My husband was getting frustrated with a few things with her and I kept reassuring him and saying "she's just a kid, she'll grow out of it" till the more he pointed out the more I noticed which brought to my attention more the quirks I had been concerned with and started linking them all with each other and wondering if maybe it was more then just her being a silly little girl and if we should have her looked at. I mean really what would it hurt to take her to see?
A big part of me thought I would take her in and be told "she's just a girl" and me tell him "See I told you!" and a big part of me deep down knew it was coming and that they would say "I think she should be tested for Autism, she sounds like she is on the spectrum". This was completely different from my son when he was diagnosed. I had it set in my head that I KNEW for sure something was up with him and just had autism tugging on my heart and if a dr told me "Oh he's just fine" I was livid for being blown off! I just didn't know how I felt this time.. I was somewhere between. But the more I talked to the dr, the more I read, the more I found myself admitting it and blaming myself that here I thought compared to the others she was so normal that I didn't seek help sooner and was I to blame for not paying attention? How could I just sit and let her be on the back burner?
So she is now being referred for occupational therapy and to be tested for autism and start therapy if it is for sure confirmed.
Many are asking me what I'm seeing, they don't see it (but this isn't new to me.. no one saw it with Keagan either unless you spent several hours around him because he was so high functioning)
These are the symptoms we see in her and took her in for
•Avoid eye contact
•Have delayed speech and language skills
•Repeat words or phrases over and over
•Give unrelated answers to questions
•spin in circles
•smell, taste, look, or feel (she's vegan)
•Does not understand personal space boundaries
•Hyperactivity (very active)
•Impulsivity (acting without thinking)
•Short attention span
•Unusual eating and sleeping habits (she wakes every hour, sleeps with all lights on and all doors open)
•Unusual mood or emotional reactions (extremely emotional)
•Lack of fear or more fear than expected
some other concerns we had.. she does play with other children but over the last year and a half she has become very with drawn. She is very very unusually shy and will not make friends, will not respond to people other than the normal few people she has been close with for years. She has problems catching on to learning.
Developementally she can't hold a crayon, pencil, silverware right. She can't turn her clothes right side out or needs help with things like putting a jacket on. Very uncoordinated.
Though I am happy to be getting some answers and getting her some help and hope she does as well from the help as our son Keagan I feel a bit numb to it all like I did when he was diagnosed. I can't imagine the therapy schedule we are about to go through like we did with him. I know it won't be an easy journey as it wasn't with him. Yes nothing changes in our daily life with her as we live with it every day but what changes is our schedules now that we are going to get her help and our approach to many things with her now that we have a better understanding of what she is going through.
I wish we were not in a brand new place going through this.. right now is when I need support of my friends to lean on them and though I know they are there on the phone or the internet.. it's just hard. I am making some good friends here though.
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