autism

Zoe has autism. There, I’ve finally written it, thought I’ve been saying it for a long time now. High functioning autism – I don’t really know much about Asberger’s so I can’t say. Yes, it’s more and more common.

What is autism?  Hell if I know.  No one really has given me an accurate description and outcomes, intensity, responses, and reactions in kids with autism vary greatly.  Essentially her brain works differently, and that makes learning regular stuff harder for children and people with this diagnosis. Exactly what it makes harder varies, so again, really, who knows what autism is?

She is high functioning. What do I mean by high functioning? She’s not really trapped inside a private world with an inability to interact or do things. She does severe speech delays, difficulties with transitions, and social settings can be difficult but she does go to school and I can see her having a happy, productive life with college, a career, maybe even a family if she wants. She’s more comfortable with people she knows, but therapy has made a world of difference in her progress as thriving little girl.

She also has sensory processing disorder (SPD). Basically, her brain does not process sensory input like a typically developing child. For some things, she is hypersensitive (like noises and big crowds). This causes difficulty sleeping and calming down from stress or tantrums. In other areas, she’s more insensitive than a TD child, such as her feet and hands. This causes her to mouth objects a lot and made her a late walker. At age 2, she still had difficulties with things like going up and down steps. SPD may or may not be seen in children with autism, and it may be seen in kids without autism.

One thing you should know: she IS intelligent – very quick on problem solving, skilled at puzzles – so these disabilities actually can affect people’s perception of her. Non-verbal does not mean dumb, and whoever came up with that term for people who can’t speak was clueless.

Learn more about autism at:

Things you should know about autism:

  • There is a debate raging about “curing” autism.  I know a parent who’s child had severe allergies and eventually displayed traits similar to autism.  He was eventually diagnosed with celiac disease.  I learned a lot about celiac disease from my friend and from Elizabeth Hasslebeck’s book, “The G-Free Diet“, which I recommend if you want to learn about celiac disease.  Zoe’s been the same since she was in my womb, so this is NOT a reaction to food.  That being said, I see a lot of benefit from gluten free diets, I’m just not sure it’s for our family right now.
  • I live in the great state of Pennsylvania, that provides a lot of support for parents with children who are autistic.  There are some states that provides ZERO support, which means learning disabled children who are diagnosed with autism get no early intervention (EI).  EI literally changed Zoe’s life for the better.  If you live in one of those state, write, call, and get on with your congressman.  Look up local resources-you’re not the only parent with this problem.  And email me, ginabad (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll see what I can do to help. NO child should be allowed to languish when therapeutic help is available.

You can learn more about SPD at:

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