New here, tell me what you think..
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New here, tell me what you think..
| Thu, 05-05-2005 - 9:58pm |
Hello. I am the mother of a 34 month old (3 in July) with severe speech delay and a few other symptoms. He has been in speech therapy for almost 2 years and is now going to school twice weekly in a pre-k for special needs children. He has an appointment with a neurologist in September, but waiting until then is killing me. So let me tell you a little bit about him. His name is Zachary and he was born at 32 weeks gestation. He had significant motor skill delay as well as a few other delays throughout his first year and a half. He has overcome most of that now, but he still talks like an infant. Example, "ba-ba" "daddy" "mommy" etc. He has a large vocab of single words, most of which are unrecognizable and he has to use body language to help us understand. He doesn't use "yes" or "no", he doesn't call us for assistance, he pulls us around by our hands. He doesn't tell you when he is hungry, sleepy, cold, thirsty etc. Most of the time when he does say a word, it is after prodding by me. He has severe "melt downs" over little things. He is very aggressive and regularly hits his baby sister. He doesn't seem to understand that he can't do that, even though we have tried every type of punishment we can think of. He is just now starting to engage in play with peers, but mostly plays alone or just watches from afar. He is terrified of loud noises (ie:vaccuum) and completely distracted when a plane flies over. He is fascinated by shapes to the point that he sees the shape of something instead of the actual object. (ie: ceiling fan is "circle" and the tub drain is "circle, a sandwich is "square".) He loves to sing songs and has a great memory for how they are supposed to go even though he can't pronounce any of the words. He gets extremely aggitated if there is any change in any routine to the point of total meltdown. He is very clumsy and never seems to notice pain appropriately. He is a daredevil! He doesn't laugh at things on TV, he just sits with a blank stare as if he has no idea what is happening. He laughs when you tickle him or play chase though. He lines up objects including food. He drools more than he should. He freaks out if his clothes bunch up or his sock twists around. And the other day he even had a meltdown because he had a pin size hole in the knee of his pajamas. He can not stand to have his hands dirty. He washes them constantly. He insists that things be done a certain way and will not rest until it is done. We have tried to teach him to peddle his tricycle but he has a fit and refuses to even try. His bike is breaking and we bought him a new one but he won't even touch it. I know this is alot and a really long post, I just hope that someone will read it and recognize something that they can help me with. Some days he is sweet as molasses and other days he is unbearable. Nothing makes him happy. He hates to have his hair or body washed in the tub and freaks out when you rinse his hair. I could go on for hours. Anyway, thanks for reading and for any advice you can give.

Hi,
Welcome. I know waiting is really, really hard. Wow, Sept. is (or seems) a long time. Have you considered a developmental pediatrician?
Here is a questionnaire that is helpful. It might give you some things to look out for. The website is informative, too.
http://www.childbrain.com/pddq6.shtml
HTH,
Cathy
Welcome.
It sounds like your little guy has a lot of sensory issues going on. I'd reccomend a sensory evaluation by an occupational or physical therapist who's been trained in sensory integration dysfunction.
Samantha
valerie
Waiting is really hard. When my dd was little we had to wait 3 months for our first neuro appt and the guy was a knucklehead, so I requested a 2nd oppinion, which was another 5 months. Then she wanted a neuropsyche eval which was another few months so all in all it took a full year from first eval until diagnosis. (from 3 to 4years)
The fortunate thing is that by the time I was at the first neuro's appointment I pretty much knew what we were dealing with. I had a good school system working with us and she already had everything in place that would have been put in place with a PDD diagnosis.
I am going to go out on a limb and say there are lots of red flags you mentioned. Of course I cannot diagnose via internet, but it wouldn't hurt to start implementing some ASD type interventions now while you wait for a diagnosis. Is he going to be getting summer school (also called ESY or extended school year)?
Use visuals for everything. Perhaps see about starting something like a PECS program to help his language both receptive and expressive. Perhaps talk to the school about your concern and getting him services appropriate. Depending on the state, some just label them as "Preschooler with a disability" but some will use autism in preschool level. He can be labelled Autistic educationally without a full medical diagnosis. If there are autism classrooms, check them out and see if it may be appropriate for him. Ask what kind of services there are for those kids when you meet with the school for his transition meeting.
Since he is turning 3 soon too I would find out about more frequent therapy. Basic recomendation for young children with ASD is about 25 hours per week total of all the different therapies.
Good luck to you, sending hugs and welcome.
Renee
Hi,
I'm fairly new here myself - my DS Robbie is almost 5 and was just diagnosed PDD-NOS, and he has sensory issues as well. When we realized that he was not functioning well at all in his "regular" preschool, I called our pediatrician's nurse practicioner for advice. She referred us to the local Children's hospital (we live in MD, outside DC) for a formal developmental evaluation. So that's how we found our developmental pediatrician (which led to our neuropsych eval and AS assessment).
Hope that helps!
Maribeth
Have you had a transition meeting for school for him yet? Typically regular school takes over at 3 yo. It is a tough call cause your guy turns 3 over the summer so I am not sure how that works, however, typically regular school has to provide extended school year at thier expense AND they have to transport particularly if the parent cannot. Usually to qualify for ESY you have to show the child would regress during the break, but with kids with autism spectrum disorder, especially young ones, it is pretty typically accepted that they need the ESY.
Is it the early intervention that said that you would have to pay as well as transport? That is just curious to me. Typically if a child NEEDS extended school year then the same laws apply under IDEA, ie Free Appropriate Puplic Education. I guess what I am getting at, is this the ESY offered by the school district or private? Have you had a meeting to transition him to preschool from early intervention and if so have you asked them about ESY since he would be of school age as of his b-day in july.
On that note, Cait's b-day is May. We didn't even start with her until she was 3 with testing. We did a private speech eval first. When I found out she was delayed I called the district and had to wait until the beginning of the next school year because of the timing and she needed school testing. However, since he is already EI I think it may go differently.
Renee