InSan(Nicolas)ity!

The last few months have been crazy for us. For the last year, we have noticed Matthew's eye contact and language regress and diminish, while the tantrums exceeded all expectations. For awhile, we were chalking it up to the Terrible Twos but by October, we were too concerned to let it go any farther. His pediatrician noticed right away and referred us for an evaluation through the Inland Regional Center. It took about a month to get an appointment, and he was having an off day. By "off day" I mean, he took a nap before we left, ate everything we offered him and was in a good mood. Although slow to warm to the evaluators, he would gaze at them, mostly due to the incessant bubble blowing. After about 3 minutes, the token psychologist said he's fine, just speech delayed and left the room. We got our IFSP to get 9 hours a month of in home early start intervention...which took another month to get started thanks to the holidays. Right away, Matthew's teacher noticed something off besides his language. He wasn't responding to his name when called, no eye contact and would line up or stack his toys for what seemed like forever. He was more interested in how the wheels turned on his trains and cars than he was in engaging in imaginary play. I pressed the IRC for another exam.

Anita, Matthew's counselor, came through for us. She was able to get Matthew 26 hours of in home intervention for the month of February and a formal psychological evaluation. The psych eval gave me the diagnosis I was expecting- Autism. Most parents would be taken aback or fearful of this diagnosis, but I was relieved. It meant I wasn't a bad mother, it meant I would get some help. IRC cuts most kids with Developmental Delay off at 3 years old but he will be able to continue IRC and get services like Occupational and Behavioral Therapies. Matthew was also evaluated by the school district and they said by and large, he would qualify for special ed preschool once he surpasses his 3rd birthday. We have our IEP next week and I'm dilligently working on getting my notes and requests together. I know this blog hasn't been used as much over the last year. I had another blog going about breastfeeding and now that Jack is starting to wean himself, it has not been as much of a focus. This blog is our family blog and I intend to use it to record our journeys through everything from milestones, coming of age and our endeavours with Matthew's Autism.