Autism Research Institute We filled out their questionairre and Luke scored as 'autistic-like' ... again, with the caviat that he's younger than 3 and many of the questions pertained to speech.  They asked me to redo his questionairre after he turns 5. A.R.I. is a big believer in DAN doctors, diet intervention and ABA.  Since I happen to believe that a diet approach (be/c of his dx'd food allergies) combined with intensive home training will help Luke, I think they're a-OK!  Probably others don't approve of them, but I guess that's what makes horse races!  (Everyone has a different opinion) Best of luck with Brock's official eval.  I remember waiting for Luke's and I was nervous the whole time.  And no matter what the dx, please remain hopeful!!  ASD isn't a death sentence.  With Life, there's hope. Kellie Thanks Kellie-I think they sound very credible I had just never seen a mention of them on here and was curious as I know everyone here has done their homework AND extra credit! Thanks for the encouragement-I think if the evaluator says she doesn't see signs of autism I would love it- that's what we all want to hear! Then I would proceed to look for a second opinion because deep down I already know. I like what you said about with life there is hope- This spring we had a cancer scare with Brock-he had a tumor removed from the back of his neck and for a few weeks before the lab report came back the surgeon thought it was malignant-it was horrible. I told my husband between autism and cancer if he had to have either I would pick the autism-its not life threatening. The tumor-thank goodness-turned out to be benign-but I tell you- I think of that conversation alot. I have to remember it to keep things in perspective. He may have autism- but he WILL live. And we will too-we'll figure out how to live with it someway.Stacy38636.8845949074It sounds like you have the right attitude, Stacy!  There's nothing like a little perspective, huh?    I hope things go well with Brock's eval.I was wondering if any of you have had any correspondence with the ARI? I found it during my "research" and I requested a diagnostic checklist (Form E-2). I filled it out, sent it back and they sent me their findings-not a diagnosis-of course. Brock scored in the "Autistic" catagory. Which I found interesting as I thought he would only be in the "Autistic-like" category. They did point out that this questionare asks many questions about speech and behavior before the age of three and if your child is younger the results can be somewhat unreliable. I also received information about this place and it's founder- Dr. Bernard Rimland, Ph.D.- his son is autistic. He DOES NOT approve of the term PDD (apparently there are alot of professionals that don't) They prefer autistic spectrum disorder. What do any of you know about this place- have you filled out one of these checklists-how close has their findings been to your child's "official" diagnosis? We have Brock's second evaluation in 1 week and I may be crawling the walls before then. The wait is torture-yet there is a small amount of comfort in it-you are still hopeful. Thanks for your input guys! Stacy38636.2621296296
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