Finally, the Ped. I wish we had for the past 2 1/2 years!

So today was the consultation with Taysen's new Pediatrician. (Rowans too, but today was just about Taysen.) His new Ped is Dr. Gladieux. His consult went very very well today, it was literally like a breath of fresh air. We (Josh and I both, and I think even Taysen) really really liked him a lot. Dr. Gladieux immediately noticed some of the things that Tate does, mostly because he did a lot of pacing in his office...and spinning his toy phone...plus I had brought my handy dandy notebook that has all my info in it, with my list of all of the things that Taysen does on a regular basis, quirks wise...haha, but he also noticed right away that he does have great qualities too like the eye contact with us (and he also looked at Dr. Gladieux and was giving him high 5's by the end of the visit...:) ) and the affection that he has towards us. He of course said he couldnt diagnose anything, but that he could tell by just being with him that he wasnt a classic autistic. He may be on the spectrum, but on the mild side. He mentioned Sensory Intergration Disorder (which Heidi, Taysens speech therapist at EI, talked to me about also...I am meeting with Heidi-speech therapist, Holly-occupational therapist, and Rhoda-his EI teacher tomorrow to talk with them.) Also, he mentioned that Aspergers is a possibility. I told him that Heidi-speech therapist- thinks I should hold off on taking him to a developmental pediatrician so that we can try a few other things first...and he said "I already like her!" Because I guess he was just going to say the same thing right before I blurted that out. Anyhow, I asked him, "well what about the language delay? Most kids with Aspergers dont have language delays"...and he said "With as many ear infections that he has had, he probably cant hear enough to have developed his language correctly." With Taysens track record on ear infections, he said that Taysen should have had tubes put in his ears a long time ago. (I so agree, and we asked his old ped. about it and he said it was too dangerous to do!! To which Dr. Gladieux said was bull****!) So we scheduled a hearing test (in the booth) for July 24th at 3:30pm and then at 4pm we meet with Dr. Merrill, and ENT specialist. So things are moving along! He did say that he agreed with me, that did feel like Taysen would be diagnosed with something eventually especially because he has a nice compilation of quirks and odd behaviors, but that we should give him a chance to talk before we worry about a diagnosis. BUT one thing he did say, was that the things that Taysen was doing (like lining up all of his books in his bedroom into pathways that he was walking on) was a "brilliant" thing for a 2 year old to be doing. We said, "We'll take brilliant!" He said that Taysen was doing some very smart things that most 2 year olds dont normally do, and that just made us happy. At least on the positive side-if he has to have something wrong with him, he gets to be brilliant. He used the word "brilliant" a few times when he was talking about Taysen. It was nice to hear. Anyhow, we also did get the prescription for private speech therapy too and gave me a few names of therapists who deal specifically with autistic kids, so he thinks that they would be able to really help him. At least that is who he recommended. So I am going to call them tomorrow to see if they take our insurance. I guess he (Dr Gladieux) is personal friends with those two therapists, so Im sure that he would know if they were good or not.

Anyhow, Dr. Gladieux seems like a great doctor who really has Taysens best intrests at heart, just as much as we do. We both felt so refreshed after seeing him. I think the consult lasted like an hour and a half! We werent rushed at all and he is just the type of doctor that we have been wanting for so long, one that is involved, and wants to be! He said that he wanted us to call him with updates on how things are going, and how his appointments with the ENT doc (tubes in ears) and how the speech therapy are going. That just made us feel so good that he wanted updates. He made a follow up appointment for September 3rd to see him again, to see what progress he has after the tubes are put in his ears. So now its just waiting a couple weeks for the hearing appointments. We are so anxious (in a good way) to get it all going!! :)

And girls, thanks so much for all the support. Its great to be able to get this all out, and just talk about it in general. The first few weeks that it really hit us (and after the denial finally left us) that we have a child that has something wrong with him, was very difficult and full of tears. But I think we have really come far already with dealing with it all and getting past that stage. Especially after today's appointment. It really felt like a good step forward. And I love that the doctor thinks that the things that Taysen is doing are "brilliant" and not just weird. (I really think brilliant is my favorite word right now. Seriously. :) ) We have a special little guy because someone must have known that we could handle it.



OH and Carmen...we have already started introducing Taysen to a gluten free/casein free diet. We just started about 2 weeks ago, and are gradually replacing things that he eats with GF/CF versions. Thanks for the link to that book though, because it really is proving difficult to find things that are both gf/cf and taste good! Ill give anything a try! :) Oh and Dena, Dr. Gladieux also explained to me that the vaccines no longer contain thimerisol. Which does make me feel a lot better. So I dont think that we are going to stop all shots. We are going to skip out on the unneeded ones, like the flu shot...just because its just an extra shot that the kids dont really need...but the other vaccinations I think we are going to keep on. At least thats what we are thinking for now. And Jodi, if I could hug ya back I would. :) Thanks for your comment, what I know for sure is that I am thankful that Taysen's problems are going to be manageable, and he will very most likely be able to grow up and live his life like any normal person, and that is what every parent wants. So we are thankful that its not any worse than it is. :) OH and guess what I found out today...Bill Gates has Aspergers. Isnt that dandy? :D Maybe Taysen will be the next computer genius!