Is it possible that a child with a diagnosis of CP can also be given a diagnosis of autism or PDD-NOS? I'm pretty sure it is possible but basically doctors are giving the diagnosis of autism due to repetitive or stereotypic behaviors that the child exhibits. There are no other major indicators of autism and this concerns me because they keep saying it is not normal for these behavioral patterns to exist in CP children. However, I have heard it depends on the area of the brain that is damaged, the severity of CP, and that some with CP can exhibit similar behaviors to autism or PDD. What do you guys think?

I have a friend with a 7 year old who has cp and he demonstrated autistic behaviour. Not sure if he was officially diagnosed with it. He also has severe mental impairment which leads me to the conclusion that it might depend on where in the brain the injury was.
It's an interesting thread and I'd like to see the response from the rest. It's not something I know a lot about.
On the other hand my son does show one autistic sign which is he repeats everything a lot, whole conversations or the same quetions about one particular book. But I think in his case it's a matter of trying to understand/comprehend by repeating a lot.

Our son can open and close cabinets and doors for a very long time. Never gets tired of riding elevtors, over and over. Has trouble transitioning at home and in pre-school. We've wondered if he was mildly autistic or if this is just a way of dealing with the world when you have CP (ie, focusing on something he can physically control that he enjoys). We've found a guy in town who's supposed to be good at diagnosing these things, and we'll keep you posted on what he says. Our ped. says that premies often end up with different "wiring in the brain". Who knows--we don't know that much about it either.
nwmom

We have EXACTLY the same situation re the repeated opening and closing doors, and repeated asking questions even when he knows the answers. I too would be interested as to whether this is a part of some types of CP and also whether anyone has had experience with a child like this with CP and these behaviours in the past and what has happened as they have grown older and how they (hopefully) managed to shake this behaviour.

My son does the same thing, opening and closing doors. I think it is also because it is something that he can control, and he is good at. I've always let him do it because it is encouraging for him to stand, and to move his body with him doing the work. He also likes to open and close drawers. It can get quite bothersome, but I know he likes it. Sometimes I get so mad, and I have him stop, and he stops. It depends on what kind of mood he is in. His physical therapist said that children with CP have an on and off switch. They are either happy for the moment or they just shut down, and loose it. This is normal because they have a harder time processing something or something has built up,and they just loose it for something simple. You have to be just as stubborn as the child. Yesterday when I took Peter to aquatic therapy, he decided that he wanted to crawl in the waiting room. He has been very good about using his walker, or holding my hand, but no he wanted to crawl. He literally started to have a fit, and I kept saying NOOOOOOO, you have to walk. You can't crawl, we don't crawl here. It was terrible. He wanted something his way and he just shut down. There was really no reason why he was doing this. He cried and cried, but eventually he got up and used his walker. It was horrible because everyone stared, but I was proud because I encouraged him to use his walker, and he then did it. AFter his therapist came out to pick him up from the waiting room, he was fine. He acted like nothing had happend. This behavior scares me because it just happens, and depending who is around ie....mother-in-law, mom, or my husband(deployed right now).....I don't know how they will react. I know they will just encourage his behavior(do what makes him happy) and I know that is the wrong thing to do. Maybe I'm a mean mommy, but as parents you know what to do. We'll see how things go. Never a dull moment, that's for sure...

haha not the only one there!! We have "meltdowns" over the same thing! We dont have as many meltdowns as we used to but boy it trys your patience. I find the hardest one is the opening and closing doors when you are trying to have a conversation with someone - you can either ignore it or pay attention to it then have to deal with a meltdown or repeated action so this interrupts what conversation you were trying to have. It takes a LOT of effort and time to try and distract and diffuse the situation, and you have to pick your moments but then I find I am not consistent . I have the same thing also with the walker versus the crawling - one thing is for sure, we have very determined little boys who probably have gotten as far as they have because of this!!!! Good luck guys, keep up your good work!!

My 10 year old son had CP (diagnosed at 7 months old) is also diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, OCD and anxiety, so yes, it is very possible. It took a very long time to get the ASD diagnosis because everything was blamed on his prematurity and resulting CP. He has ALWAYS been severely developmentally delayed. He acts about like a 4-6 year old, and has very odd behaviors. I believe his CP is seperate from his cognitive issues.

i have a 7yo son with cp and pdd-nos. i sometimes think it is his way of dealing with cp??? my pt says neurological impairment has many overlaps.

he kicks butt in a reverse kaye and my pt feels he should be in forearm crutches...very frustrating...he is not motivated, his behaviors are physically holding him back. he is also very non-compliant in school.

are your children motivated in therapy and they interested in typical things?

kristin

btw, my son also loves to open/close doors and wants to hear the answers to questions he already knows.

My 10 year old son had CP (diagnosed at 7 months old) is also diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, OCD and anxiety, so yes, it is very possible. It took a very long time to get the ASD diagnosis because everything was blamed on his prematurity and resulting CP. He has ALWAYS been severely developmentally delayed. He acts about like a 4-6 year old, and has very odd behaviors. I believe his CP is seperate from his cognitive issues.

I don't understand where you said "Had CP". Once CP always CP. I have a hard time swallowing it, but it's there. Our son is doing well. It makes it difficult because he is a twin and his twin doesn't have CP. It is also a blessing because his twin is the best therapist for him. With CP, the behavior can be so darn difficult, and his twin motivates him and makes him compete(for toys or getting from point A to point B). One day at a time. I need to understand that, and follow that. It is hard, but you keep going and pray alot. I have a great sense of humor, so that always helps me through....

My 7 yo nephew also repeatedly asks the same questions over and over again. We turn the questions back to him and he almost always gives the correct answer, but for some unknown reason enjoys the repetition.

He also has a series of 'scripts' for pretend play where he will just start the script in the middle of a conversation about something else. For example he'll say "I hear the fire alarm!" which begins a script about how he is a fire firefighter and we have to go fight a fire, etc. It's generally hard to keep him on task.

His special ed teacher and speech therapist recently said he might have ADHD but my sister doesn't want to medicate him. He's on Keppra for seizures (had to switch from Depakote) so she feels it's hard to say ways ADHD and what's a side effect of the Keppra, not to mention the CP. He has brief explosive temper tantrums when he's hungry, so there's also that. And his speech is effected, so I wonder how much of the repetition/scripting is just sticking with words he knows he can say and be understood.

It's all overlapping, but it's good to know that you're not alone, these issues seem to be somewhat common.