I just have to share..

[shannonh]

Ever since my DD,3.5, was 1, I knew that she was a little different, distant, tempers, anger outbursts, etc. It didn't get better, and we started early intervention therapies. Those worked great and with lots of help from us, she learned to play, point, interact, etc.
The thing was is no one wanted to say what was going on..was it Autism, was it something mental? There was a giant question mark above her head. We still deal with the anger, the fits, the little quirks that make her, her. You know what I mean. But a lot has developed, speech is coming along. Yeah! Anyway, she started a preschool for her delays and things are going great. We were still uncertain about what the "trouble" was, but at least we were able to move along. Finally, after therapists and doctors, she was sent to get an eval..and I'm proud to say my DD is on the Spectrum with ADHD and a possible touch of Bi Polar.
Most people would probably have been devastated, but I was so relieved. We can finally get going in the right direction.

I honestly believe, after seeing her early therapy and knowing what she wasn't doing, that if you can catch Autism signs at the very beginning, there is hope. It's a long road, but it works.
Just wanted to share with the DIS family.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Congratulations on the diagnosis! To others your relief may sound odd, but I think all of us here will understand exactly what you mean! Good luck with all her therapy and treatment, and well done for continuing to fight for her diagnosis and treatment!

 

[LuvsTinker]

That's great that you have such a positive attitude - that will do wonders for helping your daughter.

We spent a few yrs also with many evals for no answers. I regret not knowing earlier so we could have been more pro-active in getting the right therapy, etc. - instead of one of the women performing part of the eval to recommend a parenting book to me because my son started having a meltdown during the eval.

Good luck to you and your family.

 

[shannonh]

Congratulations on the diagnosis! To others your relief may sound odd, but I think all of us here will understand exactly what you mean! Good luck with all her therapy and treatment, and well done for continuing to fight for her diagnosis and treatment!

Thanks. It's funny, how your feelings change whenever your in our shoes. With my other two, I was always so relieved that there was nothing wrong with them and now, I'm relieved that the littlest one has a diagnosis. The doctor kept saying are you ok with waht I'm saying? And I was like absolutely..Thank you so much. I know there are people who would have been upset, but after fighting you know it's worth it. No matter what we go through, there are many other things that are worse than what we are dealing with.

That's great that you have such a positive attitude - that will do wonders for helping your daughter.

We spent a few yrs also with many evals for no answers. I regret not knowing earlier so we could have been more pro-active in getting the right therapy, etc. - instead of one of the women performing part of the eval to recommend a parenting book to me because my son started having a meltdown during the eval.

Good luck to you and your family.

In the very beginning, I was not so positive. As I'm sure you know, it's so hard not knowing what to do. I was lucky, because of having 2 kids before her, I just knew. I had people say, "oh she'll talk", "oh, she'll grow out of it", and my favorite, "She's spoiled". That's always a good one. I had a developmental ped. tell me to get a book because of meltdowns. I was like,"yeah, I have time to read, have you not seen her in action?" Don't get me wrong, I did read and research, but that's not the answer you want from a doctor.
Thank you both for your kind words!

 

[KirstenB]

I'm glad you've seen her progress so well! I totally get what you're saying about being glad she has a diagnosis. If you know something's wrong, it IS a relief to finally get an answer, any kind of answer.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

All I can say is Good for You!

I work in a special ed preschool class and it's so difficult when the parents are in denial about their child's disability. We have one particular family that doesn't want to hear "The A Word" (autism). Their son is clearly on the spectrum. He's not severe and has a lot of good skills too but his parents refuse to talk about autism. They chose to list his diagnosis as speech/language delay. If he had an autism diagnosis on his IEP, he would be eligible for OT and behavorial therapy in addition to the speech and special class placement he already gets. The psychologist has tried to discuss it with the parents several times but they just won't have it. And their refusal to acknowledge it doesn't make it any less true.

I have a son with Asperger's and I know it's not easy to accept a diagnosis for your child. But, we knew something was going on with our son and we were relieved to find out what it was and how it could be treated. We were glad to get the services that he needs!

You're a wonderful parent for recognizing your child's problem and being determined to get her the help she needs.