So Silas has his appointment with the ped to see whether or not he’s on any spectrum. Any parents with kids on the spectrum that could give me hints on how to prepare and conduct myself during that initial appointment?
Part of me almost wants him to be on it. It wouldn’t change him but then it would get him in the system and make therapies available to him. I think some play and speech therapy would really help him with some things. I REALLY wish he could go to the pre-school Jill works at too 🙁 Too bad she lives in a far off land…LAME-O. If he’s not diagnosed with anything…which I’d be incredibly happy with…only if I felt like the dr. was really understanding us then it would take about 2 years to get into any therapy if we feel he still needs it. Booo.
Speaking of Silas…and of Jill. Jill keeps finding peanuts in her yard. If you’re one of those people who buys bags of peanuts to feed to the squirrels can you think twice about that please?? They bury them all over the place. Jill’s back yard isn’t a very safe place for Silas to come play in. Squirrels like other foods…or they can find their own. My dream is that people would just become a lot more aware about how they use peanuts outside of their own homes. And any other major allergen for that matter.
Surprisingly, Silas hasn’t had a reaction in a lonnnnng time. I’m SUPER DUPER careful with him. I have a very strict comfort zone. He used to get hives often still though so I’m hoping hoping praying praying that he’s growing out of it now. Wouldn’t that rock my world?? We can’t have him eating peanuts that he finds in people’s yard though..nope nope nope.
I’m really excited about all the comments from yesterday’s post. I even had a reader or two come out of their lurking closets. LOVE that. I’m just hoping that I at least put a bug in people’s ears. I don’t think everyone needs to be just like me at all. Everyone knows what’s best for their own kids. I’d just like to see parents encourage a little less consumerism and a lot more imagination and self-respect. Nurturing of true character.
Keep the comments coming!! 🙂 Sorry this post is like uber lame-o compared to yesterday.
Wow, Im totally shocked about the peanuts in Jill’s yard. I never thought about people that feed peanuts to squirells (can’t spell). I’m glad to hear that Silas hasn’t had a reaction in a long time, do you think he’s out growing the allergy?
On the consumer topic, I’ve been pretty good at buying my kids toys that I know they’ll play with and encouraging relatives to do the same – good quality, educational toys. But my kids never want to get rid of them and they are literally getting buried in their rooms. I’ve suggested getting rid of some and they FREAK out. They are VERY possessive. But some stuff has to go. Help me with ideas people!
Jen- be the change you want to see in your kids LOL
Hi! For that first appointment, I took a list of all my concerns. Behaviors. Odd sensory issues. Speech issues. Repetitive movements, need for sameness, anxiety. Anything that strikes you as different/unusual, mention it on your list. As a parent, it’s our first instinct to protect our child, to praise them, so it can be hard to focus on the negative, but you need to be honest even if it feels like you’re betraying him. If your son has a meltdown there, so be it. Don’t try to improve him for the appointment — let him be his normal self. You want those doing any referrals/diagnosing to actually see your child as he is, so they have all the accurate info to make the proper diagnosis. And if you disagree, there are always other doctors and other days. Don’t let it stress you out though. Good luck!
Good luck with Silas’ appointment. I know five little boys in our town on the autism spectrum. They are all high functioning and all of them have had a lot of success with many different types of therapies.
I hope that he is not diagnosed with anything, but if he is – there is so much more available now for early intervention, and that is the key.
hugs to you! Sending good vibes your way. 🙂
OK, what in the world is the spectrum? Is it only contagious in Canada???
My only problem with labels is telling the kid he has one. Sure, a diagnosis brings help and we need to know how to deal with each kid, but a label can promote a poor self image in a kid who’s “different.”
Please let us know what you find out about your little darling.
asburgers and autism are both spectrum disorders…there’s more too. You can kinda have it or you can have it lots and lots and lots. Silas, if at all, would be VERRRRRRRRY low on the spectrum.
Good luck at the appointment. Silas is very lucky to have you advocating for him, whatever results from this meeting. Trust your gut, ask lots of questions, and don’t settle for lame-o answers. 🙂
As for peanuts for squirrels – Drats! I hadn’t thought of that. Must be vigilant at parks, too. We were at the neighbors’ yesterday, and they mentioned their dogs get peanut butter treats. Yipes! These dogs lick Lucas to pieces when we go over there! Is there no end to the deadly dangers?
Alexis – grrrrr ya. There is no end. I should be better at asking owners if their dogs have had pbutter because I always let dogs lick my kids to pieces. I went through a stage of thinking the world was an evil dangerous place but now I’m past that. We’re managing quite well although a lot of public places aren’t graced with our presence anymore.
Sorry if you have already answered this…But how old is your son and what symptoms does he display that cause you to be curious? I’m asking because I’m studying child psychiatry will probably be working in an autism center…
– didn’t go through pointing phase
– explosive
– was a head banger
– violent
– his whole world revolves around spinning stuff
– likes to line things up a lot
– freaks if certain routines aren’t held to
those are the major ones. He’ll be 3 in November