I talked with Ryan's psychologist shortly after his appointment with the pediatrician. She said it's our decision whether or not to go to the Child Evaluation Center, but she has had a lot of dealings with them and doesn't have that much faith in their processes. I talked with her also about the STAR program, and she said it looks really good on paper, but she hasn't known *anyone* to actually get any decent services from them. And so I did some consumer research on the program and what she says seems to hold true; every comment about them was about being disappointed, about bad customer service, about being led on and the dead-ended. I guess my own experience holds true as well, since I called them and left a message and they never returned my call! I haven't received an appointment for the CEC yet, and I'm thinking I won't even bother (the CEC and the STAR program are somehow connected, also.) Dr. G and I talked for a half-hour about my concerns, whether he does have AS or not, whether it even matters, and where to go from here. She's really disappointed that StMM has forced us into half-days and that I don't have any other options for right now for schooling. As far as where to go next, she's going to work with him on anger management. That is the one thing that is affecting our family life, and it's *huge* some days...and it's making its way into the personalities of the other two.

He went back to school today, for his first half-day. Really it's more than half-day, it's 4.5 hours out of a 6.75 hour day, so he's just missing a little over 2 hours. If this doesn't work out, he'll just have to stay at home. Thankfully Kdg isn't mandatory in KY. For next year, I think our only two options are the Friends School (with much smaller ratios...they only go to 2nd grade and class sizes are about 12 with 2 teachers) and our neighborhood public school. I'm going to apply to both, register with both and then make the decision later on. That's assuming the Friends School will actually take him...I get the feeling they would, but it's no guarantee.

I'm going to start recording his daily doings, so I can see if there is anything that stands out. I'm seriously thinking of taking him gluten free/dairy free, and maybe getting him tested for other food sensitivities. Many parents who have SPD children find that treating their kids for systemic yeast and whatever food sensitivities they come up with has really made a difference...however, most of those have kids with moderate to severe SPD and Ryan's is pretty mild. The cost/worth ratio might not be that great.

He's having fun on the horse in hippotherapy! He really enjoys OT and the therapist. That's all for now.