Evaluation Day

Well, we had our evaluation day! Honestly, I was waiting so long for this day that I was ready for it. I already knew going in what the outcome was going to be, but we were finally able to put it down on paper!

The evaluation went similar to every other evaluations but Grayson was given the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS, for short) test. We went back into a room where there were toys on a table. Grayson clung to me most of the time, but wasn’t too upset.

Side-note: I know before we had the evaluation, I wanted to know EXACTLY what happened and what to expect… so here is my take on it.

We were asked tons of questions about milestones, how he communicates, sensory needs, repetitive behaviors, and skills Grayson was or wasn’t meeting. We were asked when and why we first suspected ASD (Check out my "First Signs" post) That took up the majority of the time because Grayson is non verbal, so the information came from us. The pediatrician was filling out forms as she asked us questions.

The developmental pediatrician tried to engage with Grayson through toys but he wasn’t interested, so she mostly just observed. Grayson actually acted similar with his play as he did at home so I felt it was a good representation of his behavior. They gave him a piggy bank with coins, a snack, a bathtub and baby doll, cars, a ball, animals, blocks and a puzzle. He loved the toy cars, lined them up immediately. He also loved the balls and rolled them around.

The pediatrician tried to get Grayson to engage in pretend play with the baby doll and bath, but Grayson ignored her and didn’t have any interest. They also asked me to play similarly with him as I do at home and see how he engaged with me. Name response was also a big deal. They called his name to see if they could get a response, and then asked me to, to see if a familiar voice was different. Grayson did not respond to either of us.

The last part was offering Grayson a snack, which he didn’t want and refused. To be honest, I am not sure what the point of the snack was and since he refused the snack, they never explained the point of it.

After that, the pediatrician left the room for 15 minutes, came back, and gave us the result- so the result was given the same day. It took about a week to get the actual report though. We were given a folder with tons of information on how to help Grayson going forward and the pediatrician discussed tons of options and things we could do.

It ended up being a good day after waiting over a year. We got our diagnosis which opened up TONS of support and help for Grayson. I feel relieved, which is crazy because entering the ASD journey, my mindset was so against giving Grayson any type of label. I didn’t want a label to define him and others to treat him differently, but I realize now his label will help him so much for his future. I love my little boy so much!

This is one of the toy cars they gave Grayson to play with... as you can see, his shoes did not stay on for long. I am surprised we even got him to tolerate clothes!!

This was us waiting in the waiting room. Yes, we brought our Brown Bear book!!!