I have lurked on this forum for quite awhile. I don't post, because I never introduced myself. I never introduced myself because I kept waiting for answers. Then the story got so long I couldn't bring it all together to type out. But 2boyzmama (a friend IRL) convinced me to write down what I could and join in. So here goes...
I'm Jamie, a La Leche League Leader and a stay at home mom to 3 boys
Ryan turned 5 a month ago
Luke is 2
and
Henry is 9 months
Ryan has been diagnosed with SPD and is being monitored for ADHD and/or Asperger's. Luke is developmentally delayed in all areas except gross motor, although our focus has been speech. He is also being monitored for an ASD. Henry is an incredibly high needs baby. He cries unless being held with direct interaction, and he doesn't sleep well at all. I always say that he thinks he is an only child.
At Ryan's 3 year old well check we talked to the ped about how hyper he was, couldn't sit still etc. She said it was in the realm of normal at that age. Things got worse throughout that year.
Things that you would expect to be getting better were getting worse. He could not sit still. Did not follow directions, was very impulsive. Was afraid to swing or climb. Freaked out at bath time and if someone tried to turn him upside down. Was licking and chewing inappropriate things. The list went on and on. That fall we started attending a homeschool co-op one day a week. He could not handle it. He just completely shut down. Could not participate. He basically sat at his desk and looked down. So completely opposite of the bouncing off the wall kid we knew. I pulled him out after a couple of months. I started researching things and was pretty sure it was Sensory Processing Disorder. He had 75% of the checklist. Looking back I saw red flags since he was a baby. At his 4 year check up I brought up my concerns with his ped and she agreed that something seemed not right. She referred us to a developmental ped. It took 6 months to get the appointment. That summer things got even worse. He started refusing to wear clothing his size. He wanted everything small and tight. He wore things at least a size too small. He even squeezed in to his newborn brothers 0-3 month clothing. He would refuse to change clothes and wear the same thing day after day. His behavior continued to deteriorate. We saw the Dev. Ped in Aug 09. She was wonderful. She listened to all of my concerns. She diagnosed him with Sensory Processing Disorder and is monitoring him for Asperger's and ADHD. She referred him to Occupational Therapy to help with the SPD. She also suggested we enroll him in the school district special services preschool which he started in October. He has actually done fine there. He is a lot more reserved then he is at home, but his teacher thinks he is doing fine. We started the OT in October and have not seen a big change. We did the Brushing Protocol right away which did solve the clothing issue (although they are starting to creep back now). Other than that though the behaviors are just as bad as before. We just started listening therapy and it hasn't done too much. In Feb I took him to a clinic in the area that diagnoses ADHD and neuro disorders. They meet with the kids and do actual testing. The Psych there does not think he has ADHD, and said it was too early to diagnose Asperger's. He said he is of superior intelligence and very gifted and thinks his issues may stem from that. He recommended not to put him in public school. He didn't think he would thrive or flourish in that environment. He highly recommended a Montessori school, which we are looking in to now. I'm torn because we had always planned on homeschooling. I do love Montessori philosophy, but I'm not sure if we can afford it. He had a 6 month follow up with the Developmental Ped in Feb. We talked more about his behavior and she was more concerned so she referred us to Children's Psychology that specializes in neuro issues. That appointment is in April.
I started worrying about Luke when he was around a year old. The first issue was he was not talking. He had started babbling dada, bubba, mama around 7 months or so, but at 12 months he had lost all that and had no words. He also was not waving, clapping, pointing or gesturing at all. I talked to the ped at his 12 month well check and they said it was no concern and to wait. I did. At 15 months he had 1 word - eat. Still no gestures. We had been signing with him since about 6 months and he had 1 sign - all done. The ped still said wait. I did. At 18 months he had 3 words. Ped said wait. I was getting really uncomfortable with it, but I did. I mentioned it at Ryan's Dev Ped appointment (Luke was 20 months) and she urged me to call Early Intervention right away. So, I self referred him to EI. They came out to our house about a month later and did a full evaluation in all areas. They found him to be delayed in all areas except gross motor. We started going to a special parent & toddler class once a week in October 09. They wanted him evaluated by the OT to check for sensory issues. I had never really thought about him having any sensory problems, because I was so deep in it with Ryan. They did testing on him and he was off the charts for sensory as well. We were also having horrible behavior problems with him. He cried 90% of the day. He was attacking kids and adults for no reason. They would be no where near him and he would just run up and hit them or throw something at them. If they cried or ran away he would continue doing it. The only time he showed joy was if he was doing he perceived was bad. He has to have everything done just right and everything has to be in its place or he cannot function. EI recommended he be evaluted for an Autism Spectrum Disorder due to the language, behavior and sensory issues. I talked to the Ped and they referred us to Developmental Peds. I also scheduled him an appointment at the Clinic at the same time I took Ryan in Feb. He was a little too young for their testing, but they went over his history and did what they could. They found him to be at around a 15-18 month level. All they could advise was to ensure we kept checking to make sure he was progressing. I did not feel like the EI program was doing enough for his development, so I started him in private speech therapy as well in January. He had his developmental Ped appointment earlier this month. She showed concern and administered some tests. She said she would score them and let me know the results and decide where to go from there. I have not heard back, so I need to call and see what is going on. He currently has about 50 words. He did start pointing at around 2 years old, but He still does not clap or wave. He does not pick up signs, so I have pretty much given up on them.
There is so much more to type, but I have a hard time remembering all the details and being able to put them down coherently.
Every day is a struggle with both of them. I cannot wait to find out if there is something identifiably wrong so that I can at least feel like we have some sort of answer.
I'm Jamie, a La Leche League Leader and a stay at home mom to 3 boys
Ryan turned 5 a month ago
Luke is 2
and
Henry is 9 months
Ryan has been diagnosed with SPD and is being monitored for ADHD and/or Asperger's. Luke is developmentally delayed in all areas except gross motor, although our focus has been speech. He is also being monitored for an ASD. Henry is an incredibly high needs baby. He cries unless being held with direct interaction, and he doesn't sleep well at all. I always say that he thinks he is an only child.
At Ryan's 3 year old well check we talked to the ped about how hyper he was, couldn't sit still etc. She said it was in the realm of normal at that age. Things got worse throughout that year.
Things that you would expect to be getting better were getting worse. He could not sit still. Did not follow directions, was very impulsive. Was afraid to swing or climb. Freaked out at bath time and if someone tried to turn him upside down. Was licking and chewing inappropriate things. The list went on and on. That fall we started attending a homeschool co-op one day a week. He could not handle it. He just completely shut down. Could not participate. He basically sat at his desk and looked down. So completely opposite of the bouncing off the wall kid we knew. I pulled him out after a couple of months. I started researching things and was pretty sure it was Sensory Processing Disorder. He had 75% of the checklist. Looking back I saw red flags since he was a baby. At his 4 year check up I brought up my concerns with his ped and she agreed that something seemed not right. She referred us to a developmental ped. It took 6 months to get the appointment. That summer things got even worse. He started refusing to wear clothing his size. He wanted everything small and tight. He wore things at least a size too small. He even squeezed in to his newborn brothers 0-3 month clothing. He would refuse to change clothes and wear the same thing day after day. His behavior continued to deteriorate. We saw the Dev. Ped in Aug 09. She was wonderful. She listened to all of my concerns. She diagnosed him with Sensory Processing Disorder and is monitoring him for Asperger's and ADHD. She referred him to Occupational Therapy to help with the SPD. She also suggested we enroll him in the school district special services preschool which he started in October. He has actually done fine there. He is a lot more reserved then he is at home, but his teacher thinks he is doing fine. We started the OT in October and have not seen a big change. We did the Brushing Protocol right away which did solve the clothing issue (although they are starting to creep back now). Other than that though the behaviors are just as bad as before. We just started listening therapy and it hasn't done too much. In Feb I took him to a clinic in the area that diagnoses ADHD and neuro disorders. They meet with the kids and do actual testing. The Psych there does not think he has ADHD, and said it was too early to diagnose Asperger's. He said he is of superior intelligence and very gifted and thinks his issues may stem from that. He recommended not to put him in public school. He didn't think he would thrive or flourish in that environment. He highly recommended a Montessori school, which we are looking in to now. I'm torn because we had always planned on homeschooling. I do love Montessori philosophy, but I'm not sure if we can afford it. He had a 6 month follow up with the Developmental Ped in Feb. We talked more about his behavior and she was more concerned so she referred us to Children's Psychology that specializes in neuro issues. That appointment is in April.
I started worrying about Luke when he was around a year old. The first issue was he was not talking. He had started babbling dada, bubba, mama around 7 months or so, but at 12 months he had lost all that and had no words. He also was not waving, clapping, pointing or gesturing at all. I talked to the ped at his 12 month well check and they said it was no concern and to wait. I did. At 15 months he had 1 word - eat. Still no gestures. We had been signing with him since about 6 months and he had 1 sign - all done. The ped still said wait. I did. At 18 months he had 3 words. Ped said wait. I was getting really uncomfortable with it, but I did. I mentioned it at Ryan's Dev Ped appointment (Luke was 20 months) and she urged me to call Early Intervention right away. So, I self referred him to EI. They came out to our house about a month later and did a full evaluation in all areas. They found him to be delayed in all areas except gross motor. We started going to a special parent & toddler class once a week in October 09. They wanted him evaluated by the OT to check for sensory issues. I had never really thought about him having any sensory problems, because I was so deep in it with Ryan. They did testing on him and he was off the charts for sensory as well. We were also having horrible behavior problems with him. He cried 90% of the day. He was attacking kids and adults for no reason. They would be no where near him and he would just run up and hit them or throw something at them. If they cried or ran away he would continue doing it. The only time he showed joy was if he was doing he perceived was bad. He has to have everything done just right and everything has to be in its place or he cannot function. EI recommended he be evaluted for an Autism Spectrum Disorder due to the language, behavior and sensory issues. I talked to the Ped and they referred us to Developmental Peds. I also scheduled him an appointment at the Clinic at the same time I took Ryan in Feb. He was a little too young for their testing, but they went over his history and did what they could. They found him to be at around a 15-18 month level. All they could advise was to ensure we kept checking to make sure he was progressing. I did not feel like the EI program was doing enough for his development, so I started him in private speech therapy as well in January. He had his developmental Ped appointment earlier this month. She showed concern and administered some tests. She said she would score them and let me know the results and decide where to go from there. I have not heard back, so I need to call and see what is going on. He currently has about 50 words. He did start pointing at around 2 years old, but He still does not clap or wave. He does not pick up signs, so I have pretty much given up on them.
There is so much more to type, but I have a hard time remembering all the details and being able to put them down coherently.
Every day is a struggle with both of them. I cannot wait to find out if there is something identifiably wrong so that I can at least feel like we have some sort of answer.
