A Diagnosis-the Beginning of a Journey

So yesterday we had the feedback session via Google Hangouts with the doctor who evaluated Christopher. He is definitely autistic (what we expected) and he said that if we were to measure the spectrum on a scale of 1-10, Christopher would be around a 5-6. Despite this being what we expected, I found myself feeling even more overwhelmed. I immediately started thinking about what to do to get services started. I got in contact with the case worker who would help with getting the Medicaid waiver and then I started making other calls about services.

I started to contact the schools and some private therapy places. I started to feel like I had to get something started because I couldn't possibly be the one to help him. After all, I'd been the one in charge for the past three years, and here we were. I chatted with a few of my online friends that have some older kiddos that have autism, and they all told me in various ways that we are who he needs. I don't have to make any decisions right now; as Jason pointed out, we still haven't received the suggestions that the doctor is going to send us, and waiting isn't going to make any differences. In other words, I can't make things worse than what we are currently dealing with.

The diagnosis seems kind of like an end; and it is, it's an end to the wondering, and the questioning. But it is more importantly a beginning. Whatever therapy options we choose, this is a journey that we are embarking on that will shape not just Christopher, but us as well. It's an important choice, but it isn't a permanent decision. Deciding to do private therapy or focusing on techniques we do on our own only doesn't mean that we can't send him to school later; if we chose to send him to school it doesn't mean that we can't choose not to later. What Christopher needs the most is us, he needs us to help him through this time so that's what we are going to. Be a family, and work together, rejoice in the positive moments and struggle through the difficult times. Together.