The Misunderstood Child

I had originally intended for my next post to pick up right where I left off, going through the different signs that pointed to autism that started showing up in Elijah through the years. But, I decided to pause and pick that part back up later, because there is something else that I feel really needs to be explained. Before I go on explaining exactly what Elijah’s autism is, I think I may need to take some time to talk about what it is not. Why? Because, as with any label, there are stereotypes associated with it. Everyone has an idea of what autism means. Some may form these ideas based on education or formal training, or direct experience with individual with autism, whereas others may base them on something they saw in a movie or an isolated encounter with one autistic individual. Even the most educated person on the topic hasn’t met everyone with autism. And just as each person on the planet is different, what autism looks like for each individual is different. So, when y...

When you have a child, and you bring him home as a tiny newborn, he seems perfect.   In our case, with Elijah, he had no complications after birth, was perfectly healthy, was nursing beautifully, and did not show any signs of any type of abnormality. As a parent, I really thought I had dodged a bullet already. I wasn’t dealing with genetic abnormalities, deformities, serious delivery complications, prematurity, a NICU baby, or some other medical issue. I was bringing home a “perfect” baby. As time went on, my “perfect” baby grew, and started meeting his developmental milestones early. He was a fussy little guy at times, and not the greatest sleeper, but that’s just babies. Lots of them have a hard time establishing good sleep patterns. Overall, he was thriving. He was an awesome eater. He started eating solid foods early and loved them. He did absolutely everything he was supposed to do early. As the year went on, he just blossomed. He started talking early. The doctor to...