Part 7: The Clinician…

Image Credit: Fons Heijnsbroek

With the world shifting and everyone trying to pivot, I reached out once again to the trusted clinician I wrote to, prior to the pandemic hitting.  They were just a month away from retiring and sadly, I didn’t think that they were going to be an option in our discovery journey for Pierce.   They were so lovely and kind and wanted to meet with us still because they wanted to help - having done an in school observation of him 2 weeks before all the COVID school closures.      

As an aside,  the school principal, who we made arrangements with for the school visit, reflected that this was the mark of a good clinician and that she wished more clinicians would do the same. Conscious that there are many practical constraints and reasons that may prevent this, we both still appreciated how beneficial it was to have a child psychologist see the child in their school environment, with their peers, in their own classroom, and seeing how they interact and handle the in-class instructions and work in real time.  Because of this Dr. S. was able to see first hand that Pierce struggled with some basic math concepts in the classroom (sequencing large numbers) and also with his reading - coming to his help when he was having a hard time.  From this, they were able to gleam that Pierce truly did need support. 

Meeting With The Clinician:

My husband and I met Dr. S at their home office, where they ran their practice, with social distancing and COVID precautions in place.  It was warm and inviting, a bonus for already nervous parents.   Having observed Pierce, it was just the adults this time.  As we worked through the small talk, we eventually shifted the conversation to Pierce.   Dr. S shared with us their observations from the school visit and  how it was clear that Pierce was struggling.    They asked questions about Pierce, his milestones, what he was like as a child, and when the pieces of his learning and development started failing. We shared our stories to give them the background they needed, along with both family histories, and of course our desire to find answers.  This meeting felt promising.

Image Credit: Tim Mossholder

Dr. S shared with us their thoughts on how to best move forward and how, at this point in time, it was essential for Pierce to get tested early and see where he was excelling and where he was falling behind.  The psychoeducational tests they suggested would provide us the baseline of information needed (a starting reference), and would also help highlight areas of his learning and development.  The process required was two x 3 hr appointments scheduled a week apart to make the tests more manageable for Pierce (or any child).  As a single session it would be overwhelming.  The amount of focus and attention required to answer questions, solve problems, read, write, remember, and perform all these cognitive tasks is an enormous ask for one session (let alone two).  I inquired about Autism testing, and if it was necessary, not wanting to leave anything on the the table. As it turns out, testing for Autism Spectrum Disorder was optional, as an additional diagnostic measure, but was not part of the standard psychoeducational evaluation protocol.  It was completely separate.  Dr. S’s recommendation for Pierce was to hold off until we finished the initial tests and we could always come back to it if ever needed.  

The meeting was incredibly helpful.  However, we sat on all the information for quite some time, knowing HOW to move forward, but not knowing with whom, given Dr. S’s upcoming retirement.  To my surprise, I received an incredible gift when they called a couple weeks later to share that they were renewing their license for another year and that they were available to accept Pierce. It just so happened they still had a commitment to one young client and the testing and extensive paperwork couldn’t be completed in the short time they had remaining.   The fortuitous timing of it all!

The pieces were falling into place and we were so grateful to be moving forward with an experienced clinician who had 40 years of  knowledge behind them in clinical child psychology, specializing in Autism (PhD, C.Psych).  It was a beautiful blessing for our family.  This direction felt peacefully right and good.