Canadians in US for more than 6 months

[Ash.1101 1,755]

Thank you guys.

No, the diagnosis is not new and there isn't anything that we have not inquired about locally, in the province and outside as well.

My daughter is taking ABA therapies and will be going to special pre-school next year but it's not just the progress I want. It's unfortunate that money and borders can restrict the best of care sometimes.

@Ash.1101& Umka 36 - I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Ah, makes sense then!

And you're very lucky to be in ABA, the costs aren't covered by most insurances here. The federal government JUST LAST YEAR decided that it was beneficial and that it needs to be covered, but some states, like mine, are fighting back arguing and saying it's not beneficial. ABA is the best therapy to start at a young age, the success rate is amazing the earlier you start it.

If your daughter has any speech issues or movement issues, def talk to her pediatrician and try to get referrals for speech and occupational therapy. Really, other than private care, therapies are all you can do at a young age. You can look up smaller things, like visual schedules, PECS cards, but other than that it's meh. (One thing that helped us was a "WAIT" card, basically when she needed to wait, we would give her the card, while she was holding the card she'd know she had to wait and try to be patient until the card was taken back, it helped while waiting in lines). More things open up with the school systems, but .. well... autism treatment just isn't there at the moment. Speech has also helped with her behavior, due to there being a lot of emphasis on social stories and talking about them.

At an autism conference I went there, there was a psychiatrist that has been practicing since the 60s, He made a point of saying that while there is more out there that can help now, we're just not advancing enough as a people to have more autism related treatments. That just as recent as 10 years ago, here at least, after an autism diagnosis, the state would be contacted by the physician that diagnosed autism and then would go to to the families house and pretty much straight up ask if they want to keep their kid or if they would like the state to take them. That was the norm, instead of spending years trying to make their lives better, we were lobotomizing them in the 50's (really into the 70s I believe), and then giving them up to the state as recent as the early 2000's because it was just easier. And you know damn well the state wasn't taking care of those kids.

The autism community in itself is torn between finding a cure and finding better treatments. Half of the people doing research are looking for cures only, the other half is trying for treatments but the cure side gets funded so much more. That's why we're generally left with a handful of things, ABA, Speech therapy (if needed), occupational therapy (if needed), separate behavioral therapy, trend diets that like to change every week (casein, soy, gluten), and drugs. At one point there was a trend to give your kid a bunch of brocolli sprouts because of a chemical in it that helped curve behavioral issues. It turned out that the amount of broccoli sprouts you'd need to eat to actually see those effects were near impossible for anyone to eat, even if they were in the form of an herbal supplement. We do think milk makes her hyper, but I usually buy almond milk and I don't really want to give her regular milk just to confirm her hypes her up or not. lol

With all that said, one of the first things I would do if I won the lottery would be to get my daughter into a private autism school. They have longer days and by the teen years they aim at trying to help them have skills for jobs and such and take them places to work. Even if it's only as a bagger at a grocery store, they try their best to help them gain as much independence as possible.

You will see progress though. My daughter never got to take ABA therapy because of it not being covered by insurance and the costs of it can be extreme. We were able to link her behaviors and her escalations to her lack of communication skills. Once those started to improve, her behavior followed suit. She does also have a mood disorder though, which she was diagnosed with along with autism, that's still hit or miss. Basically it's like a really fast version of biopolar disorder. Instead of having weeks of being manic or depressive, she can have 5-10 minutes to an hour of one mood, then flip to another.. and another. That's also improving though through medication and structured routines and being aware of her triggers.

Just keep doing what you're doing, and when she goes into school, be up that schools butt LOL. I talk to my daughters teacher every day! I need to know if there's a change in behavior, what they think caused it, if she's doing better doing one thing or another, etc. You're your childs best advocate, hold strong and do what you think is right, always!

Sorry about the rambling. Obviously this topic is very close to my heart. =]

Edited October 13, 2016 by Ash.1101

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@Delmark, It's unfortunate that money and borders can restrict the best of care sometimes. Only if there's a way to overcome these stupid obstacles. Isn't it?