Autism Awareness

I hope that I'm doing the right thing by posting this. But, I felt like it was something that needed to be said. I'm not trying to scare anyone. I just think that it's a very important topic, especially for mothers of young children. As most of you know, Lily has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Before Lily was born, the only thing I knew about autism was "Rainman" or stories of children who just sat in a corner all day and flapped their hands and never looked at anyone. I had no idea that those are just a couple of ways that autism can present itself. It is a spectrum disorder, which means that children present symptoms many different ways. Some are at one end of the spectrum and are quite severe and others are mildly affected.

Coult and I knew from the time Lily was just a few months old that something about her was different, but we were always told that we were making a mountain out of a molehill. Even the therapists from Early Intervention told us that since she smiled, she couldn't have autism. We found out later that that is one of the many myths out there about autism.

It turns out that our initial instincts about Lily were correct. At the age of 3, she was diagnosed with pdd-nos, which is a form of high-functioning autism. With autism, early intervention is so important. Getting Lily's diagnosis was actually a relief in some ways because it validated what Coult and I had been thinking for several years. Lily was unable to "connect" with us and it was heartbreaking. She has become better able to "connect" with others as she has gotten older, but there are still clearly deficits in that area. Some days are harder than others, but she continues to improve.

I wish that we had known the early warning signs of autism and maybe we wouldn't have listened to the doctors who told us not to worry so much and we could have gotten help for her and us sooner. Autism can be a very isolating disorder for parents as well at the children affected by it. I wanted to share the early warning signs with all of you so that you can make sure that you keep an eye on your children, just in case. Some pediatricians will ask these questions, but many are so afraid of mentioning the "A" word, that they avoid alerting parents to a potential problem. Of course, even if a baby shows any of these signs, it doesn't mean that they have autism. They need to be evaluated by someone trained in recognizing autism. Again, I'm not trying to scare anyone. I just really feel that getting the word out about autism is so important. Here is an article I found that lists some of the things to watch for:

"Autism Warning Signs

Autism is a spectrum disorder. The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Although there are many signs, by one year of age, any child who:

* does not point
* does not engage with others
* has little or no eye contact
* does not babble or begin to use words

should be referred to a developmental specialist.

According to the Autism Society of America, many children and adults with autism may make eye contact, show affection, smile and laugh, and demonstrate a variety of other emotions, although in varying degrees. Like other children, they respond to their environment in both positive and negative ways.

Every person with autism is an individual, and like all individuals, has a unique personality and combination of characteristics. People with autism process and respond to information in unique ways. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present. Persons with autism may also exhibit some of the following traits.

* Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
* Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
* Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
* Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
* Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
* Tantrums
* Difficulty in mixing with others
* May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
* Little or no eye contact
* Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
* Sustained odd play
* Spins objects
* Inappropriate attachments to objects
* Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
* No real fears of danger
* Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
* Uneven gross/fine motor skills
* Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf although hearing tests in normal range.

There are many myths and misconceptions about autism. Contrary to popular belief, many autistic children do make eye contact; it just may be less or different from a non-autistic child. Many children with autism can develop good functional language and others can develop some type of communication skills, such as sign language or use of pictures. Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment."

I encourage all of you to be aware of these signs so that IF you ever feel that there is a problem, you won't hesitate to have your child evaluated. Autism isn't the end of the world, but it isn't something that can/should be ignored either. Regardless of Lily's disorder, I wouldn't change her for anything. We are learning a lot due to autism, such as: Never take anything for granted. When your child says "I love you Mommy!", treasure those words because there are parents out there who never or very rarely hear those precious words. If you see a child misbehaving in public, don't assume it's the result of bad parenting. Maybe the child has autism and the parents are doing the very best they can. I firmly believe that Lily was sent to this earth to our family with this disorder for a reason. I don't think that she is supposed to learn something from it so much as our family is supposed to learn from it. She may never be accountable, but we will be. I hope that we don't let her down.