Ben's developmental ped evaluation

The appointment was suprising for me and completely unexpected.  Beforehand, I said that I wouldn't be suprised if Ben was found to be on the autism spectrum and I wouldn't be surprised to find we wasn't.  The appointment had different results than I expected.....Ben was given a diagnosis of Early Childhood Developmental Delay.  The doctor explained that he doesn't believe Ben is on the autism spectrum and feels that his social skills are emerging.....BUT he sees 4 future results for Ben....option 1 is best case: we hit him with loads of early intervention and he outgrows his delays, option 2 is what the doctor suspects in most likely: Ben has a language delay (something along the lines of auditory processing disorder) which is interfering with his other areas of development, option 3: Ben will be diagnosed down the road with ADHD, and option 4: Ben will eventually be diagnosed on the autism spectrum if his emerging skills don't actually emerge.

The treatment plan the doctor laid out for us is private OT and speech on top of the early intervention.  He believes Ben would benefit from the special education preschool that Liam attends.  He wants Ben to receive ABA, but there is a catch....because Ben is not on the autism spectrum, Tricare will only cover 3 hours a week and it MUST be provided by a BCBA.  Liam's BCBA cannot provide those hours herself at this time.  We are still waiting for Tricare to make the referrals and Ben's PCM has not YET called us back, so at the moment, I am pushing ABA to the back burner.  Liam's BCBA feels Ben is on the spectrum and thinks we should get a second opinion.  I am struggling with feeling overwhelmed with all of this.  I never expected the doctor to find that Ben has 50% delays in multiple areas.  I don't exactly remember the numbers but will write a seperate post when his written report arrives.

There was good news.....The biggest is that the doctor absolutely thinks Ben should have allergy testing.  He was generally supportive of a theory of allergies and GI distress affecting development.  I noticed his library contained the book on special diets for special kids. :-)  The other news is that he told me that I should have a handicap parking tag.  He thinks this is for the saftey and well-being of other drivers, and not just to make my life easier.  I got it yesterday and haven't needed to use it yet, but that will likely change when the parking lots get snow covered.  Liam wasn't able to walk without falling last year.  This year that would mean carrying 70+ pounds of boys wearing winter gear through parking lots on either hip.  I am not sure I can physically manage that.  The last bit of good news is Ben's growth....36 inches tall and 28.5 pounds!!!!!!!!!