Is My Child Autistic?

 

Is this the face of an autistic child? I hope not.

This blog post is severely premature, but I feel the need to post something about this issue.

Austism is all over the news right now. Some groups are really pushing for new Utah laws about insurance funding for autistic treatments. It's been on the news for three days in a row. Their methods of getting the attention of Utah government leaders are unique. Today's story included a ball pit in the shape of Utah. 

Autism scares the crap out of me. In elementary school, there was a girl in my class with autism. She was a really sweet girl, but it was very hard to communicate with Kim. I wasn't a bully and tried to talk and play with her sometimes, but she was developmentally very different from my classmates and me.

Developmental delays are pretty common among infants and when I started noticing some delays in my daughter Cameron, I tried not to think of the "a" word.

It was hard not to be a little nervous. Our pediatrician would ask the developmental questions and sometimes suggest "early intervention testing" and I would freak out for the next 48 hours; looking up all the information I could about autism. Not every sign applied to Cameron, but some of the signs are becoming more prevalent.

At sixteen months old, Cameron does not say any words and mostly babbles. She only crawls and stands up with the couch. She doesn't really interact with the objects of the world with a purpose (i.e. stacking things or putting things into boxes or whatever). The list of signs she applies to seem to get longer every appointment.

This last appointment, doctor recommended an evaluation. The appointment is on February 12 and a doctor's appointment on the 13th. I'm freaking out. 

I'm so nervous about my ability to care for her appropriately. It will make mother duties a lot more challenging and require a lot more patience and understanding than other children. 

Despite my fears, there's no question about my love for Cameron. She's my daughter and contains a big piece of my heart. Autism will not change my love for her.