This blog explains how Brendan was diagnosed with autism at 13 months and it will also follows his day to day experiences. His journey will explain how and why getting early intervention works. He will go from being non verbal to verbal to not needing any more therapy. He will define the odds and prove that getting diagnosed with autism at such a young age helped him live life like a normal kid. As a parent always listen to your gut!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
August 18th to August 25th Brendan 15.5 months
This week has been challenging mentally. I have been doing so much research on where and how Brendan can get better therapy. Doing what we are doing now just isn't enough. So while I sit and wait for the state to help I am trying see what options we have. I found a clinical research study at UC Davis in Sacramento that Brendan would be perfect for. It is a program called Early Start Denver Model and it is designed for younger kids just like Brendan. Only a couple states have certified therapist for this program. So I thought why not apply we could travel back and forth for a couple months. Well two days after applying I got a call saying that Brendan would be perfect for this program. They are only taking 24 families. But they require you to move to Sacramento for 7 to 12 months. So when she first told me that I immediately said well we can't move. So I ended the conversation feeling super bummed. Then as it all started to set in Brian and I started to think well maybe we can move their for a year. I had more questions about the cost, the requirements etc. I called them back to ask more questions on Friday and have not gotten a response back yet. So in the meantime Brian and I have so much anxiety about what we should do. My stomach has just been in knots the last couple days. So for now we don't know what we are going to do.
I have been lucky enough to meet a mom who is on the board of Autism Society of Greater Phoenix. Her daughter dances with Haley. She has been my saving grace, she knows all the right doctors, the right things to say to me and just a huge support to me. She was telling me about a doctor who is Board Certified Behavior Analyst who is extremely respected in Arizona. He speaks at a lot of the autism conventions. She said he is the doctor that you want fighting to get what Brendan needs. She also said he is really hard to get into so I would book an appointment asap. So that's what I did, I sent an email to him requesting an appointment. Then I also sent him the link to the blog so he can know all about Brendan. Well the very next day the doctor himself called me and wanted to ask me some questions. He is so eager to meet Brendan that he is going to rearrange his schedule next week to get us in. He thinks he can get me the right team of people that can really get Brendan the help he should be getting here in Arizona. So maybe we don't have to move. Maybe this was the sign I was looking for. I don't know what all of this means other than maybe I have more options than we thought.
So this week I have had many sleepless nights trying to just figure out what is best for us.
Brendan is definitely a mamma's boy but this week he has been super attached to me. He is even saying momma but unfortunately he isn't saying it to me directly. But it has made me smile all week just listening to him say momma as he walks around the house. He pretty much has wanted nothing to do with therapy this week. He just wanted to sit on my lap or wanted me to hold him. This week we haven't made any progress. He is still eating so good so that makes me happy. But he still isn't wanting to take naps. I think that's why he was so crabby at therapy because he is just overly tired. I hope we can have a good week and my little man starts to get some sleep!
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