Ethan was finally diagnosed not too long ago (about a month and a half ago). PDD-NOS is the diagnosis, which is an autism spectrum disorder. He's on a couple of waiting lists for speech therapy and ot.
So, how many mamas of Autism Spectrum Disorder kiddos are there on here? Anyhow, any advice about getting services would be highly appreciated. Today I sent out his questionaire thingymajigger, so that he can get his diagnosis through the school district (apparently we went about the whole diagnostic procedure backwards, I had him medically diagnosed first, through a crisis appointment at Fraser.
Anyhow, it's nice to finally have a diagnosis and know what I'm dealing with and finally be able to get services for him.
getting help for any type of mental thing is tough because of the stupid waiting lists..but i had a neighbor whos son was autistic and she had the person that diognosed him refer him to human serveses(or where ever your councilors are at) and that seemed to get him through the waiting list a little bit.
hope you find help
My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS when he was 2. His pediatrician referred us to a developmental psych who gave him the diagnosis. We got free speech/behavioral therapy through a state funded program that provides free services to children through the age of 3. Both the ped and psych gave me information and contact info for the program. Unfortunately he only went to a few therapy sessions and then I was unable to get him there due to lack of transportation.
The way I understood it was that the PDD-NOS diagnosis meant that the child didn't fully meet the criteria to be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, but that they have some of the same traits.
My son turns 4 in a few months and though his speech has improved drastically in the last year, he hasn't shown much improvement in his behavior and I plan to schedule another evaluation with the developmental psych.
Goodluck with this! How old is your son by the way?
Disregard my question about your sons age. Didn't notice your sig when I wrote my post. Sorry!
My son is in the spectrum as well.
Connor is autistic, diagnosed when he was 2-2 1/2. Before he was three he received services from our local regional center, a part of the Department for Developmental Disabilities. Here's a link I found with various resources for Minnesota http://www.autism-pdd.net/LINKS/minnesota.html. Hopefully that helps. Waiting lists can suck, you need to press on and stay on whoever you're dealing with because early intervention is the key to success.
FYI - In California, the state didn't have to provide certain services to PDD-NOS and it was beneficial to press for a dx of autism, because the child could lose access to services with a dx of PDD-NOS. I have no idea about MN, but the state here seems to take every loophole available to get out of paying.
tiffany, can you explain more about California and what services they provide? Maybe in PM?
It seems we are also looking at a possible PDD diagnosis.
My son is now almost 6, but was diagnosed PDD at age 2. We've done multiple forms of intervention in PA, OR, and CA. The first step is to get a evaluation for an IFSP through the Education Services Department in your school district. From there they can set you up with home, speech, occupational, behavioral, and preschool services. On top of that we also implemented a home program, attended summer intensives, and found private SLPs, OTs, and behavioralists for our son. I can't tell you how much of a difference this early support helps! Also, make sure to arrange playdates with "typical" peers if possible. The state likes to segregate autistic children (IMO), and this can sometimes be more harmful than helpful since the best models are kids who are already developing normally. In all 3 of the above states your right is to have your child put into the least restrictive enviorment possible. You also have the right to call IEP meetings at any time, and to have testing done by an outside consultant. If your gut tells you the coordinators are trying to pull the wool over your eyes don't be shy...speak up! The sqeeky wheel always gets the oil. Services can be hard to come by with budget limitations...no one knows their child as well as you do...the best advocate a child has is his/her parent.