Sliding in the Living Room

Alexander's Diagnosis Part 2

If you clicked the first link I shared at the end of my post yesterday you've already seen this little Q&A.

What are the symptoms of autism?
The main signs and symptoms of autism involve problems in the following areas:

• Communication - both verbal (spoken) and non-verbal (unspoken, such as pointing, eye contact, and smiling)
• Social - such as sharing emotions, understanding how others think and feel, and holding a conversation
• Routines or repetitive behaviors (also called stereotyped behaviors) - such as repeating words or actions, obsessively following routines or schedules, and playing in repetitive ways

If you're interested in info specifically about Alexander, read on.

For the appointment on Friday I had already filled out several questionnaires about Alexander's habits and abilities and they had me fill out one more up to date one while we were there. Then the doctor brought us in and observed Alexander playing while she asked me more questions (mostly repeats of things I'd already answered).

After a little while, she leaned forward and said something to effect of "So here's what we're looking at, the diagnosis is Autism Spectrum Disorder and here's why" and went straight into a detailed explanation of her diagnosis and the symptoms she saw to confirm it. I'm sure I'm not going to remember everything she said while writing this but I wanted to share at least some of it and have it typed up for future reference as well.

So here are the things she pointed out about our boy under the categories of symptoms from above:

Communication -
Non-verbal (obviously)
Lacking in meaningful gestures (doesn't sign much or even point)
Some eye contact but not consistent

Social -
Doesn't engage other children
Doesn't respond to name when called (I can't remember if this was this category or the first one)
There were one or two other small things in this category but I can't remember what they were...

Routines or repetitive behaviors -
Becoming fixated on objects (examining toys for "too long")
Gets down on eye level to play with toys (lays on the floor next to cars and trains)
Some spinning

I really appreciated her straight forward approach because I hate it when I have to ask a doctor to explain something or repeat something and they look at me like I'm an idiot. This doctor never once acted like I should know something I didn't (unlike when Alexander's pediatrician diagnosed him as "Failure to Thrive" and never once said those words to me but acted like I was stupid when I was surprised when she mentioned it off hand during another visit.) The Marcus Center doctor also seemed to recognize that I am the supreme authority on my son and never once acted like something I wanted to mention was irrelevant or trivial. In a way, it felt more like a "Meeting" instead of an "Appointment." Which really means that it just felt the way a doctor's appointment should feel. I told my mom that I liked the doctor's "floor-side manner" because I spent about half of the visit sitting on the floor handing Alexander Cheerios as he went by and she didn't even bat an eye.

Alexander is a very happy kid (and the doctor could see that, even though he was a little grumpy before I realized he was hungry and offered him those Cheerios). He smiles and laughs a lot and loves to hug and snuggle with his parents. He's not overly aggressive and doesn't hurt himself or others with repetitive behaviors. So a lot of the stereotyped issues are not the problems we're having. But he can't communicate unless Mommy reads his mind. And since Prof. Charles Xavier and I are not the close-knit buds we used to be, we need other resources if we're going to help him interact more effectively with the world. All I want is to know what's going on inside that little head of his and I hope one day he'll answer when I ask him.

Jan 2012 and Alexander's diagnosis part 1 of (who knows)

We've been sick sick sick the past couple of weeks and busy busy busy to boot. I've been wanting to do a big update on here but the list of things to add just keeps getting longer. So here's the list and I'll elaborate later. (I've put a couple of posts on my Living Up blog since Christmas if people are interested to see what I've been up to personally. Basically you gotta check both blogs if you want the full scoop.)

Uncle Brian going on mission to the Phillipines
Johnson family Thanksgiving visit
Alexander preschool news (with 'artwork' uploads)
Jacob general update
Kevin's kayak trip
Christmas (events and gift list)
General year summary and family new years' resolutions 
Derek's wedding and Brown extended family visiting
And last but not least, Alexander's Developmental Diagnosis

I'm sure the last item is the topic of most interest to many of you so I'm going to start there now. Alexander had an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician at Marcus Autism Center on Friday. The doctor officially diagnosed him with Autism Spectrum Disorder. They'll be mailing me a full report in a few days so I'll have more info about exactly where he falls on the spectrum and things like that when the report comes. Basically though, this diagnosis isn't telling us anything we didn't already know about our little boy. It does, however, open up a whole lot of options when it comes to our insurance covering therapy and applying for the Deeming Waiver. The doctor has "prescribed" Alexander going to school 5 days a week instead of just 3 like he is now because routine and consistency will be the best thing for him.

She has also given us a second referral (the first referral is a looong story) to the feeding program at the Marcus Center. She's diagnosed him with a concurrent feeding disorder, which means it's a separate issue from his Autism although the two could be related. Apparently, Food Selectivity is the medical fancy term for being Uber-Picky. I'm enjoying finding out the "official terms" for these things. I'm planning on becoming an expert on all things Alexander (and Jacob) health related in my life.

Anyway, Jacob is officially demanding my attention so I'll try to write more about this later. That's the basic rundown though. Family and friends can feel free to leave questions in the comments or email me or call me. Can't promise I'll be able to answer everything because I don't know everything yet myself. I'd appreciate prayers for me and my family as I begin the hoop-jumping process in earnest. My To-Do list just got HUGE. :-) Also, here are some links where you can find more general information about the topics we're focusing on lately...

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/asd.cfm
http://www.marcus.org/
http://www.choa.org/Menus/Documents/Marcus%20Autism%20Center/reference/applyDeemingWaiver.pdf
http://www.georgia.gov/vgn/images/portal/cit_1210/26/56/46098632Katie_Beckett_Manual.pdf

Oh, and a picture for the heck of it...

Merry Christmas to All!

School Party

Alexander's preschool class had a Christmas party last Wednesday. Alexander kept smiling AFTER I snapped a picture so these are the best I got.

Technology

Playing Itsy Bitsy Spider on the iPad

Photo Session

I wanted to get a really good picture of my boys together to put on Christmas cards this year. So a couple of weeks ago the fever took me and I decided I could do this on my own at home without any additional adult help. :-/ Basic results are as follows.

"Alexander! Sweetie! Baby! Look at the camera!"

"Little Boy! Look at mommy!"

"Alexander! LALALALALA!!!!"

Giving up for the morning

After Jacob had his nap we gave it another go. I had the idea to put them in a box because they LOVE playing in boxes and I thought it could be cute for a "Christmas gift" theme. 

Clearly I didn't know what the heck I was talking about.

"Peekaboo!!"

 Freedom! Down with tyrants!

 Come on Alexander let's get out of here! 

Run away!

 Hi Mommy :-)

Um...I think we're done. For real. Stop taking pictures, woman. I'm not going to smile. You can't make me smile. I have no desire at this juncture to smile. Now give us more cookies.