Jesse's First CSHCN Visit

Jesse went to see Dr. Jolma at the Children with Special Health Care Needs clinic today. First a nurse weighed, and measured him, took his hat size, and his blood pressure. Dr. Jolma then asked me a bunch of questions about my concerns, and his development. Then she sat down on the floor with Jesse and put down a big puzzle with a circle, a square and a triangle. She took off each piece and put them back in, making sure he was watching everything she was doing. Then she took out the circle, handed it to Jesse and asked him where it goes. He took the circle and then came over to me to show it to me, which, Dr. Jolma said, was a good sign. He's looking for approval. After kind of playing with the pieces (both Dr. Jolma and Jesse), he eventually put the circle in the spot where it goes. He had never done anything like that at home, so I was pleased. He couldn't figure out the other shapes, but that's ok. She brought out a few more toys to see how he can follow simple directions. He did pretty good will all except for the pictures. She would show him a few pictures and then ask him to show her where the picture of the dog was, or the house, etc. He didn't do well with that one. After she gave him a physical examination, she talked to me about raising the bar with him. She is concerned about his ability to let me know what he wants. So she suggested that if he wants something, encourage him to either say what he wants, "milk", or to sign either the word or "please". If he does, really give him a lot of praise. She said that there are certain characteristics that most children with autism has, and Jesse doesn't have those, so if he DOES have autism, it's likely a very mild case, or, very low on the spectrum. That made me smile. She suggested that we have both boys see a psychologist who can see how far they are able to progress. There are 2 psychologists in that clinic and she recommended the one that deals mostly with very young children. So, before I left, I stopped at the reception desk and made appointments for them. The soonest they had was November 4th and 5th. This visit was very encouraging, as, Jesse is the one that I worry about the most out of the two boys. Cayden's appointment (with the same doctor) is next week.

*hugs*
Becky