ASD

We visited the autism spectrum disorders clinic, and after a 4 1/2 hour appointment plus processing paperwork that took me hours to complete and reviewing the comprehensive records I sent, they did make a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder secondary to Down syndrome. So, Nathan has this diagnosis and it may net him some additional services now and in the future. We've been approved for an assessment for applied behavior analysis (behavior therapy) and have an appointment also with a speech therapist and occupational therapist tomorrow-- Nathan already receives these therapies at school but it is possible our health insurance will offer additional therapy due to the additional diagnosis.

I'm actually doing okay with all this. Didn't even cry when they told me. I guess I had already come to terms with the idea when I scheduled the evaluation. It's just a label to describe symptoms that are already present, and since its a label that is the focus of lots of attention and treatment right now, it's a label that may allow for more services to help Nathan.