A New Beginning

Geez…what you can find out by surfing the net. I tried to post at my old blog, only to discover the server Dakota Blogs is no longer with us. Needless to say. I was more than a little miffed. There was no warning from those juju-bean heads running the site. All my posts, notes, comments, and links are gone, lost somewhere in cyberspace The links in the blogrolls are ones I remembered off the top of my head. If you don’t see yours listed, please comment or send it to me via email.

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April is Worldwide Autism Awareness. Years ago, the possibilities of a child having Autism was 1 in 150.000–now it’s 150. Every twenty minutes a child (worldwide) is diagnosed. And how do I know all this?

I’d love to say I’m just aware of things in the media, but I can’t. I was introduced to Autism several years ago when my niece was diagnosed, and re-acquainted with it late last year when it appeared in my youngest son. He has borderline Autism

Autism is a brain disorder that primarily causes communication, social and sensory problems. It makes people seek or shun certain sounds, sights, touches and textures. It affects the way they interact with people or their environment. (Austin American Statesman 04/6/08)

For the first three years of his life, Robert progressed on schedule, talking in complete sentences, saying his alphabet, counting past thirty. Then, like someone turning off a light, his personality changed. He spoke less, and became locked in his own little world, ignoring me when I called to him, preferring to do everything in solitude and showing little interest as to what others were doing.

Robert did receive the infamous series of five shots, but I can’t finger that as the cause of his Autism; too much is still unknown about the disorder. In fact, some speculate that it’s progressive, like Alzheimers’.

For weeks after we found out, I went over and over my pregnancy and Robert’s early years. Was it because of something I ate, something I did while I was carrying him? Was there early indicators I missed when he was a toddler? I felt I had failed my child. I thought I couldn’t tell anyone of Robert’s autism because they’d mark me as a horrible parent. I finally realized (after hours of talking to friends and family) that it wasn’t my fault, there wasn’t anything I’d done to cause this.

We (along with specialists) have been working with Robert for a few months, and already he’s showing signs of improvement.

There is hope. Educate yourself and everyone you know. If you suspect your child has Autism, seek help now. The sooner you get assistance, the better your child’s chances are for beating this devastating disorder.

Below are links on Autism.

LD online

Autism stats

Autism info

Anthem for Autism