Raising a child on the autistic spectrum - my story part II

It was becoming clear to me that after Jayson's 2nd birthday that I was going to have to do something. We took him to his 2 year appointment at our pediatrician who suggested we take him to a local specialist. I won't name the group that performed the tests. I'll just say that it was a widely-respected hospital group in Michigan. Months and several tests later, we finally were able to sit down with an expert to see what the 4 specialists that observed Jayson and looked at his tests had to say. I'm not sure what I was "expecting" to hear. I was hoping for something definitive along with a course of action. I didn't get it. I was told that 3 of the doctors diagnosed Jayson as "probable" Asberger's Syndrome and 1 doctor diagnosed him as Autistic. The three that were leaning towards Asberger's told me to come back when Jayson reached age 6 or 7 when they could better diagnose him.

My first lesson about the Autistic spectrum was learned. There's never a simple agreed-upon diagnosis for anything. There's no blood test that can determine concrete results. Opinions always vary and there is always a lot of shoulder shrugging that goes in terms of answers to problems. The "wait until he's 6 and come back" solution didn't sit well with me. Do doctors really expect parents to sit on their hands and keep going as is until something definitive can be determined? My frustration boiled down to the 2 simple words: Now what? It was clear my husband and I had to do something on our own.

The "now what" question was something I had to ask myself over and over again as I wasn't getting any suggestions from "experts." Not only did my husband and I have to decide what was best, we had to successfully implement our plans.

Honesty was the first battle. I had to perform my own needs assessment on my beloved son. I still remember how difficult it was to perform an almost clinical "needs assessment" on my own child.

The reality of Jayson at 2 to 3 years old years old - First the positives: He was lovable, ambitious and had savant-like abilities I couldn't explain with regard to computers, numbers and letters. He was very "high functioning." The list of shortcomings was long and needed attention far more immediate than the "wait until he's 6 and come back" answer I was receiving. Jayson's communication skills, fine-motor skills, gross-motor skills, social skills and overall coordination were lacking. He also had sensory issues and extreme aversions to some food textures to the point he often threw up certain foods. There was no way at his current rate that he would make it to a regular kindergarten. I had to act quickly.

***Next Week I'm going to discuss my course of action and how my son progressed and beat the odds.***

Older posts:
http://oaklandcountymoms.com/mommy-diary/1737-raising-a-child-on-the-autistic-spectrum-my-story-part-i
http://www.oaklandcountymoms.com/mommy-diary/1724-and-so-the-adventure-begins
http://www.oaklandcountymoms.com/mommy-diary/1712-autism-gfcf-diets-really-do-help
http://www.oaklandcountymoms.com/mommy-diary/1681-do-special-diets-help-autistic-children