ealp2009 Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 We are getting early intervention for my 18month old with developmental delays in the area of auditory comprehension, expressive communication, and personal social. So the early intervention folks have been super helpful and responsive and told me to think about what I want in a Individual Family Service Plan. We don't have a diagnosis and he doesn't have any really obvious issues, other than not talking/communicating/responding. Hearing has been testing and he does hear find. He is an overall happy kid, motor skills are slightly delayed, but that is not a concern really at this point. Since, I don't have experience with this, I was wondering what other people have asked for and what has been most helpful. I know this is not for a school age kid, but i'm hoping getting early intervention will hopefully head off some of the issues that i have had with my older child who didn't get early intervention and now I wish that he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Their sentiments are no replacement for evals a diagnoses. Get on the waiting list for an autism clinic. Your EI doesn't have what you need or they'd be telling you. And given that you're seeing motor planning I would also want a PROMPT therapist to eval for apraxia of speech. My ds was diagnosed at newly 2. Anyone telling you to wait on evals is full of bunk. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 I would recommend looking at "An Early Start for Your Child with Autism" and considering if you want to get on a waiting list for an autism eval. Maybe that is through your pediatrician and not through EI. It was for me. This book is a nice developmental book I think. It has the kind of activities I think are genetically good, it doesn't matter if your child has autism or not. I think sometimes people follow your lead, and don't want to push parents before they are ready. If you want to push on the autism possibility then you can ask about it. But again it may not be the role of EI, exactly. I think it will depend on your location. EI where I used to live just does not address early intervention for autism. There are some new innovations that haven't spread everywhere, yet. Good luck, it sounds like you are being proactive! You might need to keep being proactive and pursue an autism evaluation separate from EI, though, but maybe not. I just mention it because it is a detail I didn't understand for a long time and if I had understood it I would have asked for a referral from the pediatrician a year earlier! I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do by going thorough EI. Turns out that isn't the system where I lived. Honestly I would ask -- for kids in this area who are diagnosed with autism, what is their process? Where do they go? Who does the testing? It is through EI? It is through health insurance? Is is through a pediatrician referral? And where you live -- who knows. But I would ask the EI people just so you can know what it is like locally. And honestly even if it isn't information you end up needing, maybe you can help another parent in the future. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 https://www.amazon.com/Early-Start-Your-Child-Autism/dp/160918470X This is a link for the book.... literally "help your child connect" is in the title, it seems like it may have some helpful ideas for increasing connection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Fwiw, we were not told autism when my ds was first starting. The SLP was like oh, it's apraxia, it's not autism. Well fast forward a few years, and it clearly was autism. What Lecka is telling you is correct. When you get diagnosed now, it opens doors to testing and things, that if you go in later for diagnosis, they just don't bother to get done. Then you have holes. It STILL frustrates me, and I work my butt off helping my ds. Early is where it's at, and a kid who is not responding needs evals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Ironically you may get more from EI if you have an outside autism diagnosis. It depends where you live. It worked out but I think I got a bit burned on this, thinking I was doing the right thing with EI. Looking at positives and the bright side is great as a parent; but doesn't bring as many services sometimes, and sometimes kids deserve to have an opportunity to benefit from services. Sometimes services can be too much too and you can decline things; but it is better to have all the options. That is if it is even heading in that direction! But I am at the point where I think it doesn't hurt to mention things, just in case. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ealp2009 Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Thank you for these thoughts. Looks like I have more reading to do and calls to make. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/patient-care-centers/center-autism-and-related-disorders/outreach-training/early-signs-of-autism-video-tutorial Here is a video about early signs of autism in 1-year-olds. It isn't the one I watched, but I watched a video that was helpful to me for seeing what they meant on some terms. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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