Have you had experience with or can you recommend reputable resources to learn more about autism and OCD? When can a child be described instead as spirited? How can parents best advocate for their child when navigating evaluation and diagnosis for the first time? Especially when this is the eldest (i.e. parents do not have experience with the neurotypical behavior for the age to serve as a guidepost). Our oldest child is 5 years old. Around when he became more aware of the world, he had the double whammy of the pandemic and getting a sibling. This impacted him more deeply than his peers, especially when he transitioned to daycare from a full-time nanny. At age 4 he was evaluated for sensory issues and began OT. One year later, we have noticed a marked improvement in his ability to manage a wide range of situations.
Yesterday, at an initial appointment with a developmental pediatrician, the evaluation started with a check for autism. He exhibits some markers but he also has some contradictory behaviors. For example, he is caring and loving to younger sibling, he thinks of gifts and kind acts he can do for family, he engages is dynamic play with sibling, has several close friends that he meets for play dates, can engage fully in conversation, is excited when he makes new friends and overcomes shyness, has bonded well with a weekly babysitter, and is integrated into current pre-k classroom and classmates. Since it was not a ‘clear’ case, the developmental pediatrician would like to a longer evaluation for autism next week. Alternatively, she mentioned maybe he has OCD or that he’s “spirited.”
Where can we learn more about autism and OCD? (Scientific literature, resource groups, well-regarded websites, your experience navigating this, etc.). When would a child be described as “spirited”? How can we best advocate for him as we navigate the medical diagnosis and school evaluation process for the first time? The developmental pediatrician seems thorough so we are not worried about a rushed diagnosis, per se. But, we have no prior experience in this setting and we don’t know what we don’t know. As his parents, we want him to get the support and treatment that will help him thrive. And we are also nervous about what a diagnosis at age 5 may mean and how we best prepare for kindergarten next year.
We are located in Texas. We are vaguely aware of disability-related support at public schools. We would also consider private school.
This content was originally published here.