Co-morbid Diagnoses

When I was a child, I went through a phase of wanting 'boy's toys', such as toy guns, swords, and khaki clothes. I also had my hair cut really short. I was very energetic as a child, and loved running around and action games. But I also had a 'girly' side, too, and moved on to have a makeup phase, and I would play with dolls. I think it is common for Autistic kids to have gender identity issues, perhaps to be androgynous, possibly because they don't identify with their peer group. I wonder whether this gender identity issue is more common with girls on the spectrum, or whether boys are equally affected? I wonder whether girls with ASD identify more with boys because they don't share the same interests as NT girls, and find social norms restrictive and illogical?

NAS22414 said:

I'll put this in a separate post because it is a different dx.  One condition that does have a significant degree of comorbidity and is not often mentioned is gender dysphoria.

This might be better in a new thread - I'll wait for advice from the mods ...

This is of huge interest to me and one i was discussing with my daughters psychologist last week, she is currently undergoing assessments and having just scored 12 on her ados test along with school observations and parent interview its looking highly likely she is about to be diagnosed with autism, she also has quite marked sensory processing disorder, theyve said also definite attachment difficulties (she is adopted) and possible adhd.

However she is now 8 and for the last about 4 yrs she has said how much she wants to be a boy, we didnt really take much notice until the educational psychologist brought it up during a chat with her and randomly talking about other things and totally off topic to what they were discussing, she told her that as soon as shes 16 shes shaving her hair off and becoming a boy, this has now progressed to she has her name chosen and in the last few weeks has told me that as soon as her 'boobies' start to grow shes having them cut off.

The hospital have said at this stage there isnt much they can do with regards this condition however they will need to monitor her as she gets older to ensure she isnt cutting anything off or struggling, they havent said it is that, i guess its one of those wait and see things, sorry for the ignorance i have no idea really other than i have kind of already prepared myself that this may be a possiblity and am accepting that this is/who she is/maybe.  The doctor said its common in a lot of her autistic girls and some she said dont even look like girls anymore, my little one struts along in a boy walk and wears nothing but boys clothes. Would be really interesting to hear other peoples experiences

hi i am also new to the forums my seven year old son was diognosed last year with Aspergers ,hypermobility and klinefelters syndrome but i wasnt quite sure what the hypermobility was as not much was said about it, just assumed it was a autism related thing now i think i will go and read up a bit on it

My son has just been referred by the psychologist to the Social and Communication Assessment Team for possible ASD. He is also somewhat uncoordinated and has been referred to a paediatrian for possible dyspraxia.  He already has a diagnosis of dyslexia. I understand that ASD/dyspraxia/dyslexia are commonly co-morbid.

Hi all,

My son has AS, dyspraxia and hypotonia. We have felt all through his relativly short life (nearly 17) that everytime we saw his peadrirician he was being sent to another 'specialist' and we ended up with different dx's over time. I strongly believe we have now landed on the right mix!!lol! over the years we have had contact with many different people but now feel we are getting somewhere.

Anyone else had difficulties with undiagnosable rash??? now put down to leaky blood vessels (two biopsys and many years later) although no idea why or what causes it and causes him  no problems other than a reaccuring rash all over his body.

I sometimes wonder if it because of this mix of symptoms, that people have such a difficult time to get a dx and it seems to take so long. As it does seem very common for multiple dx's to be the end result.

Been really interesting reading these threads makes you feel like you arnt alone with multiple issues going on.

Thanks all

Sam

x

Hi Jasysmum,

That sounds similar to my situation.  My eldest daughter has Ehlers-Danlos (Hypermobility type) and my middle child, who is a boy, has Aspergers.  Both only recently diagnosed even though they are 19 and 17 respectively.  We have had an 'interesting' few years trying to work out what on earth was going on but we got there in the end.

Both are doing much better now that we know more about what they are struggling with and why. 

In answer to your question, my daughter does not have Autism and yes she does tire easily and finds her 'Proprioception' (knowing where your parts of your body are in space) difficult which can lead to injury.  For example, she has to concentrate carefully on where her feet are by looking at them when going down the stairs.  

She is a member of the Hypermobility Syndrome Association which is brilliant in providing help and support.  She has recently met up with a support group of sufferers who meet locally to us as well.

Our GP has told us that there is absolutely no point in seeing a consultant as there is nothing they can do for her.  However, we found a manipulative physiotherapist who has been brilliant in teaching her the exercises necessary in keeping her mobile and as fit as possible though she can't always manage them when she is injured.

By the way, she has recently been accepted in medical school which I hope is of some encouragement.

Have no idea if the two conditions are related but I don't intend to spend much time worrying about it.  My youngest son, 12, is not currently showing signs of either condition so all my fingers are crossed for him. 

I hope this is of some help to you.

This is interesting ... my son has a dx of autism and ADHD but he also, according to the consultant, shows some signs of hypermobility.  I'd never associated it with autism so it's been interesting to read all your comments.

GG

Hi

I am new to the forum. I stumbled on your posting looking for an explanation for my daughters difficulties. My oldest daughter has hypermobility but not autism.

My younger daughter has autism. After asking her paeditrician to look at her physical problems he just dismissed them as autism related. When he finally examined her physically after seeing her for 6 years and doing nothing more than talking, he said she was hypermobile.

However everything my youngest does is very slow and uncoordinated. I know from what my older daughter has been told that most hypermobiles are dyspraxic and tire easily because of the extra effort it takes to do simple tasks.

Does this slowness seem like autism to anyone else?

OCD is my co-morbid issue. I am obsessed with the possibility of contamination, germs and illness. If people cough I worry that I may catch some nasty infection, so I try and stay away from them or if this is impossible I just feel very tense. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, washing up cutlery that has already been washed and washing my hands. I worry about getting ill, death and hospitals. When reading books I get anxious if I feel I have not understood and in the past I felt the need to memorise books off by heart, which spoilt my enjoyment.

My OCD started when I was 7. My teacher told a boy to wash his hands after he had been touching his dirty shoes. She told him that he could get a 'disease' from the germs on his shoe. From then on I began to obsessively wash my hands and myanxieties got progressively worse as I got older, as I learnt new things about this 'dangerous' world that we live in

Hi there

My DS has Aspergers and Hypermobility too.  I work in the field of ASD and it is relatively common that some developmental disorders have others alongside as well.

Hi UK_Aspie

It would be helpful in a new thread because I would still like to hear thoughts about Hypermobility and other other conditions tied to ASCs and AS.  However I would really like to know about co-morbid gender dysphoria and think it is so specific that it deserves it's own thread

Thanks

NAS22414 said:

I'll put this in a separate post because it is a different dx.  One condition that does have a significant degree of comorbidity and is not often mentioned is gender dysphoria.

This might be better in a new thread - I'll wait for advice from the mods ...

Up to you UK_Aspie, I guess it depends if you'd like the discussion to move on to talking about gender dysphoria more specifically, might be worth a different thread if that's the case?

My son has Asperger's and ADD; although he has never been formally diagnosed with ADD, he takes Concerta (Ritalin) and it makes a huge diffference to his behaviour and ability to concentrate.

Can someone tell me what hypermobility is, and how it differs from hyperactivity?

My son who is autistic has also been diagnosed with Hypermobility, like you I assumed that this was an unrelated condition. How interesting, be keen to see how many others have these conditions.