After the clip I posted of Jonny stimming, I’ve seen a couple people observing that Jonny might also be somewhere on the autism spectrum and let me just say this.
It wouldn’t surprise me. Not a bit. It would actually explain a lot. Not just the stimming.
He covers his ears for “loud” noises when other kids don’t. He has nearly identical food aversions with Jonah… the extreme colic he had as an infant… he wouldn’t sleep through the night for forever… his current obsession with “Star Wars” and previous obsession with “The Muppet Show” …speech delays…
In addition, he also exhibits mirrored hand movements (one hand will involuntarily do what the other hand is doing), which can also be linked to his neurology.
But with or without an official diagnosis, I don’t think I would do anything differently at this point.
Jonny was born with bilateral hip dysplasia (dislocated hips) and a cleft palate. So early intervention was recommended for his development when he was an infant (he had corrective surgeries when he was less than a year old).
He’s been through OT/PT, speech therapy, developmental playgroups, and 2 years of developmental preschool with other kids who do have an official autism diagnosis.
He’s got Specific Learning Disability (which I just found out was a thing this past year), and probably dyslexia.
He’s had an IEP since he was 3. We retained him (held him back) in Kindergarten a year. He still receives numerous interventions at school and half his day is spent working with specialists.
He’s very easily distracted and has trouble focusing for more than a few seconds if he doesn’t have someone working 1:1 with him. We’re in the process of pursuing a medical psych evaluation (possibly for ADHD… and whatever else they happen to observe) so stay tuned for that.
But through it all, I’m not even worried. We will do what we need to do to help him with his academics. He works hard.
But he’s got foundational character and thats what’s REALLY important. He’s genuinely a “good” kid. He stands up for others, he always looks to do the “right” thing and he wants to be involved in making a positive difference in people’s lives. And he’s a great big brother to boot.
If they observe he is also on The Spectrum…
I say, just add it to the list.
The list of what makes him an Ausome kid.
The list of what makes us an Ausome family.
We already know the journey we walk. A diagnosis would really just be a description of it. We’ve been walking it for years.
Sure, It might be hard at times, but that’s life, my friends… and we are in it together.