Autism Evaluation?

[Year Round Mom]

A good friend of ours is an elementary public school teacher and has known our ds5 since he was born. She suggested to me the other day that ds5 might have autism.

 

I have been wondering lately if something is *off*, esp. now that his 3yo sister is really taking off in social skills/verbalizing/etc. and he's...not.

 

I feel he was comparable to other babies his age...until maybe age 2? He began an obsession with fish, sea creatures in particular, that is still going strong today. If I ask him a simple question, like, "how are you today?" he most likely will not answer. So, of course, he doesn't answer/engage with others he doesn't know well, either. He doesn't really engage in conversation with anyone, but has a memory like a steel trap and can spout off whole dialogs from movies. He loves to bounce on his exercise ball; he's in constant motion. We usually would say, yeah, he's all boy: no communication and constant motion. But now, I'm wondering...

 

There's more to this, of course, and I'm definitely just rambling...but on to the question:

 

Should we get him evaluated?

 

There's a part of me that just wants someone to tell us that it's official. Then we can go through all the emotion and do the research and start implementing strategies/treatments to get him on track.

 

There's another part of me that thinks that once he's labelled, it's going to be hard mentally and socially, not only for him, but for us! We hope he will outgrow it or whatever happens with proper treatments...

 

Insurance? We have Tricare as we are military. But do we even want therapy? We are more into natural-type stuff. No chemicals, thank you.

 

My teacher friend suggests that it's very mild, if ds5 has anything at all...

 

Any advice/testimonies are welcome!

 

Thanks!

[Orthodox6]

Did you post on the "special needs" sub-board? Some of us have children with Asperger's, some of us have it ourselves. Possibly that is what you are noticing -- but only a professional with experience in that specifically can confirm or rule out Asperger's.

 

I'm rather forthright about health conditions, so that affects my observations. :) I don't worry about "labels", as those are hindrances for other people, not for me or for my children. Learning as much as we can about our family's several health and learning disabilities was the wisest and most caring thing we could have done, along with securing appropriate assistance of varying kinds. Things don't "go away".

 

Best wishes !

[amy g.]

I understand how you feel.

 

My oldest has been different since her first hour of life. She was first labeled highly gifted, then Asperger's, then with classic Autism. Now her neurologist believes it is a sleep disorder, and not Autism. I just had her tested by a long term Special Education teacher who now helps homeschoolers.

 

She also feels that the Autism label is a misdiagnosis, but Dd still has some idiosyncrasies. Like your son, anything that she has is very mild, and she has really learned to function well in the outside world.

 

This teacher stressed that the only purpose of a label is to get services. Dd has that, so she will receive all of the modifications that she needs. She also used a visual of "The Autism Umbrella" and placed Dd half under it, and half in the rain. If the sleep disorder explains just one of Dd's problems, then she takes another step out from under the umbrella. Since diagnosing Autism is a checklist, if her new medication cures just one of her "symptoms", she no longer meets the criteria, and is just a gifted person with some odd habits.

 

Her point was that it really doesn't matter. No matter what diagnosis we accept, she is still very gifted in some areas, and needs extra help in others. She also told me to face the possibility that Dd may never have a label that is correct. As long as we know how to help her, the rest is unimportant.

 

As for the grieving, it has hit me much harder than I ever would have expected. I would not want to go through it again, but I couldn't get to the other side of the pain without facing it.

 

I hope this helps.

[Year Round Mom]

Thank you for responding, Orthodox6!

 

Yes, I did post on the Special Needs board, too. :D

 

Thanks for your thoughts: getting the evaluation was a good thing in your family, if I read you correctly. It was a decision made in love, and I appreciate that.

 

What kind of treatments do you offer your children? Therapy? Meds? Diet changes? Did you make the treatment decisions based off a doctor's recommendations or from your own research?

 

Thank you so much :)

[newlifemom]

My first question for you to consider is what state do you live in, and how will you get him diagnosed. I have some tentative dx for ds, and before we left NY they (the school district who knew his dx) were quite firm that I could not meet his needs at home. I am very glad I moved and have not gone any further in dxing and/or treatment. I am working with him re: speech(now it is more for clarity and syntax), behavior etc. I don't mind people 'knowing'. Actually I want them to. While he needs to change his behaviors, it is nice that other understand that it doesn't come naturally to him. KWIM?

 

So imo, you need to answer the questions of what will you do with the dx, and how strict of a hsing state you live in. This would affect the decisions for me. HTH.

 

BTW, my ds is very mild at most and really, it is tough at times, but he is learning and doing so much better than he would in a school setting. If I enrolled him in school, he would be in a regular classroom full of children who could potentially be very mean to a child that is 'different'. That he woudl fall through the cracks, I have no doubt. Here at home, he is on track as one who is finishing 1st grade and learning the skills(social, etc) that he needs slowly, in a loving environment.

Edited May 26, 2009 by newlifemom
Yikes! I cannot spell at all.

[Year Round Mom]

I understand how you feel.

 

My oldest has been different since her first hour of life. She was first labeled highly gifted, then Asperger's, then with classic Autism. Now her neurologist believes it is a sleep disorder, and not Autism. I just had her tested by a long term Special Education teacher who now helps homeschoolers.

 

She also feels that the Autism label is a misdiagnosis, but Dd still has some idiosyncrasies. Like your son, anything that she has is very mild, and she has really learned to function well in the outside world.

 

This teacher stressed that the only purpose of a label is to get services. Dd has that, so she will receive all of the modifications that she needs. She also used a visual of "The Autism Umbrella" and placed Dd half under it, and half in the rain. If the sleep disorder explains just one of Dd's problems, then she takes another step out from under the umbrella. Since diagnosing Autism is a checklist, if her new medication cures just one of her "symptoms", she no longer meets the criteria, and is just a gifted person with some odd habits.

 

Her point was that it really doesn't matter. No matter what diagnosis we accept, she is still very gifted in some areas, and needs extra help in others. She also told me to face the possibility that Dd may never have a label that is correct. As long as we know how to help her, the rest is unimportant.

 

As for the grieving, it has hit me much harder than I ever would have expected. I would not want to go through it again, but I couldn't get to the other side of the pain without facing it.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the response, Amy. What you say about not being able to get through the pain without facing the issue...that's exactly it. I'm that type of person that sees the big picture. If I'm told ds has a disorder, then I can make decisions regarding his education/upbringing/etc more easily than if I were just to try this or that based on books I might read of people I might speak with. I can get through it if I'm doing something about it, but it's difficult to do anything about it without a big picture (diagnosis).

 

On the other hand, I see that diagnoses can be just labels. I wonder if it becomes a label if the family allows it (mentally, socially). But a family can choose to keep the diagnosis from degenerating into a label...like your friend said, a child may or may not be correctly evaluated, but he will always have areas of giftedness and areas of needs...

 

Rambling thoughts...

 

Thank you so much, Amy!

[Orthodox6]

I tried to send you a PM, but that system seems rarely to function for me. If my personal e-mail is available, if you wish to write me that way, I gladly will share our experiences. I don't like to spill everything onto a public message board that anybody in the world can read !

 

 

Thank you for responding, Orthodox6!

 

Yes, I did post on the Special Needs board, too. :D

 

Thanks for your thoughts: getting the evaluation was a good thing in your family, if I read you correctly. It was a decision made in love, and I appreciate that.

 

What kind of treatments do you offer your children? Therapy? Meds? Diet changes? Did you make the treatment decisions based off a doctor's recommendations or from your own research?

 

Thank you so much :)

[Year Round Mom]

My first question for you to consider is what state do you live in, and how will you get him diagnosed. I have some tentative dx for ds, and before we left NY they (the school district who knew his dx) were quite firm that I could not meet his needs at home. I am very glad I moved and have not gone any further in dxing and/or treatment. I am working with him re: speech(now it is more for clarity and syntax), behavior etc. I don't mind people 'knowing'. Actually I want them to. While he needs to change his behaviors, it is nice that other understand that it doesn't come naturally to him. KWIM?

 

So imo, you need to answer the questions of what will you do with the dx, and how strict of a hsing state you live in. This would affect the decisions for me. HTH.

 

BTW, my ds is very mild at most and really, it is tough at times, but he is learning and doing so much better than he would in a school setting. If I enrolled him in school, he would be in a regular classroom full of children who could potentially be very mean to a child that is 'different'. That he woudl fall through the cracks, I have no doubt. Here at home, he is on track as one who is finishing 1st grade and learning the skills(social, etc) that he needs slowly, in a loving environment.

 

Thanks for responding, Pam. That's a good point I had not considered: HS laws in TN, where we live. I have no clue about that. But I think TN is more lax, in general (esp. compared to NY!).

 

So, your son has been diagnosed, but now is not receiving any therapy/etc. from dxs, but more from you? That's what I'm hoping for my son. Do you feel the diagnosis itself was good for your family? I am the same, I'm not shy about sharing with friends/family/whomever. :D

 

I'm thinking of going to Vanderbilt to get him evaluated...maybe?

 

Thanks!

[Carol in Cal.]

Her son seemed very much like other active children until he was about 1 1/2 years old, and then suddenly stopped developing mentally and emotionally, and gradually started to develop other symptoms. It was really heartbreaking to see this happen. Our two families were in a neighborhood play group together that met weekly, so I had a close view of this. I had to go back to work between his 2 and 2 1/2 year anniversaries, and so we were unable to participate in the play group while this was getting more obvious. I remember attending a birthday party for one of the kids in the group after I had been back at work for about 5-6 months. It was so fun to see everyone and see how the kids had grown and developed in their speech, social skills, imaginative play, etc. while we were gone. Except for this one child, who had not changed at all except physically, the whole time we were gone. It felt like a big elephant carcass in the room, and I wasn't sure whether anyone else noticed. But about a month later, his mom told me that she had had him evaluated and he was diagnosed with autixm.

 

Anyway, she worked both with the school system and outside of it. She and her husband had the means to hire their own help, but they also accessed school district programs and their son got a lot out of that. Over the years the behavioral coaching and also some occupational therapy was particularly valuable, and not something that would have occurred to them on their own.

 

Also, participating in the school system, but as an advocate rather than just a consumer, put them in touch with many other parents who had been through or were going through much the same things. They pooled their information and supported each other quite effectively. At some point my friend started doing this independently as well, and since she was 'in the system', she was a very effective coach to other parents who were less experienced in that area. She also heard about new treatments as they arose...for instance, a mutual friend with a son with very extreme autism was able to help him considerably with OCD medication--an unexpected result, but one which others have tried, based on their experience, with good effects.

 

So I think that all in all, although I would have been very tempted to homeschool in that circumstance, she did a very good thing in seeking out this help for her son. In a situation like this, you need a team and/or a village. You can get that without going through the school district, but IMO you are unlikely to get it without getting a diagnosis.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Carol in Cal.

[Year Round Mom]

Thanks, Carol, that's what I'm beginning to think, too: getting a diagnosis is a good thing!

 

I appreciate the delineation you made between being an advocate and being a consumer. I want to be an advocate for my child and even help others (what a great vision!).

 

Getting a diagnosis will give us some specifics to work with. Not getting one will just make trying to address ds's needs difficult...

 

Thanks for sharing!

[camibami]

My oldest has Tourette's syndrome, and some other...issues. A LD. A high IQ. Some of the Asperger's signs, but not enough. Basically, she's weird.:D

 

It *did* help us to get a diagnosis, even though it turned out rather vague except for the TS. We weren't just imagining things, there are lots of parents out there with kids dealign with the same stuff, and most of all, it helped *her*. Now, when kids ask why she tic-ing (flapping her arms or hooting or whatever) she can just matter of factly tell them. And you know what? Its fine.Its something she *has*, not something she *is*. It all combines to make her a girl I would never, ever change.

 

It really became evident when my youngest got older, and her development is so totally normal. When we saw what typical really is, it made older DD's issues more apparent. She was 7, and our youngest 4,when we went through all of this diagnosis/peds/ nuero/etc evaluation stuff.

 

IMO, it is better to know, for the child's well being. That has been our experience, anyway.

[Misty]

It sounds like he is possibly on the spectrum and yes, you should seek out an evaluation. Medication is not the only therapy. He may need occupational therapy, social skills therapy, ABA, or speech therapy. All 3 of my daughters have Asperger's and they are affected in different ways. My 6yo daughter just spent the past 6 months in occupational therapy. She is about to graduate out as she has met many of the goals they had set for her. Her main reasons for going were fine motor deficits (common for kids on the spectrum) and sensory issues. They also worked with her on her ADHD, getting her to focus on a task for five minutes at a time. She is unmedicated at this point, but we may consider meds in the future. We have always been anti-medication, but then we had kids with these issues and our opinions are slowly changing over time. We have not made that leap yet, but I know it's coming for us someday.

 

We are also a military family and Tricare paid for every penny of my daughter's therapy. They have paid for all the evaluations and all of the therapies that my children have needed. My oldest daughter needed to see a psychologist for her OCD and it was all paid for. The only thing Tricare will give you a hard time about is speech therapy. But if it's needed (sometimes Asperger kids need speech therapy for pragmatics, inflection, tone, etc.) then there are ways to get it covered. You may have to enroll in ECHO, which is a supplementary insurance available to military with special needs. You can also get ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy through ECHO, if it's needed.

 

Here is a good military autism group.. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/militaryfamiliesautismsupport/

(watch for posts from LTC Scott Campbell... He's very knowledgable)

 

Another military autism resource... STOMP http://www.stompproject.org/

 

Send me a private message if you have questions. I just went down this path last year with all three of my daughters. Don't worry about the labels. You don't have to tell your child or anyone else that he has Asperger's if you don't want. Many choose not to. You can always choose to tell him later, just make sure you do it in a matter-of-fact way, during the course of a conversation... Not like a "sit down, I need to tell you something" way that will make him feel like something is wrong with him.

 

The diagnosing professional will make recommendations on any therapies he may need in the future and will refer you to those doctors/therapists. If you don't want to medicate, just tell them that and they will respect it. My 2nd daughter received a diagnosis of Asperger's, but she does not need any therapies at this time (except social skills, which we are trying to do informally). My 6yo was a different story... She needed a lot of therapy and interventions.

 

If you are Tricare Prime, then go to your pediatrician and explain your concerns (write them down if you don't want to explain in front of your ds) and get a referral. Don't leave there without a referral or you will regret it later. After you have your referral, the psychologist will help you navigate everything from there. Oh, and a bonus for getting an evaluation is they give your child an IQ test. I found out that 2 of my girls were highly gifted.

 

Let me know if you need help or further info. I'd be happy to help.

[Year Round Mom]

My oldest has Tourette's syndrome, and some other...issues. A LD. A high IQ. Some of the Asperger's signs, but not enough. Basically, she's weird.:D

 

It *did* help us to get a diagnosis, even though it turned out rather vague except for the TS. We weren't just imagining things, there are lots of parents out there with kids dealign with the same stuff, and most of all, it helped *her*. Now, when kids ask why she tic-ing (flapping her arms or hooting or whatever) she can just matter of factly tell them. And you know what? Its fine.Its something she *has*, not something she *is*. It all combines to make her a girl I would never, ever change.

 

It really became evident when my youngest got older, and her development is so totally normal. When we saw what typical really is, it made older DD's issues more apparent. She was 7, and our youngest 4,when we went through all of this diagnosis/peds/ nuero/etc evaluation stuff.

 

IMO, it is better to know, for the child's well being. That has been our experience, anyway.

 

Thank you, Cami! That is what really tipped us off that ds is not just being a boy who doesn't like to communicate: his 3yo sister's social/verbal progress!

 

And man, does this ever make me appreciate my son's beauty more than ever...he is absolutely adorable, first off. Secondly, he's super duper intelligent. He was able to identify more fish/sea creatures at the aquarium than we adults were! And thirdly, he's funny. I love his laugh. I love it when he uses a movie quote appropriately in any given context. Makes me giggle :tongue_smilie:

 

SO UNIQUELY HIM!

[Ibbygirl]

Another vote for an evaluation here. I took my son to his well baby visit and she thought something was "off" and gave me a referral for an evaluation. It was completely free and it turns out he does have Autism. Once he had a diagnosis it opened up resources for me that I didn't have before. Therapy through the PSS, advocacy from CARD etc. Knowing definitively what you are dealing with will also help you in being able to equip yourself with knowledge in order to help them. I wish you all the best with your precious one. :)

[Year Round Mom]

Thank you, Ibbygirl and Misty, for sharing!

 

I just set up an appt at our pediatrician's office. I was hoping to get the eval somewhere else, as I'm not crazy about our doc, but it's the quickest way (Vandy - I shouldn't be surprised - has a 3-6 month waiting list...and we're moving sometime within the year).

 

So, at least we have a definite starting point.

 

Thank you so much for your input and support. I will keep ya'll updated.

 

By the way, thanks for all the Tricare info, Misty. I will probably be contacting you after the eval, if we need to pursue therapy or whatnot!

 

:)

[Lulabelle]

Hi,

I'm new here, but just wanted to offer a suggestion. Are you anywhere near Franklin, TN? If you are, I would suggest that you go to your ped and ask for a referral to Dr. Kalb at Cool Springs Family Medicine in Franklin. He takes Tricare Prime and would be able to help you with evaluations/diagnostic testing. My son was diagnosed with moderate autism just over a year ago. We've been seeing Dr. Kalb since July of last year. We are also pretty natural in our treatment. We've done dietary changes, vitamin supplements and a little bit of occupational therapy and he's progressed immensely. A year ago, he had very little language that was not scripted, no interest in other kids (including his brothers), frequent meltdowns -- now he is pretty close to indistinguishable from his peers. He still has a few little quirks, but he is able to express himself so much more now.

[Ibbygirl]

Thank you, Ibbygirl and Misty, for sharing!

 

I just set up an appt at our pediatrician's office. I was hoping to get the eval somewhere else, as I'm not crazy about our doc, but it's the quickest way (Vandy - I shouldn't be surprised - has a 3-6 month waiting list...and we're moving sometime within the year).

 

So, at least we have a definite starting point.

 

Thank you so much for your input and support. I will keep ya'll updated.

 

By the way, thanks for all the Tricare info, Misty. I will probably be contacting you after the eval, if we need to pursue therapy or whatnot!

 

:)

 

I don't know how it is with your insurance, but unless your pediatrician is a specialist in developmental delays, you will most likely get a referral to have an evaluation done outside. My son's evaluation was done at a center because of his age (he was under 2 at the time) and was then referred to a pediatric neurologist to confirm the findings, my daughter who has Asperger's was diagnosed at a much later age (8)directly by the pediatric neurologist. Both of my children are registered through CARD and have received free services from them and my son is in an Autism cluster in the public school and he gets free therapies there for his Autism.

[KristenS]

As a parent of a quirky kid, I want to add that it doesn't hurt to ask for an evaluation. We ended up going private, out of pocket, to a place I figured I could trust, because they had evaluated some autistic kids that were at our church preschool. And one thing I knew for sure, my kid was VERY much like the 'officially' spectrum kids ... they played very well together. :) My son went through a season (couple years) of very severe tantrums, plus some other odd behaviors like bouncing the bejeebers out of our sofa, and being obsessed with numbers, stuff like that.

 

Anyway, we got a "This kid's not autistic" result, and were given the advice to just deal with the behavioral issues. It was helpful in a way, to be free to just treat some of his stuff as discipline, but I still think if we'd gone a year sooner, we might have gotten a different answer. But I've still been in contact with some of those same kids he was in preschool with ... and while they still have much in common with my son, I can see how he's progressed and they struggled. Even the ones I knew who weren't officially labelled back then are labelled and receiving help now.

 

(And I adore every one of them. They and my son still get along great together ... common interests! And I deal well with them as co-teacher for Sunday School and occasional den leader assistant in Scouts, because they behave and react as my son does, so I can help ease things for them.)

 

Actually, out of the roughly half dozen kids that ended up in our Tiger den this year ... half were 'officially' on the spectrum, and the others were all just as quirky in their own way. They made a great den because we could accomodate for them all at once (all of them highly sensitive to loud noises, for one example).

 

Even if he's not autistic or some other easy-to-label issue ... getting a good look at symptoms can help. Myself, I fit an ADD profile. I have no official diagnosis (still working through the severe anxiety stuff) but just reading about coping strategies for ADD helped a ton. So even if the label doesn't fit, sometimest the therapies can help. Does that make any sense?

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I think that getting an evaluation is always a good idea in addition to a second opinion as well:) The only thing that I reccommend is that if it is truly mild and requires no professional services, then I would consider holding off on a diagnosis. That is just my opinion due to what I experienced. Plus I did have concerns that the diagnostic criteria is a little on the subjective side for asperger's and other conditions. Also, I felt that both my husband and I could have been labelled as such. I do not think that labels are bad when services are needed, but if they are not, I just wondered if it could color the outlook of my ds's life. I figure we could always get a diagnosis if needed:)

 

 

We had our ds evaluated by a neuro-developmental pediatrican because the daycare teachers expressed concern at 4 years of age. We also had him re-evaluated at 6 years with another psychologist. The first evaluation, said that he did not have all of the criteria and to observe him. The second felt that he had mild aspberger's but did not recommend any specific therapies like speech or occupational therapy. He said I might want to consider social skills group which is not available around here. We therefore opted not have an offical diagnosis at this time. Instead I have purchased social skills dvd's which proved to be very helpful. We also have my ds involved in every activity known to man:tongue_smilie:We have done, choir, co-op classes, boy scouts, swimming, soccer, karate, etc. This is just our story though and every kid is different:)

[Misty]

My oldest has Tourette's syndrome, and some other...issues. A LD. A high IQ. Some of the Asperger's signs, but not enough. Basically, she's weird.:D

 

Cami,

My 11yo daughter has Tourette's, OCD, some LD's (dyscalculia, dysgraphia), ADD, a gifted IQ, and some Asperger signs, but not enough for a full diagosis. She is officially diagnosed with "Asperger traits", but I think of her as full blown Aspie because she is VERY Aspie to me and both her sisters are diagnosed with Asperger's as well. The psychologist just didn't see it as much as I do. She also has hyperlexia and is very highly verbal with a near photographic memory.

 

My daughter's TS has gotten better over the years. She was diagnosed when she was 8 years old. She just has occassional tics now. Her OCD is harder to live with than anything (and inattentiveness/working memory issues).

[skaterbabs]

My younger son has an autism dx, my elder son probably would too if we bothered to go through the process. Financially we simply cannot afford it, and neither would recieve anything from the dx, so we don't. Our insurance considers autism a learning disability to be addressed through the school system and covers no services; VA schools consider autism a neurological disorder to be addressed through the child's doctor and so provides no services.

[Ibbygirl]

My younger son has an autism dx, my elder son probably would too if we bothered to go through the process. Financially we simply cannot afford it, and neither would recieve anything from the dx, so we don't. Our insurance considers autism a learning disability to be addressed through the school system and covers no services; VA schools consider autism a neurological disorder to be addressed through the child's doctor and so provides no services.

 

That REALLY stinks!! I'm so sorry to hear this. They have to see that these kids are slipping through the cracks. I hope somebody in VA comes and takes responsibility for these kids. The parents cannot do it all on their own. Have you contacted CARD?? What do they say about this? I'm so sorry to hear that. :( :grouphug::grouphug:

[skaterbabs]

My boys are extremely high functioning; for a couple of years the docs weren't sure if Wacko was HFA or if it was just his inborn personality.:tongue_smilie: It wasn't until he was displaying at eight some of the behaviours that were just this side of unusual at four that it was certain. He did finally learn to tie his shoes this year, though!

[Year Round Mom]

Lulabelle, we live within an hour or so of Franklin. Thanks for recommending Dr. Kalb! We love visiting Franklin for the shopping (of course!). And we've been to two of the Family Life Marriage conferences there.

 

Priscilla, thank you for sharing your experience. I believe that whatever ds has is very mild...but I feel fairly certain it's something. I am really working on my mindset, even now, before we go to the doc's, to make sure that I'm looking at my son objectively: what does he need, what's the best way to provide it? so that I don't label him or let others take control of his treatments...I'll be asking you all for advice and strategies, I have the feeling. I just need a name, for some reason, to help with the research and emotional well-being :tongue_smilie:

 

Skaterbabs, so sorry about all the run-around the folk have given you all. It sounds like your kiddo is doing well, though! That's great!

 

I wonder about shoe-tying...hmmm...ds never has expressed an interest and it's just easier to buy velcro or do it myself, esp since I still have a 3yo and an 1yo...hmmm...

[skaterbabs]

Honestly, my best advice on the shoe-tying is to just drop it and buy elastic and velcro as long as you can. :tongue_smilie: It wasn't really a PROBLEM for us until Wacko hit adult sizes - the elastic/velcro/buckle shoes in mens' sizes are hard to find and expensive. :glare:

[KristenS]

I missed where shoe-tying came into the thread, but my kid lives on velcro and elastic too. :) Fortunately knot-tying is a Wolf Cub thingy so I think we'll finally buckle down and work on tying those shoes!

[Year Round Mom]

First of all, thank you to everyone who suggested I go to the doctor's for my ds. And I thank you for anyone who prayed, too (even though I didn't ask for or specify any requests!)

 

Two specific prayer requests were answered (I had asked IRL friends and fam):

 

1) It's annoying to wait 1-2hrs min. to see the doc, which is the typical wait time at this office. But we only had to wait 20,30 min. this time, very typical of other offices! Such a small, but encouraging blessing!

 

2) This new doc (not the one who's seen my gals) is a *teacher*!!! I wanted someone who would just naturally share the why's and how's of anything he did or said. And this guy did! Talked my ear off for half an hour! Wonderful! Accounts for the typical long waiting period, though! Take the good with the bad, I guess! :tongue_smilie:

 

Doc said that ds is way too verbal to be autistic in the classic sense, which I knew. But ds did start shaking his head vigorously back and forth during the session and didn't answer questions from the doc unless they were fish-related!

 

NO official diagnosis, for which I am grateful, because I was wanting a referral to some sort of specialist. He suspects Asperger's, though. A relief to me! It's not the result of bad parenting!!!

 

We're waiting for a call from one of three developmental pediatricians in the Army (so says this doc) who happens to be stationed on our post!!! We'll see what happens after this next appt.

 

Thanks for the support, ladies :)

[Misty]

Glad to hear you had a nice visit with the doc and things are going as you had hoped! Please keep in contact if you need help navigating Tricare, etc.

[Ibbygirl]

First of all, thank you to everyone who suggested I go to the doctor's for my ds. And I thank you for anyone who prayed, too (even though I didn't ask for or specify any requests!)

 

Two specific prayer requests were answered (I had asked IRL friends and fam):

 

1) It's annoying to wait 1-2hrs min. to see the doc, which is the typical wait time at this office. But we only had to wait 20,30 min. this time, very typical of other offices! Such a small, but encouraging blessing!

 

2) This new doc (not the one who's seen my gals) is a *teacher*!!! I wanted someone who would just naturally share the why's and how's of anything he did or said. And this guy did! Talked my ear off for half an hour! Wonderful! Accounts for the typical long waiting period, though! Take the good with the bad, I guess! :tongue_smilie:

 

Doc said that ds is way too verbal to be autistic in the classic sense, which I knew. But ds did start shaking his head vigorously back and forth during the session and didn't answer questions from the doc unless they were fish-related!

 

NO official diagnosis, for which I am grateful, because I was wanting a referral to some sort of specialist. He suspects Asperger's, though. A relief to me! It's not the result of bad parenting!!!

 

We're waiting for a call from one of three developmental pediatricians in the Army (so says this doc) who happens to be stationed on our post!!! We'll see what happens after this next appt.

 

Thanks for the support, ladies :)

 

 

:grouphug: I'm so glad to hear it went well and that your prayers were answered. Please post back and let us know how it goes with the specialist. :)