I think they are dead wrong in not diagnosing it now. If he is autsitic, you could be taking advantage of free special needs preschool thru the school with the diagnosis in place. Early intervention is really important. I would find out what other resources are in your area to have him evaluated.
Quoting karamille:I think they are dead wrong in not diagnosing it now. If he is autsitic, you could be taking advantage of free special needs preschool thru the school with the diagnosis in place. Early intervention is really important. I would find out what other resources are in your area to have him evaluated.
this... i have heard many a horror story from moms who's pedi's didn't want to diagnose the child, which meant crucial time had passed, and services that would have helped, were denied, then putting the child at an even greater loss, because now there is a catch up game to play. If services are started early, then maybe other problems would not have cropped up in the time spent waiting for services.
Quoting karamille:I think they are dead wrong in not diagnosing it now. If he is autsitic, you could be taking advantage of free special needs preschool thru the school with the diagnosis in place. Early intervention is really important. I would find out what other resources are in your area to have him evaluated.
My son is being evaluated later this month, he just turned two. Better now than later to diagnose and begin therapy for it. What red flags of autism does your son show at this time if I may ask? My son has issues with socialization and tends to go into himself and away from others. Eye contact is not good and he has LOTS of sensory problems also. He really does not like to be bothered with ppl. He is smart but prefers to do things solo. I was convinced he has autism, however as he grows idk,,,,,,,,,, could be seriously minor *high functioning* or he may grow out of it ( my feelings and hope )!!!! ^_^ Just a couple of months with aba therapy *applied behavioral analysis* he has improved A LOT already.
Testing for the child is typically done through play and fun activities as they evaluate the different areas of development (like what they did with EI, but more comprehensive), but it is a multi-hour process. The parent also fills out a lot of forms about the child. It would be helpful for you to start writing down behaviors and traits you see in your child, so you'll have that info readily available when you have to fill out the forms. I tend to forget half of the stuff I wanted to mention unless it's written down, and the more info you have, the more comprehensive a picture it will present for the doctors.
You can have developmental testing done by various professionals, but your best bets are probably with a developmental pediatrician or a neuropsychologist. My kids were diagnosed by a team of doctors at our local Children's Hospital's neuropsych dept. The waiting lists can be pretty long (several months or more), so the sooner you get on a waiting list, the better. As you've seen with EI, the sooner you begin providing supports for your child, the better it is for them.
Quoting egyptian_mommy:
My son began the evaluation process at 3. But he wasn't formally evaluated until 4. It's usually a series of tests to see how the child interacts, how they comprehend things etc. There were several parent surveys which all basically asked the same things in different ways. They want to know how your child responds to/interacts with other kids and adults, do they do things like hand flap or rock, do they meltdown if something doesn't go or isn't done exactly as they think it should, do they have trouble transitioning from one activity to another etc. It's a long process.
I have friends whose children were diagnosed as early as 2 - I'd push for an evaluation sooner rather than later! As others have pointed out, the earlier they know, they earlier they can begin therapy to help him.
Good luck!
Yikes!!! deer tick!!
- Marie682
on Dec. 6, 2012 at 5:16 PM