[cjrogers]

Ok. First of all, Dee - Hugs. Many hugs to you. How stressful this is. I am so sorry.

Now -

OK. From the sounds of the posts, he has only been home a short period of time, right? He was recently taken away from his family and everything he KNOWS. Children mourn too. In different ways that adults. Plus, standards are different in GT! Kids don't develop at the same rate there, for obvious reasons. They catch up though.

I need to say, that your physician's candor is bugging me a little bit. Umm, this is his first visit. Is this physician familiar with GT, IA? Is this is a general pediatrician? (Sorry I don't mean to offend any docs out there by saying this, honestly) But many of them have no specialty other than pediatrics. Or is this a specialist?

To suggest autism, fragile X or anything else might be a little over the top for a 20 minute doc's visit. All of our kids have developmental issues from an American standard/perspective!!

I would suggest that you start keeping a journal of what your son is doing and when. Is he making eye contact and playing at certain times? Does he seem comfortable yet? Does he smile? Is he engaging, even for a minute? How does he interact with the primary caregiver? Can you make him mimic sounds or movement - even to the slightest degree? Keep a journal.

I can tell you that my ped told me that my son had high tone and other issues going on. I later found out that this was not true at all from a specialist.

On the other hand, it's good that she's sending you for testing and aggressively ruling the "bigger" things out. In the meantime, have you called your County's EI program? If not, you should do so. They operate independently from physicians. Early therapy and quick intervention might get him up to speed.

And God Forbid - if there is something going on, you can handle it and with therapy you and him may be able to overcome it.

Try to keep yourself busy, stay calm and try to think positively. Don't let your stress or worry leak over on him right now-- Just love on him.

Good luck and do keep us posted. I'm sending many positive thoughts and prayers your way.

cheryl