Diagnosis

[kireic]

I forgot to mention here that in February we took Lucia for a behavioral evaluation, basically to ascertain if there was a professional opinion that she continue behavioral services through the school system when she starts preschool in May

Comments

[dncingmalkavian]

Before you fall into the autism trap

[kireic]

A+ smart posting. I too thought it was odd to put her in the "autism spectrum" box so early, but, well, I don't tell docs their business unless I feel they're really off-base. She did disclaim with some emphasis that it's early to put a hard label on things at this age, and that we know her better than anyone as we spend all day with her, but that she had concerns she felt she should voice, and that's fair enough. I think the primary goal was to find some manner of diagnosis that would get her some special attention in school, and that's what we got

[dncingmalkavian]

A lot of preschools run half-day programs, which might be the ticket for Lu to get her feet wet when it comes to schooling, so to speak. By the sounds of it, she's a smart kid, and if she does go to preschool that's a huge head start (no pun intended) academically for most kids as compared with kids who don't go, especially for developmentally delayed children like you said (early exposure can make HUGE differences later on). I went to a half-day program, and it was honestly just what I needed. I entered kindergarten as the only kid who knew how to read already (partly due to my mother's tutelage), and a lot more comfortable in the social setting that school demands we be able to navigate than I might have been otherwise. I still had problems in school, but going to preschool definitely reduced them