Yesterday was a difficult day for us. We went to see the dev. pedi and Austin was diaganosed as having a global development delay and autism spectrum disorder. He said that Austin was too young to be specific on how mild/moderate it might be or to dx him with a specific disorder on the spectrum. We did get some lab work done to see if this is genetic but that chance is very low.
As a parent, this is not the news I wanted to hear. I have told others that I thought Austin could be on the spectrum but to hear it from a doctor, a good doctor who knows what he's talking about, is a completely different thing.
I know that this is not a bad thing but I am not going to say that I am not upset because it does hurt and it is not what I wanted or expected to hear. I also know that my baby is still the most wonderful and perfect baby to me and DH but that does not make it hurt any less. The wonderful thing though is now my baby qualifies for OT and 20 hrs. weekly of ABA. The only thing now is for us to find a program with openings near us.
Also, I have recently been researching sensory diets. The dr. said that although Austin has sensory issues, they are at the bottom of the list when it comes to his issues. However, from what I have been reading, these diets incorporate a routine and structure into a child's day. By doing therapeutic activities throught out the day, every couple of hours, you can help your child out. We are going to give that a try because right now, Austin does not like/can not handle structure. He pretty much flies off the handle if we try to make him do an activity with us unless he is the one in control.
2 comments:
I just wanted to send you lots of hugs and TLC. It is so hard to hear that dx. When my son was dx'd I actually was expecting it--in my heart I knew it was true--but it still hurt. And, Austin is and always will be the wonderful, most beautiful thing to come into you life.
Try to think less of the dx as anything "defining" and more as a tool, to help your beautiful boy be all he can be. Getting more services is a really great thing. You do have a dx, but I think it is still useful to just think about the things Austin needs and not the dx, so much. He need OT, ABA, ST and now he can get more of those.
Also, keep on focusing on your own instincts. The neurologist who dx's our son as a little buy (18 mos) told us to focus on speech, OT was "ok" and don't worry about biomedical stuff at all.
Well, we did focus on ST, but we came to feel OT and sensory diets were critical, for all the reasons you say and more. And it was our OT who told us about biomedical stuff.
Each child is different. If your instincts tell you Austin needs structure and OT will help with that, go for it.
And be nice to yourself. A dx like this still rocks your world. It's ok to feel sad for awhile, but you are so ahead of the game with all you are doing.
Austin is a lucky little guy, and you are lucky parents to have him too.
Hugs, hugs, and more hugs.
Katherine
Thanks, I was expecting it too but a small part of me was still in denial. But it will get better for us in time and I know additional therapy will help Austin and who knows - maybe he will start showing progress on this diet soon and there's a good chance he will end up being high functioning. Thanks for the support! It's always nice to know that we are not the only ones dealing with this.
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