Monday, October 24, 2011

The "Official" Diagnosis

Well, here we go, just as promised...the "labels," as given to us by the pediatric psychologist.

I will put this in fairly simple wording, as the actual meeting lasted about one and a half hours; every test and medical term gone through with a fine-tooth comb. But it all boils down to this:

*High-Functioning (partly due to his average IQ) Classic Autism (we had been told at age 3 that he had autism, but we were not sure where on the spectrum he actually sat.)
*Sensory Processing Disorder (already known...this was his first diagnosis at age 2)
*Anxiety Disorder
*ADHD

That's a lot to fit into a little 4 year old, right?!

Will the diagnosis and all of these fancy words change him? In a way, no...he is still my same beautiful boy with the gorgeous dark eyes that he was before the meeting. He still loves his gluten free vegan waffles with peanut butter, watching his favorite cartoons over and over, and playing with Play-Doh. But, in another way, yes, it just might change him. Now we can make some decisions knowing fully what we are dealing with and what we could possibly be facing in the future.

So now it is therapy time...again...
We decided to start him, this time, with something called Floortime. It is very family centered and focuses on a lot of reciprocal playtime. It is so hard to know what the right "thing" to try next should be, but this feels like a good fit. I'm crossing my fingers!

But my main concern is the exhaustion and overwhelming stress that I have been feeling lately. I think I feel so much responsibility for his progress, along with trying to balance 4 other children (2 of whom I am currently homeschooling), a wonderful husband, and the rest of the stuff that goes into everyday life. I am seriously considering a school setting for my darling son. I think it might do him good to let him get out with other faces a few hours a day and receive a better variety of therapy throughout the day. It might also take some of the worry off of me wondering if I am doing everything that I possibly can for him. Okay, so I may always feel that worry, but I'm working on taking some of the pressure off of myself!

Stay tuned...only time will tell...

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