Inch by Inch
Our youngest, Nathan, was diagnosed very early and has grown by leaps and bounds. If you had asked me over a decade ago which was the worse of the two boys, I would have said that it was Nathan. He was pokey from day one and wasn't interested in a lot things other children were into. He cried at nearly everything, didn't like being held by strangers, didn't like men (including his own father) and did not transition well (at all) and was that way nearly from birth.
My poor husband kept saying it was because he hated him or didn't like his skin color (my husband has brown skin). I told him Nathan was too young to know what hate was and there was no reason for him to dislike his father's skin color any more than he could hate someone when he was only a year old.
His diagnosis came shortly after his brother's but he was diagnosed early (19 months) and was placed into therapy almost immediately.
Nathan has come a long way. Next year, he enters high school and while he does have an IEP and needs accommodations, he does well and feels that he has conquered autism. I don't discourage him, he hasn't conquered it per se but he has certainly beaten it down so that he controls it more than it controls him.
He controls his hand flapping (granted this can lead to stuttering where he repeats the first sentence of a statement he is trying to make maybe 4 or 5 times--so you have to be patient) and has become pretty quick with snappy one-liners and witty comebacks. He studies hard and has a routine that allows him to focus on school work. It does help that one of his autism symptoms was hyper focusing so now he uses it to his advantage when he needs to get something done for school. He can still "get in the zone" when playing video games (Minecraft, Minecraft, Minecraft)--to the point where he has forgotten to eat lunch on a Saturday even though he was told repeatedly that lunch was waiting and ready.
He is a very funny and fun kid and we are very blessed.
Friday, he attended the school dance for the eighth graders and took pictures with friends and wore a dress shirt and tie for the first time (didn't really like the tie--not a surprise). He had fun and while he didn't dance with anyone, he was with his friends and had a blast.
I can't wait to see what he achieves in high school!
My poor husband kept saying it was because he hated him or didn't like his skin color (my husband has brown skin). I told him Nathan was too young to know what hate was and there was no reason for him to dislike his father's skin color any more than he could hate someone when he was only a year old.
His diagnosis came shortly after his brother's but he was diagnosed early (19 months) and was placed into therapy almost immediately.
Nathan has come a long way. Next year, he enters high school and while he does have an IEP and needs accommodations, he does well and feels that he has conquered autism. I don't discourage him, he hasn't conquered it per se but he has certainly beaten it down so that he controls it more than it controls him.
He controls his hand flapping (granted this can lead to stuttering where he repeats the first sentence of a statement he is trying to make maybe 4 or 5 times--so you have to be patient) and has become pretty quick with snappy one-liners and witty comebacks. He studies hard and has a routine that allows him to focus on school work. It does help that one of his autism symptoms was hyper focusing so now he uses it to his advantage when he needs to get something done for school. He can still "get in the zone" when playing video games (Minecraft, Minecraft, Minecraft)--to the point where he has forgotten to eat lunch on a Saturday even though he was told repeatedly that lunch was waiting and ready.
He is a very funny and fun kid and we are very blessed.
Friday, he attended the school dance for the eighth graders and took pictures with friends and wore a dress shirt and tie for the first time (didn't really like the tie--not a surprise). He had fun and while he didn't dance with anyone, he was with his friends and had a blast.
I can't wait to see what he achieves in high school!
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