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A Little Boy Named Austin.Jan 29 '00 (Updated Feb 06 '00) Write an essay on this topic.In June 1995 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Austin. He was our second son. Looking back, as a baby there was nothing that I recall as being unusual. Starting around the age of two years old, he began to show an unusually strong ability in letters. Of course, he could sing the ABC song. But, it went well beyond that. He had a set of 26 blocks shaped like all the ABC's. At 2 he recognized all the letters. One by one would line them up in order starting at A through to Z. He could also line the blocks up one by one starting at Z back through to A. He would say the letters forward--he would also say the letters backwards. Somewhere between 2 and 3 his counting ability became equally as strong. Counting well past 100, counting backwards, and counting by 10’s. I recall one evening that he was having difficulty sleeping. Knowing that he had such a love of counting, I suggested he try counting to help relax him so he could fall asleep. I stayed in bed with him until about 150. I step out of the room but still within hearing distance. He kept counting. Not sure if he could make the transition from the 100’s to the 200’s, I listened closely. I heard him count, 197, 198, 199.....he hesitated a moment then came 200. I continued to listen sure he would nod off any moment. At around 260 I went to the family room to watch TV. A few minutes later, I heard foot steps. I got up to check and it was Austin coming to say...”Mommy, I all done....I only go to 330” Remember, he is only 3 years old. We thought he was truly gifted. However, one thing troubled us. He had such limited speech. His speech was very clear - there was no impairment. But, if asked a question, he would not answer. He didn’t make eye contact. He spoke only if it was on his terms or he would echo back anything I said. For example, if I asked “ Did you have a snack at Nana’s house” His response would be something like “snack at Nana’s house”. All during this time from approximately 2 years old, Austin became a very difficult child to handle. He would have long screaming tantrums. His love for numbers become obsessive. As if it was controlling all his thoughts. He began counting everything. aisles in stores, the number of crackers on his plate, the number of speed bumps in parking lots, the number of stairs, the number of gates at an airport....etc...... When he was almost 4 years old, we were expecting our third son and preparing to move from the Boston, Massachusetts area to the Houston, Texas area due to my husband’s job transfer. We did bring up his speech issue with his pediatrician before our move from Massachusetts to Texas. He dismissed it saying children progress differently. He also added that Austin was going through a difficult period. I had just given birth to our 3rd son and our move cross country was only weeks away. He said these are very stressful events in a child’s life. Once we got settled in Texas, Austin should start to progress more to his age level. Unfortunately, he didn’t. At approximately age 4 1/2, we approached our new pediatrician about his behavior problems. He recognized that there was indeed an problem and referred us to a Child Psychiatrist. After meeting the psychiatrist, testing him, discussing all of the behavior traits, and seeing him in action. He was diagnosed with A Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). This really is an umbrella diagnosis that covers many different neurological disorders. The most recognized is Autism. Children with PDD very often will excel in certain abilities (letters and numbers/counting) and have a deficient in other areas (speech/communication skills). They are developmentally delayed in social skills and self care skills. Austin at 4 1/2 is still not potty trained. He just isn’t ready. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is also a common trait with PDD. We are seeing the Psychiatrist for the medical needs. He is trying out different medications to help control tantrums, rage, and the obsessive compulsive behaviors. We are also seeing a Psychologist to help with behavior therapy to help Austin in correcting his tantrums and discipline issues. Austin is controlled by rituals and routines. At grocery stores, he needs to walk up and down every aisle (even if we just need milk). He has to announce each aisle number before we begin to walk down isle. At parking lots, he needs to count and go over every speed bump. Change does not come easy to Austin. Recently I rearranged the furniture in our family room. For at least 3 weeks, he cried and tantrumed for me to move it back. Although, it amazes me he did so well with our move to Texas. Maybe it’s little changes that effect him. He does self-injury. When he is angry, he hits his head and bites his fingers. He once even bit his leg and left a bite mark. He can be very aggressive especially to younger children. He hits his baby brother and pinches. He seems to find pleasure. When he hits his brother and the baby starts crying, Austin gets a big smile and says “Ryan is crying!!” I always have to be one step behind him to supervise when he is near the baby. I tried using the crib as a safe place for the baby but, Austin can just climb in. To look at Austin, it is not apparent that there is a disability. We have received stares at stores when he is having a tantrum. We have received comments about his behavior. The Psychologist explained that when a person has OCD, and the obsessive behavior can’t be done, they truly panic and commonly will tantrum. They just can’t control themselves. Sometimes I want to say to those staring that he has this disability. But, I don’t mostly because it’s none of their business. I only wish people would not judge so quickly. Just because a disability is not apparent when you look at someone, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I realize this Epinion is very long and to avoid another version of War and Peace, I did leave out the entire issue of school. It’s too involved with IEPS, evaluations, meetings, speech pathologists etc..etc.... Just to be brief, Austin is enrolled in our school district in a preschool program for children with disabilities. He is a wonderful child with a sparkle in his eye. He can be a handful and he can be a delight. He makes me cry and he makes me laugh. Every night at bedtime, we read stories and the last words I say to Austin is “I love you and I will always take care of you”............And I will! On a personal note to anyone reading this Epinion who has a special child in their life with PDD. There is a wonderful book called PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER: Finding a Diagnosis and Getting Help by Mitzi Waltz (published by O'Reilly) For me it answered many questions I had and many things I didn't think of. I found it at Amazon.com for about $20.00. Epinions doesn't have it available to write a review. I did make the recommendation to them. New edited comment: I am pleased to report Epinions has added the above book for review. If you are interested in this book, please see my Epinion. If you are familiar with this book, I would love to see what you think.  |
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