More good news!

[MinnieVanMom]

Just a bit ago we found out DS had his Dx changed from autism to aspergers Yesterday we went to an meeting at the school post IEP for eligability and they said they could barely find anything to qualify him for SPED! He is a test master and likes to rise to the challenge. He has a few social areas but they said in the few months he has been in school he is really doing so much better. He is still too close, he withdrawls at times but overall is right there with the other children They don't think he will even be in SPED next year

The teacher said the kids don't know DS has a disability. They all do some OT in the class room rather than DS leaving. He is going to have to get 1 hour a week of OT but he hasn't even asked to go to OT since the first week of school. Finally the teachers says our DS does not stand out at all. He fits in well and other than the kids think he is funny as in a jokester.

I am here to say that intensive early intervention can change the outcome for some children.

I was crying when they were saying how wonderful he is doing and how they could only qualify him in 1 area, speech.

 

[bookwormde]

Great news, sound like your child has a real jump on things. There will be further challenges as EF and social skills challenges get more advanced but it is much easier with effective early intervention.

bookwormde

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Woohoo. Sounds good.

We'll have our IEP meeting at the end of the year and I'm thinking that next year, DS won't qualify for Speech, although he might still qualify for OT or something like that. His speech has improved SO much since they did his IEP last year.

 

[Ali]

Watch out what you wish for because my DS was dismissed from services at the end of Pre-K and now that he has to use abstract thinking and be able to do writing prompts where he has to be creative and just "go with the topic" he is losing his mind.

He is strictly a literal thinker and he is unable to do these new activities that 2nd grade is having his do but he doesn't get any services any more and he isn't failing yet so they won't do anything to help.

Just beware what the future holds. It's fabulous that no one knows my son is different, including his teacher who was surprised to learned of his diagnosis when I told her last week. It would be more fabulous to have a support team there at school who understood why he reacts to testing a certain way and why his anxiety level is so high with a simple writing prompt that "anyone can do".

 

[KirstenB]

I'm really happy for you!!

 

[dyna]

WHAT is the problem with having a child in SPED? All of mine have been in it the oldest I had to fight for years to get her in there. My youngest will graduate with HONORS this coming May she is in SPED because she has a hard time asking for help when she needs it.

Like I told the principal when he asked WHY I wanted DD in SPED. Because I want the best possible education for my child!

 

[BeckyScott]

There's nothing wrong with SpEd... but as a parent, when you receive a rather devistating diagnosis, are told there's no cure and the treatments are debatable, are pretty much traumatized by that, fight your butt off every day... and then years down the road you get told your kid is able to function in a regular classroom with virtually no support... that's a big moment.

So MinnieVanMom, here's a from me too.

A question though, and this sounds like a question for bookwormde, our son also recently got his diagnosis changed from autism to PDD-NOS. The psych said she could have gone either way and we discussed it at length and kinda decided together. But he'd progressed enough she didn't think he fit the severity of autism anymore, but there were still some issues so he needed to be under the Umbrella somewhere. We were both concerned that going PDD-NOS would affect his services, but in my heart I wanted the upgrade. To me (and I'm sure MiniVanMom knows what I mean) getting that upgrade was like someone telling me we'd done the right things and it paid off. And that was huge for me personally.

The SLP that was at the same eval said she thought he was Aspie. The psych said, and she also did say it would depend on who did the eval, that part of the Aspie diagnosis included not having a history of speech impairment, and using that criteria... even though DS's language has made huge progress, the history is still there, and therefore he couldn't be Aspie, ever. And that was the sole reason, really, why she couldn't go with Aspie for him. I too thought that the thing that made Aspie Aspie and autism autism was the speech, that Aspies didn't ever have speech problems. (not pragmatic language, but a general speech delay)

Not trying to discredit anyone, because I'd probably start crying over an Aspie diagnosis, that would be huge.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

Beckyscott, bookwormde, sdarwkcabemanmy, Ali, KristinB , Dyna and everyone here,

Thank you for sharing in our joy! It has been a month of good news for us.
We have had run the gamut of emotions that go with autsim, I remember the knowing something was wrong and getting it in black and white like it was yesterday. I remember crying myself to sleep and feeling lost and the loss of our child. The devistation, the search for services, and commiting everything we could to help our little guy "fit" into the world. We know that there is not a cure for autsim or aspies but just changing the outcome was our goal and we feel that we are there.

Our work doesn't stop! I continue to do ABA and I make sure I know what is being covered in class and that our guy is on track. We work each day at home to cover what is in school. I am his parent and it is up to me to make sure he is doing his best.

DS was full autistic 3 years ago. He stopped talking all together. He withdrew, he just focused on one item for hours. We even had the little ticks with his fingers going like mad. So to now have him be DX as aspies is a huge jump.

Yes, it is a bit scarry to go off the waiver but I think over the years we have learned to advocate very well and I know we will get the services he needs being off the waiver also. We are still in SPED and on the waiver but our hope is for our guy not to need services.

There is nothing wrong with SPED! He is still under the sped program and he really needs the extra help with his writing. He loves his OT but it is nice to know that there may be a time when he doesn't need the extra assistance.

We know there isn't a cure yet but we are celebrating a huge improvement and knowing we have changed the outcome.

Thanks for sharing in our joy!

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

WHAT is the problem with having a child in SPED?

I don't think there is a problem with SPED, even though I had (and still have sometimes) a hard time dealing with the fact that my son who looks completely normal is in Sp Ed. I also thank the Goddess (or whoever) that such a thing exists, because otherwise he would not be gettiing the help he needs for his speech, physical delays, etc.

the oldest I had to fight for years to get her in there. My youngest will graduate with HONORS this coming May she is in SPED because she has a hard time asking for help when she needs it.

Like I told the principal when he asked WHY I wanted DD in SPED. Because I want the best possible education for my child!

I understand your struggle. I had problems for YEARS with numbers, dates and math in general. But because I had such high scores in the other areas I was tested in, the schools told my mother I couldn't possibly be learning disabled. She fought for a long time to get me the help I needed at school and it wasn't until my senior year that she was able to get me what I needed but by then it was too late.

It was only AFTER I graduated HS that I got my dx: Dyscalcula. It's very similar to dyslexia but involves numbers, dates and math instead of words/letters.

I decided when we found out about DS's dx that I was going to fight for everything I could get for him through the school. Fortunately, I didn't have to fight too hard.