Code Spectrum: Not Responding

During the last two months I have seen a huge decline in Michael's ability to respond to people. His communication has gone down dramatically, so much so that I am extremely concerned.  Other people have pointed this out to me as well.  A few weeks ago we went with our neighbor (the twins affectionately call her "Miss Lori") to the movies.  Before the previews even turned on, Lori started talking to Michael, granted Michael was sitting directly in front of her, I was sitting on Michael's left side, but he did not respond to her.  She tried again, got his attention, tapped him on the shoulder and he finally turned around but stared right through her.  After she asked him a question he still didn't really respond and I had to prompt him again.  After the movie was over Lori stated that she was really worried about him, and now I am seeing more of this deterioration of communication.

Two months ago he had an ear infection.  He got on an antibiotic and I figured the problem was solved.  A few weeks after that he complained about wax in his ear.  I do not use Q-tips generally because he had a blockage of ear wax when he was three, and the pediatrician said, "DO NOT USE Q-TIPS!"  So I have avoided them for years, but this time I gently used one and out came a huge strand of wax.  Ok, I thought, maybe he is having hearing problems.  Maybe he has major wax build up again.

One morning Michael came into the bedroom and cuddled with Chris and I.  Michael's head was on the pillow and I was talking to him.  My mouth was not more than 15 inches from his face.  He could see me talking and asking him questions.  He did not respond.  Since my background and undergrad. degree is in Deaf and hard of hearing, I immediately did the Ling Sound Check with him.  He seemed to not respond to high frequencies (th, sh) sounds.  I definitely think we need to get him in for a hearing check, but on top of that he just seems to be in his own world in general.  Usually Michael requires wait time when we talk to him.  He has to think and does not respond as quickly as a normal kid would respond.  Yet this wait time" seems to have been tripled during the last few weeks.

Michael building earthquake proof buildings at the Space Center 

His teacher has even noticed that Michael doesn't seem to be "hearing" right.  I guess the other day she gave directions and he went back to his seat and put a big question mark on his paper.  I'm glad she brought it up to me because now I KNOW I am not imaging this.  Is there a hearing issue?  Is he just becoming more "autistic"?  I remember when I did my student teaching for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, I was working in a preschool and they had brought in this child who wasn't communicating.  It turns out he did not have a hearing loss in any way shape or form, he was autistic.  We started teaching him sign language anyway, but he was soon moved to a different school ....to a different program.  When I first met my husband twelve years ago, they had diagnosed Dale as autistic, but the  question of "Does he have a hearing loss?"   constantly surfaced.  Dale never seemed to "hear" what we were saying, sometimes he didn't respond.   I know from past experience that sometimes an autistic kid does NOT want to answer you.  Sometimes they are totally entrenched in their own thoughts it doesn't occur to them that someone else is even in the room.  Michael is so high functioning that this hasn't been a problem before, it has been barely noticeable.  Is he taking a turn for the worse? 

We tried for the last 4 weeks to get an appointment up at CHAD Dartmouth Hitchcock in Lebanon.  This is where he was first diagnosed by Dr. Mott and Ellen Cavanaugh.  Dr. Cavanaugh moved away and Dr. Mott is left up there.  The CHAD center never called us back.  Ally left 4 messages, I left 2.  Finally I told Ally the other day, to just hit "I am a Doctor" button.  She finally got through, and they claimed that we had never called there and that there was no one who called from our household.  :(
Then they tell my husband who called later that day that Michael was NOT A PATIENT there and we would have to go get another referral!  WHAT??  So we missed last year's yearly check up for his autism, so now we are totally erased from the books??  So now he has an appointment somewhere else and hopefully we can find out what is going on with this little guy.  We need to find if he is getting lost, Somewhere Over the Spectrum.

Michael and Mikayla at the Space Center