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lilmejo
member
EI 15 minute interview
lilmejo
member
So we decided to have our DS evaluated for EI and on Wednesday we had the 15 minute phone interview. I now feel worse than I had before making the call because most of the questions regarding our son's progress I have to answer no to. And I've done some research on early signs of autism and developmental delays and now I am leaning towards early signs of autism. I am sick about this, I've suspected for a few months that something wasn't right with our LO and was assured by family and friends,and MD (he was a preemie born at 35 weeks) that he is just playing catch up, but now at 11 months I can't make excuses any more. I'm wondering if any of you had your babies evaluated at around this time and for what reasons and what were the results. We decided to take him because he is not crawling yet, he doesn't understand no, he makes no gestures (waving, shaking his head), he learned to clap at his 9 month appt but hasnt been doing that recently, his babbling produces no consonant sounds ie. mama, dada, baba, he does reach for us to pick him up but rarely, doesnt always answer to his name,he's not pulling himself to stand though he did it once or twice last week, not cruising, can't get from lying down to sitting up, the list goes on.Any advice or experience you can provide would be really good to hear
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Re: EI 15 minute interview
My son wasn't evaluated until he was 18 months old so I can't offer anything from that perspective but what I can tell you is that yes, those beginning interviews and questionaires are hard, but take a deep breath and understand that they are a good thing. Don't obsess about giving it a name - I did and the big "A" loomed like a monster over my head. The big "A" still looms but it's much less big and frightening than it was before.
Concentrate on answering honestly - no matter how unsettling it might be - because it will help get you all the help possible for your LO. All kids are different and it could be that with a little help, he will catch up or if not, then you've started much earlier than a lot of other people (and that's HUGE). Not to give you false hope but my nephew's son didn't really crawl and just kind of dragged himself around until about a year old, but then with much help from mom and grandmom started making very quick progress on the physical milestones and followed suit with speech and everything else.
Just take a deep breath and don't forget to exhale.
{{hugs}}
My daughter (now 11.5) began her EI evaluations around 15 months. We started the EI process when my daughter started losing milestones. She stopped responding to her name, she lost almost all of her words, no longer wanted to be held, etc. We received an autism diagnosis shortly before her second birthday.
My advice would be to document everything. If you notice your son does (or does not do) something, write it down. Personally, I became rather emotional when discussing the areas in which my daughter was not progressing. I began to second guess whether I could remember her pointing at something or reaching for me. Documentation helped make my recollections less emotional and more evidence based. It also presented the doctor's with a much more accurate picture of her current level of progress.
I would also look into support groups once you receive a diagnosis. Other parents can be wealth of information and support.
Good luck to you!
Make a pregnancy ticker
My son was also not evaluated until 18 months- and I wish I was like you and had done so earlier. There were red flags when he was 12 months but I never paid attention to them. Physically he was on track (crawling, cruising, etc), but at 12 months he didn't pay much attention to people other than myself and husband, didn't point, whined and cried a LOT, didn't play with any toys unless they were very simple cause/effect toys (push button, something pops up; lights were his favorite), and his eye contact was poor (not non-existant, but poor). EI specifically noted his lack of "joint attention"- e.g. DS wants a cookie so he should look at cookie, look at me (my face), and point to cookie. DS did none of this, ever. If he wanted a cookie he would stand in front of the cookie and cry, or as he got older (2 yrs) he would focus on my hand and lead my hand to the cookie, indicated he wanted me to give it to him.
What PP said is true- concentrate on the fact that you're doing a good thing. When DS was evaluated they said "autism" and I crumbled, but I convinced myself that maybe they were wrong and I was going to do everything in my power to get my son to "catch up" to his peers. Now as time has gone by, the diagnosis isn't so important anymore- I just concentrate on what he needs to work on, even if it's just something simple like self regulation or making friends.
I had no idea DS was delayed at 1 year old because he is our first (and only one so far). His daycare teachers called EI and EI called me to ask me to evaluate him. DS was not talking, did not know how to use eating utensils and was not walking.
After they evaluated him, he needed speech, occupational and physical therapies. When I heard about all of DS's needs, I was depressed and cried for a bit but I had to get over it quick to be strong for my DS's sake. DH was in denial at the time and is to some degree to this day. DH did not even want to take him to therapy sessions so I took DS to all of the sessions.
You did the right thing to get your DS the services he needs at such a young age. Alot of us here have been down this road and we are here if you need to talk to any of us.
We just finished out evaluations with speech, OT, and developmental. I was very concerned about Autism as well. They believe she has SPD (sensory processing disorder)
I answered everything truthfully and it was hard but I am so excited to start EI and watch her progress. The therapists even recommended books for me to read.
I think it is great you are getting him into EI.
Good Job Momma!
First and foremost, if your child was born at 35wk and your child is currently 11mos old chronologically, then you need to think of your child more like a 10mos old. It is only a month difference but it can be a lot with some things. I also think that some of the things you noted are early or shouldn't necessarily be cause for concern for a 10-11mos old, but I'm not a doctor and I'm a firm believer in "Mommy Gut".
In response to your question, DS2 (has cerebral palsy, will be 3 in October, and was born at 35wk, 5d) was evaluated at 4mos old. This was actually not by my recommendation. The EI SLP working with DS1 was concerned about torticollis with DS2 (I was unsuccessful at getting the original pedi to diagnosis torticollis but DS2 did enter EI for this). Had it not been for her, I probably would not have had him evaluated until closer to 8-9 mos chronological age (adjusted age would have been 7-8mos old). Apparently the EI folks felt something more then torticollis was going on because they (mainly PT) kept working with him. Finally when he was about to be seen for his 9mos appointment, the EI PT told me to ask the pedi about possible neurological issues. Since they were seeing him on a weekly basis, I was able to start talking to them and mentioning my concerns regarding DS2 when he was 7-8mos old.
Regarding your question as to what reasons I had him evaluated, I can tell you the list of concerns that I brought to the "new" pediatrician at his 9mos well child check (I state new pedi because we had switched). At 9mos old, DS2 could not sit (I flat stated that it was like sitting had never even crossed his mind), he still held his hands fisted, his eyes crossed intermittently, his legs were stiff (I would have to physically bend them whenever I did a diaper change), he was obviously right handed (noticed this at 6mos old), he was not crawling or attempting to crawl in any form, not attempting to or pulling to stand, his feet would occasional quiver (found out later this was called ankle clonus), he was a late roller, wasn't babbling/vocalizing much, and he seemed to cough a lot and he would make motions like he was swallowing hard or wrong a lot.
He was later diagnosed (at 9mos, 3wk, 3d) with CP. Find a list showing developmental milestones and mark off what your child is not doing for their age and the age at when they met other milestones. This will help you to not have to remember everything and is something you can keep in a medical file for him should you feel it necessary. You can probably google a list like this but I think there may be one on the CDC website. I may be wrong on that but I know I've seen one somewhere.
As for the items you listed above, below is the chronological age when my 35 weeker met those milestones (or not):
Crawling: army crawled at 12mos, regular/4pt crawl at 2yr
Understanding no: he was shaking his head "no" at 10mos
Making gestures: shaking head "no" was 10mos, wave bye-bye on command at 14-15mos, arms in "so big" gesture at 10mos
Clapping: around 12mos
Babbling: not much at 1yr, starting to mimic words at 17mos, even at 2yr old was not using all the words he knew frequently
Reaching to be picked up: 10mos old regarding reaching out to touch them
Pulling to stand: probably started around 18mos, definitely pulled to stand in his crib at 20mos
Getting from lying down to sitting up: DS2 cannot do this yet at almost 3yr old
maxandruby- I took your suggestion and printed out a list from the CDC on milestones from birth to now and of that list this is what he is not doing
imitating movements and facial expressions- 1-3 month milestone- and he smiles when we smile at him but movements not at all, we've been trying to do "so big" for a while and nothing
pushes up on extended arms 4-7 month milestone- he does this sometimes while playing but not often
responds to sounds by making sounds- 4-6 month milestone- he rarely does this, and when he does we call it showing his temper, we sort of growl at him and he does it back, it's cute but really the only thing he'll do back and forth
interest in mirror images-5-7 months- we have a huge mirror inour entry way and we stop every morning and look and he seems to care less, also has mirror toys and will flip to look in the non mirror side
gets to sitting position without assistance- 8-10 months- he can't do this
assumes hand and knee position- 8-12 months- he can't do this and even when we try to do this he just collapses back onto his belly
creeps on hands and knees 8-12 months- can't do this, does army crawl now though just started about 2 weeks ago (still has some time)
walks holding on to furniture 8-12 months- he will hold on if we place him there standing but can't cruise yet (still has some time)
his pincer grasp is there but he would rather rake the food up and put it in his mouth
he can't put objects into container 10-12 months- (this one he still has some time)
he doesnt point, wave, clap or shake head no gestures- he used to clap started at his 9 month check up and now we dont notice it at all, we're working on pointing and he seems to be making the shape with his finger but not raising it to an object or image
he doesnt respond to simple verbal requests, he doesnt understand "no", doesnt babble dada, mama or baba, babbles alot but more sounds no real consonant combinations
he isn't shy or anxious around strangers he will go to whoever I hand him to
So after filling out the form I think some of the things I may need to give him some more time on and other I think still need to be addressed so thank you for the advice. I'm glad we decided to do the evaluation if for no other reason than to just give him some extra help if they decide that's all he needs.