Work works

Ya know, work works. It keeps my mind off of the things I can not change in my life. This week has been especially rewarding for me. Those who know me well know that I'm a little techie, love the diagnostic portion of autism and working with children with autism. My other passion is augmentative communication. I ushered in augmentative communication into Amarillo 20+ years ago.

Last week 2 of my adult patient got new augmentative communication devices. It is so exciting to see that special look that says, "I can talk again!" or with children, " I can tell you something and you understand." I also got a middle schooler. So I'm charged up about that.

This week on Monday, the hospital filmed me for a 'medical minute' to talk about the early intervention for children with autism that NWTHS is launching. The hospital has been very supportive of letting me get it started! Two psychologists have signed on to participate in all of the testing with me. Our new Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician also plans to attend and assist in some of the testing. What a team! We tested our first child today for inter-rater reliability at no charge to the family. I was very pleased that we were in agreement with the scoring. The psychologist is going to develop us a template to use in writing our reports and we are underway. We still plan to visit many of the pediatricians' offices with information. After that, I think we will be very busy. I'll regain some of the feeling of self-worth and the brain will be totally engaged in what needs to be done. How blessed I am to have found a position that allowed me the opportunity to put my specialized training to work.