Hi and welcome to the board!
Hi Paula, and welcome! My name is Susan and I live in Shaler Township in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, not too far from you! I am a critical care nurse who works in the city and my husband Dom is a dietitian who works at Alle-Kiski Hospital, out your way! My son Alec, who is 4, was diagnosed with PDD-NOS in March and we are just now getting wraparound services for him and I have an eval for extra OT/speech tomorrow at 9am. He goes to DART preschool here 2 days a week and in the fall will be increased to 4 days a week. I sooo know how you are feeling about everything!
Alec can be a pistol, too. He also is still in pull-ups and occasionally will use the potty if it is on his terms. He has a huge fear of public restrooms and it makes going out a pain at times, but is otherwise very well-behaved in public and in restaurants. He has stopped wrecking everything...his room used to be so trashed, and he is beginning to understand so much more. His speech is improving, too, but he still can't have a normal conversation and has some echolalia. His biggest defecits are his speech and social skills. He has an older NT sister and plays very well with her and my husband and I, but can't relate to kids his own age
Since we are still pretty new at this ourselves, I don't have lots of advice, but can offer support from someone who is in the trenches with you! I have learned so much just by reading this forum! I don't get to post often, due to my busy schedule, but feel free to PM me anytime. Good luck with your journey!
| Thank you WIMomOf2. |
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Thanks Susan. It's such a relief to know that other people have children that behave like mine do. For awhile I thought I was doing something very wrong in my parenting and the therapists kept saying they thought he had some signs of Autistic behaviors. I just kept blowing that off because I was so sure it was me that was the problem. But, things continued to be strange and finally I went for the psych. eval. I'm glad I did because now we can get the wrap around services and get help in dealing with some of these things. Adam only gets OT and Speech for 1/2 hour a week at his preschool. Should I get them to redo is goals and up that? He is making great progress, but there's still so much he needs. I am glad that you are nearby. Maybe we could have some playdates or something. Would be nice to meet other families in the area with the same issues. Again, thanks for the welcome.
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Hi Paula - love your forum name! Welcome
Mysh
Welcome to the board ,I am mom to two adopted boys,my 5 year old has PDD/AS.he was never a messy boy or a kid to get into trouble( woulden't play in the sand ,or finger paint for fear of getting dirty)So I have no advice for you on that stuff.
Just a big WELCOME .you will always find friends here
Linda
Hi and Welcome!! Your little guy sounds just like my boys when they were little!! We used to have to lock everything too! And the poop painting....been there too...EVERYDAY!! Hang in there!Welcome to the boards Paula. When I read posts like yours I smile. Your son is alot like my Jacob. I took him for an evaluation at the pediatricians office and they say that he's "as normal as can be." I think to myself...yeah right!!! Since I can't get a diagnosis or anything for him, I've started ABA on him myself and he's doing great with it. I really hate living in a rural backwoods area during times like this. I know that Jacob has some issues, but they are not as severe as my older son Brendon's are. Brendon has been diagnosed with classic autism and to be honest is pretty low functioning. I think that people see how different Jacob is from Brendon and just don't believe that he's on the spectrum too. I forsee a dignosis of HFA/AS when Jacob starts school unless he gets intervention now, and since no one wants to refer him for intervention, I'm pretty much up a creek without a paddle so to speak. Early intervention won't touch him unless the pediatrician refers to them. When he turns 3 I'm going to take him to be evaluated through the school district. Until then I'll keep doing the interventions myself. I've had lots of practice with my older son so hopefully he won't fall too much farther behind until he can go to school.Hey Paula, welcome. I too am new to all this(past month) and don't know where i'd be without these wonderful people I have met here! So stick around, ask anything, believe me nothing is too stupid!!
I live in TN now but used to live in Leechburg PA, thats close to you if I remember right!! Hey Susan--my oldest DD was born at your hospital, Dr. Singh(sp?) delivered her!! Welcome to the pool Paula , the water is fine but it can be a bit choppy at times. The people here are nothing short of amazing. You will find all kinds of info here . Just ask. We have heard them all LOL John Howdy Paula! Hope you get lots of advice and make many friends on this board!:) You will feel right at home here~lots of smart, caring and knowing parents!
We are foster parent and that is how we ended up adopting these kids. My oldest Trina was 2 when we first got her. She had alot of medial issues and was just starting to talk and walk on her second birthday. She has adjusted well and doesn't remember living with her biological family or the specialized foster home she spend most of her first two years with. We got her biological brother Adam (PDD/AS) when he was just two months old. Bennett we got when he was just 5 days old, straight from the hospital. We have had children with RAD, but these kids do not have that. We are the only family they have ever known. I thought it was just my parenting skills and that I was doing a lousy job, until I starting looking into his behaviors as well. Trina has some issues too and I'm waiting on the results of her psychological eval. BTW...what does NT mean? Neurotypical -- non-autistic. Oh, fostering can be such a wonderful thing! It sounds as if you have had a good experience with it. How wonderful about Trina -- sounds like she has thrived with you! Your family all sounds wonderful. RAD seems as if it would be pretty obvious to me. I was taken aback when it was suggested we needed a clinical differential diagnosis on T. However, I am on a forum board with a woman who feels that RAD issues can be more subtle -- and are more PTSD-like, rather than necessarily direct attachment problems with current caregivers ... if that makes sense. Paula, I am getting the additional speech and OT from a therapy group called Positive Steps on Route 8 in Gibsonia. Did you get a medical assistance card to pay for your wraparound services? The speech and OT are also paid for by his medical assistance, which is Gateway. They are also going to increase his time at school, too. I am actually going crazy and overwhelmed with all of his appointments and may lose it in about 3 months
I just keep telling myself that I have to do it for Alec...sigh! Playdate would be nice...like I said, PM me sometime. Take care! hi, Paula! I am another adoptive mom! I also adopted 3 -- T, 6, India, Sam, 4, Guatemala, and Li-Chin, 3, China. Tel lme more about your adoptions -- is this a sib group? Have you had Reactive Attachment Disorder ruled out? (I mention it because our school wants a differenatial diagnosis!). Your son's behavior actually sounds like my NT (or ADHD?) son's behavior when he first came to us, BTW. He trashed the house, the first six months, and sometimes a bit after that! Paula, with yours and mine, I do suspect it is NOT RAD. Just curious if you had any diagnostic suggestions or experiences. I also have wondered with some of the symptom similiarities if RAD is not actually ASD ... diagnosed by someone with an agenda? Welcome! You have come to a great resource forum and will probably make good friends here! We parents all at some point started this journey, and we all learn more each and every day... Blessings! Thanks John. I have tons of questions. Just have to find some quite time to type them and send them. I don't get too much of that. I'm already amazed at the support I've been getting. I know this is a great place for us to be. You are all wonderful. Heypaula, My DS used to get out of his car seat too. Having a portable DVD player attatched to the back of the front seat so he can watch movies, educational and social skills cut that down almost to 0. I still have locks all over my house on every door possible. Whenever he is not with his siblings or within my eyesight the alarm is on in my house day or night. We have special combination locks on our main doors. He gets keys and try them, he's been lucky on occasions hence the combination locks. I know a family that needed to do that but now said their DS outgrew it. So hang in there it does get better. Welcome to the forum. I have found tremendous wealth of wisdom, support and caring here. I am sure you will like it here. Concernedpa. Welcome to the forum! A lot of your son's behaviors are probably sensory-seeking, so you might benefit from a consultation with an OT who has expertise in this area. Otherwise, a good start is this checklist: http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processin g-disorder-checklist.html Fecal smearing has got to be an extra hard thing to deal with, so I'm giving you a couple links to where this topic was discussed on our forum: http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17405&am p;KW=fecal+smearing http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16441&am p;KW=fecal+smearing Good luck with everything!
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