Addison

After months of ignoring this project, I have finally got myself back here again to write for both myself, Addison and for all of you dealing with similiar situations.

Addison was diagnosed with Autsim in March 2011. To get to that point though, I need to start at the beginning. Addison was baby C, born 5 lbs 10 oz and breech. She was pretty fiesty from the start, but when it came to sleeping and eating, she rocked it. No issues with either. She really enjoyed being held though, so she was definitely one of the three that demanded attention. As milestones went, she was pretty average usually being the 2nd triplet meeting most of them. She did roll over first though, which we were surprised by since Jordan had always taken over most of the other physical milestones first.

When Addison was learning to walk she had such a personality. She'd wiggle when you'd ask her to dance and laugh and make eye contact. Around a year old she was babbling, using small words like "dada" and signing "more". Around 18 months old she was using words like "side" for outside and "sing" for "swing". It was sometime around 18 months that I notice a few quirky ways (later I'd realize these were the starts of stims for her). Addie would sit on her knees and rock while watching her favorite DVDs. Sometimes she'd make small moaning noises or squeal and flap her hands in front of her. We thought it was cute. We had no idea that it was a red flag we needed to pay attention to.

It was also during this same time that Jordan was starting his long road to being diagnosed. Little did we know that we should also be concerned with Addison. So, while Jordan was being examined and tested and started speech therapy with Birth to 3 program, Addison was slowly regressing. It was finally our therapists at Birth to 3 that mentioned Addison to us. They asked us if we'd like them to evaluate her as well for services. I had noticed she wasn't really adding anything to her vocabulary, but it wasn't until Birth to 3 mentioned she had lost her words that I actually took notice.

The next few months Addison continued to regress, not using verbals at all and turning to moaning and whining when she needed or wanted something. She was also fixated on textures and touching/licking any and all objects she could. We joked about her licking tree trunks and wanting to touch puddles. We had no idea that these were again- red flags for Autism.

Finally- after months of waiting and wondering with Jordan- I attended his ADOS (diagnosis) test and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Addison was also going to be on the spectrum. Up until that point, I really thought Addie was just stubborn (lack of eye contact with most people) and shy. I really didn't "get it" until Jordan was diagnosed and I was given real answers. I think this is my one complaint as a parent of children on the spectrum. I felt that so many specialists, therapists, and experts knew my kids were on the spectrum, but couldn't indicate that to me. I know that they all had to wait for the official diagnosis. I know its all political and they need to do things correctly. I just felt like I was let in on a secret way after the fact. I would've preferred to have been told from day one and been hurt then having to go months being so oblivious or niave to it all.

Since Addison's diagnosis, she too has started ABA in-home therapy and works with a handful of wonderful women 6 days a week. She really seems to enjoy her time with them and has made huge strides in talking, eye contact and pretend play. She's learned to not need to moan or whine as much and can use a handful of words to communicate with us. She's even labeling a lot of the letters of the alphabet, too! We (Scott & I) couldn't me more proud of our kids. I can't imagine going to school like they do at 2 1/2 years old!