Red Lobster

Adam had his psych eval today. He did well despite missing lunch and thankfully catching a car nap on the way there. The evaluator said she doesn't know for sure yet if he is ASD, but from her observations she is leaning that way.

Anyway, I had promised a cheeseburger to Adam when we left the house, and I made good. We went to McDonald's and had some cheeseburgers and shared Hi-C. He insisted on staying to play so I went ahead and caved in. I mean, at home it's gotten to the point where he tries to grab the computer mouse from me, he's so intent on playing a game. Climbing in the play area would be good for him!

There were a couple of little boys, a few years younger than him. They were throwing their Happy Meal toys up the slides and enjoying making a terrible racket. Adam watched them the entire time he was eating his cheeseburger. When he finished, he went and stood just a foot or so behind them, watching them throw the toys up. He never tried to jump in their game or ask for a turn, but he was showing interest in other kids. Kids he didn't know, even. After a little while, the boys ran around to the platforms at the other end. I guess Adam didn't see them go; after a few seconds he peered up one of the slides and yelled "You down there?" He actually initiated conversation with KIDS! Last summer he had gotten to where he'd go up and tell a random adult something that he was doing, but he generally ignores other kids, even if he knows them. I was so stunned I wanted to cry!

And an amusing story: When we were leaving the psych office, Adam was telling me again that he was hungry. I asked what he wanted to eat. He told me Red Lobster! There is a Red Lobster just across the street from the office, so I figure he saw the sign (he does read) when we got their earlier. But we don't watch tv so I'm not sure where he made the association between Red Lobster and food! Then after we had our cheeseburgers and ran an errand, we were going to go by my mom's house. I asked Adam where we were going, and he told me Red Lobster. Seriously, I'd love to jump inside his head sometime..

Speech evaluation

Adam had his speech evaluation today. He went with the therapist, Neisha, easily. Nisha went over the assessment with me. As far as articulation, she only noticed a difficulty with /l/, but at this point, it is not a concern. What she was concerned with, however, was his language: receptive language in particular. There were a large number of items that he missed where Neisha did not think he was understanding what she wanted. He didn't seem to understand the concept of 'all' and doesn't respond to the W questions (who, what, where, when, why, hoW) well. He had a very difficult time following two-step directions. Neisha also seemed concerned that she was only hearing 2-3 word sentences from Adam.

It was an eye opener for me. I had always thought that Adam's language difficulties were expressive, that he was like me and didn't always know how to put into words what he's thinking. but now, I'm seeing that maybe it is actually his receptive language that is delayed, and that his expressive language is being affected as a result.

Niesha recommended coming twice a week for therapy instead of the once a weekthat was already scheduled. She also encouraged having his vision assessed. She wasn't sure if he was avoiding eye contact or couldn't see well. SoonerCare covers it, so I guess we might as well.

As we ended the visit, I brought up Adam's repetitive speech. An example I like to refer to is a 'conversation' Adam and I had a few months ago:
"Mom, you like chicken?"
"Yes."
"Mom, you like chicken?"
"Yeah, I like chicken."
"Mom, you like chicken?"
"Yeah."
"Mom, you like chicken?"
"Yes, Adam."
"Ok. You likes them, Mommy?"

Neisha says this is perseveration. It can be a commonly seen behavior in autism.

All in all, the visit went well. I just wish someone would have mentioned to me that Adam was not actually wearing any pants when we went to the appointment! Fortunately, I don't think anyone noticed because they were solid colored boxer briefs.