Personal Perspective: A missed diagnosis is the worst of all, because the child will miss out on early education.
In the end, if the child does have autism, the real worry is the child missing out on early intervention.I get this question fairly often from young mothers. When did I first know? For me, it was from the very beginning. Nat was my firstborn and I had almost no experience with infants. But something felt different. He had an alarming startle reflex. But so do many infants. But every time he was startled, there was this tender yet scared feeling I had.
Thirty-four years later, I no longer feel that way, for the most part, except when things go wrong for Nat and I am hit in the face with his profound vulnerability and his utter dependence on others. “Things going wrong” can be anything from a sudden schedule change to a different staff person at his program, to the change of seasons, or a power failure. I always carry around a sense of waiting for that other shoe to drop. My days hinge on waiting for the phone to ring.
So what do I say when a young mother is worried that her child might have autism? I have to be careful. I’m not a psychologist. I don’t want to diagnose anyone, or worse, misdiagnose them. But because I know that a. Many people on the spectrum say that their eventual diagnosis was a huge relief because they finally understood their differences from others.When I talk with young mothers, I try to tap into my advocate self—my professional self. I try to quiet down my younger self.
Now I know that no child is perfect. Things happen to each of us in our lives — scary, difficult situations beyond our control. In my son’s case, autism was the thing that was happening to him. And he was only a toddler. That experience, the confusion and the helplessness, as well as being soSo I gently tell them that we never know what these little humans of ours are going to become. All bets are off. I reassure them that that’s okay, we learn how to parent them, no matter who they are.
I tell them that they have a lot of time to get used to whatever is in store for their kid. I tell them how worried I used to be about what Nat’s life would be like and what he would be like. Now I smile because it has turned out okay for him. And I hope that they can see the hope that I see, because having autism or having an autistic child is no tragedy, not in the least. It is excruciatingly hard but it is not tragic.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Personal Perspective: Strategies to help your ADHD child to get things done.Personal Perspective: Is your ADHD child a master of putting things off? Learn how to help your child to conquer their to-do list.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: Try swiping right and focus on character instead of beauty.Personal Perspective: Are you "swiping left" on all the best people? Here's why you might be missing out on meeting more quality partners.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: What you can do about loneliness after a break up.Personal Perspective: Love and relationships are only one part of your life, not your entire life.
Read more »
A Personal Perspective: Connecting with my autistic son in an unexpected place.A Personal Perspective: The biggest triumph for my autistic son and me was that we had real fun together—not just the maternal kind of fun where you feel happy because they’re happy.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: Childfree is a valid choice but not one to be taken lightly.Personal Perspective: As the stigma around being childfree decreases, more people are making this choice, but what are the full implications for the individual?
Read more »
A Personal Perspective: Stress may be causing the problems in your relationship.A Personal Perspective: Stress is often to blame for couples' relationship issues.
Read more »