That is something I had to tell myself over and over again. It was very hard for me to face. My son has Autism. I will be honest, before we really started to get answers from doctors, I never knew much about Autism. I though Autistic children~ don't talk, they are not fully involved with people around them, they stare into space a lot, most of them can't live a normal life etc. Thats what I thought Autism was. I was very wrong! I went to C.A.R.D. to get some help and understanding of Aspergers. When I was there the lady would correct me every time I would say the word "Aspergers"... She would say "Autism". I was kinda frustrated with her because at that point Aspergers and Autism in my mind were two different things. I stopped and asked her why are you doing that! She explained, your son is newly diagnosed and you will come to the understanding that he is Autistic and aspergers is just a form of Autism. On any medical record he will have the diagnosis code for Autism. I was still frustrated and didn't want to believe it at that time. Last week Tyler had an ear infection and I had to take him to the walk in clinic. The doctor asked, "Is there any medical diagnosis or history?". It was the first time I had to say it out loud ...
"He has Autism".
Now that I have a child that had been diagnosed with mild to moderate Autism, I am learning more and more about this so called "Umbrella of diagnosis' of Autism". There are mild, moderate and severe Autistic people in this world. They are all different, but not any less then anyone else. The past two months have been really hard on our family. We are still learning everyday and I know if it is hard for all of us, I can only imagine what is going on in Tyler's mind. He is very depressed mostly because of school. It breaks my heart to have a child so afraid of going to school that he has to have a barf bag on his lap to throw up in before he gets out of the car every morning. He is so uncomfortable in such a big classroom. He can't be around crowds of people. He feels all the kids are staring at him and making fun of his tics. He has many facial and upper body tics caused by his Tourette Syndrome. He tells me the kids make fun of him. I have mention this to the teacher many times and her response is "I never see it happen and I need to see it to do something about it". Really? That is frustrating. Tyler has sensory issues with lights and sound. He gets so nervous about being in the school's lunch room everyday. It is way to loud for him and to many people. It causes him to feel so afraid/nervous to the point he does not eat lunch and sometimes has panic attacks. We have taken Tyler to a doctor to do comprehensive testing for school. This was a very long and detailed testing to find out how Tyler's mind thinks, works and learns. This report was 26 pages long and had recommendations for the school to help Tyler feel safe, comfortable and succeed in school. As of now we are in the process of getting Tyler an IEP (accommodations) for school. It is a long process and very frustrating because my child needs the changes now and he is suffering. We hope the out come is to have Tyler comfortable in the school he is in now, but we don't know if it is possible. We know that it is a big possibility that he will be put into a different school, but before we even think of that, he can't leave this school until he has an IEP in place. So many rules and obstacles to do before anything is better for the child and that is unfair to the child who is suffering through it all.
Tyler is seeing three doctors right now. He has a Neurologist he sees every couple of months for the Tourette Syndrome, a Psychiatrist he sees weekly for medications for his diagnosis' and then he also sees a Behavioral Therapist weekly. He will possibly see an Occupational Therapist on a weekly basis because that was recommended for his sensory issues. Then there is a lot going on in school. We are very busy on a weekly basis. I know all of this is to help Tyler and that makes me very happy, but it seems like so much going on for a 10 year old. I know once we have everything in place at school it will get easier for him. The hardest thing is to see your child suffer and not being able to make things better right at that moment!
The month of April is Autism Awareness Month. Take a moment and understand there are children and adults out there that are on the Autism Spectrum ~ Mild, Moderate and Severe. They are different, but not any less then anyone else. Never judge an adult for their behavior in public or mannerisms. You don't know why they are the way they are. You don't know the struggles they face every day in their mind. When you see a child behaving in a way that makes you want to stare, or think mean thoughts or possible judge that child's parents for the way their child is acting or behaving.... remember that you don't know that child and his/her parents. You don't know the struggles they have everyday. There are good days and bad days in the world of Autism.
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