Back at the end of February we had a follow up appointment with the developmental pediatrician concerning a questionnaire both us, and Cole's preschool filled out regarding his social behaviour. Apparently our answers were so similar, that the doctor asked us if we filled out the questionnaire together. We even came to the same score, which never happens. It was the social component of Cole's assessment back in August 2011, that required further observation before making a final diagnosis. If you remember Cole was given the label of "Global Delays" after his initial assessment in August 2011. After the parallel consensus of the questionnaires, the Pediatrician finally gave us a diagnosis of high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Since then life has been a bustle of various appointments for Cole regarding different therapies, as well as preparing him for Junior Kindergarten in the fall. Every time I've thought about blogging this significant milestone in our journey, there just hasn't been what I have deemed enough time or the clearness of thought after putting the kiddos down for the night. So here I am, with a terrible sinus cold, and possible infection ... unable to sleep. After hearing from a couple of friends perhaps just starting this journey of diagnosis, I thought it was about time I shared the end result of ours.
We've been told by several professionals that we are taking the diagnosis quite well. This can be a devastating blow for many families. Frankly, to be honest, it was more of a relief. For myself, personally, I have suspected Autism since Cole was almost a year old. At two years, I was almost certain. The next almost 2 years was more of a waiting game while jumping through the proper hoops amidst a move across the country and provincial health systems. I'm not pretending that this was at all easy, but I think I did the bulk of my "grieving" 2 years ago. I say "grieving" because I'm not sure of how else to describe the feeling that a diagnosis like Autism gives. I think this may be a whole other post in itself. I'm going to have to save that one for another day. I don't think my aching sinuses could handle the emotional release that rehashing those feeling would give.
So what does Cole's new diagnosis mean for us? As a family, not much. Cole is still Cole, just the way God made him. Like any kid he has his own challenges and learns at his own pace. These challenges are a reality that we have learned to accept and work with since he came into our lives. We will continue to help him achieve, learn, grow, love and gain Independence just like any other child. How we approach this may just be a little different.
What does Cole's diagnosis mean for him? Cole doesn't know that he is different from anyone else at this point. He has always been Cole, and that's normal for him. This diagnosis will merely give him the resources in our society (for eg. school) to help him navigate his way in a world that functions differently than he does.
What does this diagnosis mean for others? I believe it means that people can now have a reference point as how to relate to our son. An awareness of what Autism is can result in an understanding of why and how Cole does what he does.
One final thought ...
I read a number of blogs written by parents whose children have ASD (autism spectrum disorders). One mom in particular at MOM - Not Otherwise Specified, did an excellent presentation to her son's class about what Autism is and blogged about it. She titled it "A hair-dryer kid in a toaster-brained world" I highly suggest you read it. It will make you think about Autism in a very tangible way and she expresses it better than I ever could.
You may remember from a previous post that Cole was due for a multidisciplinary preschool team assessment with the Child Development Centre's Preschool Team back on August 2nd. This appointment was and is a big deal for us because it would be the first time we would actually get an official Medical assessment and initial diagnosis for Cole's various identified delays.
The appointment went very well as Cole was having a good day. Of course at these types of appointments I'm never sure whether having a good day is an asset, or, whether it would be better for others to truly see him at his worst. I think after seeing the written report of our appointment, it probably didn't matter since the Pediatrician was clearly observant of what was atypical behaviour no matter what the degree it was presented.
The team seeing Cole that day was made up of a Developmental Pediatrician, a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist. Here is what the Pediatrician had to say in summary about Cole:
Cole is a 3 year, 4 month old child referred for a developmental assessment. Based on assessment today, his fine motor skills/visual motor skills were at a 27 month old level while his gross motor and problem solving skills were around a 30 month old level. On the other had, Cole was certainly ahead with his letters, numbers, colours and shapes. Based on our assessment today, Cole has a diagnosis of global developmental delay (language, cognitive, fine motor). I suspect that he scored lower than what his true potential is in terms of his Cognitive Adaptive Test since most of the tasked involved visual motor skills.
From history, Cole has a number of atypical features in terms of his language development, communication, play skills and poor joint attention. On the social communication questionnaire filled by mom he had a score of 21, which is significant. I suspect that Cole does have autism spectrum disorder but have not made a formal diagnosis at the present time since I need more information around his social skills. I suggested to the family that Cole be placed in a formal daycare setting for his social and overall development.
Diagnosis: Global developmental delay
The Pediatrician has recommended that Cole be referred for speech and language assessment as well as to a social worker for paper work and funding. She has also recommended daycare for Cole as she had mentioned above. After 2 or 3 months of being enrolled in daycare she would once again like to review Cole in order to make a better diagnosis about his social skills with the input of his teachers.
So indeed, it is likely that Cole does have autism. But for now he has been diagnosed with Global Delays. This primary diagnosis enables us to be approved for any programs and/or funding that may be available to help him with his needs.
So where do we go from here? Step One: Put Cole in childcare! Stay tuned for a whole other post on this topic.
