Help/Information needed for Southern Florida Early Intervention or Early Steps Programs....

[Guest guest]

Hi! First I want to take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy 2006! I havent had much of a chance to write in the past few months...seems like life has been pretty crazy busy for me and I have had quite a time juggling and staying afloat....but I try to read the posts when I can. And while I lurk in the background I keep all good thoughts for all of you.

I wrote about 1 year ago asking for any information about early intervention programs in Southern Florida. I had been visiting my brother, his wife and at that time almost 1 year old son...and well, I was very concerned. Having a child with autism...ya' know, I look at things alot differently and saw many developmental delays that looked troubling to me. I received several responses, shared the information with the parents (not easy) and they did look into Early Steps. They had an evaluation and the results stated that he did not have autism but his delays did qualify him for EITHER speech or ot (pick one only they said).

Well, from far away (I am in California) I couldnt be of much help (or bother, depending how we look at it). And now well, we went again for the holidays and my nephew is almost 2....and O-MY GOODNESS, my husband and I feel like banging our heads into the wall...ok, I am trying to not get emotional, trying to keep cool, trying trying trying....but My nephew is showing many classic signs of being on the spectrum. He is still not talking except "mama mama" and "Dada dada", he has no tongue use/muscle problems orally, he eats babyfood or really soft things that melt in his mouth. Has major sensory issues (can stand to be dirty), they feed him when he is distracted by the tv/video, and even then they say that lately it is even worse, he likes to spin, looks out the tops of his eyes like they are rolled up way high (my son did that sideways, out the corners of his eyes), He wants to walk and they need major distractions to keep him in the highchair (we went to a restaurant and I suggested the use of a portable dvd player) if that wasnt there...he wouldnt have been. Well, I can go on with more but I am afraid to make this too long...I asked about the services (I dont bring up autism, I bring up developmental delays). They both work and are expecting another child the end of February. They just dont seem to have the time or agreement to focus on either appealing these Early Steps people. Or finding another organization that will provide services. by the way, it is very difficult for me to understand how they can evaluate a child alittle more than 1 years old and "rule out" autism. I wouldnt even think they should diagnose that young...his delays and issues should be enough to qualify for a program, no, yes??

So, now my biggest question to any Floridians out there is: Is Early Steps the only way to go? Are there other places to go? (that wouldnt cost them out of pocket). Here in California we can go thru the School district or Regional Center or private. Also, I should mention that they live in Davie (outside Ft Lauderdale).

I would greatly appreciate any help and guidance you can give me. I did tell my sister in law I was going to write. She seems pretty frustrated and I think she is realizing that "things dont seem quite right" and is getting worried. I dont think they see any autism since the evaluation said no....but I see it big time and feel this next year is very important. My son (and daughter) went into full early intervention programs and was hoping to find out if they exist in Florida too. Also, she kept saying that there were major changes 2 or 3 years ago...but still that doesnt or shouldnt mean that there is nothing or is there??

Thanx so much for all your help!! and I will post this on two groups so if you see it again...

Randi~

mom to 12, 9 asd - almost 10 in two weeks, yikes, and le 8