Update: Evaluation

On a whim, I called the Early Intervention folks last Monday (see previous post). Due to a cancellation, they were able to move William's evaluation to this afternoon! So, they were here for about 3 hours today, and the good news is that the women were really wonderful and William's behavior was pretty representative of what's typical for him. I think they were able to get an accurate read on where he's at. On the other hand, the bad news is that he falls below the "at risk" line in a several domains, testing in the bottom 1 or 2% of his age group for communicative abilities, motor skills, and social-emotional abilities. (One example: his expressive language is at the level of an 8-month-old baby, and he would have been scored even lower if the evaluator hadn't trusted me on some things that William didn't perform for her but I'm sure are in his repertoire.) Their overall response was in line with mine; he's fine in some areas, but he's got problems in others that have a worrying flavor.

An occupational therapist will begin visiting our home every other week to work on balance, movement, plus more general behavioral issues, and another therapist will come in the alternate weeks to work on communication. The team here today also recommended quite strongly that we consider an autism evaluation or, better yet, see a developmental pediatrician – although apparently the latter could involve a wait of 9-10 months, so into 2012 (which seems utterly unbelievable, don't you think?).

As I wrote last time, I so want to time-warp to the fall and know whether we're running around with a chatty, funny, normal toddler or coming to terms with a diagnosis or set of needs...