The Beginning

Here's a question from Jennifer posted on my Facebook page:

    Would you mind sharing with us how your journey with Autism started? Like what made you feel that little man should be evaluated for Autism and how old he was?

    Well, when Ali was a baby, we had his hearing tested many times. It was as if he couldn't hear someone interacting with him. Early intervention services recommended that I put him into speech therapy, but I was one of THOSE moms. You know, the ones who are all "There's nothing wrong with my kid!" So when he started preschool and they recommended speech therapy and a full-scale hearing evaluation, I was taken aback. He had the testing done, and they said there was nothing wrong with his hearing. Fabulous! Right? Wrong. They recommended Occupational Therapy, but I never even got him evaluated. Not then, at least.

    Fast forward to just before Ali turned two. He got a blown eardrum due to an infected inner ear and was scheduled to get Eustachian tubes put in place. We thought that for sure that would help him speak! He hadn't spoken up until that point except for repetitive noises like "mama" and "dada". Which is pretty normal for that age, but everyone wants their baby to talk.
   
    A couple months before his third birthday, I decided that I was worried. Ali still wasn't talking. He NEVER slept through the night. He was restricting what foods he would allow you to feed him more and more. He was extremely hyperactive. But I didn't have any basis of comparison because he was my first child. Was it okay that he was obsessed with turning the lights on and off? Was it normal for little kids to "paint" with their poop?  Do all little kids eat one thing ONLY for breakfast and dinner, and do they throw up or scream in pain when you try to feed them something different? Is every little kid obsessed with movie credits? Was my kid quirky, or was there something "wrong" with him?

   I took Ali into our pediatrician and told him my concerns. Surprisingly, he was flippant with his answers. "He's a normal, growing boy. He will grow out of this." Part of me was celebrating. There's nothing to worry about!! But I still had that inkling of fear. What if there IS something I am missing?

    I did a LOT of research about things I knew nothing about. But then I found it. Autism. What is it? Surely my kid can't have that, he's so smart! He's a problem solver! He's got such light in his eyes and a joy that which none can compare! How could he have something like this? But then I saw another parent talking about how her autistic child is obsessed with turning the lights on and off (we had been battling that for months). I know it seems silly, but this sealed the deal. I was out of my mind with worry. So off I went to ask the doctor about speech therapy. It took THREE MORE TRIPS for him to agree to sign a referral for speech therapy! Are you f$%king kidding me?!? Needless to say, we switched doctors.

    Upon switching docs, I was met with the same concern that I felt. When we went  to therapy, they recommended both Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy. They also suggested we think about getting him evaluated by a Developmental Specialist. I asked our new doctor (she's actually the PA, but we haven't seen anyone but her in the past three years), and she immediately got us on the 8 month waiting list to get him the extensive evaluation he needed. We also got his hearing tested again in the interim to rule out any hearing issues.

    When he was evaluated, we knew it was autism long before they told us. What we didn't know was that he also had ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder, Speech and Language Disorder, and Sleep Disorder. That's a lot of disorders! But they gave us medication that made him sleep! The first time he slept through the night was two months shy of his fourth birthday! I would be grumpy too if I missed that much sleep. Haha.

    I hope this answered those burning questions Jennifer. Please don't hesitate to ask any more questions! I am definitely not all-knowing when it comes to autism, but I will help out in any way I can!