maize Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 This is my ds4, multiple red flags going on. A little over a year ago he was evaluated by the Early Intervention folks as having speech and developmental delays; we enrolled him in the district preschool with an IEP last fall but eventually pulled him out in January as it was not a good fit. In December he was evaluated by a neuropsychologist, just a two hour evaluation plus some parental questionnaires. The neuropsych diagnosed speech language disorder, ADHD, and anxiety. My mommy gut is saying autism spectrum, but I'm not sure where to go from here. I wasn't super impressed with the neuropsych. Should I be looking for someone who specializes in ASD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Oh, and ASD parents--do you have any books or other resources to recommend? One thing that is really pushing me to seek diagnosis at this point is that dh has a tendency to get frustrated with ds4 and his behaviors. I've always been able to meet the kids where they were at and work with them, but dh tends to have more rigid ideas of how they should behave and...it doesn't work for ds4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Did the np actually do any questionaires for ASD like the GARS or ADI-R or anything? I find the challenge for homeschoolers is getting enough OTHER people seeing the behaviors that we can get those forms filled out and get it quantified. So I would work on making that happen and then do the forms again to update. For us, bringing in a behaviorist was really helpful, because she was noticing more and working with him longer and seeing him in more situations and making more demands. Our first time around, we only had say a swim teacher (highly preferred activity, very brief sessions, with no observation of behaviors before or after the class) and that kind of thing. People need to be with him for several hours at a time and they need to be making demands, not just doing preferred activities. And the person needs to be not oblivious. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Oh, and ASD parents--do you have any books or other resources to recommend? One thing that is really pushing me to seek diagnosis at this point is that dh has a tendency to get frustrated with ds4 and his behaviors. I've always been able to meet the kids where they were at and work with them, but dh tends to have more rigid ideas of how they should behave and...it doesn't work for ds4. Remind us, you already have another diagnosed with ASD or no? I agree, rigidity in two people is like walls hitting each other. Btdt. For us, the behaviorist was what we needed. Sure, there are loads of books, but it is so hard to apply, so hard to realize what you're seeing. There's a big gap from knowing something in theory to being able to analyze a situation in the moment and know what strategies to use. So when the behaviorist/BCBA comes in, they can break it down. They basically handle the parent as well as the dc, and they know how to explain things so that it clicks in the mind of the parent. So I have piles of books, but the behaviorist has been my best resource. She's like super jet fuel for us. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 (edited) Your other obvious thing is to go to an autism-specific clinic and have them run the ADOS. He's at the right age for it. But if you are using only the questionnaires, you have to have other people seeing the behaviors you're seeing. For the ADOS, that's usually going to be a hospital or university clinic. You'll need referrals, insurance coverage, etc. They usually pre-screen, so that process will let you know if it's worth proceeding. When we started seeking evals for my ds, we were going to go with an autism clinic. I debated because I also knew he had SLDs and finally canceled because I was told the lead psych there was particularly anti-homeschooling. It ended up taking us quite the journey to get everything sorted out. So I'm all for an autism clinic or someone who is going to slow down and focus on only that question. You just don't want someone who is anti-homeschooling who blames behaviors on you. It is so NOT fun. :( Edited October 30, 2016 by OhElizabeth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I don't have any helpful advice (we have not done this) but my two cents on the dh vs ds4, it reminds me of when my big kids were little and dh's rigid ideas of how they should behave (e.g., timeouts? HA!). The funny thing is that MIL and SIL report that dh was the exact. same. way as a child. There was nothing she could do that would make him behave in the intended way if he didn't want to, no punishment or consequence that had any effect whatsoever. Anyway, I don't think you'd need a full diagnosis in order to work on that with the behaviorist or whoever. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 That sorta makes the point on why it's important to get the evals, because there is something genetic going on there. ;) A BCBA/behaviorist will be expensive, so for most people it's actually going to require a diagnosis first. We paid out of pocket for a while and then got our disability scholarship to cover it because we have a diagnosis. So, on a functional level, you won't go long before you'll be wanting the diagnosis. But bringing someone in is a way to get more people seeing the behaviors, to get someone who can fill out forms, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 (edited) Remind us, you already have another diagnosed with ASD or no? I agree, rigidity in two people is like walls hitting each other. Btdt. For us, the behaviorist was what we needed. Sure, there are loads of books, but it is so hard to apply, so hard to realize what you're seeing. There's a big gap from knowing something in theory to being able to analyze a situation in the moment and know what strategies to use. So when the behaviorist/BCBA comes in, they can break it down. They basically handle the parent as well as the dc, and they know how to explain things so that it clicks in the mind of the parent. So I have piles of books, but the behaviorist has been my best resource. She's like super jet fuel for us. No ASD diagnosis. I have four with ADHD, anxiety, and speech language disorder diagnoses. Some of them has some ASD tendencies (those do run in the family) but not I think to the point of meriting diagnosis. One ASD diagnosed nephew, another who fell just short of a diagnosis. I'm ADHD, but not at all a rigid thinker. That part comes from my husband, along with the anxiety and the speech difficulties. Our poor kids never had a chance :D On the plus side they all have some significant strengths as well; we tend 2E. My mom's been telling me DS4 seemed spectrum-ish to her ever since he was a young toddler. He's definitely got stuff going on that my other kids didn't. More language difficulties, more meltdowns, more rigidity. I still want book recommendations as other stuff is likely to take awhile. The stuff you've described with your behaviorist and ABA...I actually think I'd struggle to work with that kind of structure. It would be good for DH though, and he's the one who has problems with ds4. Ds and I actually get along quite well together--I'm more likely to find his antics amusing than anything else, and screaming meltdowns just don't bother me. I'm way too laid back to get uptight over stuff. If something is really important I can usually find a way to get his cooperation. Dh just falls apart. Edited October 30, 2016 by maize 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Stop That Seemingly Senseless Behavior!: FBA-based Interventions for People with Autism (Topics in Autism) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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