Global Developmental Disorder

Greetings:

I received an email yesterday from a mother with a 2 1/2 year old son. He has just been diagnosed with GDD. She asked me if I can help her.

We exchanged a few emails. Eventually I learned that she is not leaving the house because her son continually pinches her - she is so black and blue she does not want to be seen in public. He is also banging his head so severely that she is afraid he will cause permanent damage.

Through our interaction I learned that she recently enrolled at her regional center. However, she was not aware of pre-school programs, behavior modification programs, respite care, in-home observations, and the numerous other programs that might be available to assist her.

I could tell, from her writing, that she is somewhat shy and bashful - unfortunately, in the economical state our country is in, when funding has been cut for the regional centers, and so forth - one must be assertive (but pleasant) in obtaining needed services for their child.

I told the woman I will be happy to act on her behalf - we can have a conference call and I can act as her advocate. In this way I can get a feel for the worker and how she might assist her.

If any of you have any ideas as far as assisting the mother and the child, please let me know. (I can't close without wondering if the diagnosis of GDD is a cloak for a diagnosis of Autism - My book, The Autism Handbook, to be published later this summer, covers the diagnosis of Autism and it certainly sounds like this young boy might be misdiagnosed.)

Take care my friends,

Jack