Here it goes......

Ok...so I am starting.....I have had people tell me for years that I need to write a book. A book seems so intimidating. I have a story to tell....sometimes it is sad and sometimes it is funny. I can't guarantee that I will be able to keep everything in chronological order or that my grammar will be perfect. Remember, I teach math for a reason.
I remember that Nate was such a quiet baby...he never babbled or turned his head when I called his name or raised his arms to be lifted. He also didn't clap, point, wave, or sleep well. He did, however, become transfixed with blinking lights and the scrolling updates along the bottom of the tv when Tim watched ESPN. I had to remove the hanging drawer pulls on the furniture and cabinets because he played with them so much that it dented the wood and the noise drove me crazy.
So, I had this nagging feeling that something was wrong with my beautiful blond haired blue eyed boy. For some reason the word autism popped in my head. I honestly don't know why.
Now at the time this was happening, I was already pregnant with Nick. I am sure that my hormones were not helping.
One day, I was sitting in the back of my classroom while my student teacher was teaching. I was looking up information online about autism and came across a checklist. As she was teaching algebra in the front of the room, my life fell apart in the back of the room. I was reading the checklist....yes he does this, yes he does this, yes he does this, no he doesn't do this, until I got to the end of the checklist. It said that if your child exhibits at least so many of these behaviors then you should contact your doctor. OH MY GOD!!!!!!! Nate exhibited all but two! OH MY GOD!!!!!! As my student teacher was teaching algebra, I was in the back of the room silently crying.
Now my husband didn't think anything was wrong with Nate. He loved Nate with all his heart and just couldn't fathom this.
In February 2000, while I was 7 months pregnant, we took Nate to see a pediatric neurologist. This was just days shy of Nate's 2nd birthday. He was a very kind man. The appointment lasted at least 2 hours. He diagnosed Nate with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). It is under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders along with autism, ADD, and ADD-HD. In that whole appointment all Tim heard was PDD-NOS, not autism. What about the list of books to read and the people I had to call to set up therapy. The doctor recommended at least 20 hours a week. The doctor was just being kind....he changed the diagnosis to autism a short time later. I think he was trying to break it to us gently.
I remember walking to the car a little shell-shocked with a long list in my hand. We were supposed to read some books about autism and call the Department of Mental Health. We also had another appointment with the doctor in 2 weeks. The purpose of the next appointment was for the news to sink in and then he would answer all our questions.
We got in the car and Tim turned to me and said "See, I told you there was nothing wrong with him." OMG was he in the same appointment I was?????????
Boy, did I have my work cut out for me.............