This page will change from time to time because I know our "status" in this journey will change all the time.
Right now we are smack dab in the middle of the diagnosis process. Getting a proper diagnosis for a child that is barely 4 is very difficult. It is a lot of questionnaires for the parents to fill out and have analyzed by a therapist and then you have to see a medical doctor (usually a neurologist) to essentially approve the diagnosis of the therapist unless the therapist happens to also be an MD. And then you add in any hoops your medical insurance requires you to jump through and then in our case we were living in a new city and state for only a month and a half when I finally got a Doc to listen to me about my concerns for my Son but this new Doc had no bedside manner and was very rude so I was also trying to find a Pediatrician that I liked at the same time…I know my situation is extreme but I know that a lot of Moms and Dads struggle to get the proper diagnosis for their children because it is not something there is a medical lab test for.
Anyway, this is where we are…we were referred to the school district by this rude Dr. but the school district could not see him until Aug (this was in May) So, me being distraught and frustrated I talked to my long distance but very supportive family about my frustrations. My sister happens to be going to school to get her Masters in Social Work and already has a BA in Psychology, so she is a huge help and good person to turn to. So, when I called her crying again over my frustrations she jumped on the computer and found me a non-profit organization that helps kids with Mental Health and Behavioral Problems. So I called them and they saw us in June and July for a total of three visits. After several packets to fill out and two sessions of the therapist observing him (once alone and once with us there) Her diagnosis is Sensory Processing Disorder and very likely ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). She referred us to a Neurologist and recommended for him to begin Sensory Integration Therapy as soon as possible. Well, it is now October and it has been several months of finding the right Pediatrician because of the Insurance hurdles we had to have a referral for the Neurologist and then we also needed a referral from the Neurologist to begin the therapy. So we have our appointment with Neurologist for our official diagnosis in just a couple weeks and I am praying everything will fall into place easier from that point on.
UPDATE:
We had the appt with the Neuro and that is documented in the blog post titled "Can Anyone Say Happy Dance?" and we have now had a follow up to that appt as well and we are having second thoughts about this Doc now. I mentioned Monkey had some aggression issues when he was put into a very stimulating environment and the Doc automatically jumped to a very strong medication and after researching it I decided against giving it to Monkey and I am having questions about this Doc now...UGH! Will I ever find a Doc that takes our Insurance and I LOVE...not sure!
