The verdict is in....

[ourlittlemonkey]

Well it has been FOUR weeks now since we participated in the 'complex behavioural assessment' and I am finally at the point where I can talk about it without crying, so it is time to journal out some thoughts.  At the conclusion of the assessment, Rylan was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Rylan has ASD.  We officially are a family with a

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[ourlittlemonkey]

Oh, I missed the news that your baby on board is a boy!! Congrats! And I do know the worry that also comes with that. Probability of ASD, Aspergers, ADHD and the like seems to be much higher with boys than girls... I wish I knew why that is...

I did not know that you had concerns for Elliott's development... I think the diagnostic criteria is quite different for Aspergers. Something to be cognizant of for sure, but as you see, most people with Aspergers manage to function quite well in the world.

For me, there is relief in having an answer for all the concerns I've had for Rylan since he was little. And I'm also relieved to see that most people are not treating him differently now that he's got the label. I'm still nervous about what entering in the school system will be like, but I need to take it one step at a time. For now, we are working on getting him set up with the agency that we've chosen to go with for intervention and support. He'll be doing about 7 hours a week with a Behaviour Interventionist (under guidance of an OT, SLP and BC) and also a weekly social skills group. We are going to be BUSY! But SO fortunate that it is all paid for by the gov't. Not sure how long this funding will last (gov't focuses change every couple years), so we will take full advantage while we have it!

Rylan is enrolled to start up in Nature Kindergarten in the fall. I don't know if you've seen my posts on FB about it, but it is a really exciting new program where the kids will be outdoors, regardless of the weather, for the entire morning. They will walk 1-2 km a day through the forest, hike down to the beach, and have a circle time all outside (in full weather gear that will be provided with funding). Then they go inside the school for lunch and have regular kindergarten inside during the afternoon. I think it will be a really good fit for Rylan. This is the pilot class and there will be university researchers following along with the kids studying the impacts of an "outdoor" foundation to their school start. The school will likely provide some sort of support/teaching assistant once they see how Rylan does in the classroom setting. Because he has an official diagnosis, they will get extra gov't funding for him. I think he will need tutoring to catch up and stay caught up academically. That part will likely come out of the funding we are getting for him...

[impossiblelight]

Elliott did a nature preschool last year before we switched him to montessori and he loved it. They ran around in the woods and studied animals and plants, in the most horrid weather. I think there's something really refreshing to kids about getting soaked and muddy.

[ourlittlemonkey]

I totally think that Rylan is going to be "screen kid". The way he is addicted to TV now and intrigued by videogames (though he has yet to ever play one or even play on the computer much), I know it's going to be a battle to keep his screen time down. So I am hoping that his NK will give him a foundation of loving the outdoors and wanting to be active and outside his whole life.

I have thought about Montessori for him too, but there isn't one in our immediate area, so I've gone with convenience so far. How do you like it for Elliott? How do you think it compares with the nature preschool?