early intervention

Suucee

So my son (2) was reffered for early intervention in dec last year. He was failing ages and stages and also fell down on communication on an MCHAT assesment.
Anyway we had a parents meeting in march. Then one OT & S&L appointment . They recognised he has sensory issues and told me about some parenting work shops on sensory integration (ive been to one, the other is next month) . They told me he would be 6mnths from refferal until he sees the OT. I never thought to ask how long until assesment. Anyone any idea of this. We are considering getting him assesed privetly. I started him in creche over a month ago for 2 morning to help with socialising and he hates it. Screams when i pull up outside it. . Im not too sure how i feel about the place either. So we were thinking of taking him from creche and saving the money for private assesment then start a different creche in sept.
Anyone here had a private assesment?
How do i go about doing it?
Any recomendations.

yellow hen

Hi succee, there's some information in the asd forum over in parenting. I'm not in any way saying your son is asd but the initial assessment would be the same as what you're doing. We're just going through it now with our 3yr old.

CaraMay

Suucee wrote: »

So my son (2) was reffered for early intervention in dec last year. He was failing ages and stages and also fell down on communication on an MCHAT assesment.
Anyway we had a parents meeting in march. Then one OT & S&L appointment . They recognised he has sensory issues and told me about some parenting work shops on sensory integration (ive been to one, the other is next month) . They told me he would be 6mnths from refferal until he sees the OT. I never thought to ask how long until assesment. Anyone any idea of this. We are considering getting him assesed privetly. I started him in creche over a month ago for 2 morning to help with socialising and he hates it. Screams when i pull up outside it. . Im not too sure how i feel about the place either. So we were thinking of taking him from creche and saving the money for private assesment then start a different creche in sept.
Anyone here had a private assesment?
How do i go about doing it?
Any recomendations.

Does he have sensory issues with his ears? The noise in the Creche could be upsetting him? I wouldn't take him out just yet until you know more.

galah

Our son is a bit older, but also struggling in creche - and it took a full 7 months to get an initial assessment done publicly. Ridiculous waiting times and very upsetting for us to witness all the drama. Now waiting on the actual diagnosis.

We also found a private psychologist through a recommendation in the creche, (initially vwe were told by our gp that there were no private options) but hiswaiting list was also almost two months, and the fees would make your eyes water.
In the meantime the hse app came through so we cancelled the private one.

But ask around if you want to go private, creche or gp might be the best option. Best of luck!

Suucee

Thanks for the replies. After a lot of discusions with my husband we decided to remove him from creche. I also spoke to his s&l therapist and shr said if it was causing that much stress it would be best. Anyway had an awful time with the manager. Ive felt she wasnt on board from the start anyway . i ran in to her in town today and was yapping for over 30mins about how i was making a big mistake and blah blah blah. Had me in tears outside dealz. Completly unprovessional. Any time ive tried to talk about any issues she has brushed it off. But now shes interested. Saying im over protective and he needs the socialisation (he gets brought to a min of 3 toddler grps or play centre or gymboree a week and always has). And needs time away from me. So annoyed . My daughters preschool teacher was showing more interest when i mentioned the sensory coursrs and how she will be able to help him when he comes there (in 2017 was the plan). So after a chat with her she will take him for an afternoon class in sept or jan .

Funny you mention ears as he has major issues and had grommets inserted urgently in jan.

His s&l therapist filled me in on the process of everything also and put me way more at ease.
I will go to the second sensory workshop. Then start a hanen (sp?) Programme. I do 2 classes then they bring him in then i do 2 more and the bring him in again. Then we have the assesment. So probably aug/sept. So approx 9mnths from refferal. So all sounds more reassuring and probably worth waiting for rather than rushing in to a private assesment as at least with all these classes for me i will learn how to help him and deal with things.

And creche can bugger off for now. My daughter was home till 3.4yr. No point rushing him at just turned 2.

yellow hen

Suucee wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. After a lot of discusions with my husband we decided to remove him from creche. I also spoke to his s&l therapist and shr said if it was causing that much stress it would be best. Anyway had an awful time with the manager. Ive felt she wasnt on board from the start anyway . i ran in to her in town today and was yapping for over 30mins about how i was making a big mistake and blah blah blah. Had me in tears outside dealz. Completly unprovessional. Any time ive tried to talk about any issues she has brushed it off. But now shes interested. Saying im over protective and he needs the socialisation (he gets brought to a min of 3 toddler grps or play centre or gymboree a week and always has). And needs time away from me. So annoyed . My daughters preschool teacher was showing more interest when i mentioned the sensory coursrs and how she will be able to help him when he comes there (in 2017 was the plan). So after a chat with her she will take him for an afternoon class in sept or jan .

Funny you mention ears as he has major issues and had grommets inserted urgently in jan.

His s&l therapist filled me in on the process of everything also and put me way more at ease.
I will go to the second sensory workshop. Then start a hanen (sp?) Programme. I do 2 classes then they bring him in then i do 2 more and the bring him in again. Then we have the assesment. So probably aug/sept. So approx 9mnths from refferal. So all sounds more reassuring and probably worth waiting for rather than rushing in to a private assesment as at least with all these classes for me i will learn how to help him and deal with things.

And creche can bugger off for now. My daughter was home till 3.4yr. No point rushing him at just turned 2.

Good for you succee. He's very young. Personally I felt that my son didn't show alot of flags until he was almost 3. Most of those flags are sensory. I think the plan you have is great. I think giving him the best help you can now before the assessment is a good idea. Hopefully the assessment will then be a more honest and accurate reflection of what is really going on and hopefully it's only minor.
FYI, my son had terrible ear problems which I was sure would address his delayed speech and his balance issues. Unfortunately nothing changed which was disappointing. Might be different for you but don't expect too much all the same.

CaraMay

Talk to the slt about listening therapy. Our hse ot provides it for free and it worked fantastically in the Creche. He can now tolerate kids crying which had previously been total torture for him (he had grommets too)

I understabd your logic op in relation to waiting but I would urge you to go ahead with the private assessment. If nothing else you might get home tuition started if deemed necessary. If he's going to get some type of diagnosis, it's better at 2 than 3.

Suucee

The grommets have improved his balance hugely. Speech has improved but still slow with that.
I think with our guy we always had an idea there was something. If he is asd is very mild i would think but deff sensory issues and quiet a few.

Other kids crying doesnt actually bother him more so noisy enviornments (shopping centres, etc) .. im still concerned about his hearing too though as he doesnt always respond to his name and even just today a big truck beeped its horn in town. Really loud and he didnt bat an eyelid. . My eldest had grommets too so i know the limits with that and it made a huge difference with her.
I bring him to toddler grp and gymboree and he is fine so its not the other kids thats bothering him.

Regarding his age. He literally turned 2 last month. So by the time he has the assesment he would be 2 and 5mnths . Max. . I will continue to look in the mean time but price will be a concern also. Iv read that the report would need to be hse recognised also. Its all still pretty new . We really are trying to find what his triggers are at this stage as somethong so so simple can trigger and hr plus meltdown.

farmchoice

he is very young yet, we were in early introversion with our lad from birth right up to going to school this year. i learned a hell of a lot through the whole thing. we had s&L OT phyiso the lot, we also engaged some Private services.

one of the things i learned, possibly the main thing is not to rush things, give him time, the grommets could be a huge part of the issue.

we were first time parents and some of the time we were frustrated by a lack of a diagnosis and we were pushing for one, my wife more so then me. her attitude was if there is something we need to know what it is early and deal with it. on the other hand i didn't want to know and was perhaps burying my head in the sand to a point.

in the heel of the hunt i was right he out grew a lot of the issues with time and help ( all of them really, he has no manners mind and still has very selective hearing but apparently this is just bad parenting!!)

there was one day when things were going to **** and my wife was in a state and she was having a meeting with his team and she was really pushing for a diagnosis, the team were hemming and hawing because they felt he was still too young but my wife was adamant that with everything we knew he must be on the spectrum. in the end they said alright come back next week ( or words to that effect)and we will give him a diagnosis that will open up other services.

a week later things had settled down a bit and there was no diagnosis and we went on as before.

he is in school now and flying not a bother on him, i truly believe that if we had continued to push for a diagnosis he didn't need we would not be where we are today.

give it time yet for a 2 year old to have wild tantrums is unfortunately perfectly normal, having said that you know your child better than anyone, all i'm really saying is don't panic yet.

CaraMay

Farmchoice it's great to hear such great news stories and it gives me hope myself but I don't think a parent should ever be discouraged from getting help for their kid. Just because your child has done well doesn't mean hers will.

My point earlier is that a child who can't talk / hear should be compensating through use of nonverbal communication eg pointing etc and, if they are not, by age two then they should be investigated.

farmchoice

CaraMay wrote: »

Farmchoice it's great to hear such great news stories and it gives me hope myself but I don't think a parent should ever be discouraged from getting help for their kid. Just because your child has done well doesn't mean hers will.

My point earlier is that a child who can't talk / hear should be compensating through use of nonverbal communication eg pointing etc and, if they are not, by age two then they should be investigated.

god no and thats not the point i'm trying to make at all, always get all the help you can, and take any help you can get, just that at 2 and with grommets a bit of time might help.

CaraMay

farmchoice wrote: »

god no and thats not the point i'm trying to make at all, always get all the help you can, and take any help you can get, just that at 2 and with grommets a bit of time might help.

In lucky cases it might but it didn't for mine ...

Suucee

My eldest had grommets also so im aware how it affected her too.
I just have a gut feeling there is something. Hes not my first. he has failed his ages and stages and MCHAT. I know he needs time but also early intervention is called early intervention for a reason. And i feel we are waiting in limbo now. Waiting to see what happens. And in the mean time what do we do. Yes there are regular 2 yr old tantrums and there are complete meltdowns for nothing. No obvious reason and meltdowns can last for over an hour some times. A bad melt down results in a bad day which results in a bad night which means another bad day and so on and so on.
So what do i do. I stick to what i know. And try avoid meltdowns.
Half the time i dont know wheather i should be correcting him or leaving him. For example he had a tantrum yesterday as he didnt want to go in the dining room for dinner. He was screaming throwing himself around . My 4yr old was holding her ears. So we brought him in to sitting room and DH spoon fed him his dinner. All was fine. This mornjng he sat up fine at the dining room table no problem and had his breakfast with us. I wonder am i being too soft. Letting him away with it. Its not like it happens all the time. Would i be better making him have manners and sit at the table. Or would this cause a full blown meltdown so it would go from tantrum to meltdown. Then he may not have ate any dinner and may not have sat at the table today. In one sence i frel having a diagnosis will help me answer that question. Is it typical 2yr old behaviour of testing the boundries. Or is something (unkown to us) really bugging him making him not want to sit at the table making him scream like he is in pain.

CaraMay

Our fella may or may not stay in the room when certain food is being served as he has issues with sensitivity to smell.

Try getting him to 'paint' with food eg gravy, ketchup, curry sauce and see if that sheds any light.

Roselm

Suucee wrote: »

I started him in creche over a month ago for 2 morning to help with socialising and he hates it. Screams when i pull up outside it.

If you're not working you could try going to a parent and toddler group where you can stay with him. He might dislike the creche because you leave?

Suucee

Roselm wrote:

If you're not working you could try going to a parent and toddler group where you can stay with him. He might dislike the creche because you leave?

Ive been bringing him to parent and toddler grp. Little folk music grp and gymboree since he was tiny. Also bring him to soft play centre once a week too so he is getting min 3 activities a week . I have pulled him from creche now as i wasnt at all happy with it and i will stick to those activities with him. No point rushing him in to a creche when there is no major need. I will re access the situation later in the year or early next year .

I have contacted AON and will have a form out to fill in to apply for that. We have also decided to get him assesed privaetly. We cant afford to do the multi disciplinary assesment privetly so we are just doing the pychologist. His report wont speed things up with the hse but it is recognised by the department of education and if my son is diagnosed autistic he will be entitled to home tuition from 2.5.
Above all that it is getting am amswer rather than being in limbo.
As i said yesterday we do let him away with a hell of a lot compared to our first and not sure if he is just really testing us or just cant deal with certain situations.

Caramay its odd for him to be turned off by the food. He went in to the sitting room and ate his dinner. Same as what everyonr else was eating. It was like he just didnt want to sit with us all (there is only myself OH and 4yr old daughter) .
Tbh its not unusual for him to do it. Happens approx once maybe twice a week. But cant put my finger on what causes it. He was fine today with breakfast dinner and tea.

CaraMay

Ah ok - was just throwing it out there as I had never heard of it before

Suucee

Just a quick update. We had a private assesment today and our son has been diagnosed with autism. Tbh we kind of knew this anyway. At least now we can get our forms sorted and apply for what he needs.

yellow hen

Suucee wrote: »

Just a quick update. We had a private assesment today and our son has been diagnosed with autism. Tbh we kind of knew this anyway. At least now we can get our forms sorted and apply for what he needs.

Use the private assessment to get your home tuition if you need it but don't fully rely on the accuracy of the assessment. When do you think the hse will give your outcome? We've had our psych assessment but no report yet and the Paeds appt will be another 18months. Regardless we'll be started slt and ot sessions soon. Are you ok with the diagnoses today or were you mentally prepared for it? I found it very hard to hear to be honest.

Suucee

Ah i think we knew. It was more to get the ball rolling with applying for home tuition and to just know really. Je has been seen once by eit. Ive just completed sensory imtegratiom work shops and will be starting hanen work shop before the end of the month. At the moment we are still pretty much waiting. Theres a good few parent work shops . They said hopefully he will start his assessment aug / sept.. he is 2.5 in sept so at least we will have th home tuition sorted. I wont have a huge wait for paed as he sees one regularlly anyway for reflux and suspected asthma.

Feelings wise it was very bittersweet. I had a weird feeling. Ah in your face i was right. I knew. All the people shoving me off for so long.
But then i was sad too. I spend the day filling in our family and that was all fine. But last night when kids were in bed and hubby popped out i had a good oul cry. Grand today but not looking forward to all these forms. Dca, aon, home tuition. There are autism pre schools here too ive been recommended to apply for those. Not sure if he needs them so thinking i will send him where i was planning in jan and he will available for ecce come april so in thise 3 mnths i will know wheather he needs it. The preschool i have lined up is where my daughter currently attends and they are amazing. . Hoping to send him for just 2 afternoon classes which will be quieter than mornings. . What age is your guy caramay. I remember seeing your posts a while ago.. i dont be on her that much anymore.