My Family's Experience with Autism: Anxiety

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Anxiety

I don't think parents of special needs children are more anxious about anything as much as they are about the dreaded "IEP Meeting". And I have to count myself in that group.

Simon's IEP Meeting is on Thursday. I will be going to school to visit and observe tomorrow (Wednesday). I have reviewed his draft IEP document and have a couple of questions, but they are minor. But once again, I'm about to sit in a room that is going to define his next academic year (but I realize this time that we aren't going to be seriously considering kindergarten placement yet) and I find myself wondering if I am making the best decisions.

Is my desire to have him attend this particular program for kindergarten really the best option? Because all of the goals and objectives have that plan in mind. There are many reasons I want him to go to this particular program. Some are for his benefits and others are for mine. And there's always that thought in the back of my mind of putting Rachel and Simon together again, a dream that I (apparently) still haven't fully let go.

I don't know if we are going to take the time during the meeting to discuss the options (even though we won't reach a decision). But, unlike for Rachel, I'm really not sure what the best choice for Simon will be. Either way, I hope that we can discuss it rather than have one of us dictate to the other what should be done.

1 comment:

mamafogNovember 8, 2011 at 8:06 PM
Good luck. We just went though this yesterday. Hope you will post afterwards...
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A Little Bit About Me and My Family

Every once in a while, something happens to a family that seems to change everything, whether that change is positive, negative, or in an uncertain direction. One such thing happened to us in March 2009, when we were informed our 26 month old twins (girl/boy) were BOTH on the autism spectrum. Their older brother (nearly 4 at the time) had always been ahead of the curve for most developmental milestones, so we had never really considered that some of the delays the twins were having had anything to do with autism. Well, we were wrong. Since then we have been learning about learning techniques and doing everything we can to make sure they get any and all help they need so that they can live normal lives. This blog chronicles that journey.

The Autism Pizza

I don't know where this came from originally, but I found it on a post on Circle of Moms. It's a good explanation of how things line up on the spectrum.

1. The Crust: Lack of Social Interaction (poor eye contact, not sharing interests with you, no pointing/gesturing)

2. The Sauce: Impaired Communication (possibly no speech, poor conversation skills, repetitive language, echolalia, no make-believe play)

3. The Cheese: Stereotypical Activities & Interests (extreme routine, strong interest in certain things, stimming [flapping, atypical play, etc.] -- like spinning wheels, lining toys up, stacking, etc.)

If you have all of those things: crust, sauce, cheese, you made an Autism pizza. It might have different toppings, but you can look at it and know it's still a pizza. If your pizza doesn't have sauce, that's Aspergers's. If your pizza is missing more than that but still kind of looks like a pizza, that's PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified)