Diagnosis

For those of you that don't know Kelsie has been going through the evaluation process through the public school system to determine whether she qualifies for services and to find a cause for her lack of social skills and behavioral quirks. Today we had our results conference (above are some pics we captured while waiting for everyone to arrive). They diagnosed her with Asperger's Syndrome which is a "Non-autistic Autism Spectrum disorder" that mainly inhibits social skills. They also reconfirmed her prior diagnosis of having Sensory Processing Disorder which mainly makes her sensitive to certain stimuli (ie loud noises, certain clothing, and actually makes her seek out other stimuli such as rocking, deep pressure, and spicy, sour, or cold foods). However they have determined that at this point in time she does not have an educational need for services, so they basically aren't offering any services to her right now. They did say they are going to reevaluate their decision in October of 2009, because they want to make sure that her lack of social skills doesn't start to cause her more difficulties in preschool in the future.

While this diagnosis does not come as a shock, because the Early Childhood Intervention Psychologist came to basically the same conclusion it is disappointing to hear it officially from 2 different sources. I am also somewhat torn as to what to do next. We are no longer eligible for Early Childhood Intervention services as of Kelsie's 3rd birthday in January, so we have to either opt to go it alone for now or find private therapy. The private therapy center the ECI OT recommended is 1. full and we would be put on a waiting list and 2. doesn't accept our insurance and is pretty expensive. While I feel she needs some intervention I am just not sure which route to take. Our insurance has an occupational therapist, but I am not sure if he deals with Sensory Issues or not. Apparently not all OT's are trained in that area.

The good news is that the long term prognosis for kids with Asperger's is very good particularly when diagnosed this early. With proper social skills training and behavioral modification it is very possible that people will hardly notice that she is lacking social skills in the future. I am just hopeful that we are able to find the best ways to assist her until she has the skills to handle it on her own.