Welcome, Christine!

 

Hey, I couldn't tell from your post if you were having a hard time getting your son evaluated because of the waiting lists to get in with doctors or because you are having a hard time finding a doctor to do it.  I just wanted to let you know that the St. Mary's Hospital in Evansville is starting up an autism resource center and they've hired a great evaluator.  Her name is Dr. Stacey Carmichael.   She was so thorough with our little guy (who is also 5 and was diagnosed with PDD-NOS) and seemed very well versed in current research.  I didn't question her results at all and was so relieved to have some information so that we could really focus our efforts for Sam in the right direction!  (By the way, our insurance only paid for four out of ten requested hours of testing, but she did a really thorough evaluation in that amount of time.)

 

Now we're struggling with the school system to follow up on these results with testing of their own.  It is hard because Sam has an average intelligence and an excellent memory, so a lot of his testing isn't reflecting his unique needs.  I've sensed that there is a lot of intimidation being used on parents, and it was certainly coming at me full blast.  I taught special ed for ten years, with several different directors, and never had one behave so unprofessionally towards a parent...UNTIL she learned that I knew the law...then it was a different story.  UGH!  That's why I'm so thankful to have found this group and have such great resources here!  I've been out of the loop for almost six years, so I'm a bit rusty on a lot of things...and the law is always changing.  When we pool our knowledge, it helps us to better help our kids.  I think parents knowing how to advocate for their child, especially in this area, is CRUCIAL. 

 

I wish I were capable of smaller posts, but I'm not!    This may possibly be the only adult interaction I have today, so I'm going into this full-bore! ;)

 

Brooke Feaster