thatnati12-blog

[thatnati12-blog]

It was supposed to be hearing... not ASD

I'm a first time parent, I had a terrible pregnancy but a easy labor. She was more than I could have ever known to ask for and in an instant my purpose changed.... more than I ever imagined.

My Abs has always been shy, sweet and an easy baby girl. She self soothed at 3 months without hassle, didn't drool while teething and not one scary poop story. She was unique, she had personality others noticed, but not because she was outgoing or over the top, the exact opposite in fact.

She was loner, home body, kept to herself. I was constantly told how lucky I was, that she played by herself so well, that she loved her schedule and that she was so cautious; she was careful and not a risk taker. As she got older, these traits only increased and required a daily schedule, to not break down, wouldn't talk and started to hoard rather than play. She would get upset and we couldn't touch her without making it worse. I felt helpless but new anxiety was a thing and she liked to do things herself. I was regularly reassured by family that it was a phase, and in due time she would speak, play and interact with peers.

I was told by doctors that she was healthy, everything was fine and girls can be shy, slower to speak and more reserved than boys. On her 2nd year appt, I was asked how many words an hour she was saying. None. The doctor looked confused and surprised. He asked again to clarify, as about names for her father and myself or even a bottle, a blanket, our family dog. None. She wasn't saying anything, and I was now starting to realize that wasn't normal. He checked her file, her past appointments, and asked about her hearing test as a newborn. Normal. Asked about any ear infections, never.

We were sent to audiology, did several hearing tests. I was told that she couldn't hear me, not even when I yelled because of fluid in her ear. I was told she would need surgery for tubes and it was scheduled to happen a few weeks later.

After the tubes, almost immediately she started to mimic, she would gravitate toward noises and laugh when talked to by people she could only ever see before. We were scheduled to have another hearing test a few weeks after that and her hearing had improved tremendously. She had a second hearing test with audiology to confirm results, with a different doctor.

While in the room being tested, Abs wouldn't give up her crayons and I explained she hoarded things like that. She didn't like transitioning from one activity to another and i explained she liked to stay with certain things, she didn't like change. She was very fussy and hard to work with, and i explained she didn't do well with new people, she was out of her daily schedule and didn't understand what they wanted from her.

After her hearing test, the audiologist mentioned she was concerned there was more going on than just hearing, and she saw some characteristics that alerted her. She referred her to Neurodevelopment.

I answered what felt like thousands of questions, her father and I completely thought it was a waste of time, that we would be told that she was good to go. That was not the case. After the questions, paperwork, evaluation of Abs and more questions, her doctor broke it to us that there is more going on with Abs than we realized. She said she believed Abs had ASD, she couldn't be the one to give the diagnosis, but did set up a evaluation appt at the autism center. It was like being hit by a bag of bricks, I didn't fully grasp it, because it was supposed to be her hearing.

The next year would be a rollercoaster, none stop advocating and learning to embrace her diagnosis. We would realize almost immediately after her Neurodevelopment appt, she was still our Abs, ans nothing has changed, but that I would not being going back to work. And life was going to be getting a whole lot busier.