Update on the Carneys
Monday, August 01, 2011
An update from Rusty Carney:
“Upon arriving in the States, we took Grace to her initial visit at Vanderbilt on May 10 where she was evaluated by a nurse practitioner. The practitioner didn't think Grace had autism, but said she could try to get us in to see the child psychologist if we just wanted a second opinion from another child psychologist. She also recommended that we get assessments from a speech and occupational therapist. We decided to do all of the above, so our summer has been filled with searching for and scheduling appointments with doctors, speech therapists and occupational therapists.
We had been waiting for months to have Grace tested by the child psychologists at Vanderbilt because we knew they were some of the best in the nation for dealing with autism. Finally they were able to get us in, and we went in this week on the 25th and 26th for testing.
The lady who tested her said that she was an expert on autism and that she did not think that Grace had autism or was anywhere on the spectrum! She did say that she was a little behind in some areas, but that usually children who are learning two languages at once are a little behind when they're young, but soon surpass us all when they get older!
We are overjoyed at the good news, and are thankful for all of the practical things that we are learning from Grace's occupational therapist to help us deal with her sensory issues. We feel relieved that we will now have a "game plan" to follow in how we deal with Grace once we return to Japan.
We are hoping in September we will be able to return to Japan, but do not have that confirmed yet. Our time here in the States has been good, and we have really enjoyed being able to catch-up with so many people and churches. However our hearts and minds keep moving back to the people whom God has chosen us to minister to. We still have about a year of language school left, so pray the Lord would work everything out as far as when we return and where we will live.”