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.