My Autism Journey day 7-I called to get an appointment for Paige with Developmental Medicine at KU. At that point in time it was going to be a 6-9 month wait to be seen. It took a long time for me to have the courage to call, so when I was told the wait time I was deflated. I said she has such aggressive behavior that I don’t know if I can do this for another 6-9 months. The … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 7
My Autism Journey Day 6- I went into the Parents as Teachers screening saying I thought my daughter had autism. I remember being asked by people at school if I had gotten a medical diagnosis. We hadn’t sought one, and I didn’t see the need for it. I remember saying that I didn’t know why the medical label made a difference. Here I was again being skittish about having a label. … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 6
My Autism Journey Day 5–Paige went through the diagnostic teaching process and we had our first eligibility meeting. It was overwhelming! Results of testing yield scores are used to determine if the child qualifies for special education. Sometimes there are age equivalent scores. I distinctly remember her communication scores were equivalent to a 10-month-old, though her … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 5
My Autism Journey day 4-Paige was screened by Parents as Teachers in September of 1999. She was a behavioral mess and also non-compliant during the screen. They told me we could have her enter the ECSE program under Diagnostic Teaching so she could acclimate to the program. They would pull her for testing to get more information over the course of a few weeks instead of the … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 4
My Autism Journey Day 3-There are many aspects to the journey we’ve been on, but I’m going to try to just wear a mom hat for many of these. While I am a teacher now, I wasn’t always! Paige used to hit her siblings when she was 2-3 years old as that was her only means of communication. It was so difficult to explain to the other kids why she was hitting and that they shouldn’t … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 3