Re: Autism, making a diagonsis?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/16/2003 10:09:34 AM Eastern Standard Time,

kalzangluv@... writes:

> Thanks for replying Winona. How lucky you finally found someone who

> understands! We have been shuffeled from the doctors to a pediatric

> psychologist and neither of them will make a diagnosis. Yesterday we

> had an appointment with a psychologist for an 'assessment' and we all

> went in her office and sat down. And without her even speaking to

> our son she said 'hes not autistic'? Why is everyone so afraid of

> the 'A' word? And making a diagnosis? Anyways, they say we have to

> see a pediatric neurologist. I dont know if we'll go or not. It

> seems like you all on the board here are suggesting to scrap

> the 'doctors' and just 'chelate' and everything will be fine. But

> what if we chelate and he is still non-verbal? Then would I regret

> not getting him all the medical support he needs. This is my

> concern.

>

> Thanks,

> Kalzangluv

>

>

>

You need a diagnosis to get the therapies that are also very helpful.

If it takes a while for chelation to work, you still want your child to make

progress. You do want to keep his brain active and thinking. I don't have a

lot of faith in doctors either. We do have a diagnosis of autism, but I

don't think it's the right diagnosis. It's okay though because it allows us

to get ABA therapy, speech, ocupational therapy and physical therapy. I

haven't started chelating yet. I still read all of these posts and wonder if

I should or shouldn't. I haven't made that decision, which may be a big

mistake. But forgoing other therapies is also a mistake. The above

mentioned has gotten my three and a half year old to talk and has inspired a

motivation and desire to communicate with us and other children. No, he's

not where he should be for his age, but he is talking. He can ask me for

things he needs. He answers yes no questions. He can say and spell his

name. He says his ABCs. His muscle tone is very low so coloring is very

hard, but he's now starting to color. All of this is due to other therapies.

I'm not saying don't chelate, but you do need to get a diagnosis for

the other help he will need. I don't know how old your son is, (I believe

you said 4), that's four years of delayed development. If chelation works

for your child, you are still going to need help getting his development up

to par. Just my thoughts and opinions. Good Luck,

Dorothy

[Guest guest]

Hi Winona,

I had to diagnose my own son as well. My pediatrician cost us 1 1/2

years and any early intervention. (It was verified by specialists) So

much for better detection, right? I've had therapists since then

tell me that the list of symptoms that I had given the pediatrician

were things that " all " kids with autism do.

I also have a friend whose child was non-verbal and wasn't diagnosed

until age 8 (her husband was a physician) and my Mom's friend's

grandchild wasn't diagnosed until age 8 (also non-verbal and still

severe at age 10).

Of course, when I told my pediatrician that we were trying the gluten-

casein free diet he advised me " not to go down a crazy path " . The

craziest thing I EVER did was taking my son to see him.

Vicki

> First, I diagnosed my son, then our ped said I was letting my

imagination run wild....all I needed was to stop babying him and stop

talking for him. I went to a ped. neurologist and she wouldn't say

the " autism " even if I paid her too. She said she'd be hurting us

more than helping us, so she said " he's somewhere on the spectrum " .

Then I found a ped. clinical psychologist that we later realized

was " studying " us and Matt to see what autism really

was....duh...then came the long awaited day of meeting Dr. Amy....she

politely said,,,,, " you do realize he's autistic? " I said " yes, we

do " she said, " and you do realize he wasn't born that way? " She

made me feel so good in an instant. She's the only one who said the

word " autism " but they all should have said it. All of them had the

opportunity.

>

> ~Winona~

> [ ] Autism, making a diagonsis?

>

>

> Hi. I was wondering how you all had your kids diagnosed? Could

you

> briefly tell me if it was your doctor, or did he refer you to a

> specialist like a pediatric neurologist to diagnose?

>

> Kalzangluv

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/16/2003 11:52:19 AM Eastern Standard Time,

kalzangluv@... writes:

> Thanks Dorothy, I agree with you. I dont want to neglect his therapy

> and if the diagnosis enables him to get therapy then it needs to be

> done. He is five, he is non verbal and his motor skills and muscle

> development are very poor. Your right, even if chelation helps, he

> still needs pt, ot, and speech t. He is getting those at preschool

> but only an hour and a half a month.

>

> Kalzangluv

>

ONLY AN HOUR AND A HALF PER MONTH??? I don't know where you are

located and what is available there. I know it's hard to get the help these

kids need, but that's not enough.

I am not a doctor. I'm just a parent. If your five year old is not

talking, it's due to two things, apraxia or very low oral muscle issues.

There are oral motor specialists that do exercises to get those particular

and small muscles working. Apraxic children need something called prompt

therapy. My son is not apraxic, but I saw a demonstration on a child who is

apraxic and is totally nonverbal. I was amazed. He was saying words. His

mother is trying to get the school district to pay for it now. Meanwhile,

she's trying to find someone to work with him using Prompt.

My son has very low muscle tone, so oral motor work is what he needs.

I don't know how the so-called experts think these children are going

to learn with an hour and a half of help.

In comparison, we were lucky enough to live in an area where we could

get the help pretty immediately. By the time he was 2 1/2, we had 32 hours

a week of therapies, i.e., ABA, speech, ot, pt, greenspan floor play. There

are other parents who probably did more than that.

At the very least, look for an oral motor speech pathologist. Good

luck, I know this is a hard road.

BTW, I apologize for the long post off topic.

Dorothy

[Guest guest]

>>>>>>I was wondering how you all had your kids diagnosed<<<<<<,

Mommy knows best. I knew he had become " autistic " , but the PED thought I was

crazy. We went to a Neurologist, a Psychiatrist, a Psychologist, etc..... The

only one that thought he was autistic was the Psychologist, but despite him

being right, he was rude and didn't know crap about autism. I finally took my

son to a Pediatric Developmental Specialist for a correct dx. I wanted it

purely for services. She wasn't very nice either, but she knew a lot about

diagnosing. She didn't know anything about therapy, outside of ABA. She felt

diet, supplements, chelation, etc. were a waste of time.

a

[Guest guest]

> First, I diagnosed my son, then our ped said I was letting my

imagination run wild....all I needed was to stop babying him and stop

talking for him. I went to a ped. neurologist and she wouldn't say

the " autism " even if I paid her too. She said she'd be hurting us

more than helping us, so she said " he's somewhere on the spectrum " .

Then I found a ped. clinical psychologist that we later realized

was " studying " us and Matt to see what autism really

was....duh...then came the long awaited day of meeting Dr. Amy....she

politely said,,,,, " you do realize he's autistic? " I said " yes, we

do " she said, " and you do realize he wasn't born that way? " She

made me feel so good in an instant. She's the only one who said the

word " autism " but they all should have said it. All of them had the

opportunity.

>

> ~Winona~

Thanks for replying Winona. How lucky you finally found someone who

understands! We have been shuffeled from the doctors to a pediatric

psychologist and neither of them will make a diagnosis. Yesterday we

had an appointment with a psychologist for an 'assessment' and we all

went in her office and sat down. And without her even speaking to

our son she said 'hes not autistic'? Why is everyone so afraid of

the 'A' word? And making a diagnosis? Anyways, they say we have to

see a pediatric neurologist. I dont know if we'll go or not. It

seems like you all on the board here are suggesting to scrap

the 'doctors' and just 'chelate' and everything will be fine. But

what if we chelate and he is still non-verbal? Then would I regret

not getting him all the medical support he needs. This is my

concern.

Thanks,

Kalzangluv

[Guest guest]

> Hi Winona,

> I had to diagnose my own son as well. My pediatrician cost us 1

1/2

> years and any early intervention. (It was verified by specialists)

So

> much for better detection, right? I've had therapists since then

> tell me that the list of symptoms that I had given the pediatrician

> were things that " all " kids with autism do.

> I also have a friend whose child was non-verbal and wasn't

diagnosed

> until age 8 (her husband was a physician) and my Mom's friend's

> grandchild wasn't diagnosed until age 8 (also non-verbal and still

> severe at age 10).

> Of course, when I told my pediatrician that we were trying the

gluten-

> casein free diet he advised me " not to go down a crazy path " . The

> craziest thing I EVER did was taking my son to see him.

> Vicki

Hahaha, thats funny. Im sure thats exactly how mainstream doctors

view alternative therapies too. Thanks for adding your story Vicki.

I diagnosed our son and we're having a hard time finding a doctor or

psychologist or pediatrician.. that will acknowledge that he is

autistic. I was beginning to wonder if it was 'political' or

something. It was like mentioning Autism was akin to talking about

Bin Laden or something??? hehe, politically incorrect.

Oh well, Im glad to know our experience is quite typical. I never

found doctors to be much help anyways.. so why should i be surprised?

Kalzangluv

[Guest guest]

Kalzangluv - I'm new to this group but wanted to chime in!

In our case we took our 26 month old daughter (just last week as a

matter of fact) to a pediatric neurologist. This was actually done

against our pediatrician's wishes. His group was not convinced that

my daughter had Autism - me on the other hand - had known for months.

First I researched though - to find one that specialized in this

area. I found one. He diagnosed her ASD. It came as no surprise.

Our friends and family are amazed at how calm I am about the

diagnosis.

Others have mentioned about there being no such thing as Autism.

I'm not sure about that - some might be born with it - not enough

schooling yet for me to decide for sure! - but I do believe this

about my own daughter:

I believe in her case it was induced by heavy metal poisoning. At 4

lbs she received the first Hep. B shot and continued to receive all

20+ other shots as scheduled - some containing mercury. (I wish I

had been more informed of the dangers - hind sight...)

Anyway - not sure how this group feels about the GFCF diet - but

within days of implementing it - she had shown miraculous results -

even amazing the Ped. Neuro. (It's now been 2 1/2 months on the

diet and we see improvements daily)

We added supplements and more amazing things were seen. My calmness

about the diagnosis? I know in my heart that Kait will not be

Autistic forever. I'm hoping that she'll be a good candidate for

chelation in the near future and that my baby will be back to 100%

So many have told me that Autism will be with her forever - I will

not accept that! I think she has *some* Autistic behaviors but they

are caused by something else - I have faith that we'll be able to

unlock what that " something else " is in the near future.

Hope I didn't over-do-it for my first post here! Good luck to you!

L

[Guest guest]

>>>>>>It seems like you all on the board here are suggesting to scrap

the 'doctors' and just 'chelate' and everything will be fine. But

what if we chelate and he is still non-verbal? Then would I regret

not getting him all the medical support he needs.<<<<<<<

I don't advocate that. I just would hate to see you wasting your time with

worthless doctors. However, a dx will help obtain therapy and services like

ABA. There is no " one size fits all " plan. Yes, chelation is very important,

but I also found speech services, ot, behavioral therapy and diet to help too.

The dx helped obtain the speech, ot and floortime that we used.

I took my son to a Pediatric Developmental Specialist, purely for the written

confirmation of " autism " . I made her write two dx's; one stating autism, so I

could obtain behavioral intervention, and one with fancy wording, that did not

state developmental delays or autism, so I could obtain private speech paid for

by private insurance. Words like autism and devlopmental delay are the kiss of

death when using private insurance to pay for therapy.

So, if you want confirmation and a written dx, take your child to a specialist

who diagnoses disorders, but don't waste time with Psychs and regular MD's. All

you will get is a large bill and a " maybe " ...

Just my 2 cents.

My son was completely non-verbal at 18 months, but today at 6.7 years of age,

he's completely verbal, and progressing very well. A lot of things have worked,

and a lot of things haven't. However, he's where he is today, because of ME,

not a doctor.

a

[Guest guest]

You need a diagnosis to get the therapies that are also very

helpful.

> If it takes a while for chelation to work, you still want your

child to make

> progress. You do want to keep his brain active and thinking. I

don't have a

> lot of faith in doctors either. We do have a diagnosis of autism,

but I

> don't think it's the right diagnosis. It's okay though because it

allows us

> to get ABA therapy, speech, ocupational therapy and physical

therapy. I

> haven't started chelating yet. I still read all of these posts and

wonder if

> I should or shouldn't. I haven't made that decision, which may be

a big

> mistake. But forgoing other therapies is also a mistake. The

above

> mentioned has gotten my three and a half year old to talk and has

inspired a

> motivation and desire to communicate with us and other children.

No, he's

> not where he should be for his age, but he is talking. He can ask

me for

> things he needs. He answers yes no questions. He can say and

spell his

> name. He says his ABCs. His muscle tone is very low so coloring

is very

> hard, but he's now starting to color. All of this is due to other

therapies.

> I'm not saying don't chelate, but you do need to get a

diagnosis for

> the other help he will need. I don't know how old your son is, (I

believe

> you said 4), that's four years of delayed development. If

chelation works

> for your child, you are still going to need help getting his

development up

> to par. Just my thoughts and opinions. Good Luck,

>

> Dorothy

Thanks Dorothy, I agree with you. I dont want to neglect his therapy

and if the diagnosis enables him to get therapy then it needs to be

done. He is five, he is non verbal and his motor skills and muscle

development are very poor. Your right, even if chelation helps, he

still needs pt, ot, and speech t. He is getting those at preschool

but only an hour and a half a month.

Kalzangluv

[Guest guest]

--- In , pjand3kids <pjand3kids@j...>

wrote:

> >>>>>>It seems like you all on the board here are suggesting to

scrap

> the 'doctors' and just 'chelate' and everything will be fine. But

> what if we chelate and he is still non-verbal? Then would I regret

> not getting him all the medical support he needs.<<<<<<<

>

> I don't advocate that. I just would hate to see you wasting your

time with worthless doctors. However, a dx will help obtain therapy

and services like ABA. There is no " one size fits all " plan. Yes,

chelation is very important, but I also found speech services, ot,

behavioral therapy and diet to help too. The dx helped obtain the

speech, ot and floortime that we used.

>

> I took my son to a Pediatric Developmental Specialist, purely for

the written confirmation of " autism " . I made her write two dx's; one

stating autism, so I could obtain behavioral intervention, and one

with fancy wording, that did not state developmental delays or

autism, so I could obtain private speech paid for by private

insurance. Words like autism and devlopmental delay are the kiss of

death when using private insurance to pay for therapy.

>

> So, if you want confirmation and a written dx, take your child to a

specialist who diagnoses disorders, but don't waste time with Psychs

and regular MD's. All you will get is a large bill and a " maybe " ...

>

> Just my 2 cents.

>

> My son was completely non-verbal at 18 months, but today at 6.7

years of age, he's completely verbal, and progressing very well. A

lot of things have worked, and a lot of things haven't. However,

he's where he is today, because of ME, not a doctor.

>

> a

Interesting. We have come to the same conclusion about doctors and

psychologists. I am so glad your son is talking. Our five year old

is completely non-verbal. He also has severe motor and sensory

problems. He really needs pt, ot and speech t. Thanks so much for

sharing...

Kalzangluv

[Guest guest]

> Yesterday

we

> had an appointment with a psychologist for an 'assessment' and we

all

> went in her office and sat down. And without her even speaking to

> our son she said 'hes not autistic'? Why is everyone so afraid of

> the 'A' word? And making a diagnosis?

perhaps it is related to their (incorrect) belief that it is a

permanent condition. You know " a lifelong sentence " and all

that sort of rubbish.

> Anyways, they say we have to

> see a pediatric neurologist. I dont know if we'll go or not. It

> seems like you all on the board here are suggesting to scrap

> the 'doctors' and just 'chelate' and everything will be fine.

chelating will NOT make " everything fine " . In the BEST case

it will significantly reverse damage, but the child (or adult

for that matter) still has years of nutritional deficiencies,

cognitive patterns, and development/learning that was missed.

some kids do not improve much or at all from chelation. I

realize this is not a " fun " idea, but I believe it is the case.

there are lots of kinds of therapy that are helpful. Many

kids and adults benefit from combinations. This list is full

of examples of this. Also, not every kid needs chelation.

Some have other issues that are more significant.

The trick is to try to find the most hopeful stuff to spend

your limited energy (and money) on. Can't do everything at

once.

I guess this is mostly what others already said

best,

Moria

[Guest guest]

> Hi. I was wondering how you all had your kids diagnosed? Could you

> briefly tell me if it was your doctor, or did he refer you to a

> specialist like a pediatric neurologist to diagnose?

>

My son was dx by a leading pediatric neurologist. His dx is Kanner's

autism because he did not regress, he was " born this way " . This would

have been great if I wanted services, because her opinion is very

highly regarded around here. However, now I want to remove the label

because my son no longer qualifies as autistic, and no doctor will

touch the label because it was given by this specific person.

The word " autism " is a behavioral dx only. It is not a medical dx.

If you want a medical dx, consider having your child tested for

metals, among or other things, to find out what is his REAL issue.

http://www.danasview.net/chelate.htm

If you need the label for services or whatever, then get it. But if

you don't need it, then you might think twice about getting it,

because it can be VERY DIFFICULT to remove.

Dana

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/16/2003 6:32:52 PM Eastern Standard Time,

kalzangluv@... writes:

> The cause of his absense of speech is unclear. Hense we have been

> trying to get some qualified diagnosis to tell us WHY he is not

> speaking.

> He is silent but uses echolalia. If you ask him a question he can

> only respond by repeating the last word of my sentence to me. He can

> sometimes give a 'yes' or 'no' answer but not always. Usually he

> sits and cannot reply at all. (and wrings his hands in anxiety, I

> think because he knows were asking him for a response and he is

> UNABLE to do so). His motor skills are so poor that he can't jump,

> catch a ball, throw a ball, do a sumersault or even look up at the

> ceiling.

> His drawings of people consist of a circle with a couple lines coming

> out. I think he doesnt percieve where he is in space.

>

> Anyways... I digress, thanks so much for mentioning the types of

> therapy you have had. We are trying to get someone to even

> acknowledge his disabilities, let alone, offer some form of therapy

> or treatment options.

>

> Sigh, its okay, I know it just takes time for people to listen.

> (he has IMPROVED on the gfcf diet). He used to have horrible

> constipation and bad bacteria in his bowels. So I have made progress

> on the digestive end. But like you say, he still needs the therapy.

>

> Thanks for listening

> kalzangluv

>

>

>

>

Echolalia is a start. And it does sound like you are making progress. I

just don't understand why they can't give you a diagnosis so your child can

get the help. Isn't that the point of all the services out there? Good luck

and best wishes.

Dorothy

[Guest guest]

> kalzangluv@y... writes:

>

> > Thanks Dorothy, I agree with you. I dont want to neglect his

therapy

> > and if the diagnosis enables him to get therapy then it needs to

be

> > done. He is five, he is non verbal and his motor skills and

muscle

> > development are very poor. Your right, even if chelation helps,

he

> > still needs pt, ot, and speech t. He is getting those at

preschool

> > but only an hour and a half a month.

--------------------------------------------------

ONLY AN HOUR AND A HALF PER MONTH??? I don't know where you are

> located and what is available there. I know it's hard to get the

help these

> kids need, but that's not enough.

> I am not a doctor. I'm just a parent. If your five year

old is not

> talking, it's due to two things, apraxia or very low oral muscle

issues.

> There are oral motor specialists that do exercises to get those

particular

> and small muscles working. Apraxic children need something called

prompt

> therapy. My son is not apraxic, but I saw a demonstration on a

child who is

> apraxic and is totally nonverbal. I was amazed. He was saying

words. His

> mother is trying to get the school district to pay for it now.

Meanwhile,

> she's trying to find someone to work with him using Prompt.

> My son has very low muscle tone, so oral motor work is what

he needs.

> I don't know how the so-called experts think these children

are going

> to learn with an hour and a half of help.

> In comparison, we were lucky enough to live in an area where

we could

> get the help pretty immediately. By the time he was 2 1/2, we had

32 hours

> a week of therapies, i.e., ABA, speech, ot, pt, greenspan floor

play. There

> are other parents who probably did more than that.

> At the very least, look for an oral motor speech

pathologist. Good

> luck, I know this is a hard road.

> BTW, I apologize for the long post off topic.

>

> Dorothy

>

------------------------------------------------------------

32 hours a week! wow, I knew the 1 and a half hours a month was weak

but its all we've been offered thus far.

The cause of his absense of speech is unclear. Hense we have been

trying to get some qualified diagnosis to tell us WHY he is not

speaking.

He is silent but uses echolalia. If you ask him a question he can

only respond by repeating the last word of my sentence to me. He can

sometimes give a 'yes' or 'no' answer but not always. Usually he

sits and cannot reply at all. (and wrings his hands in anxiety, I

think because he knows were asking him for a response and he is

UNABLE to do so). His motor skills are so poor that he can't jump,

catch a ball, throw a ball, do a sumersault or even look up at the

ceiling.

His drawings of people consist of a circle with a couple lines coming

out. I think he doesnt percieve where he is in space.

Anyways... I digress, thanks so much for mentioning the types of

therapy you have had. We are trying to get someone to even

acknowledge his disabilities, let alone, offer some form of therapy

or treatment options.

Sigh, its okay, I know it just takes time for people to listen.

(he has IMPROVED on the gfcf diet). He used to have horrible

constipation and bad bacteria in his bowels. So I have made progress

on the digestive end. But like you say, he still needs the therapy.

Thanks for listening

kalzangluv

[Guest guest]

Dana wrote: My son was dx by a leading pediatric neurologist. His

dx is Kanner's

> autism because he did not regress, he was " born this way " . This

would

> have been great if I wanted services, because her opinion is very

> highly regarded around here. However, now I want to remove the

label

> because my son no longer qualifies as autistic, and no doctor will

> touch the label because it was given by this specific person.

>

> The word " autism " is a behavioral dx only. It is not a medical

dx.

> If you want a medical dx, consider having your child tested for

> metals, among or other things, to find out what is his REAL issue.

>

> http://www.danasview.net/chelate.htm

>

> If you need the label for services or whatever, then get it. But

if

> you don't need it, then you might think twice about getting it,

> because it can be VERY DIFFICULT to remove.

>

> Dana

Why are you trying to remove the diagnosis? I dont understand. Why

does your son no longer qualify?

Does he need services? He is five and non verbal with severe motor

problems. So I would say, yes.

Kalzangluv

[Guest guest]

> Yesterday we

> had an appointment with a psychologist for an 'assessment' and we all

> went in her office and sat down. And without her even speaking to

> our son she said 'hes not autistic'? Why is everyone so afraid of

> the 'A' word? And making a diagnosis?

I believe here is more the parents' " fault " .

The parents are actually the ones who are afraid of that word (most of them),

not the doctors.

Valentina

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/16/2003 11:36:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,

val@... writes:

> >Yesterday we

> >had an appointment with a psychologist for an 'assessment' and we all

> >went in her office and sat down. And without her even speaking to

> >our son she said 'hes not autistic'? Why is everyone so afraid of

> >the 'A' word? And making a diagnosis?

>

> I believe here is more the parents' " fault " .

> The parents are actually the ones who are afraid of that word (most of

> them),

> not the doctors.

>

>

> Valentina

>

I am sure there are parents in denial about their children, but those

parents probably don't even get to a doctor. So, the fact that doctors don't

use the word autism is the doctors' fault. By the time parents get to a

doctor, all they want is an answer to help them go on in a direction. By

beating around the bush, they aren't helping parents or the child.

Dorothy

[Guest guest]

--Dorothy, nowadays, in the state of California, even an early

diagnosis will not make much of a difference for many parents and the

autistic child because there will probably be little help with

services for the child. Regional Centers may put restrictions

on obtaining services (families with over $50K in yearly income) may

be ineligible to get services.....I guess it is being proposed by the

governor.....and schools seem to be equally burdened by budget

constraints. Looks like those 2nd TD's on the home will be necessary

for many. Thank goodness the home prices are up. Aly

- In , DASK4T@a... wrote:

> In a message dated 1/16/2003 11:36:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> val@t... writes:

>

> > >Yesterday we

> > >had an appointment with a psychologist for an 'assessment' and

we all

> > >went in her office and sat down. And without her even speaking

to

> > >our son she said 'hes not autistic'? Why is everyone so afraid

of

> > >the 'A' word? And making a diagnosis?

> >

> > I believe here is more the parents' " fault " .

> > The parents are actually the ones who are afraid of that word

(most of

> > them),

> > not the doctors.

> >

> >

> > Valentina

> >

>

> I am sure there are parents in denial about their children,

but those

> parents probably don't even get to a doctor. So, the fact that

doctors don't

> use the word autism is the doctors' fault. By the time parents get

to a

> doctor, all they want is an answer to help them go on in a

direction. By

> beating around the bush, they aren't helping parents or the child.

> Dorothy

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> > In a message dated 1/16/2003 11:36:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> > val@t... writes:

> >

> > > >Yesterday we

> > > >had an appointment with a psychologist for an 'assessment' and

> we all

> > > >went in her office and sat down. And without her even

speaking

> to

> > > >our son she said 'hes not autistic'? Why is everyone so

afraid

> of

> > > >the 'A' word? And making a diagnosis?

> > >

> > > I believe here is more the parents' " fault " .

> > > The parents are actually the ones who are afraid of that word

> (most of

> > > them),

> > > not the doctors.

> > >

> > >

> > > Valentina

> > >

> >

> > I am sure there are parents in denial about their

children,

> but those

> > parents probably don't even get to a doctor. So, the fact that

> doctors don't

> > use the word autism is the doctors' fault. By the time parents

get

> to a

> > doctor, all they want is an answer to help them go on in a

> direction. By

> > beating around the bush, they aren't helping parents or the

child.

> > Dorothy

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

> Why are you trying to remove the diagnosis? I dont understand. Why

> does your son no longer qualify?

I can't buy medical insurance for him, among other things, and he no

longer qualifies as autistic, so I want the label removed. Maybe in a

year or so I might be successful.

>

> Does he need services? He is five and non verbal with severe motor

> problems. So I would say, yes.

If your child needs services, and you want the school and/or medical

insurance to provide the services, then you would want the label for

him.

Dana

[Guest guest]

Hi,

How did you get rid of the bacteria in your child's intestines and do you think

that is what caused his constipation?

Thanks, R

[Guest guest]

Our doctor sent us to a neurologist. I found later in his file that on this

visit he wrote " autism? " .

The neurologist was a joke, and he just said PDD. We were lucky enough to

live in St. Louis and the first steps program that we got into because of our

" Parents as Teachers " provider. At the Judevine Center for Autism is the

first time someone told us that he is Autistic. I already knew it, and the

" :Parents as Teachers " provider said she knew but they are not allowed to

" diagnose " .

" kalzangluv " wrote:

> Hi. I was wondering how you all had your kids diagnosed? Could you

> briefly tell me if it was your doctor, or did he refer you to a

> specialist like a pediatric neurologist to diagnose?

>

> Kalzangluv

>

> =======================================================

>