Progress

Slowly but surely, people are realizing that as a mom, I know what I am talking about.  As an autism mom, I know what I am talking about. 

ABA Therapy is an all-inclusive program that is very speech oriented, however today was his first day working with the speech pathologist in-home.  I was impressed with how well she worked with him and the time she took after to speak with me.  I have certainly not enjoyed everyone I have worked with on this journey, but I really like her and look forward to speaking with her in the future.

She recommended Michael starts at Kendall as soon as possible, and NOT wait until he is 3 as the regional center likes to do.  She thinks he needs more peer interaction, and he definitely needs more intensive speech therapy on-sight.  I have been talking about getting Michael out of in-home therapy and on-sight for months for these exact reasons, and I am so glad someone who has some pull with the regional center can see it too. 

She made me feel like an equal (though I am woefully uninformed compared to her) chatting about the new DSM V and the changing criteria for an autism diagnoses.   I am grateful for people like her in this line of work. 

It's not a done deal yet, but things are looking up for us.