Advertising for my friend Jenn and update on Duck

My friend Jenn just started her own publishing company. She's an incredible person who does everything with passion. Her website is http://www.edit-wise.net/ I hope, one day, her company is large enough for me to join her! So, if you need editing/publishing services, consider her! If you know anyone else that might, feel free to recommend!

Duck has started to say "sooooos" and "nana" for shoes and banana. He actually pointing AND saying them! What a weekend it was!

I finally got an appointment with the developmental pediatrician today. Amazing little trick to share with you....think about the one department of a doctor's office that will almost always have a live person. Sure enough, I got through to someone in billing since I've been returning messages to the appointment line since Friday the 29th. Anyway, it worked. Love being resourceful.....learned that from my friend Michelle.

So, we see the neurologist on March 17th and the developmental pedi on April 15th.

I visited this site through Georgia State: Diana Robins. She has the MChAT, the MChAT scoring rubric, and a post-evaluation interview on her site. Wow, was that interview helpful. It helped explain some of the questions further. A year ago, Duck hit all six critical marker for Autism in toddlers, and a few more. Today as I worked through it, then the interview, he barely hits two critical and one other.

He still hits #13, 15 and 17 if you answer straight-forward. The first two are the critical markers. But, after I read the post-evaluation interview, he more or less passes all three of them.

13. Does your child imitate you? (e.g. You make a face-will your child imitate it?)

NO (fail)

But when I read more, it even suggests sounds. Duck will imitate sounds and the more I think about it, it's just faces he won't imitate, he is starting to imitate gestures and does say bye-bye and point to what we're pointing to. (pass?)

15. If you point at a toy across the room, does your child look at it?

NO (fail)

This is scattered. If I say look at the doggie, he doesn't look. But if I get down to his level, put my face next to his and we look together as I point, he sees it and then continues to look if I pull my face away. (pass?)

17. Does your child look at things you are looking at?

NO (fail)

Big example here, when we took him to The Wiggles back in November. There were songs he was interested in. If it wasn't something he wanted to watch, he turned around and was more interested in the little boy behind us and his light wand (that we had to buy on our way out). If it's a movie, sure he watches it with us. If I turn his head toward something, yeah, he looks. If either of us are on the computer, he definitely wants to see that. Wait, maybe that's more of a YES than I thought. (pass?)

So, ultimately, it's really important we get these next two appointments under way before we see anything happen with the school district. Am I worried he won't qualify? Not really, because I know he'll still qualify for speech. My worry is that he won't qualify for speech and another service, making it less likely for him to qualify for a full-day program. But, if we get the right help through the doctors, I'd almost rather go that route and possibly have him in regular kindergarten without services when he turns 5.