Here I Am
Now I sit and wait. Isn't that what I was doing before? I am waiting for an evaluation for the regional center, waiting to see the pediatrician to see if insurance will pay for some therapy and waiting to figure all of this out. Apparently this is what I do now, wait. Maybe if I wait long enough it will all go away.
The regional center in our area is reported to be terrible. Terrible by all reports for a few years from what I understand. I figure, if they give us even just an hour of speech therapy that is money saved, but we'll see how much hassle we have to go through first.
I have him on a special diet and I've been happy to see those little eyes light up again. I've been working with him a lot and have gotten some words out of him. I also bought him a Baby Babble video and I've been able to get him to mimic that some too. Mostly, I have no idea what I'm doing or where to go from here. Ideally, I'd hire someone to work with him while I homeschool the kids and also someone to do speech therapy and some ABA therapy, but all of that costs more money than I have.
I guess I'll have some more answers soon, but I'm not positive I like the direction those answers will give me. I do not want to put him in a preschool and the recovery numbers are not in the preschool either. The books, stories, websites I read about recovery have to do with one-on-one ABA therapy. We have hired one friend of ours to come and work with him for 6 hours a week. She works with autistic kids and knows how to do ABA therapy and will also train us in ways to work with him.
The diet has really helped the screaming and crying though, which I am so thankful for, it was like having 2 babies there for a while.
Alright, enough babbling, I titled this Here I Am, but maybe I'm not here after all. At least this has been said now and next I can move on and tell you all about the cool science class my husband is doing with the kids!
-Julee
Comments
I’m sorry that you are going through this right now, receiving a diagnosis can feel so overwhelming.
Your local Early Intervention should provide services such as speech, OT & PT until your son is 3. After that, your local school system should provide those services without having to send your son to school.
We homeschool and use the school system for speech services because our insurance will not cover them and it is too expensive otherwise!
We have also started using a PECS communication book with our middle son and it has helped quite a bit. It is easier and less frustrating for him to point at a picture than struggling to get the words out.
Good luck -
I am so glad you trusted your instincts and took him for an evaluation! At dissapointing as it is to get a diagnosis like this, at least you have a starting point. I was going to say the same things as Heather about Early Intervention and the school system. In TN, we have programs where services can be provided in home until age three, and the school system provides services like speech and OT for children 3+. They may not be the best option for you, but they are worth looking into because they are free. My daughter is a peer model at a program called Waves for two-year-olds who are facing developmental challenges. I have been very impressed with the teachers there. It might be something that could be helpful for you. Keep us posted! I look forward to hearing about the science as well!
A wonderful resource for you would be the
Nathhan/Chask Newsletter for “challenged” homeschoolers. It will give you lots of in-the-know folks to bounce your thoughts off of and may give you ideas for treatment or reassure you when you are afraid.
I get the snail mail newsletter, but they also have a web address full of great stuff at
www.nathhan.com (yes, there are two H’s)
I’ll be praying for you!