Based on some of the names you listed, I think Porthosa is clearly the name this dog needs. Or Porthosette, perhaps.

Sorry, I missed this one - FSU is in Leon County. Also, update for today is showing up now so let's add that one to local spike. Before Friday, our numbers were hovering in the teens and twenties of new cases per day with a random 50 day thrown in there. Fri/Sat/today has been 50, 86, 167. Clear spike NOW. But also, not the numbers Orange County has been having. (Yet.) School plan here is for parents to choose in-person classes, Digital Academy (which is tied to the school your child would be in, so your child is doing the same thing they would be if they were in the in-person classroom, theoretically), or Virtual School (which is the statewide curriculum, so things will not look the same as the local school). There's an early July deadline for parents to make a choice, and they're supposed to commit for the whole semester. (I do not foresee in-person classes lasting all semester, personally. I think they will have to do at least intermittent closures as outbreaks happen.)

It was part of an email that was sent out Friday afternoon. Cases had been a bit higher here (ETA: since 6/18, compared to where they were before that), but the updates on Friday & Saturday were what I would call a spike. I'd guess it's likely that the decision to send out the email was made before the Friday numbers were posted. I'm also guessing that schools will end up having to move to all-online, at least intermittently, and they will have to adjust the policy again. (It doesn't really affect our family, since homeschooling means I am normally the one caring for the kids during the work day anyway.) It's a normal start date. Last school year started August 12, so it's still starting the second Monday in August. It used to be the third Monday, but they shifted it earlier a few years ago. FSU plans for the last bit of the semester, after Thanksgiving break, to be done online, so students will not return to campus after Thanksgiving until spring semester starts.

DH confirms that he got this message from FSU. Local public schools start Monday, August 10, so it's weird to me that this is effective Friday, August 7.

Nice! I taught 7th-12th when I was a classroom teacher, so when DD#1 is in 6th this coming year, I'll have taught every grade. But homeschooling every grade - I still have a while to go on that one. 🙂

Somehow I have ended up with 13,000 things going on so I can't respond in depth right now, but I wanted to say that I didn't intend to be discriminatory by using that term. Please forgive me if I've caused offense, and thank you for letting me know how it can be perceived.

Check-up with a brain doctor sounds good, though I'll have to reassure him that there will be no shots and no throat swabs. 😉 Thanks @Lawyer&Mom!

Thank you so much, @PeterPan! You've given me a LOT to process, and I appreciate it. I'm struggling with this part - how do I not tell him anything? I mean, we're going to have to drive (2.5 hours) to an appointment. He is going to ask me what's going to happen, and what's going to happen after that, and what's going to happen after that. I am okay with not being able to give all the specifics, but it seems like I need to tell him SOMETHING? Like, we're going to a special place where a person, or maybe a few people, will talk to you and play with you? Would that be okay? I don't want to mess up what they will see, but also, preparing him for what's coming is such a habit that I don't know how to not do it. I can deflect follow-up questions ("I'm not sure. We'll find out when we get there.") but I feel like I need something that I can say to him. I know the pediatrician mentioned ADOS as something they do at the place she's referring us. When we actually schedule it I can ask. I guess I have misunderstood the "high-functioning" label - I thought that that was the same as saying level 1 support. I didn't realize it was referring to IQ. I really don't know what DS's IQ is. I will read that article you linked and then work my way through the other things you listed. I have so much to learn and it's very helpful to have a plan of attack, lol! Re: forms from other people - my first choice would be not to have them, so hopefully that's possible.

I do have teachers and coaches from activities that I could ask if needed. Piano teacher and choir teacher would both be good options, probably.

That is helpful, @happysmileylady, thank you. @Terabith, that's good info to have. There are definitely things about DS that I worry will make someone say "clearly it can't be autism." For example, he is fine with making eye contact, and his speech is not "flat." But then there are other things that seem to me like a big neon "ASD" sign. (Side note: My initials are ASD, and it's very weird to keep using them to mean something else, lol.) Both of you mentioned teachers needing to fill out forms. So now I'm wondering if we will run into snags since DS is homeschooled. Like, will they say "we can't evaluate without input from multiple people/settings"? I guess I'll find out.

So @happysmileylady, would you say that going through the process to get a diagnosis was not worthwhile?

Thank you so much @happysmileylady. I'm not sure my 11yo would know how to answer a phone, for the same reasons! (I mean, it says "swipe up to answer," so she could figure it out. But she wouldn't be able to tell you the process ahead of time.) I know that the place she's referring us to is 2.5 hours away and I *think* she said it would be all completed in one day trip, though I may have misunderstood. But I will not be surprised if it takes months to get on the schedule, especially while covid is going on. I kind of assumed that the diagnosis would give some direction in figuring out next steps, but just "yep, ASD" wouldn't be helpful for that at all. So I'll need to make sure I ask about next steps.

DS (age 6) is being referred by his pediatrician for an evaluation. She suspects that he is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. I am glad we're taking steps in this direction, but I'm also realizing how little I know about the process. So, can any of you who've traveled this road tell me what happens? What should I expect for the evaluation? What should I tell DS to expect? What kinds of information will the results give us? What questions should I be sure to ask? Thanks in advance. 🙂

@CuriousMomof3 - I checked with my BIL, who does a lot with Python professionally. He said he doesn't have any great recommendations for Python coding apps for iPad. He doesn't think Apple allows other programming languages to be installed as apps. He said there's an online Python tool at repl.it but it's very minimal from a teaching or help perspective. (Maybe that could work if he can get the instruction from a separate resource?) I'm pretty sure that my sis & BIL generally don't use Apple products, so it may be that someone else who has experience with iPads can give a better answer. But I didn't want your question to keep going unanswered, so there's my best attempt.

It's working fine for me. Maybe it was just down for a brief time? I'm annoyed with the dashboard/Department of Health people though. I emailed with a question and haven't received a response. Hmph.