Doctor Appointment~May 31st, 2011
I met with the boys' doctor today for Austin's 18 month well check. He is doing great! He is short and thin with a big head, and all is well ;) Thank goodness!
The rest of the appointment was a discussion about Aiden. I told the doctor that we were unable to get an appointment with the Pediatric Neurologist, and we are still on a "waiting list" at the Waisman Center so he can be "officially" diagnosed. Without that, I cannot pursue further help for Aiden. He will do summer school, but that ends mid-July, which means he will receive no speech or occupational therapy for the remainder of the summer--NOT okay! The doctor was surprised and said, "I'm operating under the assumption that he already has that diagnosis." Why can't anyone say "your son is autistic"? I honestly still had "maybe that isn't it" in the back of my head. So now it is time to move on. Aiden is autistic. This isn't me being "dramatic" or Aiden "being shy". This is Aiden needs more help than I can give him at home right now. In my heart, I already knew that.
What is next?
Aiden's doctor is looking into a new program at Mercy. They work with autistic children in their homes. I pray this is the answer, and Aiden receives a good therapist who works well with his personality.
When we lived in WI, there was a program at a church called, Happy Times Preschool. It was excellent! That was many years ago..about 25 yrs ago! I wonder if it still exists. It was in Waukesha which was about a half hour drive from where we lived. It was about $40 a month back then, but worth it to us! Our son received therapy there as well. We did not have a diagnosis, so insurance would not pay for it. We had the diagnosis of PDD, but nothing was covered under that. We needed autism in order to receive the full array of services in the schools. Trust your own instincts. Labels are tough to accept when it's your child, but they are needed in order to get help. Our wait so many years ago was a 6 month wait for diagnosis. I expect it's more now. If you can get the speech and OT and even pay for it, privately, it will be worth it. If not, try to do some on your own with what you've seen. I used to set up different "stations" around the house with different activities to teach...using language was essential. Use words all the time!! Teach concepts like forward and backward by having him use his body...create games where he uses his body to go forward and backward, sideways, etc...then say the words...forward, backward, sideways. Make it fun and laugh a lot.
ReplyDelete