World Autism Awareness Day

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. So in light of that I wanted to put up this post about Jake's behaviors that led us to get him tested and the official symptoms of Autism. It has been about 2 and a half years since Jacob was diagnosed as being on the Autistic Spectrum. He is by no means full blown autistic, but definitely has his problems and quirks. He has come so far and we are very proud of him. He is such a beautiful, sweet boy and we are so glad that Heavenly Father sent him to us. His quirks are sometimes what we love best about him. Through early diagnosis and treatment at his special needs program preschool, he should be ready to attend kindergarten in the Fall without much extra assistance.

Autism is treatable. Children do not "outgrow" autism, but studies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantly improved outcomes.

Here are some signs to look for in the children in your life:
Lack of or delay in spoken language
Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
Little or no eye contact
Lack of interest in peer relationships
Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
Persistent fixation on parts of objects

About Jake
Jacob had a vocabulary of about 10 words when he was 3 years old and didn't even call me Mommy until he was 3 and a half. We weren't able to communicate with him at all. He couldn't even ask for juice. So, there was a lot of tantrums on his part because we couldn't understand him and he couldn't tell us. He still won't look you directly in the eye, if he does it's only for a second, then he looks past you. When he was diagnosed, he didn't play with other children and would move to the other side of the room when they came near him and he had no pretend play whatsoever. (no pretending to fly planes, feeding a bear, imagination stuff, making up things) He also didn't copy things we said like Tommy does, no imitation. Now, he plays with other kids a little better, though not his favorite thing. He still doesn't like us to do silly voices very often, it upsets him. Also, he couldn't stand having his sleeves bunched up, or his pants, he would scream until they were pulled down. He couldn't stand playing in a sand box because he didn't like the way it felt or stuck to his hands. He couldn't stand getting dirty or getting water on his clothes. He would have to change his clothes. He still doesn't like it, but he tolerates it and isn't stripping as soon as he gets water on his shirt. Funny thing though, is that he could play with water forever, just pouring water back and forth between cups(naked or as long as it didn't get on his clothes)He also used to watch the wheels on his cars for hours. Instead of riding his bike he would lay on the ground and watch the wheels turn. He was developing normally until about 18 months. He stopped really talking and stopped doing a lot of things, like eating vegetables, yogurt, soup, rice, corn (he developed texture issues out of nowhere), and started a lot of repetitive behaviors. Even now he will say the same sentence 5 times in a row. We just keep giving the same response and let him go through it. He becomes obsessed with a thought and he runs with it. So just be aware that they don't always start out this way.

Sorry this was so long but I appreciated you reading it and gaining a little knowledge about what it's like and the behaviors of kids on the spectrum. Again, he has come such a long way. We love his teachers and therapists and are thankful that they are always there for him and give him the help and encouragement he needs. I'm only telling you these things so that you can notice the signs in your own children or in others. Early intervention is definitely the key and I'm glad we had Jake tested when we did, I don't know how much better he would be now without it.