On a serious note...

We would like to take this opportunity to talk about something that has affected our family very much over the past year or so.

Our son, Fisher has recently been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Yes, this means he has Autism. There are many different ways and degrees to which Autism affects children. It seems at this point that every child affected is differently and to different degrees. We have known in our hearts for a while that Fisher has it, but we haven’t been ready to share it with the world, or even fully admit it to ourselves.

We have been very fortunate to have been put in contact with wonderful people through the Idaho Infant Toddler program and now with the Idaho Dept of Health and Welfare. So far the people we have dealt with have been extremely helpful and sensitive to our needs. There are many resources out there on the internet that give useful information and I will put some links up at the bottom of this post. We have struggled over letting others know what is going on with Fisher, sometimes I think it is out of fear about how people will interact with us or him, or if people will treat us differently. But now it is a relief to let others know what we are going through. We don’t want people to be fearful of sharing the joys they experience with their children, or the new thing that their child did.

Fisher does exciting and new things every day, they may not be the same things as another child the same age does, but we still like to share experiences with other parents. We don’t want special treatment for Fisher, or for people to feel uncomfortable around him. We just ask for a little understanding when he doesn’t respond to situations as other children would. Our love for him and our experiences as parents are not lessened by his challenges, so we do not seek sympathy…just a little understanding. If you are wondering how he is doing…just ask. If you are wondering how we are doing…just ask.

We have been told by many of the professionals that we have met with that if things go well with developmental therapies and lots of hard work that Fisher may be able to function alongside other children his same age in school with little or no notice from others. That is a long ways away, with a lot of work between now and then. We are optimistic about the future. We are not defined by the challenges in our lives; we are defined by how we meet them.

Here are some facts about autism:
· 1 in every 150 children is diagnosed with autism

· Autism is 4 times more likely in boys

· Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability

· There is no cure or medical detection for autism

· Autism is a spectrum disorder. There are 5 developmental disorders that make up the Autism Spectrum -Autism, Asperger's & Rett's Syndromes Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and PDD/NOS

· Autism is more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, Down’s syndrome and AIDS combined

· Autism is the only developmental disorder in which IQ scores can be improved through intervention

· The national cost for autism is $9 billion. With the rising numbers of diagnosis, the cost in 10 years will be $200 -$400 billion

· Cost of lifelong care can be reduced by 2/3 with early diagnosis and intervention Parents are the first people to notice autistic behaviors in their children. If a parent thinks there maybe something wrong, they should seek out testing.

· Signs of autism: Lack of or delay in spoken language, repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)

· Signs of autism: Little or no eye contact, lack of interest in peer relationships

· Signs of autism: Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play, persistent fixation on parts of objects.

· The testing for autism is ONLY deficiency based, and does not account for a child’s inability to communicate verbally to measure IQ

· There is no known cause or trigger for autism

· Characteristics of autism: Insistence on sameness; resistance to change, Difficulty in expressing needs, and using gestures or pointing instead of words.

· Characteristics of autism: Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language, Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason; showing distress for reasons not apparent to others.

· Characteristics of autism: Preference to being alone; aloof manner, Tantrums, Difficulty in mixing with others, Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled, Little or no eye contact.

· Characteristics of autism: Unresponsive to normal teaching methods, Sustained odd play, Spinning objects, Obsessive attachment to objects, Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain, No real fears of danger.

· Characteristics of autism: Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under­activity, Uneven gross/fine motor skills, Non-responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests in normal range

· Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of most of the more prevalent childhood disorders

· Autism is diagnosed in all standings of socioeconomics, race and location; meaning no one is immune

· Autism is a condition whose treatments are specifically excluded by some insurance companies Inclusive classrooms work best for children with autism. Inclusion works when teachers believe all children can learn

· Because some people with autism cannot use words, they use behavior to communicate

· Embrace differences, embrace autism

· People with autism do not lie, do not judge, do not play mind games; Maybe we can all learn something from them

· Discipline does NOT cure autism

· When a child has autism, questions are appreciated, parenting advice is not

· Just because a person with autism cannot speak, does not mean they have nothing to say

· Normal -It’s just a dial on the washing machine!



Links:

http://www.autism.org/

http://www.autismspeaks.org/

http://www.panhandleautism.org/




We decided to post this on our blog, because it seemed overwhelming to explain the situation from the beginning to all of those people who are interested, over and over again. This now gives everyone a starting point to continue the conversation. We will continue to post updates about how are family is doing on our blog.