So how is Devin doing? Things are mostly cool... I have wanted to post an update since his 5th birthday but we have been going through a series of tests and observations from Cincinnati Childrens Hospital. I wanted to wait until we had a clearer picture of what the actual new diagnosis is. The most recent testing confirms what we already suspected in regards to his speech, that he has age appropriate speech. The Primary diagnosis and concern now is Selective Mutism. There are additional facets to the diagnosis that are still being sorted out. In addition to Selective Mutism the new diagnosis includes pragmatic language disorder, sensory processing disorder, and unspecified delay in development. Devin has tested as likely on the Autism Spectrum disorder this is where and why the diagnosis gets murky. What Devin would likely be diagnosed with high functioning autism or Asperger’s, this would have been a diagnosis that he would share with his older sister Allison. The only issue is that diagnosis does not exist under the DSM V. So there is still some discussion as to what label is to actually be applied to Devin. Some of the discussion revolves around what behaviors are consistent and which others are brought on by anxiety like the selective mutism. The other part of this seems to be a back and forth between medical professionals looking to help and treat the child, and insurance companies and service providers not wanting to pay or provide services. Overall Devin has made amazing progress. In part due to his hard work, the work of his teachers and his speech therapists. We are very proud of the progress he has made. A milestone was reached recently when he asked a teacher at the new preschool unwrap the plastic on a sandwich. Those who have followed the project for awhile may remember this was a problem before. While there have been bumps in the road and setbacks, over all things are going well. We would like to thank Lisa Geng and all the others we interacted with here for the help and ideas at the start of this journey, going back to the yahoo site. We also are grateful to everyone who has expressed well wishes and interacted with us via the speech project. It inspires us to keep advocating for Devin and all the other kids like him.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 23:24:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015