Diagnosis

The last few months have been a roller coaster as we've been trying to understand Cam's speech delays and get him the help he needs. After seeing our pediatrician, a speech pathologist, an ENT and an audiologist, all of them told us the same thing: "Your son has some red flags for autism and needs to be evaluated."

Autism? I was shocked. When they first started throwing that word around I didn't really even know what it meant, I just knew that it was a scary word, and couldn't possibly be used to describe my social, smiley, cuddly boy. 

So I started doing research to really understand what autism is. I learned that it is something very complex and varies on a wide spectrum from mild to extreme. But regardless of where a child falls on the spectrum I thought this short bullet point summed it up pretty well:

• Autism is a neurological disorder which interferes with the normal development of the brain in areas that control verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and sensory development.

Once I understood a little better what it was I felt more comfortable pursuing a diagnosis. Cam's speech therapist helped when she said that a diagnosis is just a label. It helps you understand your child and how to help them learn, but it doesn't define them or change who they are. 

So I got on a waiting list. They told me it would be 4 to 6 months before he would be evaluated. In the mean time he's been doing speech therapy once a week but without a diagnosis our insurance would only cover 7 sessions and those 7 session are almost up. 

Then last week, miracle of miracles, there was a cancellation! And even though I was way down on the waiting list, the first 8 people she called didn't answer their phones. I was the first person to pick up and I got the spot!!

So today we went in. A developmental pediatrician, a child development specialist and an occupational therapist spent an hour and a half with him, thoroughly and extensively testing him in every area on the spectrum. They were wonderful and it was obvious they had a lot of experience and knew exactly what they were looking for and how to find it. 

At the end they conferenced together and then came back with a diagnosis. Cam has PDD-NOS (Pervasive developmental disorder: not otherwise specified.) An autism spectrum disorder.

Even though I suspected it, even though others had suspected it, it was still hard to hear. They started talking to me about early intervention programs and support groups and help available but my head was still spinning from the punch in the gut revelation that my son has an autism spectrum disorder. My heart started sinking, but then I shook my head and made my self snap out of it! 

Labels don't define or change who we are! Cam is the same package, just with a different label to help us understand him better. He has so many strengths, so many wonderful qualities and attributes. Even the 3 doctors evaluating him said that. We'll just have to approach learning in a different way with him but he is still the same squishy, happy, amazing little boy. 

When I got home I researched PDD-NOS and learned that is is sometimes referred to as “subthreshold autism." In other words, it’s the diagnosis they use for someone who has some but not all characteristics of autism or who has relatively mild symptoms."

So the good news is, we have a diagnosis. Cam will have access to all the early intervention programs he needs including speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Best of all, our insurance will pay for it. I've already seen so much improvement since he started working with a therapist and I know that the earlier you start the better the prognosis is for the future.  Cam is still Cam, and we are grateful to be the parents of such a sweet and awesome little guy :)