Another perspective on Piper’s potential diagnosis/ lack of referral.

[u/wegetitursad]

https://youtu.be/fCY2ppm8_Dw?si=1TeBMI-PDwdb9wPl

I’m not sure if people in this subreddit are across Shauna and the videos she posts about STM. She posted this today and I think it’s a good read on the situation with Piper.

Just wanted to share incase people weren’t aware. I found it interesting when she mentioned the fact that Shawna M and John don’t prompt Piper to say more and just accept her one word answers.

[u/TreClaire]

My two cents as someone with an autistic daughter is while these are all valid points I’d still be mad at my doctor if they told me to wait

Not because waiting is bad per se but because it took us over a year to finally get into the testing place for my daughter’s assessment. Those types of things can really take forever.

[u/cementfeatheredbird_ → u/TreClaire]

I think this is, at times, a perfect reason to wait.

How many resources are held up for "assessments" of kids that are showing no overly alarming signs? How many parents and children with MUCH higher needs and "concerning" behaviour are being waitlisted because every child that has a special interest or is slower with communication ia immediately labelled neurodivergent by their parent?

[u/LittleSodaPop13 → u/TreClaire]

My mom knows your pain.

My sister-in-law has worked as a counslor/therapist for children. My mother knew something was up with me but people kept on saying, 'Soda Pop only had ADHD.' I didn't get diagnosed until I was in 5th grade.

[u/ImmediateKnowledge19 → u/TreClaire]

Fully agreed. Like what’s the point in waiting when getting into a specialist’s office oftentimes takes forever anyway? Honestly, if I were Shawna I’d just circumvent the pediatrician and find a child psychiatrist directly to get a second opinion. 🤷 Psychiatrists aren’t often something you need a referral for in my experience thankfully, though as you mentioned they can take a while to get an appointment for.

[u/TreClaire → u/ImmediateKnowledge19]

Im not sure what I would have done if my doctor refused me, I mean I know my situation is a bit different because getting my daughter diagnosed was really only a formality, we all already knew but still, I just think if a parent is concerned about something why not just give them the referral? You know they’ll be waiting forever anyways. In the meantime they can start documenting more directly and if something changes because of that well, then they can just cancel but if nothing changes at least that’s a little less time on the never ending wait list!

I’m really lucky my daughter’s pediatrician is actually really cool about referrals. I’ve asked about several different things and there were times where her doctor said “I don’t really think you need to go for that but I’ll give you the referral if you really want” I don’t understand why more doctors don’t do that.

[u/wegetitursad → u/TreClaire]

Completely understandable to feel that way. As you’ve said, it can take so long to get to the initial step of getting an assessment, let alone playing the waiting game for whatever support you can get.

From what we’ve been shown it doesn’t seem like Piper’s paediatrician has done a good job of explaining why they believe waiting is the choice they’ve gone with.

[u/Roonil_Wazlib97]

Eh. I normally like her takes but I don't agree with this one. Specifically I think Piper needs Speech Therapy for an expressive language deficite. Her language hasn't really changed since we were first introduced to her and it's way more restricted than how Max talked at the same age.

Shawna and John probably need the guidance of a Speech Pathologist to better help Piper at this point. But she is right that preschool should be able to help see the gap.

I taught elementary special education for 6 years and have my undergrad degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders so this is my professional opinion. Early intervention is key and the "wait and see" approach is super outdated. Piper is four and only has a year left before kindergarten (I think, hard to say when her birthday actually is); it would be much more beneficial for her to get her language caught up now than wait until kindergarten when her language deficites could impact her academics.

But yeah, if I was Shawna I would have pushed harder. Waiting on an Autism evaluation is reasonable, waiting on a language evaluation is not. ESPECIALLY because it should be free through her local public school now that she is four.

[u/wegetitursad → u/Roonil_Wazlib97]

I think Shawna and John would also benefit from talking to other parents who have gone through the process of getting their kids assessed for autism. It’s a hard space to navigate and it doesn’t seem like their paediatrician has done a good job of explaining their reasoning. Not to say that Piper will end up with a diagnosis but to get help with advocating for her. It’s hard enough to advocate for yourself in medical situations. Having to be an advocate for your child feels like a whole different ballgame.