Hello All
I haven't said much about my son before in here or other sites other than to those that I got close to. I should step to the plate too and let my voice be heard when it comes to what he has.
My son was first diagnosed with PDD NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified) when he was 3... more specifically... Asperger's Syndrome also known or referred to as High Functioning Autism.
(He Now Has A Firm Diagnosis Of Asperger's Since They Now Have A More Thorough Way Of Testing For This)
The Beginning....
My son's first word was 'alright' at 6 months old lol Thought he was going to be an agreeable child.... well being male.. and MY child well that wasn't going to happen. lol. Yes, I admit I am stubborn, and determined... and my Scottish and German roots show strong in my genes... and my son's lol
Anyway My son's vocabulary didn't seem to progress as well as we had thought. At almost 3 years old, he was still using 2 to 3 word sentences with 'baby' words like 'te ta' for pizza and 'da dies' for French fries. There were other things too that seemed different. For example: he didn't seem to react to different facial and voice cues. So after a few situations had happened of concern. I called his doctor who referred us to a Child Development Centre. After a few tests found his vocabulary to be a year behind as well as other things like social skills, empathy, etc. Then within the next 6 weeks my son's vocabulary jumped from 40 words to over 2500 words. He started using full sentences. His first sentence was 'My name is Jaren.' He was brought back in for more tests and his language skills had jumped so amazingly high. Sentence structure... everything. He was tested then to have the language skills of a 10 to 12 year old. This was the beginning...
Over the last 4+ years since my son was diagnosed there has been a lot of ups and downs... my marriage ended, went to college, moved all over Canada, and have finally settled (for a bit) in the place we are now. My son is an amazing person. So full of life and wants to be accepted for who he is. If you met him.. you wouldn't know there is a 'disability' status on him. You would see him as a happy little (big man) boy who loves to have fun, play, and of course do all the boy things.. get dirty, drive mom crazy, and fall in love with Haley off American Idol lol My son has dreams too of being in the military. Wants 'to be able to help people' and 'do lots of different things' so he doesn't get bored' lol
Well enough of my book :P Here is more information on Asperger's Syndrome and Autism if you are interested. This email was sent to me...
Dear Krystal
There is a lot of curiosity as to the difference between Asperger's and PDD-NOS. This link goes to a page at the Autism Society of America, explaining what Asperger's Syndrome is:
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Aspergers
And if you want to see the DSM IV diagnostic criteria for diagnosing Asperger's, here is the link. Scroll down to see the Asperger's diagnosis criteria specifically:
http://www.autismvoice.com/blog/SignsofAutismDiagnosis
Sandra Sinclair,
www.autismvoice.com
email@autismvoice.com
I get emails from Sandra weekly and she provides a great resource to those that would like more info.
