well well well [is it a kind of dream?]

pumpkin had a child development consultation with a paediatrician this morning. Better half came with me.

pumpkin has problems that havent got a name yet, but warrant further investigation.

Paediatrician and registrar were very pointed in their questioning in relation to autism and Asperger's, and it seems pumpkin fits in with a lot of their criteria, in particular her ignoring of other children, her literal-ness, and her inability to understand certain concepts, like the passage of time, and to articulate some things, whilst her vocabulary is actually gigantic, her ability to express more complex ideas is limited. Also her jumping when she's excited (her version of hand flapping, i take it), and her fidgeting when she is thinking about something.

Paediatrician was very much reassuring that there is something wrong. There will be a further appointment in September where she is studied specifically over the course of a few mornings in a set situation with several professionals there, and then there will be a big meeting where we all sit down and discuss it afterwards.

Better half thinks this will lead to pumpkin being statemented for school at the very least, and possibly to a diagnosis. The paed said she may not be able to give it a specific name, but at least narrow it down to tendencies so that we can best help pumpkin and get pumpkin the best help we can in school and in education in general.

Halilujah for being taken seriously at LAST. Yes.

edited: and she's 3ft 3 (98.7cm), and 34 1/2 lbs (15.7kg). Bloody metric system.

you have to wait until September? :I

well,good luck with it all.

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A September wait is good - other parts of the city have to wait a year for an evaluation :/

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Good for you, and good luck with the lil 'un. It must be distressing to suspect that your kid is not "normal," but at least you have your eyes open and are willing to do something about it! A good friend of mine has a nephew who is nearly seven now, and very likely autistic, however the parents have been completely unwilling to recognize there's a problem (he's just a "late bloomer"), despite the urgings of himself and others to get him help. :(

We've suspected it since birth, so its relieving to have someone else agree with us!

Thanks, babe.

My aunt works in some kind of psychology field, and when my brother was little she was absolutely convinced he was autistic. Now that he's 21, she's absolutely convinced he has Asperger's.

It's kind of ridiculous, actually. I mean, I can see where she was coming from... from what I know, my brother didn't start talking to people until he was about three years old, or maybe even six. He would READ to people, though... he could read since he was two years old, and he'd gladly read books to you. He would also go crazy if Mom left his sight. And now he's just not very sociable. He interacts with us fine, but he doesn't go out and meet up with friends or anything like that. He's content to stay in the house all day, like me, though I'll still go out from time to time to hang out with friends.

That's really the only difference between my brother and me. We're both smart and we're both lazy as hell, but I'm just a bit more sociable than he is. Not by MUCH, but there's a big enough difference in how sociable we are that it's noticeable.

pumpkin is only sociable when it suits her, or when egged on by an adult.

I find autism and such very interesting, and think a lot of people can be stuck on the spectrum somewhere. But with combinations of behaviours and tendencies is it really a syndrome or just a label for the way some people are? As a baby I screamed and screamed and screamed (while my sister was quiet) and drove my parents nuts, then as a kid I was really antisocial and would hide in my room when family or friends visited, did the same things over and over again, was clumsy, liked to be by myself and used to spend break and lunchtimes in the school library. I still generally prefer my own company and have to make a real effort to interact with people, get quite stressed if a routine is broken or objects "aren't in their proper place", and obsess about things very easily. Is that autistic spectrum behaviour or just my personality? And does it really matter if I've got to 22 and postgraduate study without any real problems besides people just thinking I'm a bit odd? Ahh well!

Regardless if it's a problem it's good to get it recognised for R if it means that teachers and such will take it into account and make allowances for presenting things in a different way or whatever ensures R can get the same chances as everyone else!

Oh lots of people i know would be stuck on the spectrum if diagnosed today... my dad for one! he goes ballistic if you change his routine, omg.

pumpkin is who she is, i love her with all my heart just as she is. Not to say i dont get irritated... but i love her anyways. And having a name/idea what it is might help us cope with it better, which will help us deal with her better, which will make life better overall.

It's been long suspected that my daughter has a form of autism, but I disagree and so does the doctor she's seeing. I think she's just simply a very late bloomer like her old man. :D

pumpkin could very well be the same way. She has had only us to learn from - two adults. No toher kids. She doesnt really know what its like to be a kid, she just wants to emulate us big people.

We'll see what happens in September. I'm not worried either way, just relieved, more than anything.

^_^

I'm glad you're at least starting to get the help you need. Many hugs and good wishes as you go along.

Hmmm...(looks at Pumpkin's stats)...at least they're not weighing her in stone yet. ;-)

She's slap bang average for her age. 50th %tile for height and weight. lol :)

(twas all that breastfeeding, yes. made me a perfectly average kid, tis a good thing.)

I'm glad we're getting help too - i was so relieved we weren't blown off. We both came out, better half and I, with tears in our eyes at being taken seriously, for once instead of being told she was normal and we were neurotic.

is it a kind of dream?

well well well

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