Aspergers/Autism/Sensory Integration Chatter #4

[Early Kids]

Hope everyone had an awesome New Years, here's to a fabulous 2011!

We spent the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday) camping! Was meant to be until Monday, but the kids had just had enough. Was great to get away.

The Speech Pathologist that did Brendan's Autism Assessment rang yesterday to let me know his report is in the mail and that he's been diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Am feeling relieved that we now have an answer and that we can get better help for him. I'm sad that it had to come to this for him to get help, it shouldn't have to be like that... but anyhoo we are through the other side now and can move forward!

Just thought I'd update

[Lulu]

Congratulations (ykwim!) for a dx that will get you lots and lots of help!

Pick up your Supermumma showbag at the door, welcome to the club.

[Early Kids]

ooo a showbag!

I'm hoping the report arrives this week, so I can take it with me Tuesday... we have a speech and OT session

[Lulu]

are you sorted for the Early Intervention Funding? You need a piece of paper stating the dx of PDD-NOS and send it in - did anyone advise you on this part of it?

Supermumma Showbag info lol

-

these contain full size bottles of Vodka, Scotch and Bacardi (since it's summer and all), Bubble Bath, Earmuffs and Henna for maintaining your locks and covering the greys. Also a spare blanket for you to hide under.

[Freya]

Awesome news Sally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well we are stagnating. Centrelink denied our carers allowance claim again so I guess we have tough choices to make. We are struggling even on Dhs wage to afford speech therapy weekly plus all the other various appointments. Centrelink gave us a health care card for him but fat lot of good that does for anything but medication (which we dont have). So it may mean taking Jett out of preschool he loves and the boys out of swimming lessons they love; or just cutting down his therapy and making the fixing process years longer.

So Im at my wits end. Got an appt with a child psych for tomorrow at 5pm. Apparently its a parent/s only appointment but she can stick that up her butt, Im takin the little hellion with me. For $188 she can put up with his crap while we talk.

[Lulu]

hahahaha, yeah do that.

Clink just won't grant without a dx. It's not very much anyway...in the sea of the $$$ you have to spend. Maybe rethink going for a spectrum assesment. It's practically free under the mental health plan and if he scores within the right area you will have $12,000 to go towards all the therapy. If he doesn't score high enough, nothing lost.

In the end I went for it (even though I thought DS was borderline) and still not totally convinced its Aspy - wether he is or not remains to be seen but the help we got totally changed our lives.

[Early Kids]

are you sorted for the Early Intervention Funding? You need a piece of paper stating the dx of PDD-NOS and send it in - did anyone advise you on this part of it?

Supermumma Showbag info lol

-

I'm waiting on the report and paperwork to come yet, I was told over the phone that the report is on it's way. She mentioned a copy had gone to his paed, to DSC and one to me. ATM I know nothing of what we have to do lol.

And that showbag is awesome

Maybe rethink going for a spectrum assesment. It's practically free under the mental health plan and if he scores within the right area you will have $12,000 to go towards all the therapy. If he doesn't score high enough, nothing lost.

In the end I went for it (even though I thought DS was borderline) and still not totally convinced its Aspy - wether he is or not remains to be seen but the help we got totally changed our lives.

We were referred publicly in May 2010, some paperwork got lost in the mail and he had his assessment in December 2010. So the wait list is not really that long considering. Although we are in WA... but we had to wait a bit longer to wait for a team to come to us to do the assessment, it could have been done sooner if I went to them. It cost us nothing to do it that way.

I had the same attitude as Lulu, it was worth a try.

Freya x

[Freya]

We had a psych appointment yesterday, parents only. I managed to get an appt within 24hrs of calling a centre called Quirky Kid Psychology. We talked for 1.5hrs and she said everything we described of Ripley, definitely is NOT normal now its just a case of figuring out what 'not normal' it is. She feels he possibly will register on the ADOS test as being a very high functioning autistic but she also wants to do the other test (a spina something?). She even thinks he possibly has ADHD as well. Definately Sensory Processing Disorder so she said to go ahead with OT. So in my eyes $180 well spent because finally someone is listening to us.
So I think our next step is a meet and greet session with Ripley in tow, then the assessments. Only problem is its going to cost us up to $2000. Unless we miraculously find somewhere public without a wicked long waitlist. Anyone here who could give me a head up on some reduced cost or publicly funded assessment options in Sydney? We are only here in Sydney until Sept/Oct, I have no idea at this point where we will be after that and DH is deploying mid year so I really want this all planned out before he leaves so we both can not stress about being up in the air still while he concentrates on coming home in one peice.
The other thing I was thinking of asking on advice of a friend is if they will bill the assessments under a Mental Health Care Plan, separating them into 5 sessions so the cost is completely covered by medicare. Anyone know of this being done?