Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Light It Up Blue! Today is about Autism!!

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Autism is a neurological developmental disorder. Symptoms include difficulty socializing and communicating, lack of eye contact, delayed speech, difficulty reading people, obsessive interests, need for routine, repetitive behavior, poor motor coordination, and abnormal sensory processing.

The symptoms of autism range from severe to mild. There is a lot of diversity among people with autism. There's not just one way an autistic person will behave or act; they are all different. The children you'll work with may become agitated by sudden changes. Some won't be receptive to you at first, since you're new. They may have repetitive behaviors like hand-flapping or rocking back and forth. They might go on monologues about topics of interests, or they might talk very little. Some will react negatively or even have a meltdown over certain sounds, foods, or touch. But like I said, all autistic people are different, so don't expect every child there to act the same.

This is how an autistic person described Autism. 

Autism effects so many people in different ways ....   there are still people out there who don't take it seriously.  


When Nathan was born things were chaotic ...  course, that's all our lives are now, so why not start it out right away with him?  But we brought home this tiny four pound baby (he was 3lbs 4oz at birth) ... and he was so tiny in his crib ...

And his swing almost swallowed him up!

But he grew ....  and he THRIVED .... well, minus the growing part, that was and is an extremely slow process.  He was such a happy baby though - always smiling ...


Even as a One Year old - he was all smiles....





Things started to change around the time that Kaedyn was born, it was after his 18 month shots.  And I know ...  studies show no *real* link to shots, but apparently there must be SOMETHING to it if everyone is still saying it.  Why do so many kids "change" after shots??

Regardless, my super happy - funny - love seeking baby turned into this child who enjoyed spinning around on his head ... hiding in cupboards - showing some major sensory issues...

He started to refuse foods he had previously loved - especially anything with "red" on it...


I can - of course - still get him to smile.  But it's a posed smile now, it's not the true smile of Nathan.  The one that lights up the room and warms your soul.  It's so rare to catch one of THOSE smiles....

Nathan is almost SIX now....  he was diagnosed about 2 years ago  ... and I had to fight for the diagnosis because Nathan does make some eye contact (however it's less and less as the years come and go) ... he has an imagination, role playing with toys ...  (and according to one doctor he say, that means he doesn't have TRUE Autism) ... he has NO SENSE OF FEAR and would totally run out infront of a car without a thought of the fact it could kill him.  He loves animals, but he can get aggressive and mean (especially with animals) and when you explain to him it's not nice - he looks confused.  He is SO SO SO very smart.  But you can just tell... it's obvious.  And it's hard... for all of us....

Today is the day to LIGHT IT UP BLUE for Autism Awareness!!  PLEASE WEAR BLUE today and if you don't share anything about Autism Awareness, at least share it today!!

We'll be wearing blue today!!

2 comments:

Kirsty said...

Thank you for sharing this, it was fascinating. He is a beautiful child. It must be very difficult to experience this and then to have to fight for a diagnosis on top of it! I am wishing you all the best for the future with lots of the support you need. You are clearly an awesome mom.
(found you through the blog-hop)

Lynanne said...

Thank you for for the update! I've been following Nathans story since you started writing about him. He's the same age as my youngest son who just got a diagnosis of ADD/Autism (my third child with a diagnosis on the spectrum). Although our challenge aren't as great, I feel for you.