he is recommending the Special Ed preschool and is saying PDD (forgetful me didn't ask if she actually means just PDD or PDD-NOS but I'll call her to make sure). Was saying she does believe he's on the spectrum though very highly functional as long as he has the right support (basically told me to continue doing what we're doing as it seems to be working for him) and she did say she'll refer us to a Developmental specialist if we want to find out more as to if it's Asperger's or other type of spectrum disorder ... they'd run all the tests, etc. Anyone here with experience with developmental specialists / autism diagnosis .... would part of the developmental testing be IQ testing as well?
Yes. If you search my back posts, somewhere in there is the list of tests that were used to diagnose my DS at age 5. Included IQ and achievement testing, life-skills assessments, and a large variety of instruments that measured social and behavioral functioning. Make sure they do an ADOS. Make sure they have real expertise in autism. I highly recommend the follow-up, which will give you a detailed picture of strengths and weaknesses, so you know exactly what to target through therapies.
Sounds like you are making a great start on getting your DS the right learning opportunities! It can be so tricky to figure these guys out.
DeeDee
