She circled the number on the form, nodded, and handed it to me.
Mental Retardation, it read.
What?! No! That’s not my son. NO!
“I’m sorry, but that is what I see right now. He’s only 3. I can’t predict for you what he will be able to learn or achieve. It would not be a surprised if he is unable to learn to read, considering his lack of speech now. We just don’t know what he understands.”
I cried all the way home. I refused to accept this, because I knew that he understood everything going on around him.
Fast forward 9 years.
More test results, but in a different setting. Already he has surpassed the expectations of the developmental pediatrician.
Already he has shown himself to be amazing, with aptitude so far over my head at times that my eyes cross just trying to have conversations with him. And yes, conversations. Lots of them. Intelligent ones. The boy who could not speak at the age of 3 talks all day long.
“Pervasive Developmental Delay–Not Otherwise Specified”
PDD-NOS. My son has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. We suspected it, and always figured he was somewhere on the Spectrum. Now we have confirmation.
Relief this time. This “new” diagnosis was such a tremendous relief, even though we already KNEW he was not mentally retarded, it was just this wonderful confirmation. It gave us hope that he will be able to grow up and be successful.
Autism was not the end of the world for us, but a new beginning.
What was it like to first hear your child had Autism?
Back to 31 Days of Homeschooling on the Spectrum landing page.
Dawn is retired 20-year homeschooling Momma and hospital CNA, currently working on her BA in Technical Communication. She lives in Eastern Washington with her husband, the youngest 2 of their 6 kids, 2 yappy pomeranians and an assortment of backyard chickens. She writes here as well as at DawnMariePerkins.com (her personal/geek blog).
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for sharing this story. I don’t have an autistic child, but I do have many friends who do. I can only imagine your joy in watching your son do far above what the doctors said he could or would.
I pray that your posts encourage other moms who are struggling. We all need each other!
Thank you for your kind words, Selena. 🙂
Your post brings me back to 4 years ago, when my daughter was diagnosed. It has been a difficult journey, with ups and downs. I had thought of writing a new post on this, but later decided not to. At least for now. My recent ’emotional state’ and routine doesn’t seem to permit this without another round of tears.
This was what I wrote in 2011, on the early days of the diagnosis. http://theirgrowingupyears.blogspot.com/2011/09/before-and-now.html
Lydia, thank you for sharing your story with me. It sounds like you really have had quite the ordeal with your daughter. How is she doing now?
Hi Dawn,
She is improving slowly, in her own time. Here’s a post I wrote on her. It’s not an easy post, and rather disorganized. http://theirgrowingupyears.blogspot.com/2014/10/updates-on-joy.html