Back to reality

Morgan had her psych evaluation on Tuesday morning. We were surprised, but then also not surprised that she was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. I think I was in denial leading up to her appointment. It's just the more I read about autism and PDD-NOS, the more I started to associate Morgan with some of these characteristics.

Here is the definition of PDD-NOS. This is copied from the Autism Speaks website.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) is one of the autism spectrum disorders and is used to describe individuals who do not fully meet the criteria for autistic disorder or Asperger syndrome.

PDD-NOS may be thought of as “subthreshold autism," or a diagnosis one can give a person who has “atypical symptomatology.” ²  In other words, when someone has autistic characteristics but some of their symptoms are mild, or they have symptoms in one area (like social deficits), but none in another key area (like restricted, repetitive behaviors), they may be given the PDD-NOS label.

The last 24 hours have been very emotional. I've cried, been angry, felt confused, and have been in denial. Then I get mad or sad again. It's been a tough pill to swallow. The good thing in all this is that Dr. M isn't 100% confident that this is, for sure, the right diagnoses long term. She fits the description right now. However, he thinks she is borderline enough that it could go either way as she develops. He has recommended that we re-test in about 2 years right before she turns 5.

Right now, I'm trying to just take all of this in. I wanted to be able to share the reasons why she was diagnosed, but I don't have a copy of the psychologists report yet. Once I get the report, I can really get into the reasoning behind it. Unfortunately, after talking extensively with Dr. M, it just seems like he's right on the money with this. I hope with all my heart that he is wrong and that she will make amazing strides with continued therapy. He has seen cases where it's just tough to diagnose in a 2 year old and that after a couple of years, the diagnoses doesn't make sense. But then he's also seen cases where it has turned into a full autism diagnoses.

This will probably place her in the same 4 day a week preschool program as Rachel. They are both categorized as "severely delayed" with their language skills. Dr. M feels like Morgan is way too advanced to place her in the class with the autistic children. I have a call out to the school district to discuss this as well as an IFSP meeting with the girls' therapy team and case worker next week. I am feeling a little bit better after talking this all out with Amy, the girls' OT. She and I have come up with some goals and a plan as to how we want to move forward with their therapies. We plan on making the most of the last 3 1/2 months we still have before their services are transferred.

I will post in more detail as soon as I get Morgan's report. I can't think of everything off the top of my head right now so I'm not going to try.

Sophia had her evaluation today. She soared through it with flying colors. She has some mild sensory issues and is classified as just having a "mild speech delay," which makes me happy.

Right now, the plan is to take this one day at a time. I'm seeking support through our local Warmline chapter that offers help for families with special needs children. It's too much to try to look too far into the future at this point. "One day at a time" is the new motto!