Friday the 13th; Your Daughter is Autistic

It has been 12 months today since I was sitting in a little box of a room at the La Trobe University Psych Dept. building hearing that Heidi was on the Autism Spectrum, and in all probability had Aspergers Syndrome.

Seems significant date in some ways and in others not so much. Of course last year the 13th of June fell on a Wednesday, not a Friday, so the whole Friday the 13th title is a bit misleading.

That was such a hellacious week last year that we didn’t have time to process the diagnosis because of everything else that was happening. Even afterwards I think that the 2 deaths (a close friends father and great aunt) helped us to see that having a child on the Autism Spectrum was not the end of the world. There was so much worse news we could have heard and Heidi was still the happy, healthy child she had always been.

12 months can make such a difference to our world. When we saw the pediatrician on Wednesday this week she said it was amazing to see how much Heidi has changed in 12 months. From the barely verbal child who didn’t make eye contact to the engaged toddler she is now.

We were exceptionally lucky to get placed into an early intervention centre very quickly. Everyone around us has been helpful, supportive and ready and willing to do what is needed to give Heidi the best start in life. The experts map our path and guide us and together Heidi, myself, Ralph and Annie walk that path with our family and friends giving us the encouragement we need to keep going (and that includes you my online buddies).

Heidi herself works with us and tries so hard to learn what she is being taught, often she exceeds all our expectations driving the learning process faster than anyone expected until we are all running to keep up with her.

We’ve not had the discrimination or battles to get treatment/help that so many others have faced, in that we are blessed. Our family, friends and the professionals we work with are all amazing and in that we are also blessed.

12 months ago we faced huge frustration simply trying to communicate concepts like asking for a drink when thirsty or something to eat when hungry.

Now we know the magic words – visuals, transitions, schedules, sensory input, vestibular, proprioceptive, and many many others that make life so much less frustrating for all concerned. We even have the joy of hearing other magic words come from Heidi “I love you”.

Such massive changes to our world, yet in so many ways life continues along normal lines, Heidi is at Kinder, just like other children her age. My girls colour in, paint, stick, glue, sing, dance, watch Barbie DVDs and play and fight together like siblings the world over.

12 months ago Heidis finger people would have the same conversation repeated over and over again.

“Ouch”
“R u ok”
“i’m ok”
“ok”
“ouch”

Just recently her finger people put on a play for me, she got behind her dolls house, used it as a stage and they did a little performance.

She started off with

“Once upon a time, in a little king.”

Told me a story about a Princess going to a playground.

Creative and funny.