Hi, I am the original poster from last summer and wanted to follow up with new information and a question for the brain trust here.

So DS has been in 3 hours of therapy a week since August and will age out of EI next month when he turns 3. He has been in speech, OT, and DT. He has been assessed by Speech and OT for an IEP and I am awaiting the final meeting with them next week (they declined to assess for any other domains).

I don't think his speech has really improved all that much...he is starting to say some multi word sentences and some little bit of original speech, but he is still nowhere near he needs to be. His frustration level has been growing because his communication needs are outpacing any gains he has made in his speech. In fact he has started biting other kids in conflict over toys, which in addition to causing injuries, has created even greater isolation for him and I (I can't take him to the gym daycare and as a SAHM have no other real options to get away for a little while...plus I am terrified of taking him to play places for fear of an incident). I also have a hard time doing even mundane errands because he has been so atrociously behaved lately. Ugh.

The OT thinks he is hyposensitive in several areas, but his fine motor skills are fine, even above average. The OT has mentioned that she thinks he has low muscle tone. I think he was assessed with a 60% speech delay and I wouldn't be surprised if it has not improved or even declined at this point.

Regardless of the school's services he can't start preschool until next August or September.

Since I wrote the original post he is now reading quite a bit...probably 30-40 words mostly by sight, but his word attack skills are pretty decent and has been able to sound out words as well. We also have discovered he has an amazing ability to do puzzles...both by shape recognition and pattern/color matching.

I resisted a medical eval, but in light of the growing frustration and the bizarre disconnect between "hyper visual" mind and his poor speech skills, I think we need further information. I am just wondering what my options are. I have read about some of you taking your children to a "neuropsych." Is this the customary place to start or are there different paths to diagnosing "exceptionalities."

Am I missing anything here. I have a call in to the Pediatrician and I expect her to suggest going to a developmental pediatrician, but are there any other avenues to pursue? Any other questions I should ask her?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you may have on the subject.

Regards,
Quincy