one flag, two flag, red flag, red flag

     Why don't we dive right into it today and my apologies for this one getting a bit lengthy.... As I mentioned before, today we will talk about some of the little red flags that came up with us for JP. Now, for all you parents of little ones out there, this list is not meant to worry you when you notice that your child does some of these things sometimes. It might be something to bring up with your pediatrician though if you are losing sleep over it. :)

     Looking back, I guess the first thing I noticed different about JP was his speech delay. I comforted myself with the fact that everyone told me little boys talked later than girls and it just wasn't a big deal. At around 20 months though, it really started to worry me. We picked up JP form Mother's Day Out one afternoon and he was crying and a few of his classmates came up to me and said, "JP crying." I remember getting back in the car and saying to my husband those kids just spoke a sentence, and thinking how JP had a vocabulary of about 15-20 words and that was pushing it. On top of that he didn't seem to be understanding me even when I spoke in very simple sentences, so trying to correct behaviors was virtually impossible.

      Some other little things that I started to notice around 18 months... He vary rarely responded to his name. We had his hearing checked and it was fine. We also noticed a lack of eye contact. He seemed to always be interested in something else. If we did get him to look at us it was only for a couple of seconds. When he got really excited sometimes he would flap his hands a little bit. He became very picky about touching things, especially food. He didn't want to walk in the grass barefoot, or like to be touched except by myself or my husband and even then he was a bit standoffish. He was a little bit repetitive, wanted to to do things over and over and over and over.  His tantrums were intense.. Now I know he's 2, every 2 year old throws fits. JP's however would sometimes come out of nowhere and could last between 20-40 mins. Intense screaming, thrashing, and hitting all normal.

     Now with all that being said, something you should know about me is that I am a bit of a worrier. Anyone who has known me for longer than about a day could tell you that. So naturally once I noticed one of these little things, I googled and read books and realized that they could all possibly point to something bigger. I told myself just to pray about it and not worry over it, and bring up my concerns to his pediatrician at his next appointment. I hoped he would outgrow some of the behaviors, that this was just his version of being a toddler. When JP turned 2 his pediatrician recommended we have him evaluated by TEIS (our local early intervention system) to see if he qualified for any services through them. 
    
     At this point in our life (pre-TEIS and pre-therapy) with JP I was at a loss. I felt like the world's worst mother. I thought I was failing at something that I felt all my life I had had a calling for. I withdrew. We quit going to play dates because I couldn't contain my child's sometimes erratic behavior. We quit eating out in public because the stares from strangers were just too much. I did almost 100% of shopping online. I often found myself in tears (sometimes in public) because I was just so overwhelmed and had no clue what to do.... I don't tell you this for pity. We are past this point now, and while I do find myself overwhelmed at times, its normal. What mom isn't occasionally overwhelmed? I tell you this in case you are a mom feeling this way. You are not alone. Or maybe you have a friend with a special needs child. Let them know you are there! It will mean the world to them. I am so lucky to have friends who have stuck with me through all this craziness. You know who you are :)

    Congratulations for making it through all of that! So much for keeping things short.  Next week I'll go over evaluations, therapy, and what a HUGE difference it all makes! Until then, many blessings!!

Let's start at the very beginning...

Welcome one and all to my little blog! I've decided to start this blog as a way to help family and friends have a little glimpse into our journey with our son, who was recently diagnosed with Autism. In addition to that, I hope it could possibly help other parents in our position as well. Quick warning before we even get started, I am not now, nor will I ever be an English major... please forgive any poor grammar. Also I am going to try to keep it pretty real here. Our life is wonderful, but it is at times quite messy. I've gotten used to that fact, hopefully you readers can too! :)

I've had a bit of a tough time decided where to start here, but I'm thinking we will go with a very brief overview of JP (thats what we will call my sweet boy) and all his awesomeness!!

I had a normal pregnancy, was induced because I had a bit of high blood pressure towards the end, delivered via c-section a perfectly healthy baby boy! JP was such an easy baby. Slept like a champ starting at 6 weeks. Nursed great. Ate solids great. Was always generally VERY happy! See.... cutest. baby. ever..

  

As he grew into a toddler his goofy personality began to show. He walked a little late, but we did hold him quite a bit. He never really got into things or made huge messes and was always pretty cautious. Watching him grow has been such a blessing! This picture was taken at a year old.  See... just adorable!!!

JP is now 2 (nearly 3, but I'm in denial about that). He is 100% little boy. Full of energy and life. He absolutely LOVES super heroes (hence the blog title), trains, and all things Toy Story. He loves music, and being the center of our attention! Getting down to the nitty gritty, he has a significant language development delay (currently testing at the 13-16 month age range), a bit of echolalia , some pretty intense behavioral issues, a very slight fine motor delay, and significant food aversions. Nothing we can't handle.

See... just perfect!!  

 I give you this information because when I started thinking about JP and Autism, I began to question everything. Was it because I was induced? Was it the c-section? Should I have been curious about his lack of curiosity? I nursed and fed him a homemade almost all organic diet, where did I go wrong that he now rejects 90% of food? Was it the ever hot topic of vaccinations? What had I done wrong? After many sleepless nights of worrying, I can answer confidently nothing happened to my baby. He is just how God intended him to be and is absolutely perfect. :)

Going to try to keep these brief, so coming next week... When did we notice there was something super special about JP and what did we do? Until then, many blessings to you and yours! <3