Posts Tagged ‘Autism diagnosis’
Autism and Siblings…Now What?
Autism Awareness month has ended and we now have an official diagnosis…for the second time. Let me clarify. My son received a very early diagnosis thanks to my daughter. You see our girl had her difficulties in language development leading to early intervention services. Yet no autism diagnosis. We did the developmental doctor visit and left with a language developmental delay and sensory processing disorder as I was hugely pregnant with our son. Do I dare say relief? As our daughter’s language developed it was a breath of fresh air. …
Read MoreHe Understands A Smile
We’ve known Lennon has autism for quite some time now, but the medical diagnosis came more recently. He is 30 months old now, a 2 1/2 year old aptly nicknamed “Baby Giant.” What that diagnosis came with were the parameters in which he fell. Nothing was where it should be, even his gross motor skills which we (his father and I) believed to be stellar. In most categories he fell in the 9 – 18 month range. Expected. Receptive comprehension was another story. There he was at (or under) the…
Read MoreA Letter to My Boy on His Birthday
Dear son, On the eve of your 4th Birthday, I want you to know that you are loved beyond measure plus infinity forever. Autism has nothing to do with the fact that I am blessed to be your Mama. The love and joy that you have brought to my life is beyond anything I could ever have imagined. You make me smile EVERY single day. When I saw you for the first time, I couldn’t believe how beautiful and perfect you were, and I feel the same way today. You…
Read MoreSing me a Lullaby Mama
Our almost 6 year old nonverbal wonder has been having a tough time recently. In short ongoing seizures. With numerous visits to doctors and hospitals anxiety runs high in our household. For any family a visit to see any medical professional is daunting but for families of special needs children the experience takes on a whole new set of challenges; busy waiting rooms, loud noises, bright lights, clinical hard surroundings and long queues! These environments take a toil on everyone. Added to this is a child with autism’s unique expressive…
Read MoreHave Courage
When you are nonverbal, it takes unbelievable strength to leave your home, where it’s safe and people understand you, to go out into the world. Imagine people not listening to you. Looking at them. Needing something. But the words don’t come out. Just screams. Grunts. You know what you want. It’s pretty simple to you. A drink of water. A specific show on your Kindle. Or imagine your ear hurts. Or the noise is too loud. It’s so obvious. But people just stare. So you scream some more. Frustration rises.…
Read MoreI Wear the Mask Well
I am NOT a writer by nature. Well, never anything I have wanted others to read. My writing skills have never reached beyond the rambling of journals that are tucked far away from other’s eyes. I have struggled lately with overwhelming emotions and adjustments to not only how Autism changed our lives but to the schedule and workload that follows it. Most of my “breakdowns” happen in the quiet of night when I am alone, safe from judgement. I know I shouldn’t care but the demand to defend my feelings,…
Read MoreWhat I Wish the World knew about Autism Awareness Month
We have been on the autism journey for just over four years. I remember it like it was yesterday, sitting at the appointment watching the doctor run a series of predictable tests, biting my tongue and holding myself back from blurting out all I felt I needed to say. I watched her hand him toy after toy trying to see if he knew what to do with it (like give the toy bottle to the baby doll). And toy after toy he would throw it, or bite it, or break…
Read MoreWhat if it was Me?
For me, my darkest secret is that I feel, and sometimes it feels like I know, that I caused my son’s autism. And his struggles. It breaks my heart. And the guilt chases me day and night. It all started when I read an article about how trauma as a child could cause autism. The mothers were described as ‘refrigerator mums’ and if I’m honest that was me. My eldest two children were, and are neurotypical, thriving, chatty, oh, so chatty girls. My son is nonverbal, epileptic, low functioning autistic…
Read MoreSiblings, But Really Two Only Children
I’m an only child. It’s a state of life that I know well, but have always wanted a sibling. Don’t get me wrong, there are many, many benefits of being an only child. And when speaking to those that aren’t, they’ll often “wish” they were one or talk about how frustrating their siblings are. The benefits are the obvious ones: you get all of the focus of your parents, you often get more material things, you don’t have to share, there is very little fighting as there’s no one to…
Read MoreMy Son was Born with Autism and it’s Genetic.
When I was eight months old, I had open heart surgery to repair my pulmonary valve that was only 2mm wide open. As a result, sometimes I have shortness of breath. I could possibly have another surgery in the future to replace the valve. Other than that I have no other medical conditions. Thirty years later my son Nicholas was diagnosed with autism and a rare genetic mutation within a week of each other just after he turned 3 years old. This is something he inherited from me, which also…
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