Autism

This was "the" evaluation for Julian, with someone qualified to give a diagnosis that would go down in his medical charts.

Julian has been diagnosed with autism. Which of course I was prepared for- as prepared as you CAN be. To say you are prepared for that isn't entirely true... it still sucks to sit in a room with four evaluators and have them tell you that.

The kids were great today. Julian was a good boy, and Audrey was a good girl. It was a long morning and afternoon for them and they were so reasonable. I was tired but patient, except for Julian kicking the back of my seat for 1 1/2 hrs the whole way there before it was even light out lmao

The evaluators were so nice and so kind. They explained a lot, and I asked a lot of questions. I asked where in the spectrum he fits and the developmental pediatrician says it used to be autism, PPD NOS, and Asperger's all under one "umbrella" diagnosis. She said they are starting to shy away from doing that, because if you exhibit certain behaviors, you are autistic and concentrating on the severity of it is pointless. Some kids go from very severe, to doing very well, and some kids don't make any progress at all, some kids regress, some go back and forth, etc. She said he does not have Asperger's, because his communication is not up to par- people with Asperger's have adequate communication skills but are socially challenged.

He still has to be evaluated for occupational therapy, which he needs. One more evaluation and maybe we can just work on therapies from here on out!

Evaluations are sooooo draining, mentally and physically. Julian's in lovely spirits though, glad to be out of the car and running through the house again lol