Guest guest Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. Thanks for sharing and info or stories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Sorry about the typos - on my iPhone > > So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. > > Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? > > I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. > > Thanks for sharing and info or stories > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 My son was diagnosed by a psychologist. It took three visits that totalled about 3 1/2 hours.  So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as "the screeners" and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. Thanks for sharing and info or stories No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1901 / Virus Database: 2109/4773 - Release Date: 01/28/12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 So she should know by now if she's the " aspie expert " then, right? Getting frustrated bc she has a copy of the schools autism eval with various rating scales and yet she tried to send me home with another ASDS form. Just had MD worried that she hasn't read anything I gave her...maybe I'm just impatient...I dunno. > > > > So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental > > pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get > > him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 > > times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next > > appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring > > to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to > > demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let > > her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going > > through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the > > results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and > > the last FBA. > > > > Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and > > does it normally take s long time? > > > > I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am > > opening...feeling frustrated. > > > > Thanks for sharing and info or stories > > > > > > > > > > No virus found in this message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com> > > Version: 2012.0.1901 / Virus Database: 2109/4773 - Release Date: 01/28/12 > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 We had several specialists suspect and say she is classic asperger's. Of course we didn't want to hear it. It took almost a year of 1-2 times a month of testing. I wonder if part of it was we wanted to make sure she was just not handed a quick DX. To: autism-aspergers Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 4:25 PM Subject: Re: diagnosis??? So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as "the screeners" and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. Thanks for sharing and info or stories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I have worked with several children with this diagnosis. From my experience, and talking with the parents, they too went through extensive testing and experienced frustration as well. There is an array of testing that can not be completed in only a few sessions, so the testing is extensive. From: andria Irma ; To: autism-aspergers <autism-aspergers >; Subject: Re: Re: diagnosis??? Sent: Sun, Jan 29, 2012 1:26:51 AM We had several specialists suspect and say she is classic asperger's. Of course we didn't want to hear it. It took almost a year of 1-2 times a month of testing. I wonder if part of it was we wanted to make sure she was just not handed a quick DX. To: autism-aspergers Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 4:25 PM Subject: Re: diagnosis??? So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. Thanks for sharing and info or stories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thanks for the responses - I guess I'll just keep playing it by ear for now. It just took us two years to get where we are now and I'm probably just being little impatient to have some kind of confirmed dx. His OT just wrote an 8 page eval for the school b/c they kept telling me they didn't see the sensory aspect. He's been doing private OT for 2 years so this is the third eval on file for him. It's just frustrating how much the school is " in denial " ...ugh. We took a few months off from private OT but will be resuming services on the 6th. We'll be focusing on proprioceptive activities b/c he can't even stand on one leg with his eyes closed for more than one second...He uses his eyes to maintain balance. The school's autism eval has all sorts of rating scales in it so I'm hoping we're finished with that aspect. The last appt with the psychologist was more about his development and general observations...so maybe soon. Thanks for the moral support :-) > > I have worked with several children with this diagnosis. From my experience, and talking with the parents, they too went through extensive testing and experienced frustration as well. There is an array of testing that can not be completed in only a few sessions, so the testing is extensive. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 A suggestion when working on proprioceptive activities is for him to utilize a weighted vest and in some cases, small ankle/wrist weights. This gives his body more input of where it is in space. I have found this to work well with proprioceptive issues. You can see what your OT thinks about this since he/she is more familiar with your child. Take Care.Dr. Frederick B. Covington To: autism-aspergers Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 10:02 PM Subject: Re: diagnosis??? Thanks for the responses - I guess I'll just keep playing it by ear for now. It just took us two years to get where we are now and I'm probably just being little impatient to have some kind of confirmed dx. His OT just wrote an 8 page eval for the school b/c they kept telling me they didn't see the sensory aspect. He's been doing private OT for 2 years so this is the third eval on file for him. It's just frustrating how much the school is "in denial"...ugh. We took a few months off from private OT but will be resuming services on the 6th. We'll be focusing on proprioceptive activities b/c he can't even stand on one leg with his eyes closed for more than one second...He uses his eyes to maintain balance. The school's autism eval has all sorts of rating scales in it so I'm hoping we're finished with that aspect. The last appt with the psychologist was more about his development and general observations...so maybe soon. Thanks for the moral support :-) > > I have worked with several children with this diagnosis. From my experience, and talking with the parents, they too went through extensive testing and experienced frustration as well. There is an array of testing that can not be completed in only a few sessions, so the testing is extensive. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thanks for the suggestion - I looked you up online and I'm guessing you are the OT I found, lol. We can get him to wear a vest for short periods but he's afraid of the wrist weights. He loves weighted blankets too. He's come along way in two years - he used to not be able to do seatwork after erratic movement but that is officially resolved. Auditory issues have been diminished too. I'm sure there's correct lingo for this but I'm not sure if I've got a handle on the correct terminology lol - his vestibular system seems to be more intact? Thanks again for the info :-) > > > > I have worked with several children with this diagnosis. From my experience, and talking with the parents, they too went through extensive testing and experienced frustration as well. There is an array of testing that can not be completed in only a few sessions, so the testing is extensive. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thanks for the suggestion - I looked you up online and I'm guessing you are the OT I found, lol. We can get him to wear a vest for short periods but he's afraid of the wrist weights. He loves weighted blankets too. He's come along way in two years - he used to not be able to do seatwork after erratic movement but that is officially resolved. Auditory issues have been diminished too. I'm sure there's correct lingo for this but I'm not sure if I've got a handle on the correct terminology lol - his vestibular system seems to be more intact? Thanks again for the info :-) > > > > I have worked with several children with this diagnosis. From my experience, and talking with the parents, they too went through extensive testing and experienced frustration as well. There is an array of testing that can not be completed in only a few sessions, so the testing is extensive. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I would send a letter to the school saying you disagree with the testing and ask for an independente educational evaluation at public expense. They are required to fund an assessment by an outside provider or file a due process to prove what they have done is appropriate.An outside assessment will often, not always, give you a much clearer look at what the strengths/challenges are and recommend appropriate goals and support services without district internal budget or policy influence.When you ask for an assessment, the district is required by law to have assessment plan presented to you in 15 days and a completed assessment report to you in 60 days.Kim McClainSpecial Needs Advocate & Family Consultant Mobile Fax McClainAutismAdvocate@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 It sounds to me as though this psychologist is covering her own (fill in the blank) as opposed to actually taking a look at the child. I am always suspicious of IQ tests on this population as most IQ tests depend on verbal (receptive/expressive) skill, most schools do not go to non-verbal tests and therefore the test they give really doesn't show the child's IQ, it only shows how the child performs with a verbal-based IQ test. The problem is that if child is extremely bright and tests as " only " bright or average, the school is just fine with this information. That means that the extremely bright child is not taught to his/her level of real intelligence. The same is true for bright/extremely bright children with significant receptive and/or receptive/expressive language disorders secondary to autism; only in those cases standard IQ testing will show a normal to below normal range and a bright child will not be well-served as less is expected of him/her. The fact that the school will not allow this psychologist in to observe your child is a red flag for how well the school is actually doing for your child. Not allowing a professional in to observe the child is setting you and your child up for years of adversarial relationship with the position taken by the school being, " we are the experts, we know what we are doing, we have the power " . The emphasis is on their power instead of actually educating the student. Any rational human being will accept an outside look. That rational human being then uses the brains they were born with to help form an opinion. They don't have to accept the psychologist's opinion, but to deny access to observation of the student in the educational setting is crazy. They will give all kinds of reasonable sounding excuses, but the bottom line is that valuable information to the outside psychologist is being withheld in the name of school power. In our case, the schools spent a lot of time denying any problem with our child. The pediatric neurologist diagnosed after one hour in his office. Years later, it is obvious to anyone trained in autism that our child has autism. The general public who know about autism are able to detect his autism, because as these kids age, their deficits are more apparent. Imagine the years of wasted time with no or inappropriate therapies/interventions because higher functioning (at young ages) kids with autism are not recognized in their school settings. They grow discouraged, depressed, get into trouble, drop out when possible, become disenfranchised adults or adults functioning far below their real capabilities because they could not learn the way they were " taught " . We became " reluctant " homeschoolers as the only option for our child's learning in a positive environment. He has outside services of higher quality than he was given in the school setting. I see the problems families routinely have with the school systems now and wonder if there is any way they can homeschool? K-12 is a short time in an individual's lifetime, why waste it with ineffective schooling? Priscilla > > So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. > > Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? > > I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. > > Thanks for sharing and info or stories > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thanks for the suggestion, Kim. :-) They've already denied my IEE request once and the advocate I have from Disability Rights TX is telling me that the school will go to due process. I can't afford to " go legal " with the school now and the advocate said they will not go with me to the due process hearing b/c as of right now, I don't have a DX that contradicts the school??? According to the advocate, the school's testing was " appropriate " , meaning they did things like the ADOS and various rating scales. The rating scales were completed by 4 people. Two of us (myself and the teacher he had full time for 3 months) rated him " very likely " and " likely " for a spectrum disorder on both the ASDS and GARS-2 but two others (the new teacher and an inclusion teacher that spent an hour with him daily) both rated him " unlikely " - so ASDS scores were: 103, 90, 46 and 52. GARS-2 scores were: 85, 90, 61 and 61. The LSSP scored him a 2 TOTAL on the ADOS which is ridiculous. He rocks and echos phrases all the time - He talks a lot and loudly. Even the psychologist has noted all of that already. He's still lining things up at 5 and he fails the basic theory of mind tasks, like the Sally-Anne and Smarties tasks. He's very literal and obsessed with math and counting. I gave the psych a DVD with videos and pictures too but the school's LSSP wouldn't look at it. Some of the videos were of R spinning, biting, rocking etc. We used them to get R qualified for ABA and social skills training a couple of summers ago plus I had some recent ones too... Their assessment is all over the place and even contradictory. They wrote that R could provide insight into what characters were thinking but struggled for the feeling words and provided all kinds of details instead, like the eyes were blue and he was holding a remote. Attwood says that the ADOS isn't great for HFA/Asperger's and the new psych has made this comment as well. The LSSP didn't even participate in the ADOS with my son, he just observed him interacting with another LSSP that has known my child for 2 years. Lord (creator of the ADOS) says the ADOS is based on the interactions between the examiner and examinee and that a competent examiner should be able to do the test and observe at the same time. In the assessment paperwork, they say things like: peer interactions are significantly challenging for R. He has a difficult time taking turns and respecting the personal space of others. R has the ability to interact in socially appropriate interactions but high levels of adult monitoring and prompting are required. R's responses to correction and feedback can often be out of proportion to the behavior that proceeded the corrective action. The teachers that scored R low on the ASDS and GARS-2 don't see sensory problems, except for the " chewing " on his necklace during times of stress but we've given them an 8 page OT report, the third OT report in his file now. The psych that's doing the eval now asked the old teacher (the one that scored R 90 on both the ASDS and GARS-2) to complete a Conners rating scale and she refused to do it. The new teacher filled it out and rated R as ODD. The pysch laughed at this b/c she could tell after her few visits that R is NOT ODD... It's a mess and no one seems to be able to help me so I'm doing my best to have him assessed by someone that is supposed to be an expert. I'm not sure what else I can do but pull him out of school and I'm not ready to do that yet. Sorry for babbling > > I would send a letter to the school saying you disagree with the testing and ask for an independente educational evaluation at public expense. They are required to fund an assessment by an outside provider or file a due process to prove what they have done is appropriate. > > An outside assessment will often, not always, give you a much clearer look at what the strengths/challenges are and recommend appropriate goals and support services without district internal budget or policy influence. > > When you ask for an assessment, the district is required by law to have assessment plan presented to you in 15 days and a completed assessment report to you in 60 days. > > Kim McClain > Special Needs Advocate & Family Consultant > Mobile Fax > McClainAutismAdvocate@... > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hmmm...I guess it's possible that R isn't on the spectrum but maybe something else is going on instead? Maybe that's why it's taking longer...I dunno. I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, ha ;-) I wanted the psych to go through the school's paperwork...not the IQ testing so much but so she can see what kinds of things the school has been " seeing " for 2 years that they refuse to attribute to a spectrum dx. They've been giving him sensory activities since Feb of 2012. His ARD paperwork is full of things that note his difficulties with change and transitions. They've notated numerous social interaction difficulties and that even when he's aggressive, it isn't with malicious intent. There are all kinds of " observed " communication issues notated too. Basically, IMO the school has provided all kinds of back up materials to support an ASD dx but they just refuse to acknowledge it. It's kind of funny in a sad, sad way I may just have to make the leap and start homeschooling...I'm just afraid that I'm not cut out for the job and really worry about caregiver burnout. I guess I just have to decide if fighting the school for a mediocre education is really worth it and when I type it like that, it really is starting to seem like a no brainer...sigh > > > > So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. > > > > Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? > > > > I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. > > > > Thanks for sharing and info or stories > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 oops, typo Feb or 2010... > > > > > > So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. > > > > > > Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time? > > > > > > I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. > > > > > > Thanks for sharing and info or stories > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Our diagnosis took 6 hours over 6 appointments and I filled out paper work after paper work. It seems like they all have something a little different they use. It's hard to be patient and compliant, she may not be reading it, but she may also be more familiar with different formas and tests and prefer to use those. My son was diagnosed by a psychologist. It took three visits that totalled about 3 1/2 hours. So R is on a 6-8 month wait list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician that runs the child study center but I was able to get him in to see a local psychologist back on the 11th. We've gone in 3 times now (for one hour appts) and have a few more on the books. Next appt is to do some kind of pencil/paper test called they are referring to as " the screeners " and then I'm supposed to bring both kids in to demonstrate some kind of peer interaction (the school refuses to let her observe in the classroom). She is supposed to be finally going through all the school paperwork this weekend too, so stuff like the results of GARS-2 and ASDS, IQ test results and all old ARDs,BIPs and the last FBA. Has anyone's child received an asperger DX from a psychologist and does it normally take s long time?I'm still going to have R seen by the DP whenever there's am opening...feeling frustrated. Thanks for sharing and info or stories No virus found in this message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.comVersion: 2012.0.1901 / Virus Database: 2109/4773 - Release Date: 01/28/12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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