April is Autism Awareness month. Tomorrow April 2nd is Autism Awareness day, so light it up blue by wearing blue to support those who are affected by Autism.
As many of you know I am a Autism mom. I am super proud of my little guy Ian who is all of our hero’s. Ian has shown me how to be happy in this crazy world we live in. When things get extra hard Ian always has a smile on his face.
My almost 5 year old son Ian was diagnosed with classic Autism right after his 2nd birthday. I love to share our story, and how it has affected our family in hopes that it will give someone going through the same situation hope and comfort. Here is the full diagnosis story about Ian.
Diagnosis
We were going in for a normal 2 year old Well-Child check up just after Ian’s 2nd birthday, and the doctor said ” have you ever had anyone tell you your son has Autism.” I immediately had tears in my eyes. I knew there was something up, but it was so hard to hear it. Ian was difficult from the start. He didn’t sleep well ever, he would rather play alone then with other kids his age and did not have great eye contact when spoken to. When Ian was about 18 months old he completely lost the words he would use to communicate with us. We thought this was strange, so we got a referral to get him in speech.
As soon as that doctor told us she thought that our little boy had Autism we looked for help. We searched for doctors that could perform a diagnosis. We knew that if we had that diagnosis we could get Ian the help he needed. We got an appointment with a Children’s psychologist a couple of hours away from where we lived at the time in Washington. The appointment was like 3-4 months out, so we began to do our research online to find out more about Autism. This was the worst thing we could do. It just made us worry more, and start to diagnosis our child.
I was so glad when I got a phone call from the psychologist’s office that someone had canceled their appointment and we could get in that month ( July 2013). We were in the office with the doctor for over an hour , and we filled out tons of paper work before hand. When we walked out with Ian’s diagnosis of Autism both my husband and I cried, but there were tears of happiness as well, because now we could help Ian more. We could try to understand why he is the way he is. It would help his teachers and therapist in teaching him in the way he needed. I know that it was the answer I needed from all the millions of prayers of help I had. That day we started out this journey of Autism with Ian. A journey that would be hard but worth every minute.
Communication
Ian is pre-verbal and has many ways that he communicates with us. We have used sign language with Ian since he was a baby. This has been super helpful through out his life. Ian signs more, eat, drink and go which has been super helpful. Ian also has an ipad with a Prologuo2Go app on it that helps Ian communicate with us as well. We started out with a PECS program that worked great for Ian. We currently use both PECS and Prologuo to help Ian communicate with us. Technology is amazing for children with Autism. Check out my post about Apps for Children with Autism.
ABA Therapy
We have been doing ABA therapy with Ian for the last two years now. We have seen so much progress in Ian since starting ABA.
Resources about ABA
Other great resources for Autism
Creating the Optimal Environment for a Kid with ADHD
Suggested Classroom Interventions for Children with ADD & Learning Disabilities
The Life-Changing Impact of Autism Service Dogs
Addressing Special Education Needs for Students Learning English as a Second Language
College Assistance Guide for People with ADHD
22 Tips for Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
50 Must-See Blogs for Special Education Teachers
The Ultimate Guide to Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers of Children with Autism
Teaching Your Child About Peers with Special Needs
