Results of 14 month old's evaluation - any feedback appreciated

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,

I work in early childhood special education in public schools and am also an educational and behavioral consultant. I would be happy to talk with you and review your son's info and provide support, suggestions, and resources. I am in no means soliciting you for business but offering to explain the often confusing and detailed special education process, especially for the young kiddos. Feel free to email me at [e-mail]. Again, I am in no means trying to to solicit.
Thanks and good luck,
MG

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP -- what you are seeing sound like joint attention issues. It might be helpful to go onto Autism Speaks and watch the videos that show joint attention in a NT v ASD child. It helps to get a diagnosis right away. As you know, not pointing and not sharing are red flags. i am not saying there is an issue; I am just saying the joint attention issue is important, and a strong marker. That said -- my kid has been consistently behind, and has not qualified for services or extra concern. He is just "slow."

Thank you, PP. Autism is definitely something that has been on my mind, more and more lately, and is part of the reason I really want to make sure we see a developmental ped. I am concerned, but I am trying to keep my worries about it at bay a bit. Trying to take the right steps to get DS the help he needs for the delays, and put the pieces in place to have him evaluated further, but trying to keep from worrying too much or assuming too much yet about what the delays and some of the specific things I see might all mean. It's hard, and my mind goes there, but I'm trying. Thank you though for being the one to say this; again, it makes me feel like I'm not crazy for wondering and worrying (though I would love to just be overly-concerned about nothing!).

You are one smart, cookie, OP. I think getting him evaluated further is better than stressing over Internet videos.Also, check out the Hanen book, "It takes two to talk." You can get it on Amazon. It helps read the communication cues your kid might be giving. Also ask EI if they will be holding the Hanen class for parents.

I don't recommend the videos for "stressing out", but it helped me to actually see what people are talking about when they say things like joint attention issues. It is all very theoretical when talking to evaluators, and actually watching a comparison was, to me, incredibly useful. I know other people feel the same way. It actually provides insight to what the issue is.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all so, so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it, and am sorry I didn't get back here yesterday to thank you all. I have read everything, and will be coming back to some of it as we progress through this.

I spent the day trying to make appointments - I contacted Dr. Shapiro via email, but heard back that he is not accepting new patients until July, and so to try contacting them again in June. I made an appt with an audiologist at Children's, but it's not until mid-May. I also spoke to someone at Children's about making an appt with a developmental Ped, and was told they're currently scheduling appointments in Sept, BUT the woman I spoke with was really sympathetic about me wanting to get in quickly, and asked if I'd be willing to see the nurse practitioner in the group at the Rockville office to do the initial evaluation. I said I was, so she'll be calling me back on Mon with an appointment time.

Also, I have a friend who is a SLP (not currently practicing, she's a SAHM) and I talked to her for a long time on Thurs night. She thought that it might be a good idea to think about getting some addition support from a SLP after we've gotten settled into the EI services, so I will be keeping that in mind. She also felt like an evaluation for autism would be a good idea based on some of the things I described. One of her friends from grad school (whom I know a bit through her) works at CARD at Kennedy Krieger, and so gave some suggestions for how to try to get DS in there for a team evaluation. I put a call in through the intake line yesterday, and will hopefully hear something back soon. If I don't, I'll be calling again.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,

I just wanted to chime in here. Your son actually sounds exactly like my son did at 14 months. Many people told me not to worry and that he was just a "late developer", but I knew deep down (much like you describe) that when I saw other kids his age, he was different than they were. We had him evaluated by EI at 19 months and he was found eligible for speech and OT. He was later diagnosed at 24 months with mild ASD. I'm not telling you this to scare you or to upset, but to give you kudos for getting him therapy early on and trusting your instinct. Best of luck to you and your little one..