Good weekend/ Interesting Neurologist appointment

Last week was our biannual neurologist appointment. This time I came prepared with a list of questions and concerns that I wanted to address.
1) Robbie is 4 years old and has a indentation on the top of head- why?
2) What medications are available- what do they do and when do people use them?
3) What other testing can we do to rule out other things?
4) Do you see any changes/improvements in Robbie?

1) Robbie's head just formed that way. There aren't any soft spots- so the indentation is not abnormal.
2) Ritalin and Adderall are used when behavior gets in the way of learning. There is no correct age- just when/if you feel it's needed.
3) Testing- MRI- to look at the structure of the brain. EEG- to look for any abnormal or seizure activity. Blood work- for Genetic testing and Celiac panel.
4) Robbie is still in the middle of the spectrum. No change. If and when his verbal skills improve than he may as well.

Why did I have all of these questions? Robbie was diagnosed with Autism over a year ago. The diagnosis was made by observing him. No clinical testing has ever been done. I do think he is autistic but I can't rule out other possibilities on top of that. Robbie clenches his whole body at times- could that be a mild seizure? Robbie learns something and forgets something else. He learns nose but forgets ears or he learns potato and call ketchup- chocolate. He's known ketchup for months. Could there be an abnormality in his brain function, structure- etc. Robbie's stimming goes from being manageable to borderline out of control. How do we handle that? His teachers have said to allow it for a few minutes and redirect so he understands he can't continually stimm but let him get what he needs out of it. That is hard. Think of the people you've seen who shake, jump, flap, mumble, what did you think when you looked at them? When anyone says hello to Robbie I have to prompt him to respond. Robbie is at the age where people are noticing he is different. And of course different is not always bad- but also remember how cruel people- especially kids can be.

This weekend I took Robbie and Lexi with me to a local Halloween costume swap I was volunteering at. There were quite a few kids running around and I was a little worried about how Robbie would handle it. He had a blast. He ran around with the other kids- not exactly playing with them, but happy they were there too. It was so nice to see Robbie enjoying himself and of course Lexi was happy- she's the easy one. The kids were kind. They tried to include him and continued playing when he didn't respond to their requests. We were at a venue he has become familiar with so I know that helped as well. Later that evening we went to our neighbors for dinner. It was a struggle to get Robbie out of the house going in the right direction- he wanted to jump on the trampoline. This was a new place with some new people and a dog. He was out of sorts for most of the time and it was a bit challenging. A few people did not know us but knew there was something different about our son- they told my husband later after Robbie, Lexi and I went home. All in all- I felt it was a successful day. I know the next time we go to our neighbors house he will do much better. It was also nice to go through a day and do normal family activities. Some easier than others but still normal, nice, good stuff.
A lot of testing coming up. No medication yet. Lots of therapy and many more hugs and praise. Robbie is working really hard. His sister keeps telling him- "good job Robbie" for everything he does. He is doing a good job. The best that he can!!