week 5.

Today marks one month since Emmett's diagnosis. I feel like within that month I have really tried to get as much done as I can to kick start the services and support Emmett needs. Although I feel like not much has "happened" yet, I am doing my part in taking all the necessary steps. Now I have to wait for phone calls and let things fall into place.
This past month has been intense and stressful, but has gone by quickly. Emmett has only had three sessions of speech therapy, so no progress to report on yet. His therapist is still working on getting him to specifically say, "I want ______.", instead of pointing or grabbing it out of her hand.

• Matt was able to come to speech with me yesterday, which was great. He met Zena and got to see what a session is like. 
• We got a call back from the feeding clinic and are scheduled for the first appointment on July 2nd. That was the earliest availability. I also checked our status for OT and we are 20-something on the waiting list. Hmmph. 

week 4.

On Monday, Emmett had his screening with the school district at the SPPS placement center. He did very well with both the vision and hearing tests. The rest, however, was painful for me to watch and I started to cry. Emmett was not able to do most of the things the staff member asked him to do. For example, he did great with telling her colors and counting from 1-10. But when he was asked to copy a pattern, drawing, or structure with the blocks, he looked at her with a blank stare. He was also unable to answer many of her questions or finish a sentence such as, "A brother is a boy, a sister is a _____?" I know Emmett is smart and will learn at his own pace, but it was still really hard for me to witness him struggling with simple requests. Someone from special education is suppose to call us to have Emmett evaluated (again, sigh) to see what he qualifies for in school.
Speech therapy went well on Wednesday. Zena and Emmett mostly played again to get to know each other. She worked again with him on telling her what he wants, not just pointing and grabbing at toys. She wants him to say, "I want the ______." He still hasn't said it, but it will come with time.

• Matt and I filled out the massive packet we had to send to the feeding clinic to get an appointment. We had to answer a ton of questions and write down everything Emmett ate and drank for 3 days. We had to write down what he ate, at what time, how long it took him to eat it, and how much (specifically) he ate. That's hard to do!
• Someone from Ramsey County called me back! She was very helpful and answered most of my questions. It sounds like getting any kind of medical assistance is a long and tedious process. Yikes.

week 3.

I've made a LOT of phone calls this week. Too many. The frustrating thing is I feel like I haven't gotten very far from making those calls. There are a lot of things that move at a snail's pace with this process.

• I called the county to try and get in touch with a case worker to find out what my options are for medical assistance. Everything is automated on the phone and it was almost impossible to talk to a live person. We have to get onto an intake list to be called back.
• I got on the waiting list at Children's for Emmett to also have a psychological evaluation. I guess this evaluation is more "precise" in diagnosing autism and it could also find other brain disorders, if he has one. Plus, I'm pretty sure we need the behavioral and psychological evaluations to technically have a "medical" diagnosis in order for therapy to be covered by insurance. So confusing and frustrating.
• I called the nurse line again at Blue Cross and waited and waited. Still haven't gotten a clear answer about insurance coverage. I really hope everything works out in that department.
• Called another line to the county and left a voice mail for an intake interview. I think this is the right one.
• Organized a binder with all of Emmett's documents we've gotten. It was piling up fast. I feel better just having that easily accessible.  

Emmett had his first speech therapy session Wednesday morning. It went really well and he was cooperative. He was scared walking into the clinic, but calmed down. His speech therapist's name is Zena and she is very nice and great with Emmett. I was observing the therapists at Children's and they all seem awesome. They all come out to get their patients and are so excited to see the kids. This session was about getting to know each other, so she and Emmett mostly played with toys and she tried talking to him as much as possible. He seems pretty comfortable with her. She also asked me many questions and got to know me.
After talking to me about Emmett's eating habits, Zena referred us to the feeding clinic at Children's, which strictly focuses on different foods and how to eat them and feed yourself. Feeding therapy is done with and OT so it's like getting two kinds of therapy in one shot. Zena thinks Emmett should go there because of his limited diet and his issues with gagging/vomiting on textures of food. This has been a huge problem and I am all for trying anything to help Emmett with his eating issues.  

week 2.

Today is National Autism Awareness Day. We all wore blue to represent the day. I was surprised at how many people we know also knew to wear blue today. April is also autism awareness month. It seems a little ironic how one week after Emmett's diagnosis is basically the autism "holiday", am I right?

We received a detailed write-up of Emmett's assessment in the mail. We also received a letter from Dr. Amy. She referred Emmett to Psychology Services at Children's and wants us to make an appointment. I need to call them tomorrow. I also need to find a support group for our family to attend.