Coping with Autism

Yesterday, I met with Peter's teacher, the autism teacher for the school he will attend for kindergarten, a kindergarten teacher for the school he is currently in, his school speech therapist and the county special education coordinator. The meeting was to determine where Peter will attend kindergarten and under what conditions. Peter was with us and very politely sat at the table drinking water with the adults while his brother played with the toys in the classroom. Everyone was so impressed and I think this swayed the county special education coordinator to recommend that he be mainstreamed. I really didn't have a reasonable objection other than I am nervous about how he will do. Of course, Peter's behavior at the meeting wasn't the sole basis for her decision. She asked me dozens of questions and she asked questions of Michelle (his teacher) and Aline (Peter's speech therapist through the school) about his behavior in school, how he handles classroom activities,...

Okay, cranial-synostosis of multiple sutures is frequently described as having a genetic basis so, being the paranoid mother I am, I checked Nathan's forehead and, lo, and behold, the boy has a ridge along his metopic suture. I called the pediatrician's office and made an appointment for this morning. And just as I thought, the pediatrician felt the ridge too and ordered an x-ray. The radiologist's report said that synostosis was indeterminent meaning he didn't see anything. However, the radiologist's report on Peter didn't mention his metopic suture either. So the pediatrician wants Dr. Tye, the neurosurgeon at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) we saw with Peter, to take a look at Nathan's x-rays. Dr. Childress, the pediatrician, is faxing the radiologist's report to Dr. Tye and I'm picking up a CD of the x-rays from the imaging center tomorrow to send to Dr. Tye's office. This may come to nothing but if both boys have synostosis it could be...

Jeremy's mother reports that he is doing very well and is already showing signs that the intra-cranial pressure he was experiencing was contributing to his developmental delays. Now that the ICP has been alleviated by the surgery, Jeremy is more social and trying to talk.