Diagnostic Center day 1

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Diagnostic Center day 1
4
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 11:29pm

Well today was the first day the DC folks came down to do a field study on Mike. Since this has been a 6 month ordeal I will recap briefly. In our state there is this resource through the schools called the "Diagnostic center". They are referred kids who are particualrly confusing and hard to plan for, etc. Mike is an inigma. He has the academic skills to do mainstream work but can't handle the mainstream environment. There are no district classrooms for a child like him. Last year we began planning what we were going to do with him for middle school and the team decided to refer him to the diagnostic center.

They do comprehensive evals by either sending a team to a childs school for a field study or having the child go to the center for 4 days for a comprehensive eval. For the type of questions we had for Mike a field study was determined most appropriate and they accepted his referral. Today was day 1 of the field study.

They sent as the team for Mike a psychologist who specializes in autism and a sensory person. Not sure of her exact credentials yet but I am told she specializes in sensory and motor stuff. A big component of mike is his sensory issues so that makes sense.

I spent 2 hours with the psychologist in an interview this am while the sensory lady observed Mike in class. He never even noticed that someone was there for him. He can be so darn obvlivious. They were in his mainstream and SDC classes. He is the only one who goes to both. It never even occured to him and fortunately I was able to sneak by without his noticing.

He had an average day and they were able to see some of his more minor meltdowns and a few rough spots. They both some him head bang the table when he became frustrated. I am glad though that they saw him on a day that wasnt his best so they have a visual of what the concerns are.

So far they were really concerned about a few things as of when I left at noon. 1) How slow his writing is and they are definitely thinking assistive tech for him, 2) teaching him replacement behaviors and relaxation techniques for the outbursts. Not sure if this will help. We have tried a while ago but it can't hurt, 3) the auditory piece and and 4) the sensory piece.

I meet with them again tomorrow for a couple more hours to get thier preliminary findings and then they send us a novel sometime soon with all the results.

The big thing they are going to help us to do is make a plan for next year and how to make it successful. What a long day though.

Oh and for once maybe I will get a clear diagnosis. Man that guy asked me a billion and one questions that were diagnostic in nature.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 11:50pm

Renee!


This sounds pretty exciting.

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Avatar for betz67
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-13-2006 - 7:26am

yea! maybe they'll be able to help Mike! It sounds as though they might see a bit of everything which is a very good thing. I hope you find an appropriate placement for him for next year. Middle school scares me for Weston.

Betsy

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2003
Wed, 12-13-2006 - 7:54am

It sounds like they are on the ball. I really hope they give some good suggestions. The diagnositic center sounds like the Autsim Team here. They did that for Kyle last yr except they don't diagnose. It was really helpful.

Samantha

Samantha
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-13-2006 - 10:16am

We do have an autism team in district but it runs differnet. They will observe kids and determine if they would benefit from thier support. THey also consult with teachers, do social skills groups, plan and implement strategies etc. I finally like the one we have had for the last 2 years. She actually does her job.

Thansk all for the support.

Going in for day 2 today. I hope it was worth all the effort and they can tell us something new and enlightening.

Renee

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