Since our last blog post, I have received a lot of questions in regards to our 3-year old's Autism diagnosis. Many questions involving how she was diagnosed, what her symptoms were, etc.
As silly as it sounds, we have only been on this autism journey for a few days... But one thing I have learned thanks to her doctor is this:
Our child has been diagnosed. And all I know about autism is: our child has been diagnosed. No two children are alike. The symptoms for our child may be completely different than the next child that walks in to the room. What we have realized is this: you are the parent and if you feel as though your child needs to see a doctor because something doesn't 'feel right,' follow your instincts. You know your child better than anyone. Please be an advocate for them.
When we were at the doctor, they asked questions in which we would answer yes/no to. A few of them that we answered 'no' to were:
- Does your child make eye contact with you longer than two seconds?
- Does your child point to things with their index finger?
- When you point to things, does your child look at what you're pointing to?
- Does your child respond when you say his/her name?
We answered no to those questions above as well as other questions they asked. Some red flags that were raised were when we talked about her covering her ears when situations were stressful or noises were getting a bit louder. She doesn't communicate with us although she can say her ABCs and count to 100. She loves things to be in order- she lines up all of her toys and organizes her snacks in to color groups. She likes routine and order and there's nothing wrong with that in my book :)
Our life will change as the months pass us by, as will ours. We have more doctor appointments and more evaluations so we can learn more about Tayler and her diagnosis. I am more than ready to learn all I can to help her I'm every way I can. I've said it before and I'll say it again: my child has the diagnosis of Autism, but it will not define her. The diagnosis is strictly there to help us understand her perspective on this beautiful world and to help us help her. We see the frustration and embarrassment in her eyes at times and we refuse to let that be how she feels for the rest of her life. We will do what it takes to help her thrive and flourish for the rest of her life.
We have received so much love and support over the past few days. Our friends and family have been more than wonderful towards us.. And especially Tayler. We have received #teamtayler messages, comments, and phone calls. It means more to us than you could imagine. We appreciate every one of them from the bottom of our heart. Many have asked: 'What can we do?' And I will be honest. We aren't even sure what we will have to do at this point. We have more doctor appointments and evaluations to go before we understand even a fraction of where we are headed from here. One thing we do have on our agenda is: LOVE. Love all three of our babies, every day, all day. Tough times, good times. Love conquers everything. So when the question is asked 'What can I do?' I will say it's simple :). Tayler needs to be reminded every day how beautiful she is, how smart she is, how perfect she is. She needs people to spend time with her. She needs people that will try and understand her. She needs people that will love her. Stopping by to play with her (and our other two munchkins as well because they need that support just as much!) Watch an episode of 'Yo Gabba Gabba' with her. Recite the ABCs to her (you'll capture her attention in an instant.) She NEEDS people right now as does our 1-year old and 2-month old. They need love and time from those who care. Reminders that the people in this world are good people that love them unconditionally.
We love all of you so much and appreciate every single thing you have done for us over the past few days. Thank you for letting me use this as an outlet and healing mechanism. Xoxo to you all!
- Does your child make eye contact with you longer than two seconds?
- Does your child point to things with their index finger?
- When you point to things, does your child look at what you're pointing to?
- Does your child respond when you say his/her name?
We answered no to those questions above as well as other questions they asked. Some red flags that were raised were when we talked about her covering her ears when situations were stressful or noises were getting a bit louder. She doesn't communicate with us although she can say her ABCs and count to 100. She loves things to be in order- she lines up all of her toys and organizes her snacks in to color groups. She likes routine and order and there's nothing wrong with that in my book :)
Our life will change as the months pass us by, as will ours. We have more doctor appointments and more evaluations so we can learn more about Tayler and her diagnosis. I am more than ready to learn all I can to help her I'm every way I can. I've said it before and I'll say it again: my child has the diagnosis of Autism, but it will not define her. The diagnosis is strictly there to help us understand her perspective on this beautiful world and to help us help her. We see the frustration and embarrassment in her eyes at times and we refuse to let that be how she feels for the rest of her life. We will do what it takes to help her thrive and flourish for the rest of her life.
We have received so much love and support over the past few days. Our friends and family have been more than wonderful towards us.. And especially Tayler. We have received #teamtayler messages, comments, and phone calls. It means more to us than you could imagine. We appreciate every one of them from the bottom of our heart. Many have asked: 'What can we do?' And I will be honest. We aren't even sure what we will have to do at this point. We have more doctor appointments and evaluations to go before we understand even a fraction of where we are headed from here. One thing we do have on our agenda is: LOVE. Love all three of our babies, every day, all day. Tough times, good times. Love conquers everything. So when the question is asked 'What can I do?' I will say it's simple :). Tayler needs to be reminded every day how beautiful she is, how smart she is, how perfect she is. She needs people to spend time with her. She needs people that will try and understand her. She needs people that will love her. Stopping by to play with her (and our other two munchkins as well because they need that support just as much!) Watch an episode of 'Yo Gabba Gabba' with her. Recite the ABCs to her (you'll capture her attention in an instant.) She NEEDS people right now as does our 1-year old and 2-month old. They need love and time from those who care. Reminders that the people in this world are good people that love them unconditionally.
We love all of you so much and appreciate every single thing you have done for us over the past few days. Thank you for letting me use this as an outlet and healing mechanism. Xoxo to you all!
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