Is have a SN child something to hide?

[jodifla]

I have a 13 year old son with Asperger's. I also work in the special ed department of his school district (I work w/preschoolers). So everyone in the dept. knows I have a son w/special needs.

So, last March we were in a training session on autism. The program specialist for the district was giving the training. The subject came up about parents who are in denial about their kid's conditions. We discussed whether having an IEP or being in special ed creates a stigma that will negatively affect the child for his/her entire school career.

I raised my hand and related a story about a preschooler we had last year. He was clearly on the spectrum. His mother didn't want an autism evaluation and didn't want to even hear the word. She finally agreed to put him into our class with a diagnosis of speech/language impaired. As we started working with him, we could see the signs of autism - probably mild as he was high functioning. We didn't dare mention it to the mom. It was clear that she had a problem dropping him off each day in a "special" class as it was. But, we could see this boy thriving in our class. He was happy and learning and got very excited when we talked about letters and numbers. He was learning the classroom routine and starting to play with the other kids.

His mother ended up calling an IEP after only a month and announced that she was pulling him from the class. Her reasoning was that having him in special ed was affecting her family. The grandparents didn't understand why he couldn't go to a regular preschool. The entire family was afraid he would have a huge mark on his student file saying he was in special ed. She thought this would follow him for life. So she gave in and pulled him from the class. No amount of explanation from the IEP team would change her mind.

So, back to the class - I asked the program specialist whether being in special ed really affects a child's opportunities down the road. Why are people afraid to put their kids in special ed if that's what they really need? Her answer, "Well, it doesn't make any difference to the child's opportunities down the road. They can do whatever they're capable of doing. But, socially, who really wants to go to a dinner party and have to say that their child is in special ed?" Can you say SHALLOW? And this woman knows all about my son! I wouldn't want to go to her dinner party anyway!

I'm proud of my son. Not only is he in special ed, he's in a special school! That district (the one I still work for) failed him miserably when he entered middle school so we yanked him out of there. I enjoy striking up conversations with people about autism and Asperger's. If they seem truly interested, I am happy to answer their questions. I'm not ashamed at all. I'm proud to be mommy to this remarkable child!

So I'm clear..... The shallow is your comment on the program specialist??? Because I took it to mean it was your comment on the mother. So I apologize if that was your intent.

But earlier up, it sure looks to me like you were diagnosing a child with autism. Do you have the training to do so?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

So I'm clear..... The shallow is your comment on the program specialist??? Because I took it to mean it was your comment on the mother. So I apologize if that was your intent.

But earlier up, it sure looks to me like you were diagnosing a child with autism. Do you have the training to do so?

Yes, that's what the program specialist said in response to my question during a training session. I was asking why she thinks people are so reluctant to put their kids in special ed and if there's really a stigma that follows them their entire lives. I felt that her dinner party comment was shallow.

I wasn't actually diagnosing a child with autism. The psychologist and speech therapist tested the child during his intake. He was brought in because his mother was concerned about a speech/language delay. They suggested testing for autism because they suspected it but they told us the mother didn't want to hear it. She agreed to place him in our class with a speech/language diagnosis. Then, she pulled him after a month because she didn't want the "stigma" of special ed to follow him his entire life (this situation is what prompted me to ask the question during the training). As we observed the child in our class (myself, the teacher, the other aides), we could see why autism was brought up during his intake. I'm not qualified to officially diagnose kids, but after 8 years working in the class, I can certainly notice the signs. We never go to a parent with any suspicions we have. We discuss the child's behaviors with the school psych. She will usually do an in-class observation and determine if further testing is required.

I guess I didn't clearly explain the whole situation in my previous post. Sorry if it was confusing.

 

[kaffinito]

I have a 13 year old son with Asperger's. I also work in the special ed department of his school district (I work w/preschoolers). So everyone in the dept. knows I have a son w/special needs.

So, last March we were in a training session on autism.

But earlier up, it sure looks to me like you were diagnosing a child with autism. Do you have the training to do so?

Jodifla, as you can see from the above comment, Luv Bunnies has a child with Aspergers, works in the educational field with ASD students, and has had special training. As the parent of two children who are on the spectrum, I must say that people who work closely with children for several hours every day in a setting where it is their primary function to educate children do end up knowing quite a lot about our kids. That being said, I did not get the impression from Luv Bunnies that she was trying to diagnose a child, only that she was concerned about that particular child.

Also, I have seen parents who refuse to even have their children evaluated because they simply will not try every avenue to find out how their child can best be served by their school district. Parents often think that they are the only ones who can issue a diagnoses about their child, even though professionals, whether in the medical or educational field, have had the experience and training to do so far better. As parents, we often have a great deal of trouble adjusting to the idea that our children might need more specialized education, because in our minds then the child is "labeled."

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Jodifla, as you can see from the above comment, Luv Bunnies has a child with Aspergers, works in the educational field with ASD students, and has had special training. As the parent of two children who are on the spectrum, I must say that people who work closely with children for several hours every day in a setting where it is their primary function to educate children do end up knowing quite a lot about our kids. That being said, I did not get the impression from Luv Bunnies that she was trying to diagnose a child, only that she was concerned about that particular child.

Also, I have seen parents who refuse to even have their children evaluated because they simply will not try every avenue to find out how their child can best be served by their school district. Parents often think that they are the only ones who can issue a diagnoses about their child, even though professionals, whether in the medical or educational field, have had the experience and training to do so far better. As parents, we often have a great deal of trouble adjusting to the idea that our children might need more specialized education, because in our minds then the child is "labeled."

Well said. Thank you.

 

[ireland_nicole]

I learned something recently that applies here, I think. Pete Wright says, "Special education is a service, not a place." I think most people still think that special ed is that room in the basement or wherever... but both of my kids get their services w/ an inclusion specialist in their classes-and the teachers love it b/c the specialist helps other kids in the class a little so as not to be obvious. That being said, the kids in my kiddos classes are well aware that they're pretty quirky. But those services are what enable my kids to function in a classroom and meet the same expectations of other kids in the class. LuvBunnies: I get what you're saying, and it exasperates and saddens me too when people who are in the field say things like this. Maybe that's why God gave us the oppurtunity to spend our lifetimes educating others . To all of us; keep the faith, because our kids are always worth fighting for. And I will fight until the worth and potential of all our kids is recognized w/o stigma.

 

[scojos]

To all of us; keep the faith, because our kids are always worth fighting for. And I will fight until the worth and potential of all our kids is recognized w/o stigma.

as always, nicole the voice of reason
tracy

 

[bookwormde]

Ireland Nichole

When you get it all digested, share with us some of the things that you learned from Peter Wright (especially for me anything new in the last 18 months).

I have found that the resources he supplies as part of his seminars and training days to be very helpful.

It just shows that if more people understood the law and it’s intent it would be much easier to work together and everyone would be better off, students, teachers, parents and administrators and a lot of the “stigma” of special education would disappear.

bookwormde

 

[BeckyScott]

For the flip side of this-

Justin was referred to First Steps when he was 18 mos for speech delay. I didn't think a whole lot about it, lots of kids have speech delays.

Within a few months, we had added OT and PT. I told my husband we should put a revolving door on our house.

His 2-year check-up I told the dr we were going to get a full eval done. Our family dr was the first person that said the A-word. I went home, googled the little checklist, and yep, that's it all right.

The next day our poor OT shows up, and I confronted her. In a nice way. Did she think Justin had autism? She him-hawed around, asked me why I wanted to know. So I explained to her that our dr had mentioned it, I had looked it up, and I thought it was probably correct. At that point we had a major break-thru. Yes, she thought that was probably what it was, but she couldn't say anything. She'd been thrown out of houses before for mentioning PDD. And in fact, the SLP and OT had both been doing autism-type therapy the whole time.

No, they're not doctors, but for heaven's sake, I can look back in retrospect and Justin was most definately autistic. No doubt, hitting like all but one of the things on the checklist, anybody with experience with young kids like our therapists had, I'm pretty sure they could spot it within 2 minutes.

As soon as I brought it up to the OT, she became a wealth of information. And she talked to the SLP. And the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, and they didn't have to watch what they said. And I wish that they had said something sooner. And I wish it could have been the OT, a wonderful lady in our home, instead of hearing it in an exam room by a guy I didn't particularly like. And I know it can't be that way, OT's can't diagnose. And sometimes parents aren't ready. Sometimes they can be presented with the facts, by a professional, and still be in total denial. Sometimes, and I don't understand how, kids with special needs get put into classrooms with no support, don't get therapy that they need, and the school doesn't say anything and the doctor I guess doesn't either and everyone is so busy tip-toeing around the parents and around the law. And who gets the short end of that stick?

 

[KirstenB]

For the flip side of this-

Justin was referred to First Steps when he was 18 mos for speech delay. I didn't think a whole lot about it, lots of kids have speech delays.

Within a few months, we had added OT and PT. I told my husband we should put a revolving door on our house.

His 2-year check-up I told the dr we were going to get a full eval done. Our family dr was the first person that said the A-word. I went home, googled the little checklist, and yep, that's it all right.

The next day our poor OT shows up, and I confronted her. In a nice way. Did she think Justin had autism? She him-hawed around, asked me why I wanted to know. So I explained to her that our dr had mentioned it, I had looked it up, and I thought it was probably correct. At that point we had a major break-thru. Yes, she thought that was probably what it was, but she couldn't say anything. She'd been thrown out of houses before for mentioning PDD. And in fact, the SLP and OT had both been doing autism-type therapy the whole time.

No, they're not doctors, but for heaven's sake, I can look back in retrospect and Justin was most definately autistic. No doubt, hitting like all but one of the things on the checklist, anybody with experience with young kids like our therapists had, I'm pretty sure they could spot it within 2 minutes.

As soon as I brought it up to the OT, she became a wealth of information. And she talked to the SLP. And the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, and they didn't have to watch what they said. And I wish that they had said something sooner. And I wish it could have been the OT, a wonderful lady in our home, instead of hearing it in an exam room by a guy I didn't particularly like. And I know it can't be that way, OT's can't diagnose. And sometimes parents aren't ready. Sometimes they can be presented with the facts, by a professional, and still be in total denial. Sometimes, and I don't understand how, kids with special needs get put into classrooms with no support, don't get therapy that they need, and the school doesn't say anything and the doctor I guess doesn't either and everyone is so busy tip-toeing around the parents and around the law. And who gets the short end of that stick?

Where is the standing ovation smiley?!!! One of our friends worked with EI with vision-impaired children for 8 yrs. She got "fired" by a mom for suggesting the son exhibited some autistic tendencies. 6 months later the mom called her up to let her know her son was later dx'd with autism by the developmental peds. Nobody's right all the time, but these folks work with little kids all day long. I've loved the therapists we've worked with in helping our dd.

 

[jodifla]

For the flip side of this-

Justin was referred to First Steps when he was 18 mos for speech delay. I didn't think a whole lot about it, lots of kids have speech delays.

Within a few months, we had added OT and PT. I told my husband we should put a revolving door on our house.

His 2-year check-up I told the dr we were going to get a full eval done. Our family dr was the first person that said the A-word. I went home, googled the little checklist, and yep, that's it all right.

The next day our poor OT shows up, and I confronted her. In a nice way. Did she think Justin had autism? She him-hawed around, asked me why I wanted to know. So I explained to her that our dr had mentioned it, I had looked it up, and I thought it was probably correct. At that point we had a major break-thru. Yes, she thought that was probably what it was, but she couldn't say anything. She'd been thrown out of houses before for mentioning PDD. And in fact, the SLP and OT had both been doing autism-type therapy the whole time.

No, they're not doctors, but for heaven's sake, I can look back in retrospect and Justin was most definately autistic. No doubt, hitting like all but one of the things on the checklist, anybody with experience with young kids like our therapists had, I'm pretty sure they could spot it within 2 minutes.

As soon as I brought it up to the OT, she became a wealth of information. And she talked to the SLP. And the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, and they didn't have to watch what they said. And I wish that they had said something sooner. And I wish it could have been the OT, a wonderful lady in our home, instead of hearing it in an exam room by a guy I didn't particularly like. And I know it can't be that way, OT's can't diagnose. And sometimes parents aren't ready. Sometimes they can be presented with the facts, by a professional, and still be in total denial. Sometimes, and I don't understand how, kids with special needs get put into classrooms with no support, don't get therapy that they need, and the school doesn't say anything and the doctor I guess doesn't either and everyone is so busy tip-toeing around the parents and around the law. And who gets the short end of that stick?

Ever see the show "House?" All those patients come in with something wrong, and doctors Dx the most typical thing associated with those symptoms....only what the patients have isn't the most typical thing at all. It takes a true EXPERT to figure out what that thing is.

The truth is, OTs, Speech Therapists and even MANY school pyschologists (whose training may range from great to lousy) aren't really qualified to Dx autism or ASD or PDD-NOS. Partly because they don't have the background and training to have ALL the diagnosis possibilities on the table.... Instead, they come loaded for bear with the ASD diagnosis.

They have their ASD checklists, and when a child exhibits some/enough of those symptoms, the child gets shoved onto the conveyor belt of the Autism Machine which is up and running in full force these days. (Guess when the last autism diagnosis explosion was: After it was first identified by Leo Kanner, who several years later, lamented all the poor diagnosing going on by people who didn't know what they were doing.)

Some of those treatments (Speech, OT) may fit the bill even if the child doesn't have ASD, and some are downright awful for the wrong kid (ABA). Even worse, a parent gets a wrong autism diagnosis or "assessment" for their child from the school district, and the parent rushes off to all kinds of expensive, unproven and possibly dangerous therapies (chelation, hyperbaric chambers, etc.)

When you really start researching, you find that lots of other communication disorgers (Pragmatic-Semantic Speech Disorder, Central Auditor Processing Disorder, Expressive/Receptive Language Disorders, Apraxia) seem very similar to ASD when you look at a young child. The overlap is the lack of communication, which manifests itself into some fairly quirky behaviours. Where they don't overlap is that non ASD kids really want to communicate....but their disability prevents/hampers that.

I once had a school psychologist suggest that perhaps my son had Asperger's. His issues are NOWHERE close to the criteria for Asperger's. When I mentioned this to the university clinicians several months later, they said they'd suggest I'd run from anyone whose "expertise" was so off the mark they didn't recognize the simple basics of the diagnositic criteria.

But those are the folks diagnosing the children of America.

 

[blondietink]

I have an 18 yo with Down Syndrome ( can't hide that) and a 16 yo with Calssic Autism (can't hide that either especially when he is spining around in circles or flicking a pencil in front of his face).

Anyway, since the older one was born, we decided because we love to travel, that we would take our kids with us and now they have a love of travel, too. We usually attract a lot of people who ask us how we do it, medical problems involved, just general inquisitive converstion starters. There are some people, however who are rude and spiteful. One time in Disney these rude people were dogging us all one night at MK and they were actually yelling at us about our kids in strollers. I yelled right back that perhaps they would like to trade my children for their perfect children. They finally shut up.

Back to the original converstion. I work in a school as a case worker and I am also a Parent Rep on CSE in our home district. It mades me so mad when psychologists and other specialists do not tell parents what diagnosis their child has. The classic is "developmental delay". Then when the child gets ready to transition out of school and they need to be referred to the office of mental retardation the parents are shocked and angry because their child is only "delayed". Parents need to be told as soon as a diagnosis is made so they can deal with it, accept it and move on for the best of their child.

Just MHO.

 

[kaffinito]

When you really start researching, you find that lots of other communication disorgers (Pragmatic-Semantic Speech Disorder, Central Auditor Processing Disorder, Expressive/Receptive Language Disorders, Apraxia) seem very similar to ASD when you look at a young child. The overlap is the lack of communication, which manifests itself into some fairly quirky behaviours. Where they don't overlap is that non ASD kids really want to communicate....but their disability prevents/hampers that.

Way OT again, but are you serious? My kids both WANT to communicate, can communicate, and are both ASD certified. No where does it say that a kid with HFA is unable or unwilling to communicate. Also, where is it written that a child can't have multiple diagnoses and disorders? My oldest was diagnosed with a communications disorder too, intitially, then with bi polar depression, then as ADHD, then as ASD. Guess what! He's all of the above! Ignoring one diagnoses I didn't like in favor of one that I liked better would have been detrimental to my kid.

I am sorry to say this, but I highly suggest you take your own advice and leave the business of diagnosing children to those better qualified to make those decisions than you are.

 

[jodifla]

Way OT again, but are you serious? My kids both WANT to communicate, can communicate, and are both ASD certified. No where does it say that a kid with HFA is unable or unwilling to communicate. Also, where is it written that a child can't have multiple diagnoses and disorders? My oldest was diagnosed with a communications disorder too, intitially, then with bi polar depression, then as ADHD, then as ASD. Guess what! He's all of the above! Ignoring one diagnoses I didn't like in favor of one that I liked better would have been detrimental to my kid.

I am sorry to say this, but I highly suggest you take your own advice and leave the business of diagnosing children to those better qualified to make those decisions than you are.

I agree that I shouldn't have been so definitive, but the communication criteria draws clearly from the DSM manual and from many experts in the field, such as Stanley Greenspan. There's another speech therapist who tried to point this out as well, but she got shouted down in an earlier thread. Greenspan wrote an article on the subject, I'll try and find it to link to it.

But I'm sure you've done lots of research on your own as well and you know your child best and what diagnosis (or diagnoses) fits, so I certainly don't mean to suggest otherwise. And I also agree of course that a child can have more than one Dx.

My caution is to parents to make sure their evaluators are good ones and have the right credentials to do the evaluating, that's all.

 

[jodifla]

Here's the link I was looking for. It's a radio transcript by Dr. Stanley Greenspan, MD, who works largely with autistic children and has written several books on the subject:

http://www.floortime.org/downloads/transcripts/022604.pdf

Misdiagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders

It won't let me copy and paste, unfortunately, but he has a very interesting part about primary characteristics of autism and secondary characteristics, and how the secondary charactaristics don't qualify for an autism diagnosis without the primary ones, but that many of his colleagues don't pay careful enough attention to that part.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Ireland Nichole

When you get it all digested, share with us some of the things that you learned from Peter Wright (especially for me anything new in the last 18 months).

I have found that the resources he supplies as part of his seminars and training days to be very helpful.

It just shows that if more people understood the law and it’s intent it would be much easier to work together and everyone would be better off, students, teachers, parents and administrators and a lot of the “stigma” of special education would disappear.

bookwormde

I don't know what may have changed in the last 18 mos. except for new cases (which you can find on the website) but it was the first time I had a chance to go step by step through the law with someone who understood it and spoke English (as opposed to pure legalese). It was two incredibly intense days, but I learned so much about the law, and more specifically about TX regs (it was held here). I just feel now like I could find anything I needed quickly in a tense ARD moment- and can draw a mean bell curve too . I found ways around some of the criteria my district tries to use that don't have a legal basis. And I really took away that any time I walk into an ARD, I have to be prepared to go to Due Process. Not because I want to be adversarial, but because then I am sure to dot all my i's, etc. I have learned strategies to try to avoid litigation, but also how to protect my child's rights is the school district makes choices that make that action unavoidable. I think that I actually learned a lot of techniques to deal more cooperatively w/ the district. So now I just have to see how it works in practice

 

[mechurchlady]

Here's the link I was looking for. It's a radio transcript by Dr. Stanley Greenspan, MD, who works largely with autistic children and has written several books on the subject:

http://www.floortime.org/downloads/transcripts/022604.pdf

Misdiagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders

It won't let me copy and paste, unfortunately, but he has a very interesting part about primary characteristics of autism and secondary characteristics, and how the secondary charactaristics don't qualify for an autism diagnosis without the primary ones, but that many of his colleagues don't pay careful enough attention to that part.

I copied it for you the part about the important stuff. it is a very interesting article. The below part I think is very important. I call mine Brain Quirks as I know I am not autistic but have damage. The quote below ends any doubt I might have had. Very good article like about how a kid who is a sensory problems might do autistic things like stimming or staring at a fan.

What distinguished the two was the ability for making inferences (which is a high level
of abstract thinking, in other words to come up with a new conclusion to a question or a
new hypothesis), the ability for reciprocal emotional cueing (to enter a back-and-forth
social interaction where you’re reading or responding to another person’s cues and they
are reading and responding to yours), the ability for high levels of empathy (to be able to
enter someone else’s shoes, so to speak and understand what they are feeling and
thinking and comment on it), and the ability for a deep level of trust and engagement.
These were some of the characteristics that distinguished children with autistic spectrum
disorders from children without autistic spectrum disorders when they were matched for
IQ scores.

 

[KirstenB]

Totally OT, but I want to give a big shout out to Dr. Greenspan. When our younger dd was dx'd with ASD, I didn't know where to turn. A few days later, I brought both kids to the Children's Museum. There was a lending library there. I picked up his book, "The Special Needs Child" and was totally hooked (mind you this was while watching Zoe out of the corner of my eye). I can't think of another book that has so changed my life.

I don't mean to go off-topic, but if anyone here has a child with language delays, and some quirks, his books are terrific at teaching you how to interact with your child on their own level.

 

[bookwormde]

Well since we are way OT already I will join in

Dr. Stanley Greenspan is a psychiatrist. Most of his writings are based on “classic” Autism with the majority dealing with infants to 6 year olds (Mostly infant to 3).

He does have a good understanding of the emotional developmental impacts on this subset of the Autistic community and is an effective advocate.

He makes very good points that an Autistic diagnosis is not as useful as it could be if it does not include a complete evaluation to allow for targeted therapies instead of a one size fits all approach.

I though that some might find this link interesting, as it reflects on of the attempts by the CDC to develop better procedures for identifying Autism spectrum individuals.

http://www.stockholm.autism.se/pr.pdf

Here is a partial quote

“A comprehensive evaluation must include assessment of social, emotional, cognitive, language, motor, and sensory functioning; parental and family patterns of interaction; and availability of community support, says the report. It recommends that intervention programs focus on infant-parent relationships, family functioning, and overall social-emotional, cognitive, motor, and sensory functioning. The report concludes that narrowly focused intervention programs that target specific behaviors or symptoms may increase risk in infancy and early childhood.”

Thus Dr. Greenspan’s concerns about blindly using ABA, which I agree with since in many non classic cases it done so poorly that it at best is ineffective and at worse is damaging even for those with an appropriate Autism HFA or Aspergers diagnosis. Social skills and emotional development are what are important for progress not “behavior management” unless the behavior is so disruptive or injurious that progress van not be made.

Jodifa, it certainly sounds like whoever did the medical evaluation and diagnosis of your child fell far short of the above.

One point, which is rarely metioned, is that doctors do medical diagnosis. School clinicians make classification assignments based on IDEA criteria. Not all children who meet one necessarily meet the other.

Sorry to OP for being so OT

Ireland Nichole

It is really fun when you put his ideas into practice and it actually works!

bookwormde

 

[mechurchlady]

bookwormde I as well as others need help understanding how and what things are. I am very empathic, trust deeply once I know someone, but as for the other two things am so old that I could have learned to adapt or hide or cope with them. The good thing about this site is the ADD off topic wild rides that thread take because often them rides end up with someone learning something new or someone getting help and knowledge.

I have learned a lot about myself from these threads and while not autistic, HFA, or aspie I have finally realized some things are not normal behavior. I am finally realizing that the damage was there but mom and school never understood as I hid a lot of things. Memories go away, eek.

Maybe a kid is not autistic but just does not like looking at the ugly doctor. No eye contact, autism. On television was a skit about a kid who only used dark colours. The kid was labeled morbid and depressed. Finally at the end of the program the kid tells mom that the only colours he can get are those. Not sure if it was his being too small or what but he loved bright colours but the only colours he could attain was black and morbid colours.

 

[BeckyScott]

When you really start researching, you find that lots of other communication disorgers (Pragmatic-Semantic Speech Disorder, Central Auditor Processing Disorder, Expressive/Receptive Language Disorders, Apraxia) seem very similar to ASD when you look at a young child. The overlap is the lack of communication, which manifests itself into some fairly quirky behaviours.

I wasn't going to let them diagnose him, but at least they pointed me in the right direction and let me come to my own conclusions.

Justin is textbook Kanner's, the only thing that doesn't fit is that (so far and knock on wood) he doesn't tantrum. Well, he screams, but he doesn't bang around on the floor. And in retrospect, the signs were there as early as 6 months, I just didn't recognize them. Our oldest son ran ahead of schedule developmentally, so I didn't have a very good frame of reference. While the speech delay was the most obvious sign, the other things were there, too. Playing inappropriately with toys, fascinated with the ceiling fan, ignoring guests, orally defensive, hyptonic, no sense of danger, no distal pointing, no eye contact, delayed fine and gross motor skills... no you can't stereotype, but there comes a point where things get pretty obvious.

And the problem comes in, that it's pretty well-recognized and we can probably all agree, that with autism Early Intervention is a very very important thing. I don't wish to brag but I believe a good part of Justin's success now is due to the fact that I got "over it" and past it and got him therapy ASAP instead of being in denial. Even when the entire rest of the family was in denial or shock. What happens in the first 3 or 4 years can be a huge determinate. So sometimes, I'd think, with younger children it could be very hard to give an autism diagnosis, but they need to get something, PDD or YCDD or whatever you wanna call it. It took us six months to get in for our "real" big hospital team evaluation. Some parents might have thought to wait, get the eval first, but that would have been six months of total wasted time, and at 2 years old, six months of time that would be crucial to his overall progress.

I was under the impression that that's really what a YCDD designation is. Uh, for parents that aren't ready to deal. It allows the school system to put therapy in place without freaking out the parents. Without the school system giving a diagnosis (since YCDD could be many different things) but still getting the child some services.

And I agree that it would be awful to start treating suspected autism with some of the more (hmmm) controversial methods, only to find out that it isn't autism. But many things are a "won't hurt to try" thing. We did try discrete-trial with Justin, and he didn't need it. I learned a lot and all, but he just doesn't need things presented that way. So we "wasted" a couple of weeks. But it didn't hurt to try. He also doesn't need visual schedules. But we tried it, cause you just don't know. We tried the weighted vest, whooo, that did not go over well. He is currently gf/cf (among other things) and even that wouldn't really hurt to try, even if it doesn't do any good and the child in fact is not autistic, as long as the child is still getting proper nutrition it's not going to harm them.

I certainly wouldn't take an SLT's word for it and start chelating. And I would hope any doctor with any kind of common sense wouldn't give chelating meds without a very definitive diagnosis and good reason to believe that metals are a problem. Of course, it does happen. We have a local ped that believes the school system can diagnose ADHD.