Sensory or ASD dx before age 3?

TwinMama83 · February 2012

My DS has a speech delay and has been receiving speech therapy once a week. He clearly has some other issues going on but the EI people in our county don't want to do any further testing before 18 months. Well he finally turned 18 months so I pushed them to do more testing because I am positive there is something else going on.

We have our first assessment with a developmental psychologist on Thursday. His EI coordinator told me that they won't do a formal ASD dx before age 3 but would call him "at risk" and that would qualify him for a lot more services. But I've spoken with some women who have kids my DS's age that have dx's of SPD and PDD at 18 months.

Just wondering what the norm is on that and if a lot of people here got some sort of dx before age 3? My only concern is that if getting a dx before age 3 is standard, I don't want him to be behind in receiving services and if we should look elsewhere for testing. TIA!

mjsweetgirl · February 2012

I would push for an ASD and SPD diagnosis if you believe your DS needs it. J received his diagnosis at 28 months. We made an appointment at Children's Hospital in Denver and were able to get in with a few months of calling to make the appointment. He was diagnosed with ASD and SPD through that evaluation. Our pedi recommended we get him evaluated as soon as possible so he an receive as many free state services as possible before the age of 3. Follow your gut and push for an ASD evaluation. You are your sons only advocate, do what you need to do even if it includes going above and beyond.

TwinMama83 · February 2012

Thanks, I think that was the push I needed. We also have a check up with the pedi tomorrow so I'll bring up these concerns to her too and see if she has another avenue to recommend. We are going through the county right now but I know that the local Children's Hospital has a big autism center as well. That might be better for us if his appointment with the county people doesn't go well.

DougsBrideOct04 · February 2012

My DD was diagnosed with autism at age 18 months. As hard as it was to deal with at first I am so glad she received the diagnosis that early. She is receiving 22 hours of ABA therapy now with plans to increase to 30. She has improved so much since starting (she is now 2 years old). Everyone says what a blessing it was that she was diagnosed so early so she can get services so young.

lizobss · February 2012

If you have concerns, ask the MD directly. We had sensory concerns for my son and felt so much better when we asked direct questions. He isn't diagnosed SPD, but we're keeping an eye on it.

As for therapy, the earlier the better. If you don't feel comfortable with what the neuropsych says, get a second opinion. You are your child's advocate.

TwinMama83 · February 2012

Thanks for the responses! I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't completely crazy in thinking that waiting until age 3 for a diagnosis, especially when we know there is something there right now, was a little late. I guess I'll have to wait and see what they say this week and push for a second opinion if I think we need it. Thanks again!

TwinMama83 · February 2012

Thanks Auntie! I really appreciate all the different pieces of info. We had our regular 18m check up for the kids today and I asked the pedi about the "no dx before age 3" thing and she said she'd never heard of that. She said she has other patients with a PDD or SPD dx before age 2 so she wasn't sure what they were referring to. Also, I got this initial info from the EI people at the elementary school DS goes to for speech therapy, not the clinicians so it might not be 100% accurate.

My only other concern about getting a dx right now is that my husband is switching jobs and we're moving soon so I'd hate to have to start all over with the evals and assessments. Just seems a little easier to move to a new program with a formal dx rather than just a label of "at risk", but I could be totally wrong on that. From other things I've read on here it looks like we'll have to repeat a bunch of evals no matter what. ::sigh:: Only time will tell I guess. The assessment is tomorrow with a developmental psychologist so I guess we'll have to wait and see what they say.

LMZ · February 2012

My now 3.5 year old daughter was diagnosed at 20 months. We pushed for the diagnosis as it opened the doors to Intensive EI services. She received 20 hours of ABA from that point until she aged otr at 3. It was so difficult to do 20 hours of home based therapy on top of all of our other appointments (OT, PT and speech) and having another child with his own schedule but the results were amazing! I still refer to it as the most difficult year of my life but the payoff was great! She started preschool this fall and is doing so well.

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