So this is where we are now.......

I've been thinking quite a bit about J's transition into public school this coming fall and I think I'm finally coming to terms with it. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm sure when school gets going I'll have a few in person and online panic attacks but for now that lazy summer heat is lulling me into a worriless rested contented state.

oh, yes it's summer, it's to hot to do anything, even worry

I did have an interesting conversation today with J's ABA therapist that I'd like to reflect on. While doing a few hours of in home therapy to work on teaching him Wii and other social skill's. I brought up the question, "Where are we now"?

You see J's journey into/with Autism started around 18 months old. After another round of shots (but that's another blog for another time) he had a big time speech regression. We got his finally diagnosis of Autism at two and a half years old. Which ironically is considered pretty fortunate. You see, the earlier you get the diagnosis, the earlier you can begin intervention, YIPPEE, right.

Well since then J's has had no psychological evaluations. J went to a private school from the time he was three until just a week or so ago. Whatever progress he has made, getting him re-evaluated wasn't in our best interests. Like everything else in Autism, start from the asshole and work forward. The worse off your kid is the more likely he/she/you'll receive a modicum of help. We've kept his diagnosis for just that reason.

So WHERE are we now? (Sorry in advance for the Star Trek reference) but I feel like we're boldly going...

I say this because I'm pretty sure the school board will want to do a whole new set of evals. Generally speaking I love evals about as much as having a IEP meetings or an unmedicated unnecessary episiotomy (go ahead and google images that one for fun, you won't like me afterwards). Yes, they are that fun!

you want to cut my WHAT?

But this time I've got to say, I'm not completely unhappy to do another round of evaluations for him. I'm actually curious as to where he will lie after all this time. So I gingerly posed the question to my trusted cheerleader therapist (whom I love, so don't take it like that). "Do you think he'll be re-diagnosed as Asperger's"? Pretty interestingly she said "no". Ouch, yes, I think you missed a bit of hope, get it before it gets away, smash it with a rock or something. Come to find out as we discussed it further (she's a psychology major) it doesn't work that way. You either have one or the other from birth, the twain shall not meet. Aspergers is like Autism but you develop along the neuro-typical timeline with regards to communication. In other word's if your diagnosed with Autism because you can't talk/communicate plus two of the other deficits from the spectrum (not communication/lauguage) you can't be re-classified later with Asperger's because you've developed language (at least that's how I understood it). Again with Autism, you learn something everyday. The funny thing is, I want to say I've heard of this happening to kids. Dropping the Autism label and picking up the Aspergers label, oh well. 

She told me she thinks J will lose his diagnosis of Autism eventually. UMMMM freaking heart flip! He'll end up with some kind of learning disorder or processing delay. She said he doesn't have the Aspergers traits. He likes people, older children and babies in particular, he looks for facial cues and seems to understand body language and vocal tones even if he doesn't always understand what others are saying.

"mommy, that baby is mad"!

Welllllll, I hadn't expected this but I'm glad I posed the question even if I was afraid of the answer. You see, ironically, I have dyslexia. I had the oddest habit of being able to read backwards and forward which became noticeable right around J's age now. I know that just like with Autism, people with dyslexia range from those who cannot read or write to people like me who flip their B and D's and some times publicly embarrass themselves on facebook by misspelling some simple word, like onion (man I have a hard time with that one, to many o's and i's) . 



a visual aid just in case I misspell it again, you get the idea.



And we'll see, maybe these evals will be the worst ones ever but I don't think so. Hopefully he'll get lucky, like his mom and only have to google stuff to spell it.