BusynMember
Well-Known Member
Makes no sense. I am in a group of people whose kids all have SOME form of autism spectrum, from very high functioning to very low functioning. Some kids are ten and still barely able to talk or be understood. They got diagnosed before they could speak and they all had neuropsychologist evaluations. Their children's apraxia was part of the reason they got the diagnosis. Do you have any university hospitals nearby? in my opinion they have the cutting edge/best neuropsychologists in the country.
My son was 11 before we could get the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) diagnosis. They kept talking around it, but never at him (this, in spite of the fact that some other parents asked me if he was on the spectrum because he would not interact much with kids he didn't know...they would come to ME with the question). Hub and I knew it. When we first got him, we looked at him running around like a maniac, then tantruming, then rocking back and forth with his thumb in his mouth to go to sleep and we looked at each other and said, "Autism." It was higher functioning. He could say words, would pull us around by the hand to get us to do what he likes, and was bright. But WE knew.
Why didn't all these highly paid professionals? Instead, we suffered through medication trials for ADHD (they made him mean and aggressive) and then a terrible misdiagnosis of childhood bipolar. Can't tell you how many horrible medications he was put on for this disorder that he didn't even have.
It was at a large get together for kids with early onset bipolar that parents came up to me to ask if he had a form of autism because in the large group that he didn't know...I am not sure what made them ask, but they did. I finally found out what a neuropsychologist is and took him for a ten hour assessment (without mentioning autism to the neuropsychologist) and FINALLY got the diagnosis. It is obviously correct.
Until we got the diagnosis, we just pushed and pushed for his IEP and he always had one...for speech (until he no longer needed that), Occupational Therapist (OT) and social skills. Keep on fighting. Get an advocate. Don't quit. It REALLY helped my child...he is a happy young man today, about 80% independent. Yes, we wish it was 100%, but maybe it will be someday. It is good enough for us.
My son was 11 before we could get the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) diagnosis. They kept talking around it, but never at him (this, in spite of the fact that some other parents asked me if he was on the spectrum because he would not interact much with kids he didn't know...they would come to ME with the question). Hub and I knew it. When we first got him, we looked at him running around like a maniac, then tantruming, then rocking back and forth with his thumb in his mouth to go to sleep and we looked at each other and said, "Autism." It was higher functioning. He could say words, would pull us around by the hand to get us to do what he likes, and was bright. But WE knew.
Why didn't all these highly paid professionals? Instead, we suffered through medication trials for ADHD (they made him mean and aggressive) and then a terrible misdiagnosis of childhood bipolar. Can't tell you how many horrible medications he was put on for this disorder that he didn't even have.
It was at a large get together for kids with early onset bipolar that parents came up to me to ask if he had a form of autism because in the large group that he didn't know...I am not sure what made them ask, but they did. I finally found out what a neuropsychologist is and took him for a ten hour assessment (without mentioning autism to the neuropsychologist) and FINALLY got the diagnosis. It is obviously correct.
Until we got the diagnosis, we just pushed and pushed for his IEP and he always had one...for speech (until he no longer needed that), Occupational Therapist (OT) and social skills. Keep on fighting. Get an advocate. Don't quit. It REALLY helped my child...he is a happy young man today, about 80% independent. Yes, we wish it was 100%, but maybe it will be someday. It is good enough for us.