Hand-in-Hand

I am trying to create a blog that not only informs but is interesting to read as well. Going back in time and sharing our journey has been difficult for me. Kyle is a different little boy today than he was when we started. He is my miracle. I have witnessed every victory he has had.

As hard as sharing is for me, I will continue to document our life. People who are impacted by autism will find comfort knowing that someone, somewhere completely understands. People who are relatives and friends will finally comprehend everything I couldn’t tell them or was afraid to discuss for fear of seeming like I was complaining. People who don’t have anyone on the spectrum in their lives will realize that “those people” are sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends of people who love them very much and fight for them every day. This entry may seem a little clinical but I am fighting tears as I write.

After becoming a Regional Center client, we took Kyle to an occupational therapy evaluation appointment. The therapist spent over an hour asking us questions, and testing Kyle. She completed an extensive evaluation and her conclusions were similar to the speech evaluation.

Kyle is an attractive boy who presents with strengths in the area of cognitive skills. He is strong-willed and certain about his preferences. Efforts to direct Kyle to non-preferred activities result in tantrum behavior. Kyle had difficulty with accepting directions and often required maximum verbal prompting to engage in various activities and refused several test items. His standardized scores reflect challenges in gross motor skills, fine motor skills, self-help skills and social-emotional skills.

My husband and I are educated people. I felt like I should have known how to help my son. Instead I had to read reports telling me everything that was wrong with Kyle.

During this difficult time, I met a wonderful Floortime therapist through K.I.D.S. (Kolchins/Thomas Infant Development Services). She came to our home twice a week to teach us healthy ways to interact. Some dismiss it as “play therapy” but children develop through play. I spent time with my kids but I did not know how to teach them play skills. Cindy’s initial evaluation highlighted deficiencies in Kyle’s fine motor skills, receptive and expressive language skills, social, and self-help skills.

We started occupational/feeding therapy twice a week. I was not allowed in the sessions and waited in the lobby with Tara. After 50 minutes, Patricia came out and told me what they did. Kyle made some progress in feeding (licked pudding) and sensory processing. Since I was not a part of the sessions, the skills he learned did not transfer to “real” life. Kyle made more progress with his play skills because Tara and I were allowed to participate. The therapist and teachers helped to guide our play.

After six months, we left that location to start feeding therapy at Pasadena Child Development Associates. The decision to leave was difficult but ultimately the correct one to make; the first organization went out of business.