As discussed earlier, we were unsure of what was going on with our son. The reason why we are doing all this checking is that there is had been, (and as I write these entries) continues to be very little to no receptive skills from our son. He has not responded to his name, or has yet to have his first word. Like all parents we didn’t want to think anything was wrong, but as I was going part time this year, I pushed the idea of getting things checked out with him.
We had had his hearing checked out earlier in the year at my request to the Dr. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no fight back from the Dr. – we had our first test which didn’t go well, and a secondary test a couple of months later which was quite a bit more positive. It wasn’t his hearing.
Swimming was an epic fail, as he didn’t respond to any of the activity. We instead have now placed him in a kindygym – which is essentially a gymnasium sized room with all sorts of activities for toddlers (ball pits, trampolines and a swimming pool sized hole in the ground with basketball sized pieces of foam. He loves it when we jump in together and or jump on the trampoline.
In this entry – I will discuss the two visits (so far) to our Pediatrician. We had our first visit – (at our GP’s referral) earlier this year. It was a short visit – she was very positive in the fact that we were doing something about his development at such a young age – and even more pleased with my “ocdness” in my folder for all his paperwork. She wanted to see us a few weeks later for a further test – which would test his overall development in as much as she can measure.
We returned to do this (Brigance) test – he tested poorly. While I expected it to be this way – it was still disheartening to know that realistically there is something wrong. Something that is beyond my control. I have always liked to be in control of things, and knowing that I am unable to help him with. A real positive came out of it however, and that was the comment that she left me with near the end of the appointment. She mentioned that he was very affectionate towards me, and that she could tell that he had a great love for me. This was really a great thing to hear from someone in a position such as hers.
We were next given the option of a first speech therapy appointment, which we went to a few weeks after the Brigance test. The appointment went well, and they were able to see what a happy little boy he was. We worked with two specialists, one who worked with me answering some questions, and one who worked with my son. Towards the end of the appointment, the serious question was asked about ‘what my overall thoughts are in regards to him’ and I immediately answered with believing he has a form of ASD.
We were given an application form to apply to have him properly assessed – and we are now on the waiting list. 14 to 16 months. Thanks public system!
Next step are two things, the waiting game.
Parenting Autism in Adelaide 