But He Looks Normal - Autism Misconceptions

There are stereotypes and misconceptions about everything, and autism is no difference. When most people hear the word autism their first thought is Rain Man. Even I'm guilty of misconceptions because I was uneducated. Since Nikolai's diagnosis we're forced to separate reality from fiction. Even though we're just starting this journey, we've already been met with myths and misconceptions that we've had to set straight.  Misconception:...

Normal is a dryer setting

Today is day 1.  As I was getting my sleeping child ready for daycare a feeling of anger came over me. After the boys left the feeling was still with me, and I couldn't figure out why. I became irritated not being able to figure it out. Who was I mad at? God? Nikolai? Vanderbilt staff? My friends who all had "normal" kids? And then the feeling became stronger, but I still couldn't put my finger on it - who was I mad at?  There...

A New Journey

The Kennedy Center Back Story In December, I chose to have Nikolai evaluated by early intervention programs. While he understood a lot, his speech was limited to his favorite (and only) word "ow". The first program was EDIS (military's early intervention program) who decided that he might have displayed some signs of autism, but he didn't meet their requirements. The only other program was TSEI  (Tennessee State Early Intervention)...