Delyn just turned two at the end of July, so he was due anyway for his 2nd year wellness visit, plus he was due to get his immunizations. His speech delay has been on my mind for a while. Probably at least for the last six months. I kept telling myself that all kids are different, and I tried really hard to not worry about it too much. Being a single mom who works a full time job, there are lot of opportunities for worry, believe me, and I tried to just keep that particular one pushed aside.
My sister took me out for a couple of beers while my parents had Delyn out of the state for a visit with his Great Grandmother. We were having a really good time and then she got kind of quiet and said she needed to talk to me about something. That moment right there was probably the scariest part of the conversation! She told me that she, too, was concerned about Delyn's speech delay, and that she had noticed some other signs of Autistic behavior. Everything she described I agreed with. However, those were all things that I had attributed to Delyn's "quirkiness." I went home and did some research online, and found that she was right. I made an appointment for him, and took him in.
After assessing his general health (Delyn had a super bad case of ecxema, and we just couldn't get it to go away. Other than that, he's healthy!), the doc had me fill out something called an M-CHAT™ (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers), which Delyn pretty much failed. It's a yes/no checklist with questions like have you ever thought your child was deaf, does he consistently answer to his name, does he pretend play, does he point at objects, etc. Right away the doc started telling me all of these things that I needed to start doing. I needed to make him an appointment to get his hearing checked, I needed to contact a facility to schedule an appointment to get him screened for diagnosis, I needed to call the school district to enroll him in a program...It was completely overwhelming. Plus, while she's telling me all of this, my mind is wandering. What caused this? Did I do something during my pregnancy to cause it? Had I not been a good mother to him? Is he going to have to go to a special school away from "normal" kids? Is he mentally retarded? I thought I was prepared for her to confirm my sister's suspicions, but I wasn't prepared for the emotional overload that occured right there in the office. My brain started reaching for instances where Delyn HAD behaved in an appropriate manner, and I started to get a little defensive. I apologized to the doc, and tried to start paying attention to all of the information she gave me. Lucky for me, she wrote down names and numbers to start calling as soon as I got home.
After we got home, I had to repeat everything to my parents, which was hard. But, I'm a naturally optimistic person, and I tried really hard to keep that attitude. Early diagnosis and treatment is key for children diagnosed with Autism. The earlier, the better. I found some solace in knowing that a large percentage of kids diagnosed at an early age, and receive treatment, grow up just fine and are able to function as any other child would.
So, the hearing appointment was set, and I also spoke with the people at the Childrens Learning Institute and scheduled an appointment to have him screened. Once they can diagnose him, they'll be able to point us in the right direction and tell us what to do next. Right now, it's a lot of reading and waiting.
No comments:
Post a Comment