Pervasive Developmental Disorder

The Ann Wyndal (Windal?) School in Denton has programs for kids with developmental disorders. You can find them at the Denton ISD website.

the best place I have found for information on any develepmental disorder is www.schwablearning.com. you can go to the message board and get so much info. Also, my son gets therapy at Baylor in Allen, they have some brochures about information and support groups.

Hi, My son has been diagnosed with PDD. It's basically a nice way of saying autism when the child is very low on the spectrum and to avoid an unwanted label. Be careful. This may prevent you from receiving some services that your child really needs. We are to the point that we are thinking about having the 'label' of autism as he will qualify for more help in the school district. I would prefer not to have him labeled autistic, but it will be better for him in the long run as the more therapy he can get as young as possible, the better he will be able to intergrate in the future. Find out about your school districts PPCD program. I know that many people have moved to LISD because they have one of the best programs in North Texas. But other school districts have good programs too. In the May or June Dallas Child magazine there was a listing of different Speech and Occupational therapists in the area who specialize in PDD/Autism. The therapy is the same for both. I can't stress how important it is that you find a consistent therapy program. Our Childrens House Baylor in McKinney has great ST and OT programs. All the information available is so overwhelming and a little scary to start with. I hope you have a good developmental pediatrician to guide you and help you weed out the gimmicky treatments that are out there. I don't mean to scare you. I just know that the earlier you get intervention, the better off your child will be. I was in denial for a while and it has only put my child further behind.

Good luck to you.
N.

Greetings J.,

I'd like to help you find the information you need how ever I can. I don't have a child with PDD, but my 5 year old son has Down syndrome and lots of the resources are the same for both. I am also an occupational therapy graduate student and am very plugged into the the disability community. I am familiar with many of the clinics and therapists in the area. I'm not sure how much you know about PDD or the resources and treatment options out there, but I'd be happy to answer any specific questions or point you to a support group. The Autism Society of Collin County is a GREAT place to find information. Also, one of my professors has two children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, one has PDD-NOS and the other has Aspberger's. She works at North Texas Therapy Innovations, which is a sensory integration clinic with over 90% of their caseload consisting of kiddos on the autism spectrum. It's a GREAT place to take your child for therapy because you get to hang out with the other moms in the waiting room and everyone there is so supportive and wonderful. I took my son there for a little while (it is quite costly)and just loved it.

I'm not sure where you are in the emotional state of all of this, so I don't want to overwhelm you. If you have specific questions, I'm happy to help.

R.
____@____.com

Hi J.,

I am a speech-language pathologist and have worked with a variety of children who have the PDD diagnosis.

I have a parent-child program called S.T.A.R. Music (Speech Therapy And Recreational Music), at which we addres each child's individual communication objectives in a small group (maximum of six children) setting. I invite you to visit our web site (www.startherapyprograms.com), and please call ###-###-####) or e-mail me if you should have any questions.

We also have a free social program called Play Pals. This group meets a few times during the year for fun social activities. We recently celebrated May as Better Speech and Hearing Month with a party at Russell Creek Park. We had a D.J., face painter, bubbles, and fun games. To sign up for Play Pals I simply need your name, your child's name, your child's age, your e-mail and phone number. You would then receive notice of an upcoming event. Both programs would offer you a nice opportunity to come in contact with other parents who might be able to offer you valuable referrals.

Please let me know if any of our services might interest you.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfullly,
S. Ambers