The First Step on a Long Road

Have you ever thought that a trip to the doctor would be one of the final steps in your process of illness or suffering, only to find out that it's the beginning of a long road? We had that kind of visit this week.

My son, Daniel was officially diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder and Sensory Integration Disorder this week.

I knew the diagnosis was coming. I think I'd known it for a long time, but it didn't make it any easier to hear when the doctor actually said it outloud. It was like time slowed way down and I was paused in a moment of complete realization that our lives would never be the same.

Asperger's Disorder is a mild form of Autism. It falls in the middle of what's called the "Autism Spectrum" and is more common than you'd think. It's a developmental disorder that affects one's ability to communicate and socialize effectively with other people.

Generally people with Asperger's are socially akward, they don't make eye contact very often if at all, get agitated when their routine is changed, seem to lack empathy, make strange gestures or movements, talk a lot about one or two subjects that interest them and sometimes have delayed motor development.

Sensory Integration Disorder seems to go hand-in-hand with Asperger's. People with Sensory Integration Disorder are hyper sensitive to light, sound and touch (amoung other things). They dislike loud noise or music, prefer to be out of the bright sunlight or bright lights and don't like physical contact.

Daniel is a very bright boy. He's reading well above his grade level and is starting to comprehend what he's reading. He's really good at math and is a full grade level ahead in that subject as well. He even has a pretty good grasp on some of the basic sciences! He's really good with spacial recognition (puzzles, legos, building blocks ect.). He has an active imagination and is generally a very well behaved child.

The issue came years ago when I first started teaching the boys at home. We started preschool when they were 3 years old. They loved every minute of it, but I noticed right away that Daniel was much more easily distracted than Taylor. He understood everything just fine, but it took him a long time to complete things simply because he daydreamed a lot.

I asked someone about Attention Deficit Disorder and they told me he was too young to be diagnosed with that and I should just wait and see how he did in the next couple years. After all he was only three...

The problem never did go away, in fact, it became worse over time. I asked our doctor about Daniel's behavior and he gave me a very large packet of papers to fill out and return to him. I filled it out, but didn't get it back to him for several months. When I did return it, it was lost in the shuffle at the doctor's office and forgotten about.

In those months I had several friends mention Daniel's strange behavior to me. He wasn't misbehaving, but just acting different than the other children.

One of those friends mentioned Asperger's to me. I had no idea what it was, but did some research and was shocked to discover that Daniel fit every single symptom of the disorder to some degree or another.

I contacted his doctor right away asking about the paperwork I'd filled out months ago. He found it and said that Daniel had some symptoms of ADD, but also had other symptoms that didn't fit that diagnosis. He sent me to a specialist who, after several long and intense visits, diagnosed Daniel with these two disorders.

I've only scraped the surface of the tip of the iceburg of information concerning these disorders. I have months, no YEARS of reading ahead of me. It's very overwhelming to even think about, but we know what the problem is and now we can work to make life easier for Daniel.

I am very grateful to have had him diagnosed so early and in an age where help is so readily available to these kids! There are programs in the medical field he will be involved in as well as lots of programs in the public school system he can take advantage of.

I've given myself the weekend to let it soak in and get over the shock. Monday I will start downloading books and articles to my Kindle. I also have to place several phone calls to the school district.

It's the first step on a long road.