We filled out a couple of assessments upon the recommendation of our pediatrician -- although, I would have asked him to fill them out if he hadn't recommended them. Charlie at the very least has some kind of language delay going on. It seems most likely to me that there is also something else going on. It could be autism or an autism-related disorder, but it could be something else. Josh and I aren't exactly experts, but forunately, we have someone who is looking at the assessments we filled out for Charlie.
According to my pediatrician, the child development specialist at Kaiser would score the assessments "right away" when she received them and then get back to us. I sent in the assessments about a week and a half ago and haven't heard anything. I also called the county agency and left a message letting them know my pediatrician had recommended I call them. I haven't heard back from them either. I'm going to e-mail my pediatrician today and see if I can get contact information for the specialist or at least get a better idea of when we might hear back from her.
The specialist might want to bring Charlie in for more testing or she might recommend a specific course of action to us based on our responses to the assessment questions. Even if we go into Kaiser for more testing, I think we will probably eventually have to get help from the county and/or state agency. There are a lot of different ideas about how to treat children with autism and no one course will fit every child. My guess is there are as many approaches as there are people with autism and probably several things will need to be done in concert for the ultimate result. Olivia mentioned food allergies -- particulary wheat/gluten allergies -- in her earlier comments. Some parents and doctors have noticed positive changes in children's behavior and development after adjusting their diet. Will we do that with Charlie? I honestly don't know. I don't know if Charlie is even autistic yet, so I can't really figure out right now what the best course of action is. Josh and I will study it out, talk to people far more knowledgeable than us, consult with each other and make decisions prayerfully about how to proceed once we have a diagnosis. I'm trying to be open-minded so I won't discount anything that might help.
Whatever is going on with Charlie, Josh and I are thrilled to be his parents. He is one of the most adorable creatures on earth, sweet, and a lot of fun. He is an angel, as Josh always says. He is a very important part of our family, and we are blessed to have him.
Update: The NP from the child development center called us this afternoon, but Josh was feeding the baby and he missed the call. She is supposed to call us back tomorrow.
1 comment:
Have you heard back? I am anxious to know what you guys find out.
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