Brett's appointment went well yesterday! Thank you for your prayers.
In order to see the geneticist before August, we had to schedule through the eye clinic. So, even though we feel we have a good understanding and plan of attack with our eye specialist, our first appointment of the day was with an eye specialist. It was difficult, and there were some tears, but the doctor was able to do a thorough examination of his eyes. She was of the same opinion regarding treatment - that his cataracts are currently not significant enough to take the risks involved with surgery. So, it was nice to have a second opinion, same as the first!
Our next appointment was with the geneticist. She performed a brief physical exam, looked over what we have about his biological history, and observed him in action for a few minutes. Her recommendation was not to do any genetics testing at this time, as she did not feel any of the information she currently had indicated a genetic disorder. Instead, related to his speech delay and some concerns we have about his behavior, she recommended that we get his hearing assessed and have some psychological and learning testing done. She confirmed my suspicion that school districts only have the capacity to serve kids with very significant delays, so even though Brett didn't "qualify", he would likely benefit from some therapy sought privately.
It was also recommended that we get Reggie in to the eye doctor.
This leads me to the question: What does it cost to have one expert refer you to three other experts? And will we gain anything there? (just voicing a little frustration)
The good news is there were no surprises.
Glad your appt went well and that the 2nd doctor agreed regarding no surgery.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad all went well! It always works that way with us, too. You see one specialist and they refer you to a team of other ones who basically tell you everything is fine but to come back and see them in 6 months. :)
ReplyDeleteOnce your other testing is done, you might want to still contact the school district and share the results with them. Medical specialists sometimes make assumptions about qualifying through the school district that are inaccurate and Brett maybe would qualify for some services (free and likely provided right in your home). Otherwise, the school district can complete their own assessments free of charge too. I am a Speech Pathologist working with a MN school district, so this is pretty familiar to me. Good luck with everything and I am happy to hear that his visit went so well.
ReplyDeleteYay! Glad to hear it went well and that there were no surprises. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know we are in totally two different states....which I know there are different services offered. Just something maybe to check into if you haven't already....my friend's son had delayed speed even though he is very smart. She had a speech therapist come to her home each week to work with him and it made so much difference. In a short time he was talking much better. I'm not sure what agency or program it was. She actually did not have to pay anything for the services. Maybe this will help and someone can come to your home.
ReplyDeleteGayla