I find out my kid has Autism and I??

Immediately: I am relieved, then feel validated and then look at the speechy and see her eyes watering up and then I grab a tissue let out a little cry, laugh, ask how many points he got  and high five Backpacker cause we made a bet in the car and I won, thank them and ask what’s next?

Over the next few days: I will ring schools, Ring Autism advisers, Hug my son a lot, talk to friends and try and work out what route you want to take. Its great there is Funding and I’m super excited about it. Financially we can finally do what we want for Peanut without crippling the family, but there is a pressure of not wasting it on the wrong thing. Lucky Peanut is a pretty laid back guy so we have been told as long as we focus on speech the rest will be fine and okay no matter what we decide.  So we are just going to take it slow get this operation out the way and then start him at the education support centre  (yep I made my decision). 

Please note this is just how I felt when I found out I know other people have different journeys and emotions over these sort of things 

 The assessment process :

 We got there and I was about to upchuck  when I get nervous my tummy goes crazy  not butterfly’s but  teacup piglets running around squashing all my vital organs.

DR Huge eyes was there smiling, and the Speechy whom Id like to name wellington (as account on her eyes welling up a lot)  and a pead whom to be honest looks awkward and uncomfortable so her name will be Awks.

Awks told us she would be waiting behind the one way mirror watching and then come in afterwards to chat and would we mind is Peanut was observed by two student Doctors (at Peanuts birth  we said yes to that and by the time he came out there were an extra 8 people in the room at least!), Whom I later found out were Big bang and Smith (there is a reason to these names but I can’t really say it without revealing their real names). So we sat down and Wellington asked Peanut to sit down which he did and they played some games with shapes and puzzles and balloons and bubbles she gave him food and he seemed pretty comfortable with the whole thing you could tell peanut had been in rooms like this  since he was 2 (which actually makes me a little sad) he packed away after each activity and sat nicely he made no eye contact and had no interest in what or who wellington was (PERFECT).

After a good hour and a bit of “play” with Dr big eyes and Wellington writing everything down, Awks walked in and Wellington walked out Awks asked us questions about genetics and such and took us down for Peanut to be measured and weighed and have his reflexes tested this was when we met Big bang and Smith (two quite handsome looking Asian men I liked Big bang best he was nice had a nice smile and a nice jaw line).

They got Peanuts height and weight without a fuss thank god as I was not going to step on the scales with Big bang and Smith present. He was 18 kilos and 105 cms on a flat foot then they needed to check his breathing and heart which all went great (much to my surprise and typical that he has now gotten used to and okay with doctors just in time for his Op next week which is most likely traumatise him and make him scared of Dr's again). Awks went to do his reflexes which was hard as he wouldn’t relax his legs he did the arms fine but kept saying “Excuse me, Excuse me, all done, excuse me” which I thought was very polite and Big bang thought was funny.  

We then went back to the room and Awks kept pointing out Peanuts walking to Big Bang and Smith. We got given some coffee and sat in wait. Backpacker mentioned he thought Peanut nailed it he nailed being autistic! We let Peanut eat, I played with a remote controlled car and Peanut played the ipad doing math, that’s when they came back in. I sat peanut at another table with his ipad. 

They shuffled around us and you could tell they all hated this part Wellingtons eyes welled up so I knew the news and then Awks said it “from what we have found, Peanut meets the criteria  for Autism (those were probably not the exact words but close enough it was a blur to be honest she could have said BLAH BLAH AUTISM BLAH BLAH BLAH and I wouldn't have known). They asked if we expected it, to which we said yep we sure did, there were a few tears (from Wellington and I) and they went on to list all of Peanuts great qualities and how well we had done as parents. He has a good IQ, is great with change and adapts well to new people and places and there is no reason mainstream with an aide would not work for him. But agreed an ESC would be a good boost.  Mummy's instincts are always on the money. That was it really we spoke about who to contact and what speechys would be good for him. We thanked them and walked out.

 I had a lot of adrenaline in me and I was so proud of him and bursting with love for this little man. I rang the schools and talked to principles and got him all booked in to start in 2 weeks. 

ASSESSMENT CENTRAL “ Professionals” are interesting creatures

Well its assessment/therapy central here. After our Speechy and OT came around to work on some stuff with Cameron and train myself in a new technique it was on to the more serious business of DUN DUN DUN AUTISM ASSESSMENT TEAM!



First stop was the psych Dr HUGE eyes, she had massive eyes  and  was a stunning looking lady prob a bit younger than me. Peanut didn’t look at her or respond to her at all. Peanut played while Dr HUGE eyes and I chatted and did questionnaires it took 2 hours. In the end I asked if she thought it likely he would receive a DX and she is not sure!! WHAT! I nearly burst into tears. His GREEN FLAGS are imagination, affectionate(cause of corse half way through he came up for a big cuddle)and lack of obsessions. So she will be contacting the school and I’m hoping they put in a bad word for him. Dr HUGE eyes mentioned severe communication disorder (well yes we know) sensory issues (yep got that) and Anxiety problems (I would have never guessed). But as of yet is unsure if he will qualify for an ASD DX.



Second cab off the ranks the Social worker (I usually hate these people) lets call her SLICK, she was a very slick looking older woman.


Well it turned out better than expected after a very calm relaxed boy to start with I got an upsetting phone call from Nynie which then made Peanut decide he didn’t like this SLICK person (If Peanut had a super power it would be being in tune with my emotions even if I hide it super well and don’t say anything so he put  mummy being upset with strange lady and BAM).


Peanut got upset all of a sudden, wanted her to leave and started to shove her out the door screaming "bye bye, go that way, bye seeya later, BYE!" at her. While waiting for her to leave he decided unlocking the door was a good plan which let our dog out. The dog ran away which triggered a massive meltdown with us all including SLICK running down the street after the dog, Peanut screaming! The dog did a second bolt for the park I gave up (running down the street with a 3 and 4 year old screaming at you is not fun) We turned around to get the car and that set him off screaming more (in peanuts mind the dog was going for a walk without us.) I had to drag him up the street get the boys in the car. We searched for the dog for 10 minutes all the time Peanut is screaming, "Where’s Gilligan" (that’s our dog by the way). I give up and we turn around and go home. Then I see the bloody dog is waiting for us at home! Peanut is screaming cause he then didn't want to get out of the car and SLICK watches me struggling and pulling Peanut out of the car screaming at the top of his lungs. She left after that and we went inside Peanut continued to freak out for another 10 minutes, I filmed it all so I can show them what we have to deal with. The situation was diffused when Shrimples came out with a tray full of cupcakes. 

It really couldn't have gone better if I had planned it. Thanks Gilligan