Early Intervention for Autism
My son is 22 months old. He has been assessed severe language delay and shows restrictive interest and repetitive behaviors in lots of daily activities. He also has limited eye contact and joint attention when we try to teach him new ways to play toys. We are currently going through ASD screening for him, and the doctor says he does have signs of ASD, although final results haven't come out. We have contacted East Bay Regional Center but the waiting time is excessive. It requires 45 days to simply schedule evaluation and even more time to start any actual treatment.
I've read lots of books/online resources and understand the importance of getting started early. We want to at least try a few early intervention programs as soon as possible, before the regional center therapy kicks in.
Appreciate any recommendations for good early intervention providers. They can be private or public, and we are flexible with insurance. We live in El Cerrito, open to East Bay, Marin, and SF.
Thanks for the help!
Parent Replies
Hi there! I'm new to the East Bay, but have been working with a phenomenal speech therapist in San Francisco for several years (my kiddo has autism, diagnosed at 3.5 years) -- Bay Area Speech Studio, https://www.bayareaspeechstudio.com. Amanda Root is the owner, but she has built a fantastic team of therapists (We currently work with Alli).
We started with Amanda before he was officially diagnosed, or approved for any services, because like you I felt the urgency to get things moving. She does work with a variety of insurance providers though, and can likely accommodate if/when your insurance approves services.
Lastly, it's been my experience that the waitlists are epic. It's not as bad here in the Bay Area, but not great either. Keep at it. You've got this! And, if you need anything at all, even an ear to rant to, feel free to reach out.
A developmental pediatrician or psychologist can administer the ADOS (gold standard of testing) and diagnose ASD. If you can afford it, I’d suggest making your own appointment (it’s what what we did for my two kids, who both have ASD). We were impressed with the two providers we used for them, Autism Center of Northern CA in SF and Dr. Renee Wachtel in San Leandro. Good luck.
Autism Center of Northern California (ACNC) in SF is a helpful resource http://www.acnc.org/. They have both assessment and intervention resources. The Massie clinic at UC Davis might also be helpful. http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/clinic/index.html
Hi Jane! Since you live in El Cerrito, you are able to get services through the school district. The district has a birth to three program called L.I.F.T. at 7140 Gladys Avenue that provides services for children who are delayed. Please check them out: https://www.wccusd.net/domain/109
Dear James:
As the parent of a disabled son, now an adult, I bow deeply to your wanting to help your child as quickly as possible. I feel other BPNers with their up-to-date experience and/or knowledge will respond in more helpful ways. Much has changed & more is known (thank God) than when my son was growing up.
However, I've been reading a book "In Pursuit Of Silence" by George Prochnik. 2010. Prochnik learned from Dr. Michael Merzenich "a pioneer in the study of brain plasticity...that the entire auditory cortex of children may now be 'rewired for noise' in ways that have devastating implications for a host of language-related cognitive functions." (pg. 234.)
Merzenich urges parents, caregivers to reconsider the wisdom in using white noise machines, fans, TV, etc as a way to help calm any infant, young child. Why? He asserts that continuous white noise, etc end up causing the child's native language to be 'noisy". That is, noise and language learning etc are mixed together. And this mixing together is related to something I wish I had known while raising my son:" ...children raised in noisy environments have dramatically slower capacities to process language." (p. 235 .
I'm only sharing this information out of concern-- I got the book from my Kensington library..Maybe this concern has been debunked in the last few years.
Your son is so very fortunate to have the parents he does.
Thanks for all the information fellow parents. We just finished evaluation and we are working on getting ABA ASAP. Hope it won't take too long to get the ball rolling!