I never really knew what the autism "spectrum" meant. When I thought of autism, like most people, I had a certain image in my head of a child rocking back and forth, banging his head, completely nonverbal, having no social skills whatsoever. Many people also think of Rainman; however, he is definitely NOT a typical example of what autism is.
Ever since she was a baby, I always felt like something was "different," especially after we thought she was deaf at 4 months old. She also was delayed in reaching some milestones. She didn't walk independently until 16 months, although she had taken a few steps before her first birthday. She also started talking late, although she "jargonized" and "sang" constantly (she still does!). She was saying Mama and Dada, but not always in the right context...just babbling mostly. She had said "kit" for kitty and had said "car" when we would get in the car, but then she stopped saying both of those words. Her pediatrician told us at her 18-month appt to just "wait it out" until she was 2 years old. She didn't start really saying words until she was 22 months or so, with the help of Early Intervention. She also didn't point at objects until she was close to 2 years old. Still, we never suspected anything other than a speech delay.
Fast forward to October of 2008. Katelyn had her 6-month evaluation for Early Intervention. They noticed that she sometimes took a little longer to process what was asked of her, but once she got it, she sure got it. They suggested it could be an auditory processing delay and that we may want to get her evaluated further. I casually mentioned autism (not even sure why) and they said they didn't think so, but it could be a possibility, so it would be best to get her evaluated.
That night, I went online and started googling "auditory processing delay" and ended up stumbling onto some autism information. I also found an online test on http://www.childbrain.org/, which suggested that she may have mild PDD (pervasive developmental disorder, which essentially means that she would be on the autism "spectrum"). I then began researching more and more and discovered that she had many symptoms of autism. I was shocked. It became so obvious to me and my husband that she had certain behaviors/characteristics of autism.
How was it that we never noticed this before?????? We just didn't know what to look for.
Now that we know, we finally see.
Ever since she was a baby, I always felt like something was "different," especially after we thought she was deaf at 4 months old. She also was delayed in reaching some milestones. She didn't walk independently until 16 months, although she had taken a few steps before her first birthday. She also started talking late, although she "jargonized" and "sang" constantly (she still does!). She was saying Mama and Dada, but not always in the right context...just babbling mostly. She had said "kit" for kitty and had said "car" when we would get in the car, but then she stopped saying both of those words. Her pediatrician told us at her 18-month appt to just "wait it out" until she was 2 years old. She didn't start really saying words until she was 22 months or so, with the help of Early Intervention. She also didn't point at objects until she was close to 2 years old. Still, we never suspected anything other than a speech delay.
Fast forward to October of 2008. Katelyn had her 6-month evaluation for Early Intervention. They noticed that she sometimes took a little longer to process what was asked of her, but once she got it, she sure got it. They suggested it could be an auditory processing delay and that we may want to get her evaluated further. I casually mentioned autism (not even sure why) and they said they didn't think so, but it could be a possibility, so it would be best to get her evaluated.
That night, I went online and started googling "auditory processing delay" and ended up stumbling onto some autism information. I also found an online test on http://www.childbrain.org/, which suggested that she may have mild PDD (pervasive developmental disorder, which essentially means that she would be on the autism "spectrum"). I then began researching more and more and discovered that she had many symptoms of autism. I was shocked. It became so obvious to me and my husband that she had certain behaviors/characteristics of autism.
How was it that we never noticed this before?????? We just didn't know what to look for.
Now that we know, we finally see.
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