Not to get stuck on this topic, but somebody in my Autism 411 (Gather) group, posted that Toni Braxton is going to be on the View, talking about her son who was diagnosed with Autism. Her son is 3 1/2, but she feels that he was diagnosed "late", and that help could have been started for him much sooner.

Not sure how old he was when he was diagnosed, but typically children are diagnosed somewhere on the spectrum by the age of 3. It's surprising to me, though, how many people say they're still waiting for a diagnosis. (Whether it be for Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, PDD-NOS, Aspergers, or something else).

Matthew's doctor kept assuring me he was fine, and that just because I had a cousin with Autism, didn't mean he would have Autism. I realized that, but I also knew my kid was "off". It was only my pressuring to have testing done, that got the ball rolling. My doctor is great, but she doesn't know a lot about this disorder. If it weren't for her referring me to a state program which helps developmentally delayed children, I'd still be twiddling my thumbs. I shudder to think what Matthew would be like. It's really maddening to think that with the statistics being now at "1 in 166 kids have Autism", that more Peds aren't taking this seriously. (I realize they don't want to panic parents, or worry them for no reason, but jeez. Sometimes I think you have to run a couple tests if the parent wants it, just to allay their fears!).

He's now signed up for both speech, and OT therapy. And I think we'll be getting him some PT, too, since his scores for some test he had at school were not quite "up to snuff" for his age level. He also gets funding for some kind of social skills therapy, but I'm not sure where he'll go for that.