Saturday, October 6, 2012

Autism

Since Steven was in Kindergarten I have heard from teachers that he has aspergers. We have been through the educational tests and he does not qualify for an education diagnoses. As a mother I want my son to get the help he needs, I want the best for him, and I want to understand him. From what I understand of this whole thing, if he is autistic then he will eventually get behind educationally. His peers will move forward, he will be stuck behind a brick wall, unable to move forward. His pediatrician has referred him to a developmental pediatrician in Casper, WY to help further tests on my bear. We had our first appointment this last week. After half an hour in to our appointment, she tells me that from his greeting and the level of anxiety she saw on him when she walked in to a room she would say that he has either aspergers or PDD-NOS(Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified). I knew this but to not have to convince someone was nice. I did not have to point anything out to her, or give her stories to prove my theory, she got it right upon meeting him. Granted she has 30+ years of experience, but she GOT him. As any mother who has gone through the tests for autism know, the paperwork and tests are endless and extensive. My hand hurts from filling in the circles and there have been many arguments between my husband and I over what we felt was the right answer. ADHD is taking a back seat to his Autism but he also has that. Can you imagine the conflicting emotions inside of me? Happiness that my son will finally get the help he needs, I will finally be able to get help I need to help him, or sadness that my son is on the spectrum. When he was born I wanted a life for him that was full of joy, friends, love, and endless possibilities. His life is full, but it is an internal life he leads. Externally he has love, joy in his own world, friends (when he wants someone to listen to his obsessions), and me. Forever and ever, he has me.

The last video of what Steven does when friends are over.

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