陽陽三歲，看兒醫和神經科醫生

上午帶陽陽和玫玫去看兒醫。等了一個多小時，醫生才來，但陽陽還要去看神經醫生。兒醫隻是匆匆看了看玫玫，說她的耳朵好多了，又說陽陽也有 ear infection, wheezing，發燒 101 度。讓我下午帶陽陽再回來。

我把玫玫撂給阿姨，就帶陽陽去神經醫生。已經十二點多了，陽陽還沒吃飯，吃了點餅幹什麽的。他本來就病了，又困又餓，還等了一陣才見到醫生。醫生說等陽陽病好了才能做 full evaluation，這次先給個 diagnosis，好明天給 school district 的 IEP 看。

She asked me some questions, and then examed yangyang briefly.

Doctor: Is he still fixed on cars?
Mom: He still loves cars, but he knows that he can't play cars at home, so he is getting better.

D: What is he fixed on now?
M: He went through a phase of letters, but not that bad.

D: So the psychologist diagnosed him with autism, why?
M: She went to observe him in school, and said that the whole time he did not initiate conversation with others.
M: Since then, I have observed him more closely. He would talk to us at home, and to his best friend.

D: Initiating conversation with parents or best friend doesn't count. Does he talk to others? What about kids in the playground?
M: No, he would approach them if they have cars. He is also interested in older kids when they are doing activities.
D: Then he is interested in the activities, not the kids.

D: Does he point out things he sees on the street?
M: Yes, he often says, "there's a dump truck!" "I see a blue MINI."
D: That's just labeling things. That's not joint attention.

(Yangyang pointed at a lego set on the top shelf, not talking)
D: Does he talk? What does he want?
M: He wants the lego set. He get very anxious at social situations and he cannot talk. His speech get stuck sometimes.
D: He needs speech therapy still.
M: But he talks a lot at home, with long and complex sentences.
D: Speech therapy can help him talk in social situations.

D: How's his hand use? Does he still favor left? What about OT and PT?
M: He still uses left hand predominantly. OT and PT are through CCS, and they keep dismissing him, saying there's nothing much they can do for him.
D: He needs OT and PT, because he has abnormal MRI of the brain. He should do it through insurance.

(after observing Yangyang running up and down the corridor)
D: He still has a weakness on the right side. He doesn't swing his arms correctly.

M: People keep telling me that he is just shy, and he is fine. Autism is over-diagnosed anyway.
D: But he has abnormal MRI. Also, autism means three things: fixation, speech, and social. He has all three, so he needs help.

M: People say that because we talk about him having autism, it messes him up.
D: No. Do you think so?
D: Do you want him to grow up like this? Or do you want to help him?

D: We will speed up his MRI scheduling. I will see you in two weeks for another evaluation.

從醫生那裏出來，已經1:10，離兒醫下午開門的時間還有50分鍾，回家睡覺恐怕是來不及了。我就開車慢慢在街上轉，去 drive through 買了午餐。快到兒醫那裏，陽陽睡著了。讓他在車裏睡了半個小時，就去看兒醫。

接到學區的電話，說對不起，忘了給陽陽 PT evaluation，但不要緊，以後可以補。明天開會，陽陽是 qualify for continuing service through the school district。

這回沒等多久。醫生做了體檢。身高 39 1/8，體重 33.2。正常。半夜驚醒恐怕是因為耳朵難受。吃飯不要逼迫，每天三杯奶足夠，零食給點 cheese 或高蛋白東西。potty train 成功。神經醫生的診斷好。School district 接受他，醫生聽了很高興，說陽陽需要接受特殊教育。我們校區可能讓陽陽上 RB 的 Washington School。同意 Seasprites 不好，Growing Garden 不適合他。

給了消炎藥，和 inhaler alternative。

明天早上去 IEP。這關係到陽陽之後幾年的成長和教育。希望他能夠接受適當的幫助，克服他的多重恐懼，健康成長。