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What Age Was Your Child Diagnosed? And How Did You Deal?
A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question 💭

At what age was your child diagnosed with autism and how did you respond ? Was just informed by evaluating psychologist that my 2 year old is on the spectrum. I'm thinking of getting a 2nd opinion, but know that this is an emotional response on my part. I'm feeling numb at the moment. Any advice would be appreciated :/

posted March 30, 2016
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A MyAutismTeam Member

I knew when he was 2. It was not easy actually I was in denial, I mourn for 2 years, I couldn't stop crying, my emotions and my stress level were very high. I became very close to my co worker. I started to tell her my situation not knowing she has 2 artistic sons. I remember vividly the day she told me if i'm not going to accept the reality/ his situation I will not be able to help him. from there I started to participate and engage, paying more attention asking her questions and so forth. I still have my moments but I can say it is much better now I just thank God daily for his imrovement. What I can say you need to give yourself a time a cry your emotions out,it will not be easy but it will get better not only for you but for every body in the family.

posted March 30, 2016
A MyAutismTeam Member

My sister's son was the first in the family to be diagnosed at age 3. My son and my brother's son were born almost twenty years later. My brother's son was diagnosed at about age 2. My son was a little bit younger...more like 18 months. Of course, they said it was too early to know for sure but there were signs. We got early intervention immediately. We didn't stop for the second opinion because clearly autism is in the genes. My son is the least severe of the 3 cousins and I'm quite sure that has a lot to do with not dwelling on it but plunging in and getting the help. All I can say is, get the help now then take him for a second opinion if you need it - but don't waste a day getting the early intervention. If there's nothing going on with him - great - he'll just be getting extra help any kid could use really.

posted March 31, 2016
A MyAutismTeam Member

My son is 2 years old, will be 3 in Sept. He was just officially diagnosed in February of this year. I had no idea he was on the spectrum. He did have a speech delay, but they say that's common with boys so I didn't worry and all my friends have kids older or younger so I didn't have any other kids to compare to. My boyfriend's sister who is a nurse and has a child on the spectrum asked if my son had autism. I told her I didn't think so, but I asked her what she saw as indicators that he might have autism. After she told me I did A LOT of research and decided to get him evaluated. His pre-screening showed definite signs of autism, but not all the typical indicators so he was evaluated by a specialty services team 4 hours away from where we live. He has high functioning/mild autism with a speech delay and has sensory issues. He's a sensory seeker. It's definitely scary finding out there may be something wrong with your child, but autism isn't a terminal disease. It won't kill them. I don't even think there's anything wrong with my child. He's just a little different. He quirky and has a lot of energy, but he's very very smart. He can tell you all the colors, and shapes, and numbers up to 20 now and he can tell you what animals make what sounds, but he cannot tell you what he wants to drink. He is just now learning how to answer a direct question. He is unable to tell me he needs something in words. He mostly screeches, but he's getting better every single day. He started speech therapy right after Thanksgiving last year. He was saying less than 15 words then. Now he is starting to put two words together. He repeats phrases and is trying to communicate more instead of screeching and it's only been 5 months. I believe in early intervention. We're hoping once we get him into ECI services through the school district he will thrive even more and he can mainstream into regular kindergarten with the rest of the kids his age. There's just no way of knowing that yet though.We have a lot of work to do. It's just too early to tell and that's hard too, the not knowing. When your child was born you had an idea of what they might be like and how things may go in the future. Will he play baseball or football? Will he do well in school? Will he be popular? Will he go to college and become something great? All of that pretty much just gets thrown out the window and you have to take things one step at a time. If you still feel like you have questions or concerns about your child's diagnosis you should get another opinion. Do lots of research, watch videos on youtube, ask lots of questions, and communicate with other autism parents. Don't let your child being labeled hold him/her back. Autism doesn't mean bad or dumb, or any other negative reference you may have heard. Autism is loving, and smart, and sweet, and fun. Autism is so many things and if the services provided to your child help him/her succeed, then who cares about the label.

posted April 11, 2016
A MyAutismTeam Member

My son was diagnosed with Autism (high functioning) September 2015, 5 days before his 4th birthday, I suspected that something was going on with him at the age of 2 and right before he turned 3 years old when did a referral to Help Me Grow, a service for ages 0-3 years of age. They said that he seemed to be on target for his age, We later got him evaluated for services through the pre-school program through the school district we reside in. He started receiving Occupational Therapy and was an IEP to help with transitioning and other goals. June 2015 the School Psychologist thought it might be a good idea to have him evaluated for Autism. I am Social Worker and work with children and families on a daily basis and knew that I had to have him evaluated. When I was given the diagnosis I cried but dived right in and stared accessing services for him. My son receives Occupational Therapy at school and through our health insurance. He also receives ABA services which has helped him with building his language and using several words to form sentences and ask questions. My whole thought process is to access as many services and get the help your child needs now.

posted April 4, 2016
A MyAutismTeam Member

@A MyAutismTeam Member, when we lived in Georgia, we weren't qualified for ANY Social Security. In fact, in order to get a Medicaid waiver we had to show a letter indicating we were denied benefits. I told the guy at the SS office that what's the big hold up after a long time waiting. He told me we would have fill out the forms again. I said no way and it's stupid because we want a denial of benefits letter. The guy found the paperwork.

Here's how it works (or doesn't work) in Georgia:

"Because you first must prove that you do not qualify the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Disability - Medicaid program which is based on your family’s income. The first step is to apply for SSI through your nearest Social Security Office. You may call them at (Phone number can only be seen by the question and answer creators) to begin the application. If your child receives SSI, and, thus, Medicaid, you are finished at this point, as Medicaid (which provides the same benefits as the Deeming Waiver). If your child does not receive SSI and Medicaid through this program, SSI will send you a denial letter. This denial letter becomes a part of your Deeming Waiver Application. Make sure you do not lose it!"

http://www.marcus.org/~/media/marcus/documents/...

I have no idea how it works in Texas where we now live. We have been waiting for 4 months to get our kid in an ABA program but the insurance system is slow and my daughter is already 6 years old.

For the record, I seen a few posts (not on this forum) from people who think parents want an ASD diagnosis so they can make money off their kids. We haven't gotten a dollar in cash and paid for all services except at the public school which we are pulling our daughter out of. We paid for our Obamacare insurance for $150/month so it's not free either.

posted April 4, 2016 (edited)

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