Signs

This last weekend was one of those quiet weekends (mostly), at one point the boys were napping. I watched them sleep for a moment and my mind went back to the first time I realized that something was "going on" with Daniel. Something just wasn't quite right. By 9 months we realized he had been slow reaching some milestones... but no worries according to the doctor, he was a boy after all. Around this time, I found out that most kiddos didn't like to be "swaddled" past 4 months old. Daniel was most peaceful when he was swaddled, and he had to be cuddled tightly to fall asleep. This would turn out to be clue #1.

Soon after he was 9 months old the episodes began. Slowly at first, they weren't every night, but once in a while. He would wake up crying uncontrollably. A few months later, about a year old - maybe a little older, the thrashing started, hitting, scratching, pinching and head butting. It took all my strength to hold him tight, and it had to be so tight that I thought I'd bruise or worse - break something. Clue #2.

Around 15 months I completed the questionnaire for his development. Luckily my sister had gone with me and helped me answer some questions realistically. I had not realized that Daniel wasn't speaking more than a few words. I saw Anthony using words (not really as many as he should have) and thought that Daniel was just saying a few less. Realistically he was using a lot less. Clue # 3.

About 16 or 17 months Daniel was assessed at our local regional center (they help facilitate services here). It showed that he was globally delayed. He needed speech and in home services through a local school program. Clue # 4.

That's when I began reading everything I could about the "symptoms" and learned about autism. My husband and I discussed it and both knew there was no question - Daniel had autism.

When Daniel was almost two he regressed - he lost his speech, eye contact, began stimming (self stimulating behaviors), having more meltdowns and episodes, he stopped pointing and many other things. We thank God that he didn't lose milestones at least.

From there we finally got the diagnosis of autism, which was bittersweet. We couldn't ignore it - it was real. We had to have the diagnosis to get the services. This opened the door to receiving ABA (applied behavior services) and a whole new world for our family.

I'll tell you about the "signs" of autism we saw with Anthony in the next blog. Like we all know now, we found out first hand that no two kiddos are the same when it comes to "developing" autism. (I chose "developing" on purpose because, to me autism is kind of like a Polaroid picture, it takes time for the whole picture to show up).

From a mother's heart - I wish everyone would learn about autism. Please share your experience with others, get the word out about the signs, it may help get a child diagnosed earlier and get services earlier, which is so important.