Life Before Autism
Hannah was born July 17, 2011, three days past her due date. Everything was (mostly) great, until around 18 months. That is when I started to notice odd things and Autism crossed my mind for the first time. She wouldn’t play with toys- she would take every toy out of her toy box one at a time, then put them back in the same order. It was the same with books. She wanted nothing to do with other children or adults. Hannah would scream and throw her head back into whatever was behind her. She didn’t like loud sounds or to be touched, but craved visual stuff like fans and spinning wheels on cars. She would line her cars up, and if you tried to play with her, it was a meltdown. The pediatrician said it was nothing.
Autism Diagnosis
The pediatrician referred us to Early Intervention when she wouldn’t speak at her 2 year well visit. We went on the wait-list. 6 months later, Early Intervention came for an in home evaluation. They mentioned deficits in occupational and gross motor skills, along with speech. They also mentioned Sensory Processing Disorder. Early Intervention referred us to a diagnostic center in the area for developmental disabilities. She was evaluated there by a bunch of different clinicians- occupational, physical, and speech therapists, along with a developmental pediatrician. After the evaluation, all the clinicians told us she had Autism, and she would need substantial care all her life. It was a devastating diagnosis!
Public School
She started school at age 2 (for only two weeks before she turned 3). Hannah didn’t speak until age 4 1/2. She had an IEP, and the school provided her with Occupational, Physical, and Speech therapy until 3rd grade. Then they decided to end her IEP because they felt she was high functioning and didn’t need services anymore. Word of advice – just because someone looks ok, doesn’t mean they are! She developed extreme anxiety, and I don’t use that word lightly. She developed Selective Mutism, and would only talk to her dad and I. So we pulled her out, and started homeschooling.
Autism Now
We’ve been homeschooling for the last two years. We have a whole mess of new problems now. I believe she has ADHD that we’re trying to get her psychiatrist to diagnosis. Her inability to pay attention is causing a lot of difficulties. We are trying to find a curriculum that works for us as well. She has other mental health stuff going on, in addition to the Selective Mutism and severe anxiety. She does take medication for the mental health stuff.
If your child is diagnosed with Autism, it’s ok to grieve at first. But then you advocate for them! We are proof that severe autism isn’t a death sentence. There is hope! As cliche as it sounds, Autism is just a different ability.
