Andy

I don't usually say much about Andy here. This blog mostly focuses on autism, and my autistic son. However, today was an Andy Day, and there are clouds on the horizon.

We have Andy doing something called Therapeutic Listening. Its one of those therapies that sounds like a duck, but it can't hurt him, so why not try it? Andy, like me, is highly sensitive to sound, and appears to have some other sensory issues going on that make him dislike crowds, avoid too many people at once (even familiar ones), and get very, very grumpy. He also has been doign a lot more toe-walking. He doesn't appear to be autistic, but appearances? What would I know? We've got an appointment for Dr. Blakcman to give him a look-see in May. In the meantime, we have the Listening. He listens to modulated music for 30 minutes, twice a day. It actually seems to be helping, as he will now listen ot the music on a normal volume (at first, I couldn't even hear it and he would pitch a fit), and will do a single activity for the half-hour, such as playing with playdough or doing puzzles. Who knew?

My private OT.

Anyway, we're also trying to do a general eval, and that is much harder. Andy has a lot of trouble following instructions, espceially from strangers (he does just OK at home). He seems to be doing something very strange- his skills set is all over the place, making the test nearly impossible to score. The joys of standardization. In the meantime, the speech therapist took a look at him. He's having some trouble with articulation. His language use seems to be ok, but understanding what he's saying can be next to impossible. We're going to see if the insurance will cover an eval and therapy for him. Then we shall see what we shall see.

I really don't want him in teh hands of the special ed folks. That's just won't do.