I have moved over to WhittereronAutism.com. Please follow the link to find me there. Hope to see you after the jump! :)

Sunday, June 03, 2007

No time like the present!

The sense of urgency when your child receives a diagnoses of autism can be overwhelming. It is as if everyone is yelling ‘early intervention’ at you. As a parent, you are of course willing to do anything and everything possible to help your child but the choice of options is phenomenal as well as expensive.

Lets move to the best school district tomorrow. No make that today, or yesterday come to think of it. Wait a minute the best therapist is in the opposite direction. Can we commute? How often can we commute? Can we afford it? Should we live on a train permanently and save money on rent? Nevermind, the best therapist in the area has a waiting list of over 8 months. Goodee we’ve avoided living on a train for the next 8 months.

It is at this early stage, that parents most resemble headless chickens. Every free moment is spent on research. Every other moment is spent worrying. It is a frantic time for everyone. Do something! Do something now! Anything! Fix it before it’s all too late. Someone will be shutting that window of opportunity and you’re going to squish your fingers. [ translation = or something much more dire]

As I look at my son on his eight birthday, I’m not so sure about that window of opportunity, but if there really is a window, it’s wide open, and the view has a bit more perspective. Many happy returns of the day. Now pass me that chicken, I have the time to pluck it.

If you'd like a different take from a high brow perspective, you can nip along and visit "Kristina" - must be something in the ether.

12 comments:

Joeymom said...

I am SO GLAD I found your blog... or, more accurately, that you found mine. :) It is so full of hope and joy- hope that we can relate to, even on teh bad days.

By the way, if you happen to see my head anywhere, I'd be (even more) grateful...

momof3feistykids said...

EXCELLENT post! After 5 years, I think I am still looking for my head.

Rachel said...

Happy 8th birthday to your son.

kristina said...

happy happy birthday! and many more -- I posted on something similar today, must be something in the blogsophere climactic conditions!

Niksmom said...

Oh so true! I have this awful panicky feeling that we're running out of time. Then Nik will do something so incredible and I am reminded that we are all constantly learning and growing. Your posts are such a breath of fresh air! Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Popping in from Vox. I'm so glad you came along and left comments on my blog. I have really enjoyed reading your posts. It really hits home. Thanks so much for finding me! And Happy Birthday to your son!

Unknown said...

I hope your son had a great birthday.

You didn't mention that while early intervention is pivotal, I would say critical, that it is ABA, Applied Behavior Analysis, which is the evidence based effective intervention that is critical as per yet another study, this one from the UK.

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=25877

mumkeepingsane said...

Happy birthday to your son!

Early intervention got me riled up for a while because while everyone was chanting about it my son was 4+ years when he was diagnosed. Over the past year I've figured out that, while early intervention MIGHT be important in many cases, Patrick is quite capable of progressing no matter what his age.

The first year after diagnosis sure is hard. I'm happy to say in our case year 2 is much better on all of us emotionally.

Laura said...

Oh, yes, the "I'm falling behind!" feeling of anxiety. I'm glad that I'm at a place where I can relax....a little! I'm still worried that I'm making the wrong choices with therapies, school and everything else, but Hutton seems happy! Gotta focus on the happy child and play part of life sometimes, right?

sweetpeas said...

Headless Chicken hit the funny bone thanks!!!!

gretchen said...

Happy birthday to a dear boy. (Mine will be 8 in 3 short months!)

Did you have a goldfish cake? (Or am I thinking of the wrong son?)

Domestic Goddess said...

Wow,
you really hit that on the head. When I first suspected (when they were babies) I mourned it and then instantly sprang into action.I researched, read, read more and talked to everyone I knew. What shoudl I try first? How much therapy? How long, where to go? Which school? And so on, and so on. What I've realized is that it isn't the quantity, it is the QUALITY of what I am doing that matters most. Whether it be 40 hours a week or 4, making the most of my time is what counts...
Excellent post, thanks for reminding me!

 
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