GB was diagnosed with autism six months ago. My reaction was one of shock. That was followed by months of not changing much of anything. I have an autistic nephew, besides my special ed degree, so it wasn't that I didn't what I needed to do. It was more like my brain refused to settle in one spot long enough to think anything through. In February, I managed to contact the DDSO to get a medicaid waiver. Since she would be 8 before the paper work was done, it would qualify her for lifetime services. I was assigned a service coordinator who has been on top of the process. I have started, very slowly, to look different options to improve her quality of life. I fought the bus company. I signed her up for Challengers softball. I enrolled her in Special Olympics. Today is another milestone. GB starts a social group today.
Since I know the various needs of autism and am aware of the programs available, I started to wonder why two weeks of work took me six months. I came to the conclusion that I was working to incorporate new information into my mental picture of GB. I think, at least to some extent, all special needs parents go through this process when they receive any new diagnosis, even when they "should" have seen it coming. It is not a bad thing. Even though your child hasn't changed, you have. You now have new ways available to help your child. True, you mourn another loss, a piece of your child that will never be typical. That is eventually offset by all the new tools that are available to help your child. .
Wish us luck on our new adventure today.
2 comments:
Good luck! Yes it can take a while. It's not always our fault though. The wheels of the system need some time to get rolling but once they do, they stay in course, thank God.
I was halfway through responding to this yesterday when I was hit with a lovely virus. Apparently, it was the result of a file downloaded by a young child. I'd be willing to bet who did it!
If it makes you feel any better, J was diagnosed with autism at age 3. He's now a week shy of 11, and he just started his social skills group last December! In my defense, it wasn't initially covered by insurance, and we didn't have the "$1200 payable on the first of each month" to fund it. Still, I agree that it takes time for new diagnoses to settle. Often, there are also various crises that seem to arise, that need to be dealt with first!
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