DD just got into a great program 4 next year. But.....

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I'm worried she should already be getting more treatment than she's getting. I worry we are starting too late. I keep hearing that early intervention is very important.

My DD has had four different assessments. The first was from Golden gate regional Center here in San Francisco. The doctor seemed to feel she was fine but that if there was something going on it was so slight that it was nothing to worry about. Of course this was in our home where she is very comfortable and most of her problems take place at school. So I got another opinion.

To make a long story short the 2nd one felt she might have ADHD ( I can totally see why because my DD is hyper ), and the third opinion was PDD-NOS and the school did an assesment using some sort of test they use for high functioning autistic people and found her to have autistic like traits but not beng typical of someone with more moderate or severe autism or someone with aspergers.

Well anyway she was supposed to be an inclusion student next year but I was worried it would be too much for her. She's basically an inclusion student in her pre K right now and having a tough time because she's so hyperactive in class. The school district didn't want to consider special day class because most of the kids in the special day class were a little behind my DD with language and stuff. DD is very verbal and was an early talker. I called another IEP meeting to see if I could request a really strong already established inclusion class and some more OT this year because she was only getting 90 minutes a month. Well most likely due to me being pushy and asking for what I felt my DD needed I not only a little more OT time but it looks like she may get into a very specialized class ( the only one in the city) just for high functioning kids! I'm sooooo happy. Seriously it sounds perfect for her and they integrate with the regular kindergarten class and really work on social skills. But I'm a little worried that she should have been getting more help all this time.

Try not to worry too much. She's getting help now, and that's the most important thing! At the PreK level, you are still talking very early intervention. Besides, with our kids who meet all their milestones and then between age 2 and 3 something just doesn't seem right (this was my case anyway) there isn't much earlier intervention you really can get before preK. If your daughter is anything like my son, any of the issues I brought up with the Docs were seen as developmentally appropriate... it was the duration and intensity that was off. But noone (besides me) could have really known that without waiting it out a bit.

My son is 4.5 and has been getting SOME OT for about a year. They recently decreased the amount they are giving him at school, so I opted to get private OT. Luckily, my insurance is covering it now. His sensory issues are pretty well under control at school. So, they are working solely on fine motor skills with him at school. Well, he comes home and we have a different story. He is such a sensory seeker! He spends all afternoon crashing into things and has very little control over his body. So, I KNOW he still needs ot for his vestibular and proprioceptive senses. And, unfortunately/fortunately, since he doesn't steam roll over his classmates or stand in the middle of the classroom and spin in circles anymore, I can't get that from the school!

It's good that you're advocating so well for your daughter. You will always be her best expert! But also, give this new program some time and I bet you will see some results!

Good luck to you!

Well, you can't change the past, so it will do no good to keep worrying about what could have been done. Sounds like your daughter is pretty high functioning, so there may have not been that much that would have been done before age 4 anyway. We did start my son in early intervention at age 1, but that was because he was delayed in his physical milestones. If he would not have been a late walker, I don't know that I would have known anything was going on with him until at least age 2.5 or 3. I think it is great that your daughter is going to be in this program! Sounds like she will just continue to improve.

Thanks for your replies!
Kindergarten won't start till next September. So we have all this time in between. I feel like it's waisted time. I guess I should get in touch with the school district and see if there are any summer programs that would suit her.

Given your description, and what the others said, it sounds like PDD-NOS. Of course, maybe the doctors YOU went to can't read either, and just view AS as being worse than it is, and ignored it, etc.... It ALSO doesn't sound that bad! HECK, I was diagnosed ADHD, had autistic traits, and was an early talker ALSO! I found out about AS by researching after another person claimed to have it. I had pretty much finished school before AS was considered a valid diagnosis. I haven't seen a psychiatrist or psychologist in over 40 years.

But I am confused as to why you are SO worried. I mean what kinds of problems do you see that nobody else seems to?

Not wasted time at all. She gets to learn from the best teacher anywhere: mommy. The lesson kids her age need the most: whatever interests them.

Seriously, you are totally on top of it and on-schedule for her needs, as far as I can tell. Early intervention is crucial in some situations but I'm not seeing the related red flags in yours. It sounds like you have a happy, verbal, smart little AS child just like I do, and we didn't even know he was AS until he was 7. At 13 I've got a happy child who has overcome most of his most daunting hurdles and that was without any extra help at age 4 or 5. Would it have been nice to start something sooner than we did? YES. But you are already doing that.

I think it's in the SF Bay Area water (figuratively). All the younger families I know are hyper sensitive to signs of autism and getting on the program right away if it's there, etc. Too much so, actually, in my opinion, but that isn't their fault: it's been fed to them.