Thought I'd share this here as well...(repost from children with special needs).

Johnny's pediatrican told me that her middle son has autism.

We went yesterday for a well visit. I know she has three sons who are all grown.

She told me that her middle son would 100% have been diagnosed with high functioning autism 25 years ago, no doubt in her mind. She has educated herself on the topic by reading, attending conferences etc...

25 years ago she said that he was labeled all sorts of things by schools. She knew something was not right when he was 1. No eye contact, no language until close to 3. The language developed atypically and he had a few stims (some rocking, head banging).

At the time no one ever thought autism. She fought to get him services of some kind and eventually had to resort to paying a huge amount of money out of pocket for a private preschool that helped him with his speech..it was really the most that they could do then.

It was inspiring to hear her talk. He not only went to college but is getting married and works in special ed helping other children. She said he's had his challenges through life but he LOVES his life and doesn't feel he has something that needs to be "fixed". It helped him become stronger and work that much harder.

It was just really really nice to hear. She did not know the extent to what we are going through with Johnny.

What was really great to hear was that after testing him in various ways for over half an hour, she laughed and told me what an engaging, social and smart boy I have. She is shocked that autism is a question for us...but she also doesn't witness his stims/quirks and he really was on his best behavior for that whole time yesterday. Even I was amazed at how he answered evertyhing and did everything she asked. It gave me a lot of hope for his future regardless of a lable.

Thought I'd share it here!

Re: Thought I'd share this here as well...(repost from children with special needs).

That is such a great story!!! Really warms the heart!! It is always nice to hear a happier story regarding such serious topics, really helps give hope!

Thank you for sharing.

Re: Thought I'd share this here as well...(repost from children with special needs).

No problem, I am happy to share.

Autism is something that is very scary. We don't know exactly why it happens and how it affects each child.

But not every situation is hopeless or leads to a doomed life. Quite the contrary. I've read articles/books/posts from adults, some with classic autism, some with aspergers, some with PDD etc....so so many of them have married, have wonderful careers and absolutely love their life.

Most of them have all had to overcome social problems of some kind but have stated over and over they do not wish to be "cured" in any way. This is who they are, and it has shaped their life for better and worse.

Its just good to hear the positive with the negative. No one wishes for their child to have a neurological problem of course. But when faced with it, you have to look at the long term and the persons happiness. Autism is not a death sentence and although a scary word to get used to , people with autism have a lot to teach the world.

Re: Thought I'd share this here as well...(repost from children with special needs).

This is awesome, and I'm so glad you shared it here too