Colin was initially greeted by her with a warm welcoming "Hi, Colin!" that he quickly looked down with out greeting her back to ran away from singing one of his many random on the whim songs he creates in different changes of situations. Settling with her unique pile of toys within the room. He started to self entertain as her initial screening of us parents began. She started from how the pregnancy went towards how he behaved during baby years, toddler years, up until his current age of 4 years.
A brief overview of what was mentioned is that he has never had separation anxiety. Never. I could leave for movies, with childcare, random strangers..and never would he ever be upset about this. This is a strange sign within babies and infants that has always set a red flag off within me internally. I mentioned it to previous pediatricians but it was always discuss as perhaps it was just related to his unexplained vision problems that he couldn't see me or hear me which means he never became upset at my dismissal. The thought I always had towards this perspective is that..how come he never fussed ever after he noticed I was removed from the same room setting and he was in with complete strangers even casual sitters? After having 4 kids..something isn't right about that. He was always a low key casual laid back little guy. Very well mannered but also limited because of his vision problems.
Another situation is his extreme intelligence. This isn't a problem. But it can some times be a sign related to Aspergers or certain Autistic levels. For example, Braeten at the age of close to 16 months is hardly speaking to the level that Colin had. Given I focused on a consistent daily basis pointing out letters, numbers, uppercase vs. lowercase, and other educational information such as shapes..he caught on immediately. At 16 months of age we went camping where he was trying to walk around with my guidance. Leaning up against some ones vehicle he started to repeat the letters on a license plate I pointed to. I don't remember exact letters but I just recall him him telling me X..upper case X say "Xsss" in a habit form. He continued to tell me the additional letters in the same way. "Lower case W..says "Wah" and such. This was impressive! He is also reading 3 letters words within the age of 3 years in additional to being able to properly count items at this early age up to 20.
This isn't something that even his 6yr old brother was doing well in school with, let along my oldest when he was starting out in Kindergarden. He has been catching onto basic 1+1= discussions between his older 2 brothers as he greatly wants to keep up. He can also tell you since the age of 2 what each dinosaurs name is very rapidly as well as their technical background. Same goes for Thomas now. He can tell you all about the characters and is completely obsessed with Thomas on the iPad. If a show ends, he has a complete meltdown [this has always happened for years with any favorite shows he has to watch obsessively such as Dino Dan]. I even recorded a few videos over the toddler years of his extraordinary gift he's had after being blown away. He can even typically tell you what they eat, and what time period they're from. If you try to confuse him with joke he gets extremely provoked into a frenzy that is hard to get him out of.
These are just a few things he has had. Sensory has been a huge problem but researching it independently given Aspergers [High functioning Autism, only about 2 years ago was it finally placed within Autism spectrum because based upon certain mannerisms they share.] runs within my family and one known case upon Mikes 2nd cousins, it's highly likely what might additionally be going on with him. Asking others who have diagnosed kids with different spectrums of Autism really gave me a final "yes, this need to be screened..immediately. I want a yes or no." The earlier you find it the better the outcome as everyone has said. My own brother has Aspergers which there was plenty of similar mannerisms, habits, obsessions, sensory concerns, and more that really put up the red flag for me. I've worried about Logan in this regard as well. Perhaps he has it to a lesser degree or not at all. But I might have him screened just to make sure.
This is an image of Colin and my brother Brady camping last year near Fort Stevens Oregon. My brother has been diagnosed with Aspergers which is what they're screening Colin for. Ironically, Colin has his favorite Dinosaur book on hand. He loved all the detailed info you'd read to him from each page and memorized it almost instantaneous.
Phew...already a long blog post..but which blog post isn't long when it comes to something diagnosed or determined or to be determined? It helps me track it in addition to Colins spiral notebook I've started to track everything within.
Aspergers. What is it? [Note: we don't know for sure YET if this is what he has, yet.]
Wikipedia states:
"Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder, is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical use of language are frequently reported.[1][2]
The syndrome is named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger who, in 1944, studied and described children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills, demonstrated limited empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy.[3] The modern conception of Asperger syndrome came into existence in 1981[4] and went through a period of popularization,[5][6] becoming standardized as a diagnosis in the early 1990s. Many questions remain about aspects of the disorder.[7] For example, there is doubt about whether it is distinct from high-functioning autism (HFA);[8] partly because of this, its prevalence is not firmly established.[1] It has been proposed that the diagnosis of Asperger's be eliminated, to be replaced by a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder on a severity scale.[9]
The exact cause is unknown. Although research suggests the likelihood of a genetic basis,[1] there is no known genetic etiology[10][11] and brain imaging techniques have not identified a clear common pathology.[1] There is no single treatment, and the effectiveness of particular interventions is supported by only limited data.[1] Intervention is aimed at improving symptoms and function. The mainstay of management is behavioral therapy, focusing on specific deficits to address poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness.[12] Most children improve as they mature to adulthood, but social and communication difficulties may persist.[7] Some researchers and people with Asperger's have advocated a shift in attitudes toward the view that it is a difference, rather than a disability that must be treated or cured.[13][14]" -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During this screening she pointed out but also asking if he ever comes up to me to get my attention by asking "mama?" or with his words. She pointed out that it appears he gets our attentions mostly by physical contact. During this appointment he ironically did his infamous upside down on his head laying towards the back of the couch he's done for years. She said this is most likely soothing to him but he's probably also trying to get my attention to ask something or just trying to self sooth. As he also did during this screening his additional spinning in circles at least 3 times with his head to the side arms out all the way for long durations with out getting dizzy. He has never really tried to get my attention in a verbal way like the others do. I've never noticed that! She was completely right. He does this with his brothers as well by tackling/tacking out of their hands with them to get his way vs. expressing it no matter the follow through on my end.
Next Wednesday is his appointment to meet with him only. She asked if he'd be ok with this. I told her most likely as he's never had that separation anxiety. This was a huge consideration for screening with Autism as this lady see's another client that the Dr recommended solely because the other girl has anxiety from Achromatopsia and see's her to deal with this anxiety it creates. For example, if they leave a store it becomes extremely white/bright that she can't see a thing [like Colin] but she panics thinking her mom left her all alone. Colin doesn't have this. Instead he keeps on trekking on forwards with no emotional concerns about this change in his environment. Perhaps it's because he's become used to it? I've always thought it was quite interesting. She also said she see's no need in him having the anxiety that this other girls has with Achromatopsia with the 'day blindness'. Of course if there is ever the need she will express it or I will to her. He just has this determined way of carrying on with no problems but does complain of the eye pain in bright settings.
This leads me to another interesting path.
What Preschool will accept him..now? How much will it cost to even try to get him into one that will accept him? How will be accommodate his behaviors, Stickler Syndrome with bonking into things for possible Retinal detachments [I'm a pretty laid back mom, so this extreme fear is not something fun to hold onto! Something I'm working on as I don't want to leave in complete fear of everything and put my poor child in a bubble!], light sensitivity problems..combine those altogether..what type of class will be end up being in when it comes to actual Kindergarden years and after? I don't want him to just get shoved into Special education if he doesn't need to be. I don't want that to hold him back if their studies is not as intense as he'd need to stay interested in his studies. Perhaps that's just ignorance by saying that..but it's a complete concern of mine. I'm not about to have him stuck backwards because of certain learning curves and naturally want the best for him. He has such amazing potential that needs to be cultivated upon with the right teachers! I really do think amazing things are in store him for him despite all these challenges in front of him. All this combined..can he even get into any preschools as he has an extreme problem with depth perception that makes him fear sitting on the toilet so potty training has been nothing but a constant struggle for 2 years now. He just isn't interested in it either no matter the rewards. It becomes a struggle to which I have to pick my battles upon.
That is all for now..I have to attend to him as he's not sleepy yet!
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