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My youngest is 5 years old and at the end of last year he was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I also have two older children who are 13 and 14 so it has been a while since either of them was Joel’s age so I didn’t notice any of his unusual behaviour. I certainly didn’t think his behaviour was unusual. It wasn’t until the teachers at his day care said that there was something wrong with him, something not like other children. I was originally very hurt and thought that one day they were going to ask me to take him out as he had started hitting others and throwing sand. It was hard being the mother of ‘that child’.

The staff at the daycare encouraged me to take him to my doctor for a referral to a paediatrician. I am so glad that I did, although he still has some unusual behaviours and at times he can get overwhelmed and have an emotional meltdown he is my son and always will be. Because of his diagnosis we can access funding for different therapies and they are really helping.

Autism is no longer the scary diagnosis I thought it was but something special to view the world through. Autism = Always Unique Totally Interesting Sometimes Mysterious.

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Posted by puddlepie, 22nd March 2013