"No. Definitely not ASD"

Alhamdulillah.
I'm deeply humbled and oh-so-thankful to share the news that Humaidi had been confirmed by the doctor as "pretty normal". When Mak asked for confirmation on whether or not he has ASD, Dr Priya was quick to response - "No. Definitely not ASD."
Alhamdulillah and thank you for the do'a and warm wishes sent our way, we really appreciate them all.

It took ages to get to see the good doctor and her 'apprentice', Dr Karmila
We - Mak, her helper Mira, Humaidi and I - waited from 1.00p.m. and only got to see the doctor at 4.00 p.m.
yeah, blame it on the lack of specialist in the country in general, especially in government hospitals

As he entered the consultation room, Humaidi's attention immediately turned to the hospital bed on which there were piles of toys. Both doctors did not say anything at first, just observed him quietly.

When the doctor called out his name, "Akif", he responded by turning.
"Shake hand," she put out her hand to him invitingly.
He kissed on the back of her right hand - the way he had been taught to salam the elderly.
"Oooh, I feel like a Queen...," said Dr Priya, as laughter broke out among us.
note to self - teach Humaidi to shake hand sometimes instead of just 'salam' all the times

He turned his attention back to the bed, picked a board book on farm animals, took it to the desk in front of the adults and then started turning the pages one by one, never mind that the book was upside down.
"He knows how to turn the page one by one," the doctor observed
and also how to tear pages one by one - provided they are not board books

The doctor later on proceeded to lead him to playing with a peg-puzzle board (things-in-a-bed room-theme).
He was persistence on finding a matching piece for 'quilt', but unfortunately that particular piece of the puzzle was missing. Until the very end he tried putting every other smaller pieces in the 'quilt' part, in fact he even tried taking matching pieces from vehicles-themed peg-puzzle, but to no avail.

When he seemed frustrated for not being able to complete the puzzle, the doctor changed the toys to stacking cups. Instead of stacking them one on top of another, he was asked to nest them, beginning with the largest two out of the 8 piece. He did okay, missing two pieces, but managed to nest them accordingly with some 'intervention' from the adult.

Then, he was given a piece of paper and some colored pencils.
He picked up a brown colored pencil and started scribbling.
Dr Priya drew a few straight lines, an upright cross and a circle, each time asking him to follow after her.
He just kept on scribbling.

Next, he was led to 'read' a large, colorful, ABC board book.
He started pointing at a few items, naming them as he did so.
"Thomas," (the Tank Engine) he pointed to the picture of a blue wooden train
"Bob the deder," (Bob The Builder) he pointed to a wooden colorful tractor
"Penguin", in reference to a picture of snow-capped mountain
And he got all the usual ones correctly - Elephant, Apple, Orange, Cat, etc
but he did pointed to a pig and said cow, alamak!


Dr Priya asked some questions on the family background and jotted some notes.
How many siblings does he has, how old are they, his position in the family, parents' occupation and education level.
Dr Priya then asked me to hold him on my lap while simultaneously entertain him with the larfe ABC board book.

While Humaidi was sitting cosily in my lap, seemingly engrossed in the large ABC board book, she did a physical examination on him. Tapped on his knees, used the stethoscope to listen to his abdomen, heart and lungs, examined his eyes, mouth and throat.
She asked more questions - was there any problem while I was carrying him, was there any problem during birth and shortly after, etc
She already took note that Humaidi has asthma and had gone for an objective hearing test.

And then, the time came for her diagnose.
(Dup dap dup dap)

She noted that there's speech delay and there are some problems with fine motor skills.
He could grab a pencil, but not refine the use of the small muscles in his fingers and thumb to get a better grip and better control of the pencil.
He knows many words, but are unable to form sentences with more than 2 words.
He understands what are being said, but he does not know how to ask questions effectively.

So she recommends him to go for speech therapy and occupational therapy, in particular for enabling/purposeful activities.

"Go to a few sessions of therapy. Watch how they do it, what they do and after that you can do it yourself at home."

I nodded.
At this point, Dr Karmila the apprentice stood and walked out of the room - apparently to write two separate referral letters - one each for speech therapy and occupational therapy. Both rehabilitation programs are offered in PPUM and I was advised to make appointment at respective desk before 5.00 p.m.

To help with improving his speech, I must read to him everyday, pointing at the words as I read them out, to help him with eye-ear-mouth coordination.
I must make him respond when I talk to him.
If he asked for something, I must make him ask for them properly before giving it to him.
Everytime I give him something, I must also tell him what I was doing.
And whenever I call him and he does not respond, I must touch him to get his attention.

When asked what kind of books I should read, (I read to them all kind of books, so I just wanted to know which kind is the best), she thought for a minute, "Hmm, I wouldn't suggest Peter-and-Jane books. They are not the best in this kind of situation. It would be better if you get books that stress on phonic. Like Dr Seuss."
my mind immediately went to Iman Sofea and her newly bought 3-for-2 Dr Seuss books from MPH

Let him take off and put on his own clothes.
"I know that it's quicker for mummy to do it, especially when you're on a ruch. But by doing that, it help him to refine his motor skills."
Make him feed on his own, not just by hand but also by fork and spoon and not to creat a mess while doing it.
Play with blocks, play dough.
Give him plenty stuff to do with his hands.
As for oral - tongue, lip and jaw - exercises, he can start by blowing candles or blowing bubbles or blowing balloons.
Make him repeat phonic sounds

"It'll be good for him to be sent to a play school where he can socialize with peers his own age"
He will learn more about being organized and discipline at school.
Like he may got away with eating in front of the TV at home, but at school he can only eat at the table and not everywhere.
And he will be asked to form lines and listen to what the teachers say obediently.
And most importantly, he will get to interact more and learn faster.

When Mak asked her about the ASD thingy, she seemed shocked by the previous doctor's suspicion.
"No, he's pretty normal."
I gave her a summary of the events that led me to seeing her.
Being told that he's a suspect ADHD by the GP in general clinic.
Then being told that he's a suspect for ASD by two paeditrician.
And they recommended us to see her.

"Probably they (the earlier doctors) didn't have enough time with him. Or the right tools, the right toys..."

Yeah, probably. And good thing was Humaidi was in good mood - not only pointing his fingers at pictures, but also forced/dragged Dr Priya to point with him.

"He's the most social boy I've met today," Dr Proya confessed cheerfully. "Definitely not Asd. Definitely not ADHD"

Alhamdulillah. I felt like hugging her (and Dr Karmila) there and then, but restrained myself and just shook her hand firmly as I said thank you. Both Dr Priya and Dr Karmila seemed to possess the right 'doctor' personality - caring, supporting, empowering. And it's good to meet them and to confirm what I've known all along but worried about nonetheless that my son is pretty normal after all.

Today - I spent almost one whole evening filling up various application forms to kindies (all made to be on waiting list), setting up appointments (in Hospital Putrajaya, it's nearer than PPUM) for speech and occupational therapy. I even sent a registration form to Pusat Anak Permata Negara in Presint 16. I was told that currently there are a little over 20 children there, but they are thinking of taking in more kids up to 40. "No promise," said the KPSUK, Encik Zamri, after I explained Humaidi's situation and the doctor's recommendation, "but we''ll see how it goes". Hopefully it'll go well, insya Allah.

My do'a is for Humaidi to be able to go through therapy - both at the hospital and at home - successfully. With full support, attention and stimulation from everybody surrounding him.
Eventually hopefully he'll turn out 'perfectly normal', as Dr Priya put it, "able to mix with other normal children, go to normal school and function like other normal people"
Insya Allah.