Friday nights have become my time to research everything I can about Autism...the kids are in bed and Mike is at work until after 10, so I take full advantage of the quiet to compare websites, information, and statistics.
I had the privilege of getting to know a very knowledgeable mother yesterday at a new referral meeting for work. She is a special education teacher and has a middle-school aged son with Autism. We had a great talk about similarities between our children, how we have accepted change in our lives, our family, and of course therapy. I'm not sure I will ever have a need to join a support group as it seems like these wonderful parents and grandparents that I meet with are my support...they have "been there, done that" and can give me the best advice out of anyone in my life right now. I don't usually bring up the situation with Brycen intentionally as I am there to do my job and support them with our services...but about 75% of my meetings have included the parents asking me what my experience is with children with disabilities and then about half of those parents ask if I have a child with a disability. This is where I take a deep breath...always starting with a brief run-down of my work experience and education, then ending with "my 3 yr old son has been diagnosed with Autism and is waiting for his official diagnosis and suggested treatment plan from the IA City team of specialists on Aug 31."
Now, some of the kids on my caseload have Aspergers, Rett Syndrome, and a few fall under classic autism....but quite a few of the kids have a variety of diagnoses such as what is considered Mild Autism/PDD-NOS (which I personally feel this is where Brycen falls, but will know for sure in a few weeks), ADHD, Epilepsy (which has a very high correlation with Autism), OCD, and MR. Each of these children are completely different...different rates of speech, different ways to communicate, different ways to play, etc. I cannot stress enough that there are no two children that are alike on the Autism Spectrum...which is what makes it so much more difficult to diagnose and treat and educate about.
I attached yet another website I found that gives some great background information! I really don't feel there is enough research one can read when faced with this disorder. I recently ordered several books from half.com to have on hand for those that are interested (after Mike and I read them of course). I will definitely be sending a couple to my wonderful Grandma in Waukon, who has taken such an interest in how this disorder is affecting Brycen and our entire family!
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Autism and Our Family
"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Honey, I am just so awed by how you and Mike handle this whole thing. You just jumped right in and consider it a struggle but more a privilege. So wonderful that you can have a support system through work, people who understand what you're going through and can help you adapt. Thanks for passing on all this information. It's all so interesting. People really need to take a few minutes out to educate themselves.
ReplyDeletePS, your grandma rocks! It's so amazing of her to work so hard to be supportive.