Someone needs help in South FL

[Guest guest]

Hello again. My sister in law lives in Sunrise, FL (Ft. Lauderdale

area). She has a daughter that she believes has AS (I think her

suspicion is well based). The girl did very well (straight As) in

elementary school, but plummeted to Es and Fs in her first year in

middle school. She asked the school counselor if they could evaluate

her daughter, and she got a definitive NO, plus a terribly ignorant

lecture about how it was better for her daughter not to be diagnosed,

even if she had AS. Then she wanted to take her to a psychologist

through her health insurance, but she needed a referral from the

pediatrician. The pediatrician said that all this girl had was that

she was terribly jealous of her sister, and that it was the mother

than needed counseling.

I know this girls well, and she seems a very typical AS child to me.

But the issue is not if her mother or I think that she has AS. The

issue is that she has not been able to get her evaluated.

Does anybody in the area (South FL) has experience dealing with

something like this? What could be the right service to seek help

from? She is almost one hour from Miami, but she is willing to drive

as far as it takes.

Thanks for your help. Have a great day. F