This post is one of a series of three posts written by Sarah Simons, Doula and mother of 7 about her experience having a special needs child with autism

My son was born on New Year’s Eve, 2001. Weighing in at 11 pounds, 6 ounces, he was what my Uncle called a substantial baby. Alert, smiley, and full of chortling roly- polyness, Garret delighted us all with his antics. His development seemed normal, but as he approached his second birthday, I had a niggling of doubt. Words were few. His gaze seemed distant, his attention fixed on something beyond the rest of us. I rationalized about the fact that he was a boy, boys sometimes acquire language more slowly, preferring the sound effects of cars, trains, and elephants over commonplace words. I considered birth order, the youngest of six at that time, Garret really didn’t need to say anything when his siblings could anticipate and meet his every whim.

A simple questionnaire provided by our pediatrician opened the door to child development experts who entered our lives to observe and evaluate Garret, and to suggest that something was not quite right. Maybe it was just a speech delay. As the dutiful mother, I went to the Internet and researched. I found information, made sure he had a thorough hearing test, and consented to having Minneapolis Public Schools’ Birth to Three specialists work with Garret. As he sat with teachers during home visits, he built small towers of blocks and put red bears in red baskets, I wondered what was going on inside my boy and would he be okay? Would he out grow “this”, whatever this was?

At the prompting of one of his teachers, Garret and I joined an Early Childhood Special Education class, an opportunity for us to play and learn together. We enjoyed interacting with other moms and kids, but I was soon drowning in the alphabet soup of diagnostic and therapeutic acronyms. Awash in ISP, OT, ASD, IIIP, PT, PACER, ST, DSMIII, MSW, IEP, SSI, and E-I-E-I-O, seasoned members, truly salt of the earth women, threw me a lifeline and drew me into their circle of support.

Do you have a similar story to tell about yourself or someone you know? Please share below to help create awareness.

Book Covers from the award winning Bur Bur and Friend’s children’s book series: Bur Bur and Friends is a cast of multicultural characters who educate kids about sports, outdoor exploration and active play though their experiences.

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Community Board. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.