Outgrowing autism? Study looks at why some kids ’bloom’

Outgrowing autism? Study looks at why some kids ’bloom’

I really appreciated this article. Although it's not very conclusive, it's very comforting to me to know that I'm not crazy. Leah was diagnosed with autism when she was three. We took her to University Of Utah's Behavioral Unit and they diagnosed with Autism, Atypical Presentation. If you interacted with her now, you'd hardly think anything was wrong. She has outgrown so much of her strange, repetitive tendencies and speech patterns that she looks and acts very typical for her age. We still struggle in many ways, mostly with her moods and some REALLY loud crying, and she still does some quirky little things that seem kind of endearing--talking to herself, sniffing her food, insisting on doing things in a certain order. But overall she has a bright future. I've wondered a lot how this could be and I'm really glad I came across this article. It's so nice to see that other kids outgrow autistic tendencies, too. I'm not bat-crazy after all. <--Hold your comments on this last sentence.

Also, there's a fascinating--and sobering--article link in there about dads taking off after a kid is diagnosed with autism.

Comments

Andrew Walker said…
When we were going through instruments with Sam one of them focused a lot on his behaviors as a 4 year old. They said that many of the things they look for are more dramatic when they are young. So this seems to map pretty closely with what they were saying.
April 3, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Jennifer Walker said…
Very interesting--I think Leah has grown by leaps and bounds. And yes, her future is very bright. I credit you with taking her needs very seriously and helping her through the challenges she's faced. You're a wonderful mom and I applaud all that you do with both of your kids!
April 6, 2012 at 8:17 PM
Unknown said…
Thank you for these thoughts!
April 11, 2012 at 6:22 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NYE

New Year’s Eve 2009: Mapleton, UT I left Brian  in Logan and took the girls down to visit my parents for the new year. I felt bad and I felt relieved. I needed a break from him. We didn’t have money for food. He spiraled and never climbed out.  New Years Eve 2014: Mapleton, UT I went to Utah with my girls and left Jacob in Miami. He could have come but made up an excuse about studying and visiting his dad instead. Always talked about visiting his dad—alone— when I talked about a family visit. New Year’s Eve consisted of me, my parents and Stephen and laurel. There might have been some others that left earlier. I took no pictures. The new year rang in and felt so alone and empty. Did Jacob even care?  New Years Eve 2015: Vancouver, WA Pregnant with Lucy, unable to work, Jacob had just failed the most important test that would allow him into residency, I decided to wait out the remainder of the pregnancy at my parent’s new house. This move was one of the most humiliating ex...
Read more

Parent Teacher Conference

Dear Mom, You left 4 months ago. You clearly didn't mean to leave when you did, with your shoes sitting by the door and your unfinished paper boxes of chocolates for Relief Society. No one else wants to hear how the girls are doing. No one else has lived with us for so long and understands them and the dynamics of my family like you do. I've retreated into my own silence and my own world, desperately trying to survive each day--sometimes each hour--knowing that although so many friends and family care (and I couldn't survive without their support), there is really no one left that has experienced firsthand the horror story I'm starring in. We had parent teacher conferences last night at Leah and Hannah's school. We had to bring Lucy, who wet her pants twice and cried to go home. Here's a summary of teacher comments: HANNAH: *a natural leader *most well-liked student *grades range from 85 (one class) to 93-99 (every other class) *no missing assignment...
Read more

3 Years

Image
The social media version: “A new burger place in Park Slope— pretty good but girls still love Black Tap better. I love the exposed brick and VW van counter.” The reality: We were supposed to go to burgers last night to remember Dad on the 3rd anniversary of his death. I was very sick this weekend. Leah had a fever of 105— I’m gonna day that again— 105 and Lucy was being picked up by her clown father. No one was ok. We somehow made it out of the house today but we could hardly talk about Dad/Grandpa. Hannah regrets that she doesn’t remember much. Leah is deeply grieving a very special connection they had. She cries silently. I am physically wasted with a chest cold, anxious about how Lucy is doing at her dad’s house and too broken to help anyone. Our world went dark three years ago and the light hasn’t come back on.  The social media version: I can’t even write it because it’s not in my nature to sound so fake.  The reality:  Her clown father took her to a party for the g...
Read more