Results from Iowa City

Well, today is Tuesday and Kinnick had his appointment in Iowa City yesterday. It was an all day appointment and Kinnick did really well. He adjusted to everyone who examined him and they were able to take him and work with him without Adam and I being in the room. He spent time with an educational consultant, a psychologist, a speech clinician, and 2 child psychiatrists. Everyone was really nice and he found that each doctor had fun toys to play with in their office. When we met with the team of doctors after lunch they discussed with us their findings and their diagnosis. He meets the criteria for autism spectrum disorder as described by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV). Specifically his diagnosis is Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS (Not Otherwise Specified). Adam and I were overloaded with information and I think we left the appointment rather confused. Once I got home last night I looked up several things they talked with us about and am more comfortable with trying to explain it now. Also, when we actually receive a copy of the reports they write about about Kinnick we will have it on paper to refer to. There are 3 categories or areas that they look at to diagnose autism spectrum disorder and Kinnick "qualifies" for all 3. They are:

1. qualitative impairment in social interaction, qualitative impairments in communication, restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities

2. delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas: social interaction, language as used in social communication, and symbolic or imaginative play

3. the disturbance is not better accounted for by Rett's Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

CLEAR AS MUD??? This is basically everything that we already knew about Kinnick before his appointment, we just needed a medical diagnosis so that we can now ask for more resources that we can utilize to help Kinnick in everyway we can!

Of course, before we left Iowa City we walked over to Kinnick Stadium and took pictures of the statue of Niles Kinnick.