Should I seek EI now?

StacyJYay

My LO is 8 months old.  We take a developmental play-group class, and I've noticed that LO is "different" from the other babies (who are all around his age).  They sit on their mothers' laps and smile at the fun songs that are sung, etc.  My LO gets a very sullen look on his face and bucks backwards so that he can lie on his back, almost like he wants to "escape" from what's going on around him.  (My LO smiles and giggles when we're at home (though he's a pretty "serious" baby)).

After class, I was talking with the instructor of the developmental play-group and she suggested an Early Intervention evaluation based on LO's lack of engagement in class.  LO's grandfather has Asperger's and ASD is something about which I worry. 

Should I seek the evaluation now or wait until LO is older?  Also, would LO's behavior worry you or am I over-thinking this? 

Amamsneb

Absolutely I would have him evaluated now, especially since its not just your intuition, but also the teacher's.  Best case scenario, they tell you there's nothing to worry about.  Either way, you'll feel better if you do it now rather than waiting.

StacyJYay

Amamsneb:

Absolutely I would have him evaluated now, especially since its not just your intuition, but also the teacher's.  Best case scenario, they tell you there's nothing to worry about.  Either way, you'll feel better if you do it now rather than waiting.

Thanks for your reply!  

Do you or anyone else know whether you can get additional EI evaluations in the future or is it "one then done"?  My concern is that, at 8 months old, it may be tough or impossible to "diagnose" LO with ASD (or something else), so I might be using this one shot too early.  Let me know if I'm not making any sense... 

MaxandRuby

You should be able to get additional EI evals in the future if your child does not qualify at this time.  :-)

ali0608

StacyJYay:

Amamsneb:

Absolutely I would have him evaluated now, especially since its not just your intuition, but also the teacher's.  Best case scenario, they tell you there's nothing to worry about.  Either way, you'll feel better if you do it now rather than waiting.

Thanks for your reply!  

Do you or anyone else know whether you can get additional EI evaluations in the future or is it "one then done"?  My concern is that, at 8 months old, it may be tough or impossible to "diagnose" LO with ASD (or something else), so I might be using this one shot too early.  Let me know if I'm not making any sense... 

I'm not sure the policy on the eval policy, but I would definitely do it!!!  You can always ask; it shouldn't be one and done.

EI won't diagnose; you'll have to go to a developmental pedi or something similar.  EI will look for deficits and work on goals towards those.

The only regret I have for EI is not calling sooner.  I knew he had issues before he was a year old.  Other than that, EI has been great (you can see my post earlier about my DS' last day in EI to see how much progress he has made).  He was definitely the "serious" child when he was younger.  He's not anymore.  Totally different kid.  No ASD.

StacyJYay

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to call EI for an eval!