Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is WAAAAAYYYY to early to be discussing autism. Just because of that I would be second guessing the person who was evaluating. Either way, please know that on these tests, just one or two "wrong" responses can make your child look/test more delayed than he or she actually is. Like one of the PP's said, you are getting in very early to intervention which is great. The next level would be to receive services. The specialists will leave suggestions with you so that you can work on stuff while they are not there. If your child doesn't show progress in a few months then you might want to look into a developmental pediatrician.

I agree. To be fair, what happened there was that I probably freaked out and glazed over when she was super focused on the speech regression thing and said I could pursue double track evaluation simultaneous to EI, and should contact [name of center], which has autism in the name but also deals with development generally. The evaluator herself said it was too early to really say autism, and DD's extremely social personality doesn't exactly scream autism. I have a friend who diagnoses autism who let me know that the social stuff don't foreclose autism spectrum, however (and has a sister who meets that criteria).

What exactly does this mean? In a 7 month old, there are very few ways to see potential for autism and social skills (responding to social stimuli like peek-a-boo, smiling at caregivers, lifting hands to be picked up) are about the only way to evaluate..

All it means is the fact that my kid responds to social stimuli at 7 months (but does not lift hands to be picked up ftr) doesn't mean she's not on the autism spectrum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is WAAAAAYYYY to early to be discussing autism. Just because of that I would be second guessing the person who was evaluating. Either way, please know that on these tests, just one or two "wrong" responses can make your child look/test more delayed than he or she actually is. Like one of the PP's said, you are getting in very early to intervention which is great. The next level would be to receive services. The specialists will leave suggestions with you so that you can work on stuff while they are not there. If your child doesn't show progress in a few months then you might want to look into a developmental pediatrician.

I agree. To be fair, what happened there was that I probably freaked out and glazed over when she was super focused on the speech regression thing and said I could pursue double track evaluation simultaneous to EI, and should contact [name of center], which has autism in the name but also deals with development generally. The evaluator herself said it was too early to really say autism, and DD's extremely social personality doesn't exactly scream autism. I have a friend who diagnoses autism who let me know that the social stuff don't foreclose autism spectrum, however (and has a sister who meets that criteria).

What exactly does this mean? In a 7 month old, there are very few ways to see potential for autism and social skills (responding to social stimuli like peek-a-boo, smiling at caregivers, lifting hands to be picked up) are about the only way to evaluate..

My child went thru the MC Infants and Toddler program. If you child qualified, you do what they say, make and keep the appointments. Think not of how my child is different, but what can I best do to help my child where he or she is. My child had PT, OT, Speech, parent coach, and special education. Now he is going into second grade. He is doing really well. Is he typical? No he needs a little bit of help. But he is in a mainstream classroom, with a little extra help. He has 2 hearing aids, lots of friends. He just turned 7 and he is learning to ride his bike without training wheels. He learned to read in first grade and we are practicing over the summer.

Take it has it comes, keep the best interests of your child in the forefront of your mind. My child didn't walk until 17 months, but we worked on it daily for months to learn those skills and to keep his balance. Have a good attitude and keep things fun. BTW, learning to bike without training wheels is my goal for him, not his, so I keep it fun and give lots of encouragement, some special snacks occasionally and bubbles at the "finish line" of our little track.

OP, I know nothing about any of this - let me say that up front.

And then I'd like to gently suggest that you take a deep breath, that you focus on getting some healthy sleep patterns for you AND your daughter, and in 6 weeks (after hopefully a couple of weeks of better sleep) you re-evaluate where things stand.

It sounds like a lot of ambiguous stuff you're dealing with, an investigator who doesn't sound especially skilled, and a nervous, sleep deprived parent and baby.

Get sleep fixed first. Then look at everything else.

I don't mean to simplify or dismiss - I'm just suggesting that you're missing a fundamental necessity for both of you.

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Anyone have any tips for dealing with the anxiety of waiting? I feel like I can't enjoy being around my daughter, because I'm just constantly wishing for her to do things that she is not. She sleeps horribly too, and I am sleep deprived and not dealing with this particularly well.

Therapy. And get a second opinion. And ferber. And considee that your fears may not be rational and are being stoked by the internet and possibly an unqualified evaluation. Also, what about visiting your pediatrician? Are you in dc?