't even know what "normal" means. Sad.