Living with Autism
Christopher & Robbie (2005)
Christopher's Story
Christopher was born on January 4, 1991. Christopher's first years seemed to be fairly normal... or so we thought. Looking back now we should have seen the signs that something just wasn't quite right. Christopher is my first born so I really had nothing to compare him to not that you really ever want to compare children as each one develops and progresses at different rates.
Christopher's first year was very trying. He cried probably 75% of the time. He was a really difficult child to please. Physically he developed quite normally; babbling, sitting, crawling and walking at the normal stages. Up until Christopher was about 4 years old he was a very social outgoing child. Announcing his arrival to all the children at the park and finding another child to follow around and play with. He was always a clown and the center of attention whenever family and friends were around. He was also easily upset and threw some pretty nasty temper tantrums when he didn't get his way.
During the summer just before he entered Kindergarten we put him in a preschool program where, once again, we should have seen the signs. This is when he began to withdraw from socializing.
In Kindergarten the teacher was concerned with his inability to follow simple two-step directions. Often times, after all the other children had gone back to their desks after circle time, Christopher was found still sitting on the floor unsure of what he was supposed to do. It was suggested that Christopher be evaluated by the school psychologist but unfortunately it did not happen.
First grade, we thought, was a success. We were under the impression, by the teachers, that Christopher was doing very well and making great strides. Come to find out, after reviewing the teachers notes later on, that he was not improving but rather somewhat disruptive and hard to keep on task.
It was during the second grade that his difficulties were really brought to our attention. Within the first couple weeks of school the teacher contacted me regarding Christopher's inability to stay focused and was often times found crouched under his desk when things got too difficult for him. The teacher suspected that he may have ADHD or a high functioning form of Autism. The teacher, with her own money, hired an Aide for both Christopher and another little boy in the class who was also having difficulties. As time went on Christopher began to really hate going to school. I finally pulled him out about 3/4 of the way through the school year. I began home schooling him at that time and also took him to a neurologist who diagnosed him with having ADHD. Christopher was 8 years old.
When Christopher was 10 1/2 we decided to have him evaluated by a psychiatrist. Once again, some concerns of Christopher having a high functioning form of Autism was being brought to our attention. After 3 visits to the psychiatrist Christopher was diagnosed with ADHD, Asperger Syndrome and Anxiety Disorder NOS. Since that time Christopher has continued to be home schooled, has attended social skills groups and also had 2 years of physical therapy to work on his gross and fine motor skills. Christopher is now 15 years old and has come a looong ways since he was diagnosed back in 2001. Today you would hardly know that Christopher has Asperger Syndrome.
Robbie's Story
Robbie was born on November 21, 1991 in Seattle, WA. Robbie's development throughout his first year seemed to be fairly normal with the exception of not actually crawling, but rather slithering around the floor. At his 15 month check up the doctor became a little concerned that he wasn't beginning to speak. His first suspicion was his hearing so naturally we took him in for a hearing test. Test came back fine. From then until about 18 months of age he went through a series of evaluations including speech and fine/gross motor skills. Results came back that Robbie was delayed approximately 8 months in all areas. After starting him in a birth - 3 program he went through another series of evaluations at Children's Hospital and then a visit to a Neurologist. After meeting with us and reviewing his evaluations we still did not have an answer. We also saw a geneticist.. still no answers. It wasn't until Robbie was 4 years old that we finally got the official diagnosis of Autism.
Robbie has continued in special education and has made incredible progress in all areas. He graduated from physical & occupational therapy but continues to receive speech therapy 2x a week. Robbie is verbal but most of his language consists of echolalia and simple sentences to get his needs met.
Some of Robbie's Autistic symptoms, in addition to his delay in language, are insistence on sameness, difficulty with transition, sensitivity to certain sounds, stimming (rocking/bouncing) and obsessions. We currently have Robbie on fluvoxamine to help minimize his obsessiveness and aggression.
Some of the activities Robbie enjoys are swimming, playing video games, watching cartoon network (Ed, Edd & Eddy is his current favorite), drawing and writing lists. Robbie receives TV Guide each week and has all the channels and their programs memorized. Robbie is also an incredible speller. When he was 3 he would write words on the refrigerator with letter magnets. A few of the words that come to mind are Jeopardy, Pocahontas and Gargoyle. I credit this to his photographic memory!
One milestone that Robbie hit which I would like to share with those of you with an Autistic child, especially a nonverbal Autistic child, is potty training. One concern us parents have is 'will my child ever potty train?' I remember expressing this concern to Robbie's Kindergarten teacher (along with many other concerns!). At that time Robbie was terrified of bathrooms and I thought to myself that I am going to be changing this kids diapers for the rest of his life! The teacher with whom I expressed this concern felt that Robbie probably would not potty train until he was about 9 years old! 9!!!!!! One thing I don't believe in is forcing a child to potty train. If a child is ready they will do it. For the next couple of years this teacher worked on getting Robbie to step foot in a bathroom and to not screaming when the toilet flushed! These were things that we had to get over before we could even consider starting the training. As Robbie got a little older we noticed that he was holding 'it' all day at school and would let loose as soon as he walked in the door in the afternoon. Well, we knew he had control! During the summer of Robbie's 9th year it finally happened! I finally decided it was time to seriously try. Robbie was beginning to understand cause and effect so I told him if he pee'd in the toilet I would take him to Toys R Us for a new train toy. It wasn't long after that that he did it! I couldn't believe it. I did my little Potty Party Dance and rushed him to Toys R Us. Since then he has not had an accident (#1) anyway. #2 was a bit more difficult but it came shortly after and again, I rushed him to Toys R Us for another toy train! He still has accidents at times but that is usually due to him being backed up (sorry, too much info?) which is common in Autistics. So for those of you wondering if your child will EVER potty train.. Have Faith.. It will happen (with the exception of some severely autistic children).