AmyinMD Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 My 3 yo is being screened for autism at school. He was in EI for 7 months and his speech therapist there did not think he was autistic and wouldn't recommend him for testing so we just assumed it was not autism. I think it's because ds does not do any of the hand flapping or anything like that which might make it more obvious. His big indicator seems to be lack of talking and refusal to ask for things he wants even if he knows the words. He does talk some (has maybe a couple hundred words) but doesn't use them very much. He does not combine words at all and doesn't use any pronouns at all. All of the words he says are objects or people. The 2 physical things he does are lack of eye contact and a high pitched yell. I'm supposed to go into the meeting next Friday with the Psych, OT, and ds's classroom teacher. I'm feeling very unprepared for it. I don't know the results of the eval and I'm not sure I'm going to know what to ask for at the meeting because it will be so overwhelming. I know I want to push for OT but I think the school will only do that if it interferes with his ability to learn at school. He is in a class with 10 kids (5 special needs) along with 1 teacher and 3 aides and one of the aides is generally assigned to him to keep him on task. Ds's gross motor has always been right at age level but he refuses to kick a ball. I noticed on the evaluation forms they gave me that he really should be doing that by now. He also is always squeezing people that I think OT might help with that. I've been really happy with the preschool class that ds is in right now. He can stay there for the next 2.5 years and then we'll have to decide if we want to keep him there or try to homeschool him. Services through the school are not offered here for homeschoolers. I haven't called insurance yet to see what if anything they will cover. I'm not even sure what kinds of things I should look into for him. We make too much to get the autism waiver in Maryland and too much to file for disability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission-Driven-Mom Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 From my experience...go ahead and get thier input AND then AGAIN do it privately! I wish I would have done this with my children...and now here we are at 10 and 8 yo (almost 9) now seeking a more specialized diagnosis. :glare: Most ps's are so vague and only "treat" the students that hit the top 1-2% in severity when graphed (their results graphed). Their approach was horrible, in retrospect. Well, atleast that was our experiece (and we lived in a wealthy mid-west district at the time). Another family member got an add dx through the school and they've done nothing for him but put him on a med. (not my style, sorry). Also, make sure you get a copy OF all the documentation of all the tests...all their notes...everything!!! That is the best advice I can give you when approaching meetings of that nature! Insurance will most likely cover services needed for an autism diagnosis (possibly pdd-nos too). You will have to read your benefits handbook. I know ours does...learning disabilities is a different story. Also, you can get Medicaid through TEFRA...you will have to get denied by DSS first. A friend told me that they will not deny you based on income...this is how they got medicaid. Her husband is a vet. and they have 3 LD, one of which is Down's and another Diabetic too. I don't know much more then this b/c we haven't needed to take that route (yet) but hopefully it gives something to work with and explore if it presents itself. Best wishes to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I am not a fan of school's evaluating children. Did you get to pick the psychiatrist who evaluated him? How many times did they meet with him? Did they observe him in the classroom? What is the reason behind the school wanting to do an evaluation? I would just listen, request copies of everything and do not sign anything. Are you taking your son for private speech or occupational therapy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 :iagree: Get a dx privately. Take him to a paediatric psychologist who specializes in dxing autism. Too much at stake to risk them flubbing a word or tweaking to suit their need. You need this done right by the right people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyinMD Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 I am not a fan of school's evaluating children. Did you get to pick the psychiatrist who evaluated him? How many times did they meet with him? Did they observe him in the classroom? I didn't get to pick the psychiatrist and I believe she only observed him in the classroom on one occasion. She also came by our house to bring by paperwork for me to fill out and ds was out front playing with his sister while I was talking to her and she watched him for a few minutes. As for the Occupational Therapist I don't even know the persons name and have no specifics on the testing done or anything else. What is the reason behind the school wanting to do an evaluation? I think in part because he's never had an evaluation. During his IEP meeting in January they thought it was possible he was on the spectrum based on stuff I was telling them. I was pushing for the OT eval which I got but when I described some of ds's behaviors they said they'd do a full psych work up. I would just listen, request copies of everything and do not sign anything. What kind of stuff are they wanting me to sign? 60 days from ds's IEP meeting is this Saturday so I think they have to have the evaluations by then. They now don't want to have his assessment meeting until the 25th which really irritates me. The Psychologist did say to call her later this week and she would get me a copy of her report. She did only get the background info I provided yesterday. She was suppose to mail the forms 3 weeks ago but forgot and then realized this Monday she didn't have them so it's obvious she's waiting until the last minute. I think I'm already on the teacher's bad side as it is. I'm going to request to observe next week because I feel like I need to know more about the day to day stuff before I go into the assessment meeting. Are you taking your son for private speech or occupational therapy? I haven't so far. I was waiting on the school's evaluations first but I'm beginning to see I should be doing it privately. Plus I know they are only interested in his disability as it relates to the classroom. Ds's primary doctor recommended a pediatric neurologist examine him. I did leave a message with DC Children's a couple weeks ago about it but I need to follow up on it. I was hoping to have school evaluations in hand first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niffercoo Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Read your health insurance policy very carefully before doing anything that could involve an autism diagnosis. Once my children were diagnosed as being on the spectrum, our insurance would not cover ANYTHING. Not even speech therapy when my daughter had a diagnosed hearing loss that was corrected with tubes. Our state does not require health insurance to cover autism, and so we are out of luck. I do agree about getting an outside evaluation, but be very careful if you involve your health insurance company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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