My daugher is in 5th grade and has ADHD. She was tested for a learning disability in 2nd grade. She is not progressing as well as they would like and they are going to test her again. The School counselor after hearing some things about my daugher (Poor motor skills, social skills, sensory issues, etc.) suggested that we might want to test her for Asperger’s or Nonverbal LD. The question I have is that off medication my daughter does still have some of these issues but on the medication it seems more pronounced. Do you think it is because the medicine slows her down that it shows up more? Has anyone had any issues on ADHD medication causing these types of symptoms? Without the medication she really couldn’t function in school because she is all over the place and very talkative. Are these symptoms also a symptom of ADHD? Thank you!
Re: Question about daughter with ADHD and testing....
I would get an occupational therapy evaluation to assess the poor motor skills and also sensory integration. Sensory integration disorder is often linked to Asperger’s. Sometimes correcting the SID gets rid of AS symptoms.
A private evaluation is usually better than a school’s evaluation, but I’d ask the school about an OT eval.
Nancy
Medication for ADHD did increase sensory issues for both my kids. It also decreased their ability to handle frustrations which can be a problem in social situations. It didn’t effect their motor skills, however.
It sounds like some of these things are there, just magnified by the medication. Testing for AS would probably be a good idea since mild cases of AS can sometimes be misdiagnosed as ADHD or she could have AS and ADHD.
Please be sure to talk over your concerns with your doctor.