Do you suspect autism in your child?
I know so many people who when faced with something scary or the unknown do one of three things: shut down and/or spiral, pretend it’s okay, or get fired up and take care of business. We are many things as parents, but most of all we are human and we will have human reactions. Here is where I encourage you to feel all the feelings that come along with the first two options but please end where you are moving forward and taking care of business. Your kids need you!
Take Action
If you are a friend or family member to someone who is in a stage of fight or flight, please encourage them to fight. Be ready to hug them because whether or not a child is diagnosed as autistic, even the prospect of possibly being autistic is traumatizing for a parent. So let’s get to it. What is the next step if you suspect your child or a child you know might be autistic?
Call the Doctor
Call your pediatrician and do not take no for an answer. Get an autism screening. This is the first step of many.
Next, determine with your pediatrician if the child is behind in speech or other developmental milestones and get on the wait list for therapy! Most therapy providers are very full and you have to wait to get an appointment, so the sooner you get started, the better.
Start Therapy
Speech therapy and Occupational Therapy are the most common therapies to help people who are autistic. Even if the child ends up not having autism, he or she might still benefit from these therapies so you do not have to wait! There are many great providers in the Blue Water Area.
Another therapy option is ABA therapy, which is behavior therapy that is offered through a variety of providers here in the Blue Water area.
Patience Required
After you get on those lists, you guessed…more waiting lists. A medical diagnosis is given by a child psychiatrist. Your pediatrician or other health care provider will know where to send you but you should check your insurance to make sure there is not a stipulation for therapy where you have to use one of their certified diagnostic centers. For example: I have BCBS and we got a diagnosis from a place that is not on the BSBC list of qualified places. Is it a great place? Yes! Would I do it again? No. Lydia cannot get certain therapies covered unless we go through the approved list.
More Waiting
After this, you wait. You wait a lot. Waiting is the worst part. Reach out to other people and try not to micromanage your child. You or they will most likely obsessively look for reasons why they are or are not autistic. We all have done it and it’s okay but it’s miserable. Remember to have fun with your child; it’s not your job to be a psychiatrist.
Autism Looks Different for Each Person
Now in a perfect world, this whole process will happen early in a child’s life, but that isn’t always the case. As we’ve discussed autism looks different in everyone so it is not always clear that they may be autistic. Sometimes family members might make statements like “there’s no way they are autistic” or you might have always gone back to “Well they made eye contact a few times” like I did. It’s possible that you don’t realize your child might be autistic until they reach school age and if that is the case, the process is exactly the same, so no worries.
Start Early
Now, it is true that the best outcomes for autistic kids’ success in a world that is not built for them happen if you can catch on early. Autistic kids can learn and make so many more connections at a younger age. That is why I encourage you to listen to any gut feeling and to move. When it comes to fight or flight, choose fight. Always choose to fight for answers when it comes to your babies.
Story by Jackie Davidson for BlueWaterParent.com
All content of BlueWaterParent.com is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.
