Special Needs
DS and PPD-NOS diagnosis
I'm new here and just took DS#1 to the pediatric neurologist this morning who thinks described him as having PPD-NOS, although it is really mild. The major issues he has is with transitions and socialization, which means its really hard to manage moving him throughout the day and he hates most childcare options. Needless to say, with 2 this makes for a tiring day. Does anyone have suggestions for places to look for techniques in dealing with these issues (books, websites, etc)? She wants us to start occupational and behavorial therapy for him, which is almost a relief because I feel like someone is finally listening to me that something is wrong, instead of making me feel like I don't understand toddlers are difficult. I would love to know what sorts of activities they do in these sorts of therapy situations.
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Re: DS and PPD-NOS diagnosis
Typically children with transition difficulties like to know what to expect next. Using a picture schedule may benefit him. I usually print out pictures of daily events, (breakfast, get dressed, car, school, work time, lunch, recess, etc...) cut the pictures out, laminate them, and then put velcro on the back of each peice. Then you can stick them to a board with the other side of velcro. That way your son can tear off each one and know what is coming next. Here are 2 websites that can help with picture schedules.
https://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art45166.asp
https://www.dotolearn.com/picturecards/howtouse/schedule.htm
Also, how are his language skills? Speech-language therapy may also benefit him and can help with socialization/pragmatic language skills. Here is a link to autism speaks that discusses PPD-NOS.
https://www.autismspeaks.org/navigating/pdd_nos.phpThanks to everyone for that information and suggestions. Any ideas at this point are appreciated. We have a very consistent routine, but maybe more visual cues would help. My biggest problem is with little transitions (like stopping playing for a diaper change or leaving a store if he's playing with something). Our primary concern at this stage is to figure out an action plan so that we are moving toward him being able to effectively function in a classroom environment when the time comes and to figure out a way to manage his needs with that of our other son. Particularly in the classroom I worry about when they go between activities, which at this stage would be disastrous.
Auntie - she did warn us that the diagnosis might change and she said that very young children who show very mild tendencies often respond best to therapy. I think her diagnosis was primarily to ensure that he is covered for the therapy that will help him (regardless of the label of his condition) on our insurance. I agree we are really lucky to be able to start so young with his treatment. Thank you so much for the book suggestions.
Just poking in here... Also check with your school district- by law he is entitled to services- even at his age. They sometimescome to your home, othertimes there are pilot programs...You have to go through the proper channels- here's the link in our district: https://www.fcps.edu/ss/preschool/index.htm
it should give you an idea of what to ask for. Good luck.
I'm a behavioral therapist
Besides what previous posters said about picture schedules we usually focus on coping strategies so when your son is faced with transitions that stress him out he can eventually find appropriate ways to cope with his stress..instead of tantrumming for example. When he begins behavior therapy his supervisor will do an intake and question you about what areas need to be focused on and from there his goals will be set.
I hope you see some really positive improvements!
Sounds like our 2 kids are VERY similar in age. ?DS is 2yrs 5 months & DD is 11 mo.
My son was diagnosed at 23 months 'autism', they won't narrow it down any further than that until he's 3 - but at the moment I'd call him 'High Functioning'. He is 29 months now. We've been doing Speech, OT, and?Developmental Therapy (similar to floortime I guess) for about 6 months now - so this isn't an expert opinion - but I know a bit of what you're going through. ?CONGRATS & GREAT JOB for noticing something going on and having the evaluation. ?I hate labels, but I agree that it is very important to have so you can get the services. ?I cannot express how much my son has improved through these therapies!!! ?It is amazing!!
My blog is dedicated to a weekly update of how therapy is going - but the beginning posts describe what the whole process was like for us. ?It might be a good read for you - notjustalabel.blogspot.com (start on July 29)
I think PP's did a great job of answering your question - My ds seems to have some similar issues & I thought I'd tell you a couple things we do.
The 'little' transitions are a big deal. To your example of a diaper change.... this is what we do: ?My son loves numbers, so we identify with that to help him understand what we're going to be doing. "Elijah, look at mommy's eyes - 1. Play toy ?2. Diaper Change 3. ByeBye Car" ?As soon as we say 'diaper change' he tenses up and doesn't want to do it.... but then, I get to #3 and help him to understand what he gets to do after & he un-tenses & rattles the list back off to me. ?Most of the time he listens, and cooperates. ?The key for us is to speak to him in a language he's?going to understand. ?He can't deal with paragraphs of infomation - so we break it down.
Also, for transitions at the store - I do one of 2 things. ?Sometimes, I take my 'coping bag' of things he loves (calculators, phones, magnadoodle, books, etc..) in the store with us so he will always be entertained + its stuff he can keep & Im not even messing with items at the store.
?Then sometimes I make him a little grocery list so he's participating. ?I take a piece of cardstock & attach pictures of what we're shopping for with tape. ?As we find them, he sticks them in an envelope. ?Sometimes he just plays with it - but that's ok too - he's entertained. ;-)
?Also, speaking of 'Picture Cards' or Picture Schedules... I was a bit hesitant on this one when the first person mentioned it. ?My DS is very verbal, its just delayed as far as 'functional speech' is concerned. So - it?almost felt like going backwards to even entertain the idea of this picture schedule. But it is really helpful. ?It's a deep subject, some of the reading material mentioned above should be helpful - not to mention the therapists will likely mention it.
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Feel free to email me anytime: scottandbriana at hotmail dot com
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hi there,
you got a lot of great information, i see you are in australia, so i do not know what the earlyintervention services are like there. here it varies state to state. it is becoming more and more common to have diagnoses under age 3. in massachusetts kids with a dx can get up to 20 hours from an autism specialty provider in addition to the services they receive through their early intervention provider.
you may find info from the scerts model effective it stands for social communication, emotional regulation and transactional supports. there is a website and if there are any workshops coming to your area, i would highly recommend it.
the picture schedule sounds like a great idea, or a first then board, first diaper change then play cars
good luck!!