Re: Autism team evaluation

[Guest guest]

You never know when the right intervention can make a huge difference with our kids and then the autism diagnosis matters less.  I am glad for you all that they want to boost the speech therapy.  Communication is huge in helping to ameliorate the symptoms of autism.

 

I have always agreed with Charlyne that all kids with DS have something.  It turns out that the local poster child for DS in our city also has autism.  I can sort of see it now that I know but often I think it is just a label and the purpose of the label is to make sure the school follows his program - though he will age out this year.

 

And when Isaac has a good teacher - like this year - I can barely see the autism.  Is it there or do we not understand DS well enough?

 

Think of the diagnosis as a tool and nothing more.

 

Your is such a little cutie.  I remember my kids being 7 - it seems so long ago.  Our kids really do make progress, it is just slower.

 

Many Blessings,

 

Lori

Mom to Isaac 14 and Tony 13

 

Hi, had his autism team evaluation today. The psychologist clearly hadn't worked with too many kids with T-21, but she knows autism (she dx'd his older brothers with Asperger's). She was very warm with him and he liked her a lot. However, he showed her, the OT, the ST and the Dev Ped everything they needed to see. In addition to the formal diagnosis of autism, also got " receptive/expressive language disorders " and " cognitive impairment " . It was frustrating that would ignore portions of the IQ test that I know he knows. Then later he'd show the skill during play, but he couldn't get " credit " for it then. The psychologist said he's a lot smarter than he tests (the test is more a reflection of his being so self-directed), but she had to give her score based on the test.

I believe and hope that the report gives us what we need to get some in-home ABA. They also recommended a short (3-6 month) burst of ST to teach us to get more out of his talker at home. :)They said he has some nice strengths and that with the right help, we'll be in better shape. We need to at least get him to a place where he's not running away. I sure hope ABA can help with that.

Anyway, nothing was unexpected, and a good part of me feels optimistic that these results will open new doors for . But, it's still hard to hear...Sent from my iPhone