Autism diagnosis and treatment

[Anonymous]

My 3 year old son has been in a research program at Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore. They recently gave him a research diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder; the good news is that he’s relatively high functioning.



I am trying to get him a clinical evaluation and diagnosis so that I can get him some treatment. Does anyone have recommendations for a neuropsychiatrist or other doctor to evaluate and diagnose him? Any recommendations for treatment providers that do ABA and/or floor time or other type of therapy? We live in north Arlington, but we’ll go wherever we have to in order to get him help.



I have been working with our insurance company, which will cover most treatment once a clinical diagnosis has been made, but they haven’t been helpful in recommending clinicians or treatment options. Thanks for any help any of you can provide.



Melissa

[e-mail]

703-568-0058

[Anonymous]

The local chapter of Autism Speaks has a packet for families whose children have been newly diagnosed with resources and advice, so you might tough base with them.

[Anonymous]

For floortime you could work with Jake Greenspan, son of the late Stanley Greenspan. Have heard he's pleasant and good with kids, though he does not yet have the advanced degree to allow insurance coverage (though that may have changed). I think he's located in Bethesda. His OTs do floortime as well and often people can get some reimbursement through insurance.

You can get services through your county for free or very little. Your child may also qualify for free developmental preschool. Have you contacted the county for an eval?

There are lots of good STs in private practice around. Some are better with certain issues than others. Is apraxia a concern? How much language does he have?

I highly recommend the book ...Overcoming Autism.... if you haven't read it already.

Does your child have digestive issues? If so you may want to research special diets like gluten free casein free.

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

We went to Dr. Federici in ALexandria to have our 4 year old evaluated and diagnosed (PDD-NOS). His bedside manner is not great but he is very thorough and helpful in providing contacts for therapy. (We ended up doing ABA therapy with Nadia Molina in Falls Church - I think the group is called Alternative Behaviors.) We currently see Dr. Conlon, dev. pediatrician, in Bethesda who is great. not sure if he's taking new patients right now though.

[Anonymous]

If you are already familiar with KKI, why not seek a medical diagnosis there through the CARD center? They have developmental pediatricians who, although I'm sure participate in research projects, also see patients on a clinical basis. That's where we received the diagnosis for our child. Call the CARD center, tell them what you're looking for. They'll start with an evaluation by an SLP, followed a few days or weeks later by an evaluation by a developmental pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For floortime you could work with Jake Greenspan, son of the late Stanley Greenspan. Have heard he's pleasant and good with kids, though he does not yet have the advanced degree to allow insurance coverage (though that may have changed). I think he's located in Bethesda. His OTs do floortime as well and often people can get some reimbursement through insurance.

You can get services through your county for free or very little. Your child may also qualify for free developmental preschool. Have you contacted the county for an eval?

There are lots of good STs in private practice around. Some are better with certain issues than others. Is apraxia a concern? How much language does he have?

I highly recommend the book ...Overcoming Autism.... if you haven't read it already.

Does your child have digestive issues? If so you may want to research special diets like gluten free casein free.

Hope that helps.

A little OT--I hadn't realized Dr. Greenspan had died! (I don't live in DC anymore--but my head must be up my butt because I didn't hear about this at all.) That is sad; I don't begrudge him his eternal rest and reward but his voice and his mind could still have made a difference in the lives of so many kids with issues.

[Anonymous]

Autism Learning Center in Falls Church provides private ABA therapy in your home.

[Anonymous]

I would highly recommend ABA or VB (Verbal Behavior, which is similar to ABA) above floortime, and although I don't know anything about the county services, I do know a number of excellent private ABA/VB consultants who would run your home-based program. I would recommend Morgan McCloskey of ICAN of Washington, Inc. (www.icanofwashington.com) - she is really excellent. Best of luck to you and your family.

[Anonymous]

I second that thought - definitely look for a treatment program that is heavy on ABA-VB. You can supplement with Floortime, and use that ouside of official "classroom" or "learning" time, but seek out ABA-VB as your primary intervention.