Help Getting Son Diagnosed

[Wingnut]

Hi. I joined this board because my husband and I are concerned that our 19 month old son is Autistic. Our research first began because Matthieu, our son, is not developing his speech appropriately. We work with him constantly, speak, read, do flash cards...yet one day he will pop up with a word like "listen," say it over and over for a week, then never say it again. He also has seemed delayed in social areas...doesn't wave bye-bye or point to things he wants, etc. As I searched the internet I continued to come across Autism, looking at warning signs and "red flags." My son seems to exhibit at about 3/4 of every warning sign or red flag listed on various websites. I had been hiding my suspicions and concerns from my husband because he travels a lot and we are expecting our second child any day now. He has been very worried that he is going to miss the birth. But today he caught me on an Autism website and I had to explain. We were both in tears as he agreed with me over and over. He actually had similar concerns but didn't want to tell me because I am so close to having the baby and he thought it would stress me out. Every day I feel like I am losing ground with my little boy. Every day that goes by I feel guilty that I am not doing something to help him. Every day I see children his age and younger...he is just different and I want to help him so very much.

This is one of the short checklists. He exhibits all five below:

According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Autism Facts, "a doctor should definitely and immediately evaluate a child for autism if he or she:

· Does not babble or coo by 12 months of age
· Does not gesture (point, wave, grasp, etc.) by 12 months of age
· Does not say single words by 16 months of age
· Does not say two-word phrases on his or her own (rather than just repeating what someone says to him or her) by 24 months of age
· Has any loss of any language or social skill at any age.


We would like to take Matthieu directly to some kind of specialist to have him evaluated rather than to a pediatrician who is probably going to blow me off as over-reacting. We are in the Phoenix, AZ area and have no insurance at this time. Where should we go to have the best evaluation done? How much is this going to cost? Is there someone on this board that would be willing to take a look at the more detailed list of signs my son has and help me determine if any of this is necessary? Our gut feeling says it is, though.

TIA,

Lisa

[clgonzal]

Lisa

You surely touch my heart, since I remember the days my son was exhibiting the same behavior, he's now 2 1/2 y o. at 20 moths old he was also having struggle with language and also exhibit the same behavior repeating a word and losing it to never repeat it again, and of course some other symptoms.

At 22 we taking to "the developmental Center" place specialized in assessment of child with development difficulties were he was diagnosed with a mild case of autism spectrum. They suggested start therapy ASAP with an early intervention program EAP (government program) pay for the government (at least in Florida were I lived) if you don't have the possibility to do so, but hurry up only applies if your son is younger than 3. They do an evaluation and then recommend the appropriate therapy if any needed.

Believe the therapy has make a lot of different to him, when your also involve and helping, since the therapy only last 1 hour two or three times a week and you will have 23 more hours to go during a day (cheer up)

claudio

[cmdennis]

Lisa,

I have a good idea of how overwhelming this must be for you and your husband. My son was diagnosed as being autistic at 3 3/4 years old (he's now 12). I live in New York state, so I don't know how much of a help I can be to you, but hopefully I can give you some sense of direction.

One of the first places you might check is in your phone book in the yellow pages under social services for early intervention services. I believe that evaluations should be covered completely by your county. They were here when I had my daughter evaluated 4 years ago (I think I was a little paranoid at that point). They will be able to confirm your concerns and start the process of getting your son the necessary therapies or programs he might need. I have found that that it is much easier and quicker to start with early intervention than to actually get an evaluation by a developmental pediatrician. Early intervention tends to start right away whereas it took me almost 2 years to get an appointment with the doctor who diagnosed my son.

If you can't find a listing in the phone book, you might try your local school district. If your son has significant delays or impairment in his development, the school district will have to provide a preschool education for him along with any therapies he may need when he turns 3 (at no cost to you). Someone at the district may be able to give you an idea (or better yet, phone numbers) of who you can talk to.

I hope this helps in any way,

Crystal