When the wait is over...

So after two months of waiting after having seen a family counselor and our Pediatrician while James was away, we finally got a referral to see a Behavioral Analyst and Justist was formally evaluated cognitively and psychologically. However, let me say after the consultation with the Peds doc and the interview with the family counselor, they both agreed Justist had Aspergers Syndrome but couldn't formally diagnose it. We thought, what is that really? Well the Behavioral Analyst of course we'll be able to explain more in detail and how it will affect our son if indeed it is a true diagnosis. So we waited for our appt with the Analyst for about two months. The first apptointment is an intake, just to ask questions to gather info and see how our family (i.e.) the children interact with one another in a social setting, followed up by another appt for the testing/eval. After another lengthy delay of 3 weeks James(finally home) and I go in to meet with the Psychologist for a feedback meeting and get the results after everything has been compiled.

Our 9 year old son Justist, has been diagnosed with multiple disorders which stem from Asperger's Sydrome which is an Autism Spectrum Disorder to include ADHD and ODD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. These are all classified as nuerobiological disorders which affect cognitive function. A great quote I recently read from a book about ASDs says, "A person with AS has no more control over how he or she views the world and interprets what is seen, heard, felt or understood than a person who has suffered a stroke or developed Alzheimer's disease. Asperger Syndrome is the result of anomalies in the physical brain, not emotional or behavioral problems, although those certainly can result from it." (OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome)
Shelain~


Hello to all our family and friends who are reading this blog and thank you for all your prayers and support for our family, especially while I was away. Justist and I have always had a "special" relationship, he's truly been my little buddy from the very first time we laid eyes upon each other. With that said, it was humbling to discover that our son, always full of fun and a blast to be around had AS. What does that mean? After the panic subsided, I have committed myself to help him in any way shape or form.

I know it's common for people to make light of "serious" circumstances, but as a family we've taken some level of comfort in knowing his limitations and helping him in as best we can, but with that said, Justist is truly a unique child, and says some of the most profound things you've ever heard. Shelain and I have come to understand some of his behaviors and found true enjoyment in them. He's so brutally honest you can't help but laugh (at times!!). It has helped us tremendously just knowing and educating ourselves (thank you Shelain for giving me the abridged version) of what to expect from our child with AS.

Justist is our unique 9 year old we love and adore. He has always been a joy to be around and knowing his limitations have made it even more enjoyable. He's a great kid on his way to becoming a great young man!!

More to come....

James

When Something Is Wrong

Well we have decided as a family to change the cause or outreach of our family blog, to tell the story of our son Justist and raise awareness for Autism. Along the way, as his parents, especially as a mother it gives me an outlet to express what our lives are like to the ones closest to our hearts.

It has been said, "that Mom knows best." My subtle discoveries with Justist began well over a year ago in January 2008, James was deployed and I just noticed that Justist wasn't himself. He would become agitated when the routine in his life would change and he would shut me out. I simply thought this was just because Daddy was gone away and that the routine changes were another reminder of something else different in his life. But throughtout those 3 months he became less of a happy child and more of an angry kid who was withdrawing and unwilling to make regular eye contact with me. But alas, Daddy was back at home so we told ourselves it was just a phase and went on our merry way. Besides that summer, Justist developed regular migraines and we had greater worries on our hands because it was then that a CT scan would show us that he had a cyst on the brain that would require us to see a Nuerosurgeon for evaluation which they are still watching yearly. It is with much thanksgiving though that I can say his migraines are well maintained with medication and his cyst and scans are so far unremarkable!

However, this fall as our third deployment came upon us and Daddy was gone again for 6 months this time. I saw again, even more the kid who would withdraw and became angry regularly. He now showed me as we were admidst the home school year that studies were becoming a struggle for him, in that he couldn't focus for long periods of time and certain subjects caused him anxiety to the point of tears. More importantly the relationship he had with Jarett and Makenzie were becoming strained, he would get mad at them if he couldn't control them or they didn't do the things he wanted to do or weren't interested in what he was talking about. At this point I knew this isn't my son, not in the sense that it's the boy I know him to be! He was trapped in there somewhere....
Then the same night, my older son Jarett says"mommy, Justist has always been different, not in a bad way but just different from other kids." I knew then it was time to go to get help and so started our journey, first with the Pediatrician and DO. A journey to unlock the door to our son~

Thanks for your support,
Happy@Home


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