Main > Everything Else
Anyone have an autistic child?
Ninten-doh:
I posted this over at KLOV after first getting the news and the positive posts and PM's really helped my spirits, so I thought I would ask here as well.
My wife and I got the news the Tuesday before Thanksgiving that our 2 1/2 year old son is autistic. I felt like someone punched me in the gut. I was pretty much in denial until Thanksgiving day, when I saw him with his similar aged cousins. What I saw just broke my heart. Anyway, didn't come here to be a downer or seek pity. I was just hoping that any of you who have been in this situation could PM me and let me know how you learned to cope with the news and how you proceeded. Thanks.
ChadTower:
Do they know yet roughly where on the spectrum he falls? By now you may have a good idea at least if he's going to be high or low functioning. I have worked with autistic kids in the past but mostly boys on the high half of the spectrum. Used to coach them in baseball and have done some work with parents on trying to understand how their child may be seeing the world and how they can adapt to it.
shardian:
All is not lost. There are now treatment plans for autistic children when it is found this early. Thru lots of hard work, you child could actually pull out of it.
One of my coworker's sons works with an autistic child in one such program. Basically, someone interacts with the child at all times. IIRC, he is paid by a government program and several others also work with the child in shifts. Definitely something you should look into.
So I guess my advice is, keep your head up, stay positive, be proactive in your child's treatment, and don't take any ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- from your doctor if he/she isn't supportive.
ChadTower:
The key now is to get him evaluated by good professionals ASAP. They'll identify where he likely falls on the spectrum right now and they'll set you up with all the referrals you need to start various therapies. You'll be looking at speech/communications therapy, occupational therapy, more broad physical therapy, and a couple others possibly. Right now you're going to have to cope on the fly - it's a cold, blindsiding kick in the nuts but you don't have time to be depressed about it. The quicker you get him into the appropriate therapies the faster and more effective the long term results will be.
One thing to burn into your brain right now: You are his best and most effective advocate. School systems are hard to navigate for autistic kids. It's hard to get them placed, it's hard to get them their appropriate services, and the school will often take months of runarounds and cancelled meetings before you get in where you need to be. Don't tolerate that. Be respectful but as aggressive as you need to be to get their attention when you need it and not on their schedule. They want to help you but they are so overwhelmed and undertrained that if you're not your son's biggest advocate he is not going to get what he needs.
You didn't give much for detail but I'm hoping he is on the high end of the curve in the Asperger's area. In the past decade or so there have been massive advances in identification and education on Asperger's Syndrome.
EDIT: added a bit more info, two other posts popped up in the mean time.
Ninten-doh:
Chad - we don't have an official diagnosis yet of where on the spectrum he is. We have a meeting on the 12th to discuss his Early Intervention plan. The people from the town who evaluated him intimated that he's on the mild end of the spectrum. We have a very well-respected developmental pediatrician evaluating him on the 21st as well, since we want to have both public and private evals done. While I was thrilled we were able to get an appointment before the end of the year, I know that the evaluation will put a dark cloud over Christmas just like the first evaluation caused a heart breaking Thanksgiving. That said, I just want what's best for my son as soon as possible, so I'll just have to stop being a selfish ---tallywhacker--- and stop worrying about the holidays.
Shardian - thanks for the positive words. Believe me, it will be my mission in life to help him be the best person he can be.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version