Feedback from psychiatrist with little dude

lovelyboy

Member
So we had our assessment with psychiatrist yesterday.....Good news is that she cant see anything major underlying diagnosis of autism or mental retardation! She says that she wont rule out possible Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) but she seems totally convinced that at this moment from what she observed its not applicable.....further.....She said that at you look athis speech delay from between 18-24 months it will put him on a very low IQ, BUT again from what she observes he is a cleverlittle boy with possible average or higher IQ, because when his hands cant get an activity right(because of poor SI)....or his mouth cant say what he wants to he gets VERY frustrated! So she is of opinion that his brain knows very whel what he wants to do or say, but his poor SI and speech delay causes him terrible frustration= indication of high IQ.
Conclusion: He has Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) and bad speech delay....I asked her what is the cause of this, she said that in 90% of cases they dont know what causes it.....most propably some neurological delay in those areas....She recommended we need to get an EEG done to rule out any brain abnormalities/immaturities, exct.
She also thought that it could maybe help to put him in a school where he can be taught in mother tounge....but had to talk to ST about this......She wanted to give him Risperdal, but I was hesitant! She says she wants his frustrationtolerance to decrease to help with learning to take place....But I just thoughthe is only 4 yrs old and his brain is still developing so much! Might increase ST sessions?
Do you have any thoughts on what could be causes of bad speech delays? She said his is to bad to just put it down to language confusion......
So I guess....good news....maybe.....but not really pointing us in further directions!
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
"Developmental Delay"... covers a whole range of dxes and complex dxes and combinations of dxes... some of it we can help them learn their way out of, some of it they grow out of, and some of it just becomes part of who they are...

Trust me, it doesn't necessarily help to know "why"... my difficult child has a raft of secondary problems (long story) that didn't need to be there, and I know exactly how and why he got to where he is with those... but it doesn't provide any direction that would help in solving it...
 
L

Liahona

Guest
Could his speech delay be dsypraxia? I think its good that you got the Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) diagnosis.
 

keista

New Member
Speech delay is a speech delay. Unless he has a restricted frenum or hearing issues, it is what it is. Delay does NOT mean that he's never gonna get there or will always be behind. He may very well jump ahead in the future, but for now, there is a delay.

Keep working with the ST
 

Ktllc

New Member
Until you wrote it down, I've never thought he was raised bilingual (English and Afrikaner I'm guessing?). If his main lauguage is not the one he is taught in, depending on the root f the issue: it could in fact be a huge stress factor for him.
I am all for raising kids bilingual (and never stopped talking French to any of my kids despite speech delays), BUT for V I often have to translate and I ALWAYS use his strong language (English) to teach him academics. I want his brain to focus on the new material being presented and not have to be all focused on understanding French (which is VERY hard for him).
V has Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) (or sensory processing disorder (SPD), it's the same) just like your little guy. He also has a cautionary diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) which tends to be co-morbid with sother sensory problems. Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) make the learning of a second language very hard.
I'm sure we could debate this bilingual issue for hours, but I believe which teach children who have speech/academic issues in the language they understand the easiest. It allows the child to free some brain power.
But at home, during free time, I would never give up on the second language.
 

JJJ

Active Member
Have they introduced other forms of communication? Sometimes using signs or a picture board can allow a child to get their point across and lowers the frustration.
 

aeroeng

Mom of Three
difficult child in training had a significant speech delay. At 3 he was not talking at all. Not a single word. After two years with the speech therapist he was so fluent that at the age of 5 he babbled on to the science judges at the school fair and won first prize for the category K through 4th grade. I can't tell you how emotional I was seeing him not only talking, but explaining very complicated concepts. So I do not agree that delayed speech has any impact on IQ, only his ability to show his IQ. The speech therapist was significant for us. Your child might have different issues, but I would receive as much ST time as possible. We have a family history of reading related learning disabilities (Lots of dyslexics).

I understand that kids that are raised in a bilingual household are frequently delayed in speech development, but that by 2nd grade (usually age 6 or7) they start exceed their peers. I don't think that changing the school would help, unless the new school had a better speech therapy program. Also kids that have delayed speech are more at risk for reading issues. To help with that work on his phonemic awareness skills. One really fun book for this is:

Phonemic Awareness: Playing with Sounds to Strengthen Beginning Reading Skills by Jo Fitzpatrick
 

buddy

New Member
That is interesting. I wonder what the ST will say? I have seen kids with many conditions....genetic, injuries, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), cognitive delays, who get very, very frustrated by their inability to communicate so not sure what that means.... But you have felt for a long time that he doesn't really fully seem Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to you (though you are open to the thought that that could change as things play out)...if in your area a diagnosis is not what leads to therapy anyway, and since you are good at meeting a child where they are....seems best to up any therapies you can! Has the SLtherapist ever said his oral motor skills seem delayed? Apraxia of speech is a possibility to check out given the other issues. How are his other fine motor skills?

I will say, one time I went for a second opinion on our Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) diagnosis because I wasn't really ready for it, sigh...(you seem more open, but I'd imagine very concerned in general so could be similar I suppose)...anyway, Q scored smack dab on the spectrum on the ADOS and other checklist measures...but they said no, there was a quality about his interactions that made it not quite that. LOL, he already had three evaluations (one at age 2, one in schools, and one in an autism center)...but I knew this doctor and realized they were saying...keep all your therapies, he does have the brain injury but don't panic about autism yet....

I think they didn't want to upset me.

In the end he has this same doctor at another clinic and she calls him autistic, lol.

But your guy is different. You have never mentioned any stereotypic or repetitive behaviors, high/narrow focus interests, inconsistent or poor eye contact, his play style etc...being of concern, right? I know it is hard due to no insurance or school paid therapies, but a private Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) or center would be so interesting...Does he have the same Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) as difficult child?

So glad he has you and husband for parents...adding an augmentative communication system could be really supportive for him until his verbal language improves. If it is speech delay especially. Language disorders can make any system slower to learn because understanding and formulating the words/phrases/sentences is impaired (in any language) but the visual route can make your supporting and teaching language easier. All research shows it as supportive, none say it stops speech or language from developing.

Q was still very limited in speech/language at that age... and though for his age he is delayed now, he never shuts up! lol
 

lovelyboy

Member
Thanx for all your suggestions and support!
Had the appointment with ST today.....she is a very clever woman, with lots of love for the kids, very positive and with plenty of experience! Buddy....she isn't the same ST as difficult child...she only works with preprimary kids.
She informed me that little dude allready has ST twice a week, but said she will start including him in the speech enrichment program, where he can interact with other kids! :)
OK....what she said: In her opinion kids benefit most if they can be taught in mother tongue op to grade 4......
She said that usually kids who attends school in 2nd language, takes 3 years to learn new language....grade 000, gr 00, gr 0....then they will e ready for gr 1.....BUT that is if their 1st language is well established, but little dude's 1 language was 18 months behind with his first assessment, 4 months ago! She also said that all this will be ok...IF the child only has speech delay, but if, like in little dude's situation, he also has other problems, like major SI problems....then everything becomes more difficult!
So....bottom line: She feels, we still have 6 months left....that he already improved SO VERY MUCH in such a short time.....and if we as parents are willing to let him repeat gr 00, we might succeed in this English school......She says that we need to maybe find out about Afrikaans options...I did...none really available as private, small group schools......give him time and regularly get together as a team....with ST, Occupational Therapist (OT), teacher, principal and parent.....to discuss the future plan!
For now....we scheduled the EEG for next week Wednesday....has the parent interview next Thursday with teacher and then we might schedule meeting with principal to discuss her opinion! So guess this is it! sorry for long reply!!!!
 

buddy

New Member
That sounds really good. Heck you'd get close to the same school wise with a label! And he also has you guys.....that's no small thing.
 

cubsgirl

Well-Known Member
It sounds like you have a good handle on things with all the appointments set up. difficult child has Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) and had severe speech delay (from his autism and then we found out he is severely hearing impaired) but has completely caught up now and has been caught up for several years.
 
Top