News of Charlie

The nurse practitioner called me today and we had a good chat about Charlie. She asked me more questions and got more information from me about Charlie and his behavior. Based on the assessment answers we provided and the additional information I gave her, she is referring Charlie to the Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic at Kaiser for evaluation. She emphasized that this did not amount to a diagnosis. The assessments are used primarily to figure out whether or not a child needs to be evaluated and what tools will be most effective in doing so.

The NP anticipates that we'll hear from the clinic in about a week or so. They will call us and will probably also send us a packet of more forms to fill out. She is also sending us a letter with some information and told me to call the county again. The county is really busy and they actually encourage parents to call if it's been more than 3 or 4 days since they left a message at their offices.

One interesting thing the nurse told me is that it's common for children with speech delays to act the age that would normally correspond with their speech level. For instance, if a two year old child says about 3-5 words, then their behavior will be that of a 12-15 month old. I had never heard that before; I thought that was interesting.

So we don't know anything, except that we're not crazy for thinking that Charlie should be evaluated. But at least we've got things moving. I'm trying really hard to be patient, but it's very difficult for me. I just want to know what it is I'm facing so I can start figuring out how to deal with it. I hate waiting for answers. Oh well.

Update: Well, that was fast. I talked to the NP at 2:00. The ASD clinic called us at 3:30. They scheduled an appointment for Charlie tomorrow afternoon at 2. We're trying to figure out child care tomorrow so we can go.