@A MyAutismTeam Member I dont mean in any way to minimize your concerns or issues, nor insult you. Here is my opinion...you need a better doctor. Your child has conflicting diagnosis, so this diagnosis is improbable. Your child can not be Aspergers and mildly retarded. One of those diagnosis is WRONG. (remember im not a doctor) Im willing to bet based on the other diagonosis (the diagnosis offer a discription) Isyour son is NOT mentally imaired (MR) but has a communication impairment (probably severe with assosiated behaviors) the behavioral diagnosis can not be correct either. The autistic child has conduct issues, and will fit the diagnostic criteria of bi polar, psycosis ecetra...BUT are not actually afflicted by the disorders...these (diagnosis)are ALL part of AUTISIM. I dont doubt he has thse BEHAVIORS related to AUTISIM. basically im saying that your son is probably not mentally ill or retarded....Your son is most likely a very intellegent person who is locked in autisim...without the ability to communicate effectivly...has the autisim related sensory issues...leading to the highs & lows (also seen in bi polar) in mood, condut issues and explosive issues. Diagnostic criteria for aspergers includes the child must have a tested IQ of at least average. YOU NEED A NEW DOCTOR

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A MyAutis...

The doctor told me Benjamin was moderatly retarded when he was a baby and even threatened me with child services if I didnt take him to some center for retarded children for therapy...I changed pediatritions pronto...turned out...he was nearly 100% deaf from a tissue growth in both ears..100% cureable with minor surgery...and the new doctor agreed...he was more than an "idiot savant" but wasnt sure why he had "global developmental delays" and my so called moderatly retarded childs IQ test results show a near genious score! I wonder where we would be if I had accepted the diagnosis and never tried to move him forward??? We all been on the diagnosis nightmare ride.

my 3rd grader has similar diagnoses and is in fact in an institution right now for a violent outburst, and hallucinations. we are searching for help as well. she has been getting treatment since she was 3. psychotropic meds and cogn-behavioral therapy along with social skills training. we are looking into pt and ot with animals to help. try reading THE ELEPHANT IN THE PLAYROOM by denise brody. this helped us a lot. but it is and will always be a struggle. peace love and light to you and your family.

I agree! Again, I'm not a doctor. I don't know how old your son is and/or why the bipolar diagnosis. My son has hallucinations/hears voices...he also has anger issues when he is having high anxiety, but has not been diagnosed as bipolar or possible schizophrenia. It's too soon to really know. My son is 16.

The mental retardation is the biggest problem that I am having. I work at an Adult Education Center where adults come to earn their GED. Recently we had a young man come in that was in his early 20's that brought in an IEP from Texas that stated that he was mildly MR. I looked at our director and said, "Bull! I think he's autistic." He did not function high enough to be placed into one of our classrooms, but we started working with him and he recently passed his GED. 50% of graduating high school students cannot pass the GED. I also think you need a new doctor! jmo...

It is totally possible to have a mental health disorder and autism both at the same time. I don't think psychosis is a normal part of autism (although differences in thinking is, obviously). I do agree though that aspergers and mild retardation don't match. One thing I would like to add is that IQ testing doesn't work really well for some of our kids. You can test as retarded but it is because of processing speed, attention issues, and communication deficits. My daughter was "untestable" at age 3, tested in the borderline intelligence range at age 5, and at age 11 tested with an IQ of 108. IQ is not supposed to change over time. I think it was her ability to communicate better that primarily impacted her change. So any testing like IQ testing has to be taken with a grain of salt. Sometimes our kids are much smarter than they "test."