Cognitive Disorder NOS

My son was recently diagnosed with Cognitive Disorder NOS, on top of his bipolar and ADHD. I can't find much information on Cognitive Disorder NOS and have gotten a bit frustrated b/c of it. I saw this forum and thought someone might be able to help me. If any of you suffer from this disorder or know someone that does would you please get ahold of me so I can learn more about it. My son is 14 and right now is in a boys home , its going to take him a long time to come home but I want to know how I can help him. You can't help a person with a disability, mood disorders and such if you don't know exactly what it is. I know that due to me being bipolar myself, among other things. If anyone can help it would be greatly apprecited.................Thanks!!
Hugzz
Stephanie

I was also diagnosed with this and don't know what it is. Like you I have searched and cannot find anything on it. If anyone does know please post it or post links to the information so that we can learn more about it.

Hi there. I am a mental health therapist who recently took a position with our juvenile court. I was recently involved in a staffing concerning a 16 year old male who has also been given this diagnosis. If it's any comfort to you (although I doubt that it will be), I, too, am somewhat ignorant concerning this diagnosis. But what I have learned, from talking with a psychologist friend and on the Net, is that this is pretty much a "catch all" diagnosis and really doesn't get to the root of the problem. As one advise column on the Net said, "[This diagnosis] is a bit like hearing that your car has 'engine trouble, not otherwise specified.'" So far, everything I have found confirms that more neuropsychological testing is usually in order if this dx has been given. The question of other issues, like early head trauma or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effect (FAS or FAE) are also questions that come into play. So, I suppose the take home message is, this dx really doen't tell anyone much more than "Yep, there's a problem alright....just don't know what it is!"

Cognitive disorders common mental disorders affect cognitive functions, mainly memory processing, perception and problem solving.Cognitive disorders are lead to some common disorder such as amnesia, dementia and delirium. Others include anxiety disorders for example phobias, panic disorders, anxiety, stress.Organ failure, infection, tumor, kidneys and nerves disorder, side effects of medication and drugs etc. which are some cause of cognitive disorder.Awareness, problem in perception, reasoning, memory and judgment, schizophrenia and delusional disorder these are symptoms of this disorder.Risk factor of this disorder such as advanced cancer or other serious illness, having more than one disease, dementia, and low levels of albumin protein in the blood, infection, taking medications that affect the mind or behavior.

sometimes I think they just keep coming up with more and more dx's (labels) until everyone can be called "mentally ill"
Just my opinion, please don't take offense.

I am a social service professional and a grandmother raising an ADHD/Cognitive Disorder NOS diagnosed grandson (8 years old). I think the prior reply of Cognitive Disorder NOS being sort of a catch-all category is right on. My definition of NOS is "We don't really know why". So my experience may or may not have any relevance to you. In my grandson's case it is most likely either hereditary (mom and an aunt have some disability in mental functioning) and/or a result of fetal alcohol effects.

I have found no magic answers and look towards a long road with a little boy whose developmental delay proves very challenging. I've never before dealt with a kid who had such a wide range between high and low scores on intellectual and achievement types of testing. I just keep working at understanding both strengths and weaknesses and do all I can to support him becoming as capable as he is able to become. Especially I work at identifying "life skills" that will be basic to daily functioning as an adult. Don't hesitate to ask professionals to explain terms they use, categories on testing, etc. I tackle questions and terms one at a time to gain better understanding of how my grandson perceives and relates to life. It's the only life he has ever known or will know, so it is up to me to try to see into his world as best I can.

Years have passed since the original post, but I wanted to respond anyway. I am a psychologist who gives this diagnosis from time to time. Cognitive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified is in the same category as Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic Disorders. Cognitive Disorder NOS is cognitive dysfunction presumed to be due to a general medical condition and does not meet the criteria for a delirium, dementia, or amnestic disorders. The DSM-IV lists two examples that fall into the category of Cognitive Disorder NOS. One is postconcussional disorder, which is impairment in memory or attention following a head trauma. The other example is mild neurocognitive disorder, which is "impairment in cognitive functioning as evidenced by neuropsychological testing or quantified clinical assessment, accompanied by objective evidence of a systemic general medical condition or central nervous system dysfunction." All that being said, it is a vague label used when no other diagnosis fits. It implies that there has been a change in cognitive functioning from a previous (baseline) level of functioning. The change may be the result of head trauma, neurological disease, etc. I would never give the diagnosis unless I conducted formal neuropsychological testing.

I consider two things for course of treatment. First, the underlying medical condition must be diagnosed and treated properly. Second, I would address the specific cognitive impairments (memory, speech production, attention, etc.). Because this is such a vague or "catch all" diagnosis, it is especially important to understand the specific nature of impairment. This can only be achieved through neuropsychological testing. A patient or the patient's family should ask the clinician for an explanation of and rationale for the diagnosis.

Regarding the original post, I suspect it was a misdiagnosis for a few reasons. The diagnosis will almost always follow some kind of neurological event (stroke or head trauma, for example). You would probably know if that happened. Only the diagnosing clinician knows what they were thinking when they gave the diagnosis. The other two diagnoses, ADHD and Bipolar Disorder, may be sufficient. ADHD involves cognitive dysfunction of sorts. Bipolar Disorder may be accompanied by cognitive distortion or errors in thinking. Perhaps the clinician was referring to developmental delays or subaverage intelligence, in which case other diagnoses would be more accurate. Or maybe they observed learning problems, which have another sets of labels. If they were referring to an impairment or condition present from birth, then Cognitive Disorder NOS is probably the wrong diagnosis. A later poster referred to her grandson's developmental delays resulting from "either hereditary (mom and an aunt have some disability in mental functioning) and/or a result of fetal alcohol effects." Almost certainly, Cognitive Disorder NOS is the wrong label for him. There are other, equally vague labels to give for him.

I hope this helps.

Actually, the last post here is perfect. When I was diagnosed, it was through a neuro-psych evaluation. In mine, I was told that half (I think the right side) of my frontal lobe was impaired. They spoke of some "matrix" but the point was, I had an above average ability to anylize something but an impairment when that knowlege was needed for dicission making. So the impairment in my cognitive functioning is in diciding and choice making. Here's the thing though, ten years later and Ive discovered that this impairment could be related to an insecure attachments to my caregivers in early childhood.

Hi!

I am very interested to hear more about how your diagnosis was due to insecure attachments in early childhood. My son was recently diagnosed with this disorder among 4-5 others which I am trying to wrap my head around. He was adopted from Russia at 2 years 10 months. Previous to adoption, he had lived his whole life in an orphanage.

jennismortal wrote:Cognitive disorders common mental disorders affect cognitive functions, mainly memory processing, perception and problem solving.Cognitive disorders are lead to some common disorder such as amnesia, dementia and delirium. Others include anxiety disorders for example phobias, panic disorders, anxiety, stress.Organ failure, infection, tumor, kidneys and nerves disorder, side effects of medication and drugs etc. which are some cause of cognitive disorder.Awareness, problem in perception, reasoning, memory and judgment, schizophrenia and delusional disorder these are symptoms of this disorder.Risk factor of this disorder such as advanced cancer or other serious illness, having more than one disease, dementia, and low levels of albumin protein in the blood, infection, taking medications that affect the mind or behavior.

my psichiatrist says that i have a cognitive disorder, and psichotic episodes.
i went through a burnout at work at the same time that i was going through an early menopause...
once i told my doctor, i am losing my memory, my short memory was slowly fading away.
i could picture it as a person who comes to the counter of my brain requesting information. The person at the counter looks back, and all the files are on the ground, there is no way to look for the answer. later on, the counter was also left empty...there was nobody to whom i could ask for information. I was simply going blank. i stopped reading, after a couple of lines it became a soup of letters. my mother has vascular dementia and has suffer her whole life from hyperthyroids

i was given antideppressives...it did not worked. I tend to be hyperactive so this made me aggressive. I stopped them.. then i was given seroquel a minimaal dose to help me sleep, i suffered also from aritmia and short breath as i slept...after two months i could barely function, talk or interact with others so i stopped it too.

my psichiatrist sent me to make a blood test, iron was low, b1, and b6 were low . I have always been in the range of hypothiroids and I was also very very low in estrogen.
I had to put a stop to the lifestyle i had and change drastically my rhythm and functions.

i started taking vitamins and supplements. Magnesium and calcium. I started with acupunture.

after six years i start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some things are coming back.
others i might have to learn to live with them.