Looking for Autism resources-please help (Houston, San Antonio: insurance, daycare, school district)

[billu]

Our World turned upside down when we noticed our 21 month old having many red flags of autism. We never thought about it until the daycare he goes to, pointed out that he is different than other toddlers of his age. He does not wave bye bye, does not point at objects and does not clap (used to clap and wave bye bye when he was 18 months), loves to do same things over and over again, loves stacking blocks and usually will stack same color blocks together, is not saying more than 1-2 words like babbling, screams a lot and likes to pinch/scratch others. He gets very excited on going outdoors and specially in crowded areas. We have an ECI assessment scheduled for next week but we are struggling as this is our first child and do not what to do. Looking for any support groups/resources from other moms out there in Sugar Land/Houston who have been through this. Anything else we can do before his assessment? feel so helpless.

[mcmummy]

I don't know that much about the subject. But a friend of mine's son was diagnosed with it and they enrolled him in the Parish school
Home

http://www.parishschool.org/Resources.html

She said it was wonderful. He went there for I think three years and is now in the public school. He goes to some social thinking classes after school about one a week.
She said you have to hit autism very hard in the beginning-- lots of intense therapy.

Get a developmental assessment, I believe.

Good luck, I am sorry you are dealing with this

[Schumacher713]

I have two friends with Autistic children. You should get on it as soon as you can. I am sure there is some place in Houston to get them tested. Neither live in Houston, so I can't ask them where to go. I just know it is something you need to get on top of.

[longhorn96]

Have you heard of the organization Autism Speaks? Their website has a lot of information as well as a Resource Guide that takes you to different agencies and articles organized by state.

One of my relatives is a speech therapist and may know of some local resources; I will ask her and get back to you if she has any suggestions. What part of town are you in?

ETA: Oops never mind I see that you asked about Sugar Land . . . let me check and get back to you

[billu]

Thanks for your responses, yes we are in Sugar Land. A good speech therapist referral would be great.also, if anyone knows any good developmental pediatrician or child psychologist who can diagnose autism, it will help us a lot. Thanks.

[Lbjen]

We went through ECI in another state, they actually referred us to a developmental pediatrician and paid for the assessment as part of the program (it would have cost us $1600 otherwise as our insurance didn't cover it). We had therapy twice a week and didn't see much improvement until earlier this year when he turned 3 and started attending the early childhood program at our local school. It was like another world, and it was quite a tough decision to take him out and move here because he made such great progress in just a few short weeks.

The year that he was 2 started off really bad, he would go weeks without saying a single word, to ending with him being able to ask for things he wanted with words rather than just taking us to what he wanted. He has been out of therapy for the last two months because of moving states and the poor administration at Fort Bend ISD, and we've seen some regression, but he's doing so much better than he was a year ago. He still likes to take blocks everywhere with him, and still usually shuts down when strangers talk to him, but he's able to express himself much better and does surprise us with who he will talk to all the time. He's also extremely smart, he can spell and write many words, without any coaching from us, and figured out how to count past 20 by himself.

I haven't looked into therapy here much yet, beyond passing on our IEP to FBISD, but someone told me to contact the local MHMR center, who have lots of autism resources, their website address is Texana Center - Behavioral Healthcare and Developmental Disabilities Services - Mental Healthcare, Mental Retardation, Autism.

Good luck anyway, and hang in there. It does get better, I promise. There will be times when you think your child will never live a normal life and then they'll come and hug you out of nowhere one day and your faith in the world is restored.

[houstmom]

Dr. Dan Williamson in the medical center can diagnose autism. He diagnosed my DS at 17 months old.

After the diagnosis, I enrolled my DS into a private ABA center in Houston. This center also provided speech and occupational therapy. We moved to San Antonio a few years ago but were pleased with the center. The center isn't close to Sugarland so I'm not sure if it would be a good option for you.

We started therapy with Early Intervention but I found it wasn't adequate.

[longhorn96]

I asked my relative, and she also recommended Texana Center. They should also be able to refer you to support groups and other resources.

[Twinboysmom]

Hi there. I am the mother of two precious three year old boys with autism. We recently moved to the Katy area from another state for our boys to attend the Westview school. It is a private facility with very low student to teacher ratios for children with autism and they start enrolling at age two. I would highly recommend you check into it. It is expensive but for us, it is worth every penny. As for a diagnosis, start by asking your pediatrician for a referral.

As for therapy, early intervention is key. We were not happy with services we received in another state so we enrolled our boys in private therapy and have done so here as well. My boys attend the TEAM approach for occupational therapy and are waiting for speech services. We have had a hard time finding speech therapy for them. We are also looking into restarting ABA soon (waiting for insurance clearance) but I think you have a little bit of time to look into that. The clinic we have chose is steps to progress. At one time we had the boys in 10-12 hours of private therapy a week but since we started at the westview school we don't find thy need that much.

The other intervention we have done for our boys that has made a tremendous difference in their functional ability is biomedical. Yes, I am one of those moms. Never thought I would be after being a RN for 16 years. Removing gluten and the casein protein from their diets was a huge change for us. They also eat no soy, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial dyes or colors.

Another important thing for you to do is research and read, a lot. Keep an open mind. Listen to other parents who have children on the spectrum. And remember, each child is so different. What works for one may not help another. Websites to visit that helped me were tacanow.org (talk about curing autism now), autismspeaks.org, and while Sugarland may have one as well, check out katyautismsupport.org and it's yahoo group site under the same name. A lot of info there as well. Books that have helped me include The Autism Book by Dr. Robert Sears (I would start with it first), Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Dr. Kenneth Bock, The Out-of-Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz (another really helpful one for me), and Raindrops on Roman by Elizabeth Burton Scott.

I will tell you, autism is not easy and it's not fun. It's a lot of work, it's stressful, and it's just plain unfair. It's also expensive. But it does get better and the rewards of watching your child improve are huge. I am just a lurker on this forum but I could talk autism for days. Feel free to message me if you would like. I have been there for the past two years with two little boys so I know how you are feeling.

[Meyerland]

As a regular classroom teacher, I have taught dozens of children with autism. Don't despair! Many children with autism lead productive and "regular" lives. The key is early intervention and not giving up. I can tell the parents who work with their child and the ones who don't. Here is what I recommend:

1. Private as well as public intervention. You may be able to have your child get services through your school district even if they don't attend public school.

2. Build up a support system for yourself. (friends and family you can vent to, people you trust to watch your child, and teachers to help educate your child)

3. Have lots of playdates, because your child must be socialized! Sometimes this will be awkward and embarrassing. Stick with it! think about how often your child fell down while learning how to walk. This is the same thing. This was my personal goal for each child in K-1.

4. Keep a basic routine, but include "free" time. This free time is when you experience new things.

5. I know some parents have had success with changing diets.

6. Realize that every child is different, and what works with one will not work for another.


good luck!