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suchanovelidea

Things I Learned from Autism:

1. Life goes on.

2. Take joy in the little things.

3. Special needs doesn’t mean all ‘normal’ things are taken away from your family life.

4. Our life is different, but it is normal to us.

5. We become more active in our child’s life – more...

axphixiateme-deactivated2012060

Hey guys. This is my five year old little sister Neveah. Shes adopted. Her biological mother was a meth head and had her in a bath tub without even realizing it. She was then put in a foster home where she was abused very badly. We met her when she was four months old and immediately fell in love. We spent a week with her and when it was time to leave I cried when we had to say goodbye. My mother decided that we would adopt her. We got her at sixth months old and a year and a half later she was legally ours. She is doing much better now (excluding her health issue that she will have for the rest of her life) and she is completely spoiled! She has everyone wrapped around her little finger lol. Anyways yesterday Nevaeh had a doctors appoinment because she has a cold and just the normal stuff. The doctor told my mom that she has been paying really close attention to Nevaeh at her past few visits and she thinks that my little sister may have autism….. They are going to run a few test and nothing is for sure but Im really worried for her. If you guys wouldnt mind just keep her in mind and in your prayers. <3

autismgotyou

Fighting for a Diagnosis

We went through three pediatricians in our fight to get Mateo some sort of evaluation. Two pediatricians told me emphatically that there was no way my son had autism. He had good eye contact in the doctor’s office, he was affectionate, he interacted with them. The problem is that we knew Mateo needed help. At the very least, we felt he needed help with speech development. Which leads me to the first specialist that evaluated Mateo:

Speech evaluation

Unfortunately, our health care system is a game of profit and not optimal care for human beings. Mateo was evaluated at 21 months for speech by a Kaiser speech therapist. Although Mateo only had 3 words and had had those same three words for almost a whole year, the therapist determined that there was nothing to be concerned with. I insisted that he needed speech therapy at the least. Kaiser agreed to give him 20 sessions a year, the equivalent of 1.5 sessions per month. Thank god for Scottish Rite and their scholarships for all children who need speech therapy. Scottish Rite believes every child needs to be heard and they provide scholarships for kids like Mateo whose insurance will not pay for the adequate therapy.

http://scottishrite.org/about/philanthropy-scholarships/ritecare/

Developmental Pathways

A federally funded program for children ages birth to 3 years old. This program may go by a different name in your home state. You can find this program at your local school. The school should have all the info you need to have your child evaluated. If your child qualifies, they may receive speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and developmental intervention. These therapies are often provided at your home.

Mateo was evaluated by 3 specialist through Developmental Pathways. These specialist clearly saw the signs of autism in Mateo. They saw his gross motor difficulties, his speech delays and his inability to fully engage in social interaction. Developmental Pathways provided Mateo with Developmental intervention therapy at home 6 times a month. The only problem is, the specialists here cannot provide a clinical diagnosis. They recommended that we pursue evaluation through Children’s Hospital. Why pursue a clinical diagnosis? Many well-meaning friends asked if that was even necessary. If you don’t have a clinical diagnosis, you cheat your child of any support he may need in the future! You need to protect your child and think ahead. Don’t let anyone discourage you getting a full evaluation. If your child needs help it’s up to you as the parent to find that help and support.

http://www.developmentalpathways.org/

The official diagnosis:

After changing from one pediatrician to another we finally found one who gave us the referral to Children’s Hospital for a full evaluation. Three specialists were part of the eval: A child psychologist, a speech therapist, and a physical therapist. The process lasted three hours. Mateo was happy during the evaluation and he was cooperative and interested in the whole thing. We held out hope that the diagnosis would be negative. Deep down we knew what would happen, though. The signs were clear. The diagnosis definitive:

Autism Disorder

Sensory Processing Disorder

Pervasive Sleep Disorder

Hypotonia and Gross Motor difficulties

What comes next? How do we make sure Mateo gets the support he needs?

themheebiegeebies-deactivated20

I got my first tattoo this afternoon. The puzzle piece if for autism awareness; I got it in honor of my brother, Evan. I got the heart line because, well I love him and I can’t live without him.

dreaming-nai-high-deactivated20

My Brother

And never did I know the boy who could not speak.

The boy who could not dream.

The boy who could not think.

A boy who sees the world through smiles and frowns

not ups

not downs

not the twenty minutes late to work

not the thirteen dollars and...

ollibean

“Not being able to speak is NOT the same as not having anything to say.”

Rosemary Crosseley

kirstenchaase-deactivated201304

AUTISM AWARENESS

dancingwiththebirds024-blog

Cute girl :)

I used to do this a lot…..if I do it now though, I try to only do it when I’m alone.

otl1fe

This is a great book for anyone with children! Your child doesn’t have to have a developmental disability to benefit greatly from this nutritional information.

desid-rium

Me and my little brother Alex. He’s 11, has autism, and I love him more than anything. I would do anything for this boy, what he deals with on a daily basis, no one should have to. He’s strong, he’s a fighter. I love you bro