Re: What is the point of assessment?

[Guest guest]

Wow, there is a LOT of info in your questions.... First of all the school district can and really is required to do much of this testing. Even if he doesn't have an educational need, he can be diagnosed by the LSSP (licensed something school psychologist), and just said to not need services at this time. Sounds like he is doing a great job of coping but I will tell you that the earlier you get him some help the better he will do. I think a lot of Aspie children do awesome in the early years of school but really start to struggle when they are required to put more social thought into their work (like opinion based essays), it is good to have the testing and supports in place prior to having the issue!! As far as a lable.... You know, I am on both sides of the fence

about that, but mostly I feel concerned for my daughter when she hits kindergarten and struggles with it.

That being said, I think you definitely need to get the OT assessment, sounds like your son has some sensory issues for sure, and they can really help him to learn to deal with it and make it better!!! Psychologist wise, I think I would only go to psychologist for testing, I don't see a psychologist/psychiatrist being able to help my particular child (who for the most part is not hyper and I will not medicate anyway), and I know that my insurance at this time is unwilling to pay for the assessments needed for diagnosis.

I would not pay $5000 for diagnosis, esp. when many people (including myself) have had issues getting their children diagnosed prior to age 9 or 10 due to the subtleties of AS prior to the ages were they really should be interacting and communicating with their friends!!

Good luck, this is a difficult road, at the very least, if I were you I would get him to an OT...

Carolyn

From: <kilpatrickclan@...> Sent: Thu, January 13, 2011 11:56:50 PMSubject: ( ) What is the point of assessment?

My son is 6 years old and shows some quirky behaviors. Recently, at a parent teacher conference, the teacher thought he might have Aspergers. She filled out a checklist. I agree with some of it, but some scores I don't. We saw his pediatrician and she suggested testing at our local hospital's behavior clinic. I contacted them and of course our insurance does not cover the tests and it will be about $5000. This is about 3-6 apts plus some time with the teachers at school. Here is the kicker, I am a social worker in the disabilities field. I have been working with adults and children with disabilities for about 12 years. I saw some odd things in my child as he was getting older, but he was meeting all of his milestones. He also had a pretty crazy first couple years of life as we were living with my family while I worked and my husband went to school. When he graduated, we moved and our life is a lot more stable. He has trouble with social groups. He

does not have any friends. I am not sure he can say who is his best friend. Kids don't call our house for play dates. It makes me sad and I know it makes him sad. I do know though that he talks to kids about things they may not be interested in. He will repeat jokes and be a little too silly at times. He does show empathy. He does seem to understand some social rules and things. I am just confused about what to do. My thoughts are, in my work I have seen time and time again parents pay for really expensive assessments only to have them not really do anything but 1) tell them their kids has issues and 2) give recommendations. But, by the time the assessment is paid for, there is no money for treatment. If I were my own social worker, I would say that I needed an OT assessment and to see a psychologist for therapy. My son jumps and skips all the time. He has a huge fear of the dark. He will not go to the bathroom unless someone watches him and he

feels secure that he is ok. He will go to bed and stay asleep, but will not enter a dark room. He HATES Halloween. He does not want to sit on our couch. He refuses to sit on it unless there is a blanket to sit on. He likes to be in just his underwear. His academics are great though. He functions a grade or two above where he is (1st grade). It is just his social and emotional that is at risk. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone else have a kid like this? It would be helpful to talk to someone who has seen this type of behavior.Do you think an assessment is necessary? It seems like all it will do is give my kid a label. The school will not do anything because he is not academically challenged. My insurance won't pay for anything as it is not a medical need. Should I just start OT and Psychological services myself and spend my $5000 on therapy instead of evaluations? Thoughts please?

[Guest guest]

Your son doesn't sound like he has any severe behavior issues right?

And it seems the most concern is with socializing. At age 6 there

are still many types of activities for him. Would he be interested

in any kind of sports (a way to meet other boys) or is he a

lego type of kid? First is to find him boy groups at least 2 times

a week, that meet weekly. Some boys like martial arts.

I would wait until his issues get more pronouced (hopefully

they won't) or about the age of 9. You will see if it is

AS or not. He coped with change well. That is amazing.

If your son has some coordination issues. he could have a

medical excuse for OT. If he does not I would not spend

the money on OT. You can do a lot just at home nightly.

He has some anxiety but it does not seem severe. And he goes to

school. He has some sensory issues, but that will get better

on it's own. My daughter's sensory issues go up with stress

and anxiety.

I don't know that there is any evidence based therapy

for kids your sons age. He does not need cognitive therapy

at this age, he doesn't sound like a behavior problem.

You can read about Dr. Stanley Greenspan's Floortime therapy

for interacting with autistic children. You don't

want to have your son isolate himself at home. If both

parent's can interact and talk to him about 30 minutes a day

in play, that would be helpful.

I was able to set up playdates at my home up to the age

of 9. I had to call and initiate. I had to pick up and drop

off. And my daughter has some issues. I think you can

arrange that now.

Establish some friends for him. You may have to organize his

playdate. First we are having a snack together, then you

can play a few together games that you faciliate and then

you can let them play side by side for another 30 minutes

or so. Maybe you want to play ball with the two boys.

Observe your son, what is he doing is he retreating into

his own play? Is he interested in the other child?

Regarding his fears, I would work on very small gradual

exposures, in just a few areas at a time. Don't

let this anxieties grow.

Pam

pergersSupport , " " <kilpatrickclan@...> wrote:

>

> My son is 6 years old and shows some quirky behaviors. Recently, at a parent

teacher conference, the teacher thought he might have Aspergers. She filled out

a checklist. I agree with some of it, but some scores I don't. We saw his

pediatrician and she suggested testing at our local hospital's behavior clinic.

I contacted them and of course our insurance does not cover the tests and it

will be about $5000. This is about 3-6 apts plus some time with the teachers at

school. Here is the kicker, I am a social worker in the disabilities field. I

have been working with adults and children with disabilities for about 12 years.

I saw some odd things in my child as he was getting older, but he was meeting

all of his milestones. He also had a pretty crazy first couple years of life as

we were living with my family while I worked and my husband went to school.

When he graduated, we moved and our life is a lot more stable. He has trouble

with social groups. He does not have any friends. I am not sure he can say who

is his best friend. Kids don't call our house for play dates. It makes me sad

and I know it makes him sad. I do know though that he talks to kids about

things they may not be interested in. He will repeat jokes and be a little too

silly at times. He does show empathy. He does seem to understand some social

rules and things. I am just confused about what to do.

>

> My thoughts are, in my work I have seen time and time again parents pay for

really expensive assessments only to have them not really do anything but 1)

tell them their kids has issues and 2) give recommendations. But, by the time

the assessment is paid for, there is no money for treatment. If I were my own

social worker, I would say that I needed an OT assessment and to see a

psychologist for therapy. My son jumps and skips all the time. He has a huge

fear of the dark. He will not go to the bathroom unless someone watches him and

he feels secure that he is ok. He will go to bed and stay asleep, but will not

enter a dark room. He HATES Halloween. He does not want to sit on our couch.

He refuses to sit on it unless there is a blanket to sit on. He likes to be in

just his underwear. His academics are great though. He functions a grade or

two above where he is (1st grade). It is just his social and emotional that is

at risk. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone else have a kid like

this? It would be helpful to talk to someone who has seen this type of

behavior.

>

> Do you think an assessment is necessary? It seems like all it will do is give

my kid a label. The school will not do anything because he is not academically

challenged. My insurance won't pay for anything as it is not a medical need.

Should I just start OT and Psychological services myself and spend my $5000 on

therapy instead of evaluations? Thoughts please?

>

[Guest guest]

Sounds like our son, who is 10.5. We're going through the evaluation

process now, but I'm 95% sure he's Aspie.

Here's what my approach has been: whether or not he is Aspie, we're

looking at what tools Aspies need and use. Since most of those are

useful to anyone anyway, let's get those tools in place. I mean

things like structure, checklists, that sort of thing. In fact, in a

few minutes my husband and I are leaving to take Isaac to school,

then attend the orientation for pediatric psychiatry. With our

medical insurance (Kaiser in Northern California), peds psych is the

folks who do the testing, assessments, and develop whatever

treatment plan necessary.

I have been very impressed by Isaac's pragmatic approach to the

whole issue. One of the things that has happened in the last couple

of weeks is that he's been diagnosed with shortened heelcords, which

mean that he CAN'T get his heels on the floor. As a result, he's

clumsy (constantly falling). The pediatrician referred him to

physical therapy. The PT did a careful assessment, and does NOT

think exercises alone are going to take care of the problem, so

we're waiting for an orthopedic appointment. The PT thinks Isaac

will need a series of casts to force stretching of those cords. We

were talking about it in the car on the way home, and Isaac decided

that if the PT is right and that is what the orthopedist recommends,

might as well go ahead and do it ASAP. He was particularly pleased

when I pointed out that he would have a good excuse to get out of

PE, which is his least favorite class! You said your son jumps and

skips. So does Isaac, sometimes with his hands kinda flapping at

shoulder level.

Socialization: One thing that helped Isaac was (of all things) a

weekly pottery class. It was held at a local art studio, and he made

a friend there. About once a week we have playdates with Seabron and

his mother. Seabron needs the socialization too, since his mother

homeschools and there aren't the same gatherings for homeschoolers

in this area as some places.

My general feeling is that we are pursuing assessment, but NOT

through the school. I've just seen too many cases where a label gets

stamped on a kid and it's like a tattoo on the forehead. So instead

we're looking at outside resources. We're still kinda in the

starting phases, so it's still somewhat overwhelming, but it is what

it is.

I would also investigate (usually available around the first of the

year) changing medical insurance if an alternative carrier would

work. Also check out things like local mental health societies, or

maybe even medical schools.

Well, I've gotta throw my clothes on for that orientation. Good luck

to you!

Eleanor, San

son Isaac 10.5, probably Aspie

On 01/13/2011 21:56 , wrote:

My son is 6 years old and shows some

quirky behaviors. Recently, at a parent teacher conference,

the teacher thought he might have Aspergers. She filled out

a checklist. I agree with some of it, but some scores I

don't. We saw his pediatrician and she suggested testing at

our local hospital's behavior clinic. I contacted them and

of course our insurance does not cover the tests and it will

be about $5000. This is about 3-6 apts plus some time with

the teachers at school. Here is the kicker, I am a social

worker in the disabilities field. I have been working with

adults and children with disabilities for about 12 years. I

saw some odd things in my child as he was getting older, but

he was meeting all of his milestones. He also had a pretty

crazy first couple years of life as we were living with my

family while I worked and my husband went to school. When he

graduated, we moved and our life is a lot more stable. He

has trouble with social groups. He does not have any

friends. I am not sure he can say who is his best friend.

Kids don't call our house for play dates. It makes me sad

and I know it makes him sad. I do know though that he talks

to kids about things they may not be interested in. He will

repeat jokes and be a little too silly at times. He does

show empathy. He does seem to understand some social rules

and things. I am just confused about what to do.

My thoughts are, in my work I have seen time and time again

parents pay for really expensive assessments only to have

them not really do anything but 1) tell them their kids has

issues and 2) give recommendations. But, by the time the

assessment is paid for, there is no money for treatment. If

I were my own social worker, I would say that I needed an OT

assessment and to see a psychologist for therapy. My son

jumps and skips all the time. He has a huge fear of the

dark. He will not go to the bathroom unless someone watches

him and he feels secure that he is ok. He will go to bed and

stay asleep, but will not enter a dark room. He HATES

Halloween. He does not want to sit on our couch. He refuses

to sit on it unless there is a blanket to sit on. He likes

to be in just his underwear. His academics are great though.

He functions a grade or two above where he is (1st grade).

It is just his social and emotional that is at risk. Does

this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone else have a kid

like this? It would be helpful to talk to someone who has

seen this type of behavior.

Do you think an assessment is necessary? It seems like all

it will do is give my kid a label. The school will not do

anything because he is not academically challenged. My

insurance won't pay for anything as it is not a medical

need. Should I just start OT and Psychological services

myself and spend my $5000 on therapy instead of evaluations?

Thoughts please?

[Guest guest]

Does your state include a social/emotional section on the IEP? If so then you

can ask the school to do an assessment on social skills. If your son is having

problems socializing and/or communicating with other kids then it does impact

his school experience and the school should address it. The importance of

interacting with his peers at school will be a key component of his success in

his later years at school.

My son was similar to your son in that he was fairly well behaved and was kind

of quirky. A full neuro psych eval (paid for by our insurance) when he was 6.5

ruled out Aspergers. The school did provide services to him as he had a severe

speech issue. But as the years progressed his quirkiness started to get in the

way of him making friends and just going to school. A new neuro psych (pd for by

school) done at age 12 came back with similar results as the first but this time

they said it was Aspergers.

You don't need a full eval if you can't afford it. Ask an OT for a sensory

integration eval. And if he has SI (sounds like he does) then get OT for him.

Ask the school to provide social skills group for him. I think it's probably

more important to work on social skills then 1-1 therapy. My son had some 1-1

therapy when he got ADHD meds in 4th grade. Most of the time he said nothing

while I chatted with the psych about my son. My son did start counseling when he

was 12.

Caroline

>

> My son is 6 years old and shows some quirky behaviors. Recently, at a parent

teacher conference, the teacher thought he might have Aspergers. She filled out

a checklist. I agree with some of it, but some scores I don't. We saw his

pediatrician and she suggested testing at our local hospital's behavior clinic.

I contacted them and of course our insurance does not cover the tests and it

will be about $5000. This is about 3-6 apts plus some time with the teachers at

school. Here is the kicker, I am a social worker in the disabilities field. I

have been working with adults and children with disabilities for about 12 years.

I saw some odd things in my child as he was getting older, but he was meeting

all of his milestones. He also had a pretty crazy first couple years of life as

we were living with my family while I worked and my husband went to school.

When he graduated, we moved and our life is a lot more stable. He has trouble

with social groups. He does not have any friends. I am not sure he can say who

is his best friend. Kids don't call our house for play dates. It makes me sad

and I know it makes him sad. I do know though that he talks to kids about

things they may not be interested in. He will repeat jokes and be a little too

silly at times. He does show empathy. He does seem to understand some social

rules and things. I am just confused about what to do.

>

> My thoughts are, in my work I have seen time and time again parents pay for

really expensive assessments only to have them not really do anything but 1)

tell them their kids has issues and 2) give recommendations. But, by the time

the assessment is paid for, there is no money for treatment. If I were my own

social worker, I would say that I needed an OT assessment and to see a

psychologist for therapy. My son jumps and skips all the time. He has a huge

fear of the dark. He will not go to the bathroom unless someone watches him and

he feels secure that he is ok. He will go to bed and stay asleep, but will not

enter a dark room. He HATES Halloween. He does not want to sit on our couch.

He refuses to sit on it unless there is a blanket to sit on. He likes to be in

just his underwear. His academics are great though. He functions a grade or

two above where he is (1st grade). It is just his social and emotional that is

at risk. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone else have a kid like

this? It would be helpful to talk to someone who has seen this type of

behavior.

>

> Do you think an assessment is necessary? It seems like all it will do is give

my kid a label. The school will not do anything because he is not academically

challenged. My insurance won't pay for anything as it is not a medical need.

Should I just start OT and Psychological services myself and spend my $5000 on

therapy instead of evaluations? Thoughts please?

>

[Guest guest]

Forgot to say that the full neuro psych eval was very beneficial to us. It gave

us info on what my son needed to succeed in school. We have asked for that type

of info as part of the eval and the doc provided it to us. The school we were in

had a one size fits all spec ed program and we were trying to get them to

develop something more individual for my son. We used this guideline all the way

thru elementary school and middle school to help develop my son's IEP. If you do

decide to get a full eval done then ask other parents for references. I heard

from others that their experience was not as good as mine because the doc just

wasn't as good.

The second neuro psych eval didn't provide us any insight. It just gave us a new

dx. So I guess it all depends on what you need and are looking for out of the

eval.

Caroline

>

> My son is 6 years old and shows some quirky behaviors. Recently, at a parent

teacher conference, the teacher thought he might have Aspergers. She filled out

a checklist. I agree with some of it, but some scores I don't. We saw his

pediatrician and she suggested testing at our local hospital's behavior clinic.

I contacted them and of course our insurance does not cover the tests and it

will be about $5000. This is about 3-6 apts plus some time with the teachers at

school. Here is the kicker, I am a social worker in the disabilities field. I

have been working with adults and children with disabilities for about 12 years.

I saw some odd things in my child as he was getting older, but he was meeting

all of his milestones. He also had a pretty crazy first couple years of life as

we were living with my family while I worked and my husband went to school.

When he graduated, we moved and our life is a lot more stable. He has trouble

with social groups. He does not have any friends. I am not sure he can say who

is his best friend. Kids don't call our house for play dates. It makes me sad

and I know it makes him sad. I do know though that he talks to kids about

things they may not be interested in. He will repeat jokes and be a little too

silly at times. He does show empathy. He does seem to understand some social

rules and things. I am just confused about what to do.

>

> My thoughts are, in my work I have seen time and time again parents pay for

really expensive assessments only to have them not really do anything but 1)

tell them their kids has issues and 2) give recommendations. But, by the time

the assessment is paid for, there is no money for treatment. If I were my own

social worker, I would say that I needed an OT assessment and to see a

psychologist for therapy. My son jumps and skips all the time. He has a huge

fear of the dark. He will not go to the bathroom unless someone watches him and

he feels secure that he is ok. He will go to bed and stay asleep, but will not

enter a dark room. He HATES Halloween. He does not want to sit on our couch.

He refuses to sit on it unless there is a blanket to sit on. He likes to be in

just his underwear. His academics are great though. He functions a grade or

two above where he is (1st grade). It is just his social and emotional that is

at risk. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone else have a kid like

this? It would be helpful to talk to someone who has seen this type of

behavior.

>

> Do you think an assessment is necessary? It seems like all it will do is give

my kid a label. The school will not do anything because he is not academically

challenged. My insurance won't pay for anything as it is not a medical need.

Should I just start OT and Psychological services myself and spend my $5000 on

therapy instead of evaluations? Thoughts please?

>

[Guest guest]

My son is 10 and has some of the same kinds of fears/anxiety. For your sons fears of dark places, does he say what he thinks will happen if he does enter?? My son sees a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. He does not have behavior issues, but he sees the cbt to help him overcome his fears.

Academically my son is in the gifted program. Social and emotional definately behind though. Not uncommon with Aspie's. Our school did not help us at all with an eval because he does so well academically. We have to fight hard for services and we have an actual dx. BUT they do give us some accomodations because of having the label. My son didn't need any accomodations until he hit 2 grade. That's when they started with the daily journal writing. He couldn't figure out what to say. Now that he's in 4th and the writing has gotten so much more frequent, he really struggles. They modified the expectations a bit with him. He gets an extra day for any assignment he struggles (meltsdown) with. Now that they have started speeched, he only gets downgraded 1 point for eye contact (which is nearly impossible for an Aspie).

He definately sounds like he's having sensory issues. My son is in only his underwear as much as possible. There are different types of sensory issues. My son is a sensory seeker. He wants the deep muscle pressure. We saw a wonderful OT that gave us many many things we could do at home for him.

Here are some things we do to help him:

mini trampoline

crab walks

commando crawls

ball exercises (with a pilates ball), lay on the ball on tummy and pretend to be superman; on tummy roll forward and walk out with hands; sit on ball and try to catch a small ball to each side alternating; sit on ball with feet off the floor and you challenge his balance by moving the ball in all directions and he has to keep on the ball.

floor scooters are good if you have a lot of floor space

4 point jumping - jump forward, then back, then left, then right

Social issues - much the same for my kiddo. He talks about his special interest all the time.

As far as getting an evalutation or not, I would start by pushing the school. If he is affected socially/emotionally at school, take that angle. Kids get services without their academics suffering. I think it's non-academic life skills or something like that. Google it. Otherwise, maybe search around, you may find a better price at a teaching hospital or university. We were fortunate to get our diagnostic eval for $15 in copays. My son was not diagnosed until he was 8,

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

[Guest guest]

My son was evaluated at age six just by our child psychologist and it wasn't

near as extensive or costly for that matter as the hospital-type eval, but we

did get a diagnosis. Your son sounds a lot like mine. Unfortunately yeah, we

haven't really gotten any help as far as treatment. He has an OT and we

occasionally check in with the psychologist but that is it. There are no social

skills groups in our area which is one thing he would really benefit from and

our school district doesn't offer much for high-functioning children. We ended

up homeschooling for that reason. We went ahead in seeking a diagnosis in case

he would need to know for sure later in life like if he ever needed disability

or services if he ever returns to public school.

>

> My son is 6 years old and shows some quirky behaviors. Recently, at a parent

teacher conference, the teacher thought he might have Aspergers. She filled out

a checklist. I agree with some of it, but some scores I don't. We saw his

pediatrician and she suggested testing at our local hospital's behavior clinic.

I contacted them and of course our insurance does not cover the tests and it

will be about $5000. This is about 3-6 apts plus some time with the teachers at

school. Here is the kicker, I am a social worker in the disabilities field. I

have been working with adults and children with disabilities for about 12 years.

I saw some odd things in my child as he was getting older, but he was meeting

all of his milestones. He also had a pretty crazy first couple years of life as

we were living with my family while I worked and my husband went to school.

When he graduated, we moved and our life is a lot more stable. He has trouble

with social groups. He does not have any friends. I am not sure he can say who

is his best friend. Kids don't call our house for play dates. It makes me sad

and I know it makes him sad. I do know though that he talks to kids about

things they may not be interested in. He will repeat jokes and be a little too

silly at times. He does show empathy. He does seem to understand some social

rules and things. I am just confused about what to do.

>

> My thoughts are, in my work I have seen time and time again parents pay for

really expensive assessments only to have them not really do anything but 1)

tell them their kids has issues and 2) give recommendations. But, by the time

the assessment is paid for, there is no money for treatment. If I were my own

social worker, I would say that I needed an OT assessment and to see a

psychologist for therapy. My son jumps and skips all the time. He has a huge

fear of the dark. He will not go to the bathroom unless someone watches him and

he feels secure that he is ok. He will go to bed and stay asleep, but will not

enter a dark room. He HATES Halloween. He does not want to sit on our couch.

He refuses to sit on it unless there is a blanket to sit on. He likes to be in

just his underwear. His academics are great though. He functions a grade or

two above where he is (1st grade). It is just his social and emotional that is

at risk. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone else have a kid like

this? It would be helpful to talk to someone who has seen this type of

behavior.

>

> Do you think an assessment is necessary? It seems like all it will do is give

my kid a label. The school will not do anything because he is not academically

challenged. My insurance won't pay for anything as it is not a medical need.

Should I just start OT and Psychological services myself and spend my $5000 on

therapy instead of evaluations? Thoughts please?

>

[Guest guest]

The book " Clinical Treatment of Autism " by Hollander,

has it's first chapter or so on testing for autism spectrum

disorders. He actually lists the names of all the tests.

You may find this very interesting.

Pam

-- In , " " <kilpatrickclan@...> wrote:

>

> My son is 6 years old and shows some quirky behaviors. Recently, at a parent

teacher conference, the teacher thought he might have Aspergers. She filled out

a checklist. I agree with some of it, but some scores I don't. We saw his

pediatrician and she suggested testing at our local hospital's behavior clinic.

I contacted them and of course our insurance does not cover the tests and it

will be about $5000. This is about 3-6 apts plus some time with the teachers at

school. Here is the kicker, I am a social worker in the disabilities field. I

have been working with adults and children with disabilities for about 12 years.

I saw some odd things in my child as he was getting older, but he was meeting

all of his milestones. He also had a pretty crazy first couple years of life as

we were living with my family while I worked and my husband went to school.

When he graduated, we moved and our life is a lot more stable. He has trouble

with social groups. He does not have any friends. I am not sure he can say who

is his best friend. Kids don't call our house for play dates. It makes me sad

and I know it makes him sad. I do know though that he talks to kids about

things they may not be interested in. He will repeat jokes and be a little too

silly at times. He does show empathy. He does seem to understand some social

rules and things. I am just confused about what to do.

>

> My thoughts are, in my work I have seen time and time again parents pay for

really expensive assessments only to have them not really do anything but 1)

tell them their kids has issues and 2) give recommendations. But, by the time

the assessment is paid for, there is no money for treatment. If I were my own

social worker, I would say that I needed an OT assessment and to see a

psychologist for therapy. My son jumps and skips all the time. He has a huge

fear of the dark. He will not go to the bathroom unless someone watches him and

he feels secure that he is ok. He will go to bed and stay asleep, but will not

enter a dark room. He HATES Halloween. He does not want to sit on our couch.

He refuses to sit on it unless there is a blanket to sit on. He likes to be in

just his underwear. His academics are great though. He functions a grade or

two above where he is (1st grade). It is just his social and emotional that is

at risk. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone else have a kid like

this? It would be helpful to talk to someone who has seen this type of

behavior.

>

> Do you think an assessment is necessary? It seems like all it will do is give

my kid a label. The school will not do anything because he is not academically

challenged. My insurance won't pay for anything as it is not a medical need.

Should I just start OT and Psychological services myself and spend my $5000 on

therapy instead of evaluations? Thoughts please?

>