Despite Moe coming down with croup, this has been a pretty exciting weekend. A couple of interesting things happened.
First, we've been working on drinking from an open cup, so Moe was sitting at the table with a dixie cup of water. I gave him a graham cracker for snack. He took the cracker, dipped it into the water, and said "dip dip!" We're not quite sure where Moe picked this up, but it was great - and now he's enjoying dipping all sorts of foods (chicken nuggets in ketchup, pita bread in hummus). Unfortunately, he doesn't actually want to eat anything that has been dipped, since the food has now clearly been contaminated with whatever it was dipped into.
The second thing that happened really surprised us. I'm not sure if it is because he has been sick, or just because, but over the last few days Moe has been even pickier than usual about eating. So while I was trying to get him to eat something, I gave him two crackers. He took one in each hand and said "one two." We couldn't believe it!
In general, Moe has been starting to really imitate a lot of words that we say as well as other actions that we do. He said "pita bread" during above dipping exercise. Yesterday, when Jeff told Moe it was time to say goodnight to Mommy, he ran right in to me with a huge grin and lots of eye contact. We see progress, though it is sometimes slow and inconsistent.
On the heels of all of this great progress, however, we have the second half of the ADOS assessment on Thursday. After that, we will have our official diagnosis. At this point, we don't expect any surprises. We are coming to terms with the word "autism" and realize that this diagnosis is going to help us get the services we need. It is also a little bit of closure for me - we know, at least in part, what is going on with him and will have a path to move forward. Then it is back to the regional center to once again adjust our IFSP.
Finally, I want to wish a happy labor day to all the stay at home moms out there. We may technically be unemployed, but we work harder than anyone else I know.
I remember the days leading up to, and the day of, the diagnosis of my daughter at the age of 2. She was our only child at the time. She's now 14 and we have 3 other neurotypical daughters. I read your story and i remember those days so well.... and... my heart goes out to you. what can i say. diagnoses are just that - diagnoses. It may change how you live and how you 'roll' but it never changes how you love. Ever.
ReplyDeleteAlicia, These are days I'm sure I'll never forget. An ending and a beginning. I have recently discovered your blog and will keep reading. It is comforting to be able to follow in the footsteps of those who have been there before us, and to help pave the way for others who are sure to follow.
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