confused

[nimamom]

This is my second posting and I'm new to having a child with significant developmental delays (mainly in communication). My son, Max 2, has been evaluated by a psychologist from our Regional Center. In his review he states Max is positive for symptoms on the Clancy Scale for Autism (he listed about 8 symptoms). The psychologist also made reference to DMS-IV diagnostic criteria for autism and gave a list of positive symptoms Max was showing.
I'm not sure what all of this means, except that my concern for Max was and still is valid. The psychologist also stated he did not want to make any diagnosis as of yet and did want to see Max again closer to his third birthday.
Meanwhile our case worker has contacted me to get started on making plans for other types of help for Max. Speech therapy was one and she also suggested him being involved in a program based out of UCSB (Univ. of CA Santa Barbara) that is for autistic children.
It seems that everyone wants to drag their feet about helping children that are showing early signs of the autistic spectrum. I'm trying to understand why they want to have my son involved in an autistic program if he has not been diagnosed yet with the disorder.
At his IFSP meeting over a month ago, I felt as if I was in a business meeting. The case worker and infant specialist were nice, but it seemed they were not volunteering any information, just the basics.
If anyone has any comments, suggestions, or information on what should I be doing to help my son. I talk and talk to him, but he doesn't seem to be getting anywhere with his communication skills. All the other odd behaviors Max has do seem strange, but those seem insignificant right now. I want to be able to know what his needs,and wants and understand what he is thinking (I know, wishful thinking).

[Dave]

Early intervention is important and the DMS-IV scale you spoke of is the documented check list of items that either classify someone as autistic or not autistic. Waiting till he is three is wasting time, you need to get him started now, if you find out everything is good in a year, what is the harm? You will find that lots of the people at the IFSP or future meetings for IEP's and etc. will give you the min. as you noted. The key thing to tie into is to educate yourself somewhat about the process and the best case scenario is to get an advocate in your area who knows the ropes. Hopefully some others from the S. Cal area on here can give you some insight too.

[MOM2CHRISTIAN]

Early Intervention is so important. I don't know where we would be wthout it! I remember my son's first IFSP meeting. I felt lost. I had no idea what the purpose was or how ths was going to help my child. We got started in early intervention before my son was diagnosed. My son was 2 then. He is 5 now. My advice to you would be to get familar with IEP'S, MFE's. Every meeting I come prepared. I make sure that I'm the one "running" the meeting! Good Luck

[Jamies mom]

We are from Southern California too and also recieved a diagnosis from the Regional Center. Prior to the Autism label my son was labeled as developmentally delayed and began to receive services from their Early Intervention program.Its best to start early and if Autism isn't the right diagnosis your child will still benefit from the therapy he recieved.If you do get involved with the program at UCSB they will in turn do their own evaluation before accepting your child into their program. In addition the University programs usually have long waiting lists. It took us a year to get into a similar program at UCDDSB. To help your son communicate you may want to try the PECS ( Picture Exchange Communication System) You can find alot of information on the web about it or try your Case worker and also find out whats available in your Regional Centers parent library. Hope this helps!

[mlwear]

I certainly don't have any advice, but want you to know you are not alone. My son's initial eligibility meeting is next week. Does anyone have a good source for a crash course before our meeting? I want to understand the lingo that will be used as well as all rights we have.

[Dave]

One of the best crash course sites you can go through as far as educational rights is www.wrightslaw.com