Honestly, Xander has made HUGE improvements over the last couple weeks that we were not expecting at all. It seems like all of a sudden, he decided to respond to his name, listen when told to come or stop, parallel play with his sister, even sit down and play in the tub for over 10 minutes!! We are honestly blown away at everything he has started doing and our concerns about autism have decreased dramatically. However, I didn't want to get into a situation of "false security" and think hes had these great weeks so quit worrying and accidentally not get him help when he needs it... if that makes sense. So needless to say I have been confused with where we are and looking forward to getting a professional opinion.
Our service coordinator is AMAZING. Talking to her was like talking to a friend. She explained everything so perfectly, put me completely at ease, and the whole conversation was just easy and comfortable. Basically, she said she does not think Xander has autism.. she believes he has a sensory processing disorder. She said he seems to be a sensory seeker.. and described it as him having on a wetsuit. She said seekers need harder pressure and more touch.. like you would need if you had on a wetsuit (wouldn't be able to feel light touches with a wetsuit on). She said this is why he enjoys being so rough, enjoys running/jumping/spinning/falling/being upside down. Why he enjoys playing with my hair and why he puts everything in his mouth. Everything she explained about sensory kids was Xander EXACTLY. It was insane. So then she said kids with SPD (sensory processing disorder) are often late talkers because they simply can't focus enough to be able to mimic and attempt new sounds. She described it as having an itch in the middle of your back that you can't reach, and someone trying to have a conversation with you. Like you see their mouth moving and you are trying to listen but all you can really focus on is that itch and you won't be able to focus on much else until you get it scratched!! That's the issue with Xander.
So the plan now is to start him on the early intervention for speech as planned, but also get him into occupational therapy. This will help us figure out how to meet his sensory needs so he is able to focus on speech.
I am so excited to finally have some concrete answers about what is going on with my little dude. It all made soo much sense after she explained it and I know she is going to get him the exact help he needs. The next step is completing the IFSP and setting up his weekly therapy schedule. I will keep you all updated!!
Here is a picture of my baby boy playing in the tub where he used to have complete meltdowns. The only thing we changed was making the water about 10 degrees cooler for him. Obviously it made a world of difference and we are SO happy with his progress!!
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