After a really hectic couple of weeks preparing our son, who has autism, for his transition to school next year, we decided to have a weekend break. So we have just returned, feeling refreshed, and ready to go again.
We have found one of the most challenging things to deal with in relation to our son’s autism spectrum disorder, has been trying to make our way through what sometimes seems a never ending list of specialists to see, therapies to organise, and strategies to implement.
After we had our son’s official diagnosis confirmed, we emotionally ‘fell in a heap’ (so to speak). The months of assessment had really taken their toll and the relief at finally having an answer was quite overwhelming. Probably like many parents who have travelled the long and difficult road to diagnosis, we found ourselves thinking that once we’d got that far, the hard bit was done. But of course, it was only really beginning.
After the Diagnosis the challenges really begin…
I remember going through
I remember going through diagnosis. Took a year and a half. We first noticed that at 1.5 yrs old, my son still didn't even cry. No words, no babble, no goo goo gah gah. Physically he could walk at 9 months old, never crawled, feed himself, lots of things but no sound or response to sound. I really got stumped when we discovered that his ears were not hearing properly and that surgery would fix it. It did fix the hearing problem and he actually started making noise, we cheered, then the doctors said he was mirroring us, another autism trait were he repeats what we are saying. We thought we were going to be fine but they were right. After the diagnosis I remember the relief that I felt, and the feeling of "WTH, I'm not suppose to feel relieved, I'm suppose to feel sad."
Scyllas... the master runaway kid catcher.