04-17-2007, 10:17 PM
I'm beginning to think my son has more dyspraxia traits than aspie ones and that maybe I should get a diagnosis.
He's been through a lot of tests at his school and is in special classes to treat various disabilities - reading, occupational therapy, speech and even a 'lunch bunch' where they talk about social things.
And when I brought up Asperger's and Dyspraxia to the team of teachers and specialists assigned to my son they did not seem interested at all in naming his disability, but rather just wanted to treat his symptoms. Which I'm okay with...
But there have been some other concerns I have. To help him with his coordination we put him in baseball, but because of his lack of skill they bumped him into a baseball league with kids 2 years younger than him and a foot shorter - he can't relate to them in any way except skill at baseball.
Even though he's very intelligent, kids his own age tend to be more socially sophisticated and he can't relate to them either...
So I thought maybe putting him in something over the summer with other kids that are his age AND have his disability would help him be able to relate to them better... and maybe there was some sort of program to help him improve by next year.
The Asperger summer camps require a diagnosis, and I can't find a dyspraxia camp... So I went ahead and called his doctor.
She said insurance doesn't cover the testing for dyspraxia ($400-$500) but they WILL cover Asperger's testing.
So I called the local place for developmental disorders (ADD, ADHD, Asperger's etc.) to schedule an appointment and the receptionist basically told me 'oh, don't worry, the appointment won't take long at all, he'll evaluate your son quickly and prescribe something on the spot..."
I was aghast - my concern is not my TIME or CONVENIENCE it's proper diagnosis and treatment for my son! I didn't schedule the test and I won't be going there... unless I can call back and talk to the doctor directly and get his methods of evaluation. Maybe the receptionist was just flakey.
My son's primary doctor said there are only a few other places in our area, but how in the world do I know which one is going to do a decent job??
He's been through a lot of tests at his school and is in special classes to treat various disabilities - reading, occupational therapy, speech and even a 'lunch bunch' where they talk about social things.
And when I brought up Asperger's and Dyspraxia to the team of teachers and specialists assigned to my son they did not seem interested at all in naming his disability, but rather just wanted to treat his symptoms. Which I'm okay with...
But there have been some other concerns I have. To help him with his coordination we put him in baseball, but because of his lack of skill they bumped him into a baseball league with kids 2 years younger than him and a foot shorter - he can't relate to them in any way except skill at baseball.
Even though he's very intelligent, kids his own age tend to be more socially sophisticated and he can't relate to them either...
So I thought maybe putting him in something over the summer with other kids that are his age AND have his disability would help him be able to relate to them better... and maybe there was some sort of program to help him improve by next year.
The Asperger summer camps require a diagnosis, and I can't find a dyspraxia camp... So I went ahead and called his doctor.
She said insurance doesn't cover the testing for dyspraxia ($400-$500) but they WILL cover Asperger's testing.
So I called the local place for developmental disorders (ADD, ADHD, Asperger's etc.) to schedule an appointment and the receptionist basically told me 'oh, don't worry, the appointment won't take long at all, he'll evaluate your son quickly and prescribe something on the spot..."
I was aghast - my concern is not my TIME or CONVENIENCE it's proper diagnosis and treatment for my son! I didn't schedule the test and I won't be going there... unless I can call back and talk to the doctor directly and get his methods of evaluation. Maybe the receptionist was just flakey.
My son's primary doctor said there are only a few other places in our area, but how in the world do I know which one is going to do a decent job??