Well the day finally came, but my 4 am alarm came waaaaaay too soon! Brad and I left at 5:15 this morning for our 8:30 am appointment in Boston to find out the results of Alexander's evaluation that he had last week. We beat the traffic and got there an hour and a half early. So, we got some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and walked around, watching the morning hustle and bustle of downtown Boston on a Tuesday morning!
We met with Dr. Levy, the pediatrician that evaluated Alexander last week. She had a lot of really great things to say about Alexander which I'll get to later, but I won't keep you in suspense. Basically, they don't have many solid conclusions about what is going on with him. She said that he does show some "red flags" for signs of autism, but because he has so many positive qualities and behaviors they make them a little less "red flag-y!" (She definitely did NOT put it that way!) They are most concerned with his sensory seeking behavior, his social issues including his less than normal eye contact, and his speech delay and speech apraxia. Speech Apraxia is a common speech impediment that can be corrected with therapy. Danielle (his speech pathologist) concluded that Alexander most likely has this. I copied and pasted some info from Google on what apraxia is. "Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. For reasons not yet fully understood, children with apraxia of speech have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech. In typically developing speech, children make word attempts and get feedback from others and from their own internal systems regarding how “well” the words they produced matched the ones that they wanted to produce. Children use this information the next time they attempt the words and essentially are able to “learn from experience.” Usually once syllables and words are spoken repeatedly, the speech motor act becomes automatic. Speech motor plans and programs are stored in the brain and can be accessed effortlessly when they are needed. Children with apraxia of speech have difficulty in this aspect of speech. It is believed that children with CAS may not be able to form or access speech motor plans and programs or that these plans and programs are faulty for some reason."
Some of the positives they see in Alexander is that he has a wonderful sense of humor! At the evaluation, he put some stickers over his mouth and was trying to talk. He was doing his funny, forced laugh because he knew he was being funny! Also, he is definitely connected to me and Brad. He wants us to be involved in his play by showing us things and physically turning our heads to direct our attention to something he wants/needs. Dr. Levy also said that he is simply a joy! She actually had a great time doing his evaluation which is rare.
So, they want to follow up with Alexander in January to check in and see if anything has become more clear. He will have been in preschool for about 2 months by then and they want to see how the structured environment is for him. Brad and I surprisingly feel really good about this conculsion for now. We respect that they don't want to slap a label on him just for the heck of it. They really want to take their time, get to know Alexander better, and give him a diagnosis that really fits him instead of just being convenient.
Yesterday we had Alexander's preschool evaluation. I'm SOOOO excited to share that he WILL be receiving services for speech, occupational therapy and his social challenges! YAY! When he turns three on November 9th he'll start preschool, going 5 half-days a week in an integrated classroom. Dr. Levy was thrilled about this and she was even more assured that NOT giving Alexander was the right move because even without one he still will be receiving services.
Again, thank you so much for checking in and being involved with this long, frustrating and emotional draining proccess! Our little family has received so much encouragement and prayers over the past year. We are all in a very good place and excited about our next venture of preschool! We of course will continue to give you updates but feel free to check back anytime!
Love and hugs to you...
