"This is for you -J"
Every steem I earn goes 100% torwards J's therapy. I want to make people aware of signs of autism, what it means and also let other parents know, that they are not alone.
"Life is not about surviving the storm, it's about dancing in the rain"
I am a mum of an autistic son living in Australia. J is turning 4 this year and is a very happy child. One year ago, we got the diagnosis that he is on the spectrum... I always thought since he was born, that something was different about him. How could it be possible that other mothers could have 2 or more children whilst I could hardly cope with one. One day when he was a little bit older then 2 years, I saw something on tv about autism... - a child, playing with a car, but only staring at the wheels, how they were turning. That's my son! Nobody would believe me at this stage. " oh, he has just delays with speeking, he will be ok! No worries" But I didn't shut my eyes... Rowing up toys - another sign...
6 month later, when he still wasn't speaking, we went to a specialist and he got diagnosed with autism disorder. For most of our family members it was a shock, but for me it was almost a relieve to finally know. ABA Therapy wasn't at this stage an option for us. I couldn't imagine having a therapist for 20 hours a week in our home, not talking of the huge expenses. Apparently in the US it is fully paid by the governement, but notin Australia.So we started with Speech- and Occupational Therapy. After one year of trial, the gap between J and his peers became bigger and bigger. A child who doesn't say "thank you" at the age of 3 1/2 is unpolite, especially when you can't see any disability by his looks. He is actually very handsome. He has also gotten that strong, that when he has a tantrum, I am not strong enough anymore to hold him. He is a fussy eater. We have currently 8 different foods that he eats - oats with cinnamon, cornflakes without milk, popcorn, strawberries, spaghetti with butter and sometimes pizza. Hot food has to be hot, as soon as it cools down, he doesn't touch it anymore. I have then to run in the kitchen and pretend as if I am cooking more and heat it up again...This are a few samples - and it can drive you mad. At some stage I realized that I need some help to keep my sanity between constant screaming and tantrums and J not developing as I hoped. I needed something, that literally kept me away from drowning. I needed to be able to breath again. At this point I should mention, that I am an entrepreneur as well, trying to earn a living for the family...
I needed to come up with a plan B.
Although not knowing how I actually will pay the whole ABA therapy (it's a bit more then 5000aud a month) I decided to go for it. I am a strong believer in a higher power, call it god, allah or the universe. If this higher power wants it to happen, the money will come from somewhere. So last Sunday somebody told me about steemit. That could be it! I am not a good writer and not native english speaking, but i am writing with my heart and soul. I am doing it for J and all the other children with a disability and their families.
I never want to think, that I haven't tried everything possible. Early intervention is the key to success. We just finished our one month start up program, where they assessed him and started to learn him basic skills like eyecontact. We already can see some small progress. He used to put constantly his sleeves of the shirt back. So every time when he wanted something, they would tell him "sleeves down" help him with one and he had to do the other one. Till one day he was on the way to put one sleeve up, when half way up he rememberred and put it back down... They say, that he is very smart and that he is learning quickly. He knew by the age of 3 already the abc and the numbers from 1-12, but can't talk.
From next week we will have a therapist coming for 12.5 hours a week till we eventually get gradually to the full amount of hours. Let's bring it on! I am so excited to start this journey!
