my son has a diagnosis now...
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| Dear friends, First of all, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. My post, "say a prayer for us" mysteriously disappeared, or at least I can't find it. In that post, I asked for your prayers that Zachary wouldn't melt down, and that we would be treated professionally. Zachary was happy to go to the testing site, but he got very goofy and over-stimulated-acting and couldn't be engaged to do much of anything to prepare for the ADOS. The testing room was very small. Nonetheless, the doctor asked if it would be ok if Zachary went to the supervised play area for observation while we filled out the GARS-II questionnaire. I was thankful for that. (Selfishly, in part, that I wouldn't have to watch my son go through another evaluation). He returned and delivered his diagnosis - mild to moderate autism, although he is reticent to categorize mild/moderate/severe. Regardless, he says that Z has both feet planted in the autism circle. We were thankful that FINALLY we were treated professionally, unlike the initial screening evaluation, which was awful. Where do we go from here? Our boy is still our boy; can't throw him away. Have to love him. He is in a wonderful preschool, which he LOVES. To be honest, yesterday was almost anti-climactic. We knew darn well what the doctor would say, and he did. The initial grieving was done last year after his initial eval. Take care, all. Thanks for "listening." zsdad My son, Zachary, was dx'd with autism, mild to moderate, yesterday. We are in NY state. Now that he has a dx, what things will happen? What therapies, etc. will he be eligible for? Compensation? (I'm not looking for money, trust me, but if it is available to help my son, I will take it). Now you can get interventions through your school district...sign him up for medicaid for outside services...hug him. Have him evaluated through the local school district for services. Did the DR. reccomend any interventions? Like you said he is still your little boy first and foremost. Probably ST,OT & PT...pre-k thru the state....fullday or 1/2 day...we got full day here. He's in all of the above mentioned therapies...we have him on the waitlist for mediwaiver here...8 years b/c we make too much $$ for medicaid. You might be able to get respite as well. I called his ped. yesterday and called our school district to inform them that once they get the official report it is time to get the ball rolling. Is there an income bracket for Medicaid? We are both teachers and don't make a lot of money, but I think we make more than they might allow. We will still try. Contact your local Medicaid office and ask about the waiver program. I also live in NY - it took my about 4-5 months from application process to approval. Where exactly are you in NY? Do you have an IEP in place? Call your SPED office and request another meeting based on the diagnosis. When my son was still in pre-school, he received 2x a week OT and PT, plus 5x a week speech. Also an aide. He's now in a TEACCH program and gets all those therapies in the classroom. I think the medicaid thing varies but here where I live it goes by income...if you're over poverty level you have to apply for the waiver...which is taking FOREVER here...something like 8 years b/c of budget cuts. The school district doesn't need anything official - they do the testing themselves...get the ball rolling NOW! NYMommy of 3: We live outside of Rochester. My son is in preschool and gets exactly the same therapies that your child got. Yes, we have an IEP in place. Payne'smom: I am confused: what do you mean by the district not needing anything official? I got the ball rolling yesterday. Wow, you're taking it well! I remember, even though I knew the answer already, getting the actual DX was tougher than I expected. Good for you. Second, my daughters were given the mild-moderate autistic disorder on the ADOS, too. A year or so later, they are doing well in regular kindergarten and progressing, and the whole things is getting a bit less scary. A bit.They don't use a medical dx - they test and get what is called an educational dx. Even though Payne was medically dx 2 years ago...he still doesn't have an educational dx. Call your NY OMRDD local office @ (800) 797-7650. Ask them about the Medicaid waiver program and finding a service coordinator. My SC is great ... she goes with me to IEP meetings, keeps in touch with my sons teachers and therapists, and always makes sure he is getting what he should be getting. She also supplied a respite worker that will come and watch him, at their expense, so I can do things with my other children on our own (like their school open houses). [QUOTE=NYMommyof3]She also supplied a respite worker that will come and watch him, at their expense, so I can do things with my other children on our own (like their school open houses). [/QUOTE]That would be lovely...we're on an 8 year waitlist for that very reason.  What is OMRDD? Again, this is new to me, so forgive my ignorance. Thank you, Fred. I am feeling a mixture of resignation, peace, hope, and determination. We have a long, hard road ahead of us, but we, with God's help, can do it. Oh, and Fred, thanks for the info on your daughters being in reg. kindergarten. That is what I need to hear. That there is HOPE. Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities www.omr.state.ny.us I live in Chenango County zsdad - about 1/2 way between Binghamton and Utica. I don't think Payne's mom lives in NY. No, I live in Florida.Tx is a buy income state. Dad's income is to high so they say. Mhmr was no help to me at all for Daniel. Here medicaid patients are seen first. Waiting list patient also here. I hope after Daniel's new dx this can help with both these 2 problems. The dr. is leaning toward Aspergers. What areas do you feel your son needs more help. Have you thought about VB/ABA (especially for language), or behavioral consultations if that is neccesary. What about play skills? We use Floortime. I guess where you go from here depends on what your son's needs are. Do the evaluator give any suggestions. We had a great evaluator who suggested what to do next and we followed her advice and it is working well for my son. The diagnosis is a start, but finding out what each individual child needs to reach their potential is another big challenge. I'm glad you got the confirmation of a diagnosis and are handeling it so well. |
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