Early Intervention Is Key

My daughter was diagnosed with PDD-NOS 7 years ago. At that time the Autism Spectrum was still fairly new. We began asking at about 6 months of age if she was okay and continued for years to try to find out what was going on with her. She didn't meet the criteria for Classic Autism and doctors discounted her and told us to wait. When she was 3 1/2 we had her screened for speech at our local school district. They accepted her into the Early Childhood Program and began giving her Occupational Therapy along with Speech and Language Therapy. I believe the day she entered that program it changed the direction of her life forever. They began to treat her Sensory Integration Dysfunction and Speech issues. Within weeks we saw improvements. Finally at the age of 5, when she starred off into space while twirling her fingers in front of the Pediatrician, did he finally refer us for an Autism evaluation. Then came the diagnosis. As difficult as it was to hear the words, "Your daughter meets the criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder". We finally had a clue of what was happening and our journey continued.

My point for doing this blog is to encourage people to share their experiences. To encourage those just beginning this journey to never give up. If you think there is something going on with your child, keep asking those questions and get as much early intervention as you can. It changed my daughter's life for the better.

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topfacts.htm

http://autism.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/u/treatmentsuserpath.htm#s1