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Aug. 31st, 2010 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sethrakRecon to Mark's new ABA therapist yesterday went mostly all right. I had trouble getting off base. Security Forces physically blocked the West Gate right before I got there, and was redirecting traffic away from the intersection. No idea why. So I swerved up and around to the North Gate, and took a different road to Academy Blvd.
Traffic was fine until we got a couple blocks south of Briargate, which was where I needed to make a turn. CDOT had the righthand northbound lane and the right turn lanes blocked off when cones, and plenty of signage warning people to merge with the leftmost northbound lane. Most of the drivers paid attention, but there were enough special snowflakes who ignored the signs, saw a wide open right lane, and thought they could be smarter than everyone else, to cause problems when they inevitably needed to merge back into my lane. Sometimes I hate people.
Western Briargate has a mildly annoying preponderance of right lanes that turn into "Right lane MUST turn right" lanes without adequate warning. I avoided problems except for accidentally being forced to enter the University of CO's Springs campus. (Speaking of which, they have abysmal parking; if I ever attend that school, I am taking the bus, and to hell with the added commute time.)
Heading back afterward was worse. Security Forces and the local cops had blocked off the intersection of Powers and Airport Road east of Powers, AND the northbound lanes on Powers. I had to go south on Powers, make a U-Turn, and go back west on Airport in order to loop around and get to the North Gate. Again, no idea why. There were no visible emergency vehicles or sirens to be heard. I cut it so close getting home that Dav, who'd tried to call my cell and failed, as I was on the road, came home from work mere seconds after I did, worried that there'd be no one to get Mark from the bus.
Fortunately this morning's trip to the actual appointment went far smoother. Mark was displeased and confused about getting a morning bath. (He fell asleep right after dinner last night.) He was really upset that I wouldn't let him in the backyard after breakfast. I didn't want him getting grungy before we left, and knew we wouldn't have time after the appt. for another bath before the bus arrived.
But he was well-behaved on the car ride to the doctor's office. The ride went perfectly. (CDOT had moved the cones on Briargate.) And aside from his normal dislike of elevators, he was beautifully behaved for the entire appointment. :D Dr. Hatfield's waiting room is large and has plenty of toys, and magazines for the older patients and their families. (He shares space with a couple of doctors who handle sexual assault therapy, and ADD and ADHD issues.) His personal office is also large, and the furniture was laid out so that energetic little kids can roam freely without wreaking too much havoc. Dr. H. has the lightning fast reflexes of a parent or owner of small pets. ^_^ He had a cup of coffee on his desk, and a few items Mark was not allowed to touch;, and every time Mark swerved that way, he slid out a blocking arm without turning his head or missing a beat in the conversation.
Overall I was highly impressed. Most of today's visit involved formally notifying me of various things CO state law and HIPAA require I be told, asking questions to fill in the gaps of the basic forms I'd filled out and sent them, and observing Mark's natural behaviors. Dr. H is well-trained, has been doing this for decades, and currently serves on a couple of state gov boards for regulation of doctors who treat autism and advising the state on what treatments currently work best. He is absolutely not in favor of the wierder stuff out there for autism, and frequently has to gently disabuse his patients' parents of the idea that those things do any good.
Mark won't be working directly with him, but with one of the therapists in his practice. They offer in-home, in-school, and on-site therapy at just about any location where the patient is Having Issues and needs their help to work out something to let the patient get through the situation. (I suspect the tricky part will be getting Tricare to pay for some of that.) But even within the financial constraints of our insurance, there's plenty that we can have done for Mark. One of their biggest things for children Mark's age is toilet-training, and they do referrals for local programs that work with autistic kids on their eating issues.
We have a follow-up for early October, and we're on the waiting list if something opens up sooner. The reason Dr. H. had to shift the appt. from Friday to today is that he's getting a tonsilectomy, so he'll be unavailable for a while afterward. Hence the next opening being in October.
I have a really good feeling about how this is going to go. ^_^
Traffic was fine until we got a couple blocks south of Briargate, which was where I needed to make a turn. CDOT had the righthand northbound lane and the right turn lanes blocked off when cones, and plenty of signage warning people to merge with the leftmost northbound lane. Most of the drivers paid attention, but there were enough special snowflakes who ignored the signs, saw a wide open right lane, and thought they could be smarter than everyone else, to cause problems when they inevitably needed to merge back into my lane. Sometimes I hate people.
Western Briargate has a mildly annoying preponderance of right lanes that turn into "Right lane MUST turn right" lanes without adequate warning. I avoided problems except for accidentally being forced to enter the University of CO's Springs campus. (Speaking of which, they have abysmal parking; if I ever attend that school, I am taking the bus, and to hell with the added commute time.)
Heading back afterward was worse. Security Forces and the local cops had blocked off the intersection of Powers and Airport Road east of Powers, AND the northbound lanes on Powers. I had to go south on Powers, make a U-Turn, and go back west on Airport in order to loop around and get to the North Gate. Again, no idea why. There were no visible emergency vehicles or sirens to be heard. I cut it so close getting home that Dav, who'd tried to call my cell and failed, as I was on the road, came home from work mere seconds after I did, worried that there'd be no one to get Mark from the bus.
Fortunately this morning's trip to the actual appointment went far smoother. Mark was displeased and confused about getting a morning bath. (He fell asleep right after dinner last night.) He was really upset that I wouldn't let him in the backyard after breakfast. I didn't want him getting grungy before we left, and knew we wouldn't have time after the appt. for another bath before the bus arrived.
But he was well-behaved on the car ride to the doctor's office. The ride went perfectly. (CDOT had moved the cones on Briargate.) And aside from his normal dislike of elevators, he was beautifully behaved for the entire appointment. :D Dr. Hatfield's waiting room is large and has plenty of toys, and magazines for the older patients and their families. (He shares space with a couple of doctors who handle sexual assault therapy, and ADD and ADHD issues.) His personal office is also large, and the furniture was laid out so that energetic little kids can roam freely without wreaking too much havoc. Dr. H. has the lightning fast reflexes of a parent or owner of small pets. ^_^ He had a cup of coffee on his desk, and a few items Mark was not allowed to touch;, and every time Mark swerved that way, he slid out a blocking arm without turning his head or missing a beat in the conversation.
Overall I was highly impressed. Most of today's visit involved formally notifying me of various things CO state law and HIPAA require I be told, asking questions to fill in the gaps of the basic forms I'd filled out and sent them, and observing Mark's natural behaviors. Dr. H is well-trained, has been doing this for decades, and currently serves on a couple of state gov boards for regulation of doctors who treat autism and advising the state on what treatments currently work best. He is absolutely not in favor of the wierder stuff out there for autism, and frequently has to gently disabuse his patients' parents of the idea that those things do any good.
Mark won't be working directly with him, but with one of the therapists in his practice. They offer in-home, in-school, and on-site therapy at just about any location where the patient is Having Issues and needs their help to work out something to let the patient get through the situation. (I suspect the tricky part will be getting Tricare to pay for some of that.) But even within the financial constraints of our insurance, there's plenty that we can have done for Mark. One of their biggest things for children Mark's age is toilet-training, and they do referrals for local programs that work with autistic kids on their eating issues.
We have a follow-up for early October, and we're on the waiting list if something opens up sooner. The reason Dr. H. had to shift the appt. from Friday to today is that he's getting a tonsilectomy, so he'll be unavailable for a while afterward. Hence the next opening being in October.
I have a really good feeling about how this is going to go. ^_^
