State: Northern CA
Country: USA
Member since: Jan 07, 2008
Last logged in: Jul 24, 2008
I am Des' dad.
Desmond came to our home straight from the hospital on his 2nd day of this earth life. He became a perminent member of our family, through adoption, only seven months later.
Having worked with children with special needs for almost 20 years, I started to notice behaviors when he was about a year old.
He was so well bonded to my wife, 18 year old daughter, and myself that I moved thoughts of autism to the back of my mind.
When he was 2 years old I told his doctor, he is either deaf or autistic. She said, "Well, he's not autistic because he is making noises, and look, he looked at me. Let's have his hearing tested."
Again, we hear what we want to hear.
A few months later I was working with a child who had autism. I told his mother that I had concerns about my son. But because he was so affectionate and well bonded, I didn't think he had autism. The mother turned out to be on the board of directors for the local regional center, and showed me how affectionate her own son is. She told me to just call the regional center and self refer Des for an autism screening.
I am sorry that everyone does not have experiences equal to the treatment we received from the Valley Mountain Regional center.
The woman who came out to do the evaluation said at the end, "I hate to be the first to bring this subject up, but your son shows signs of autism."
VMRC was great. They got ABA therapists coming to our home right away. They got us a referral to the MIND institute just a month later. They have been a wonderful organization to work with.
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Norvaljoe's Compositions
by Norvaljoe on 02.05.08 - public - 117 visits
I am hoping to get/share some ideas with those that have similar circumstances. I am putting it in my 'memories' because of how the intrest of others has touched me.
Background. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormon), have a 3 hour "block" of sevices on Sunday. The first 1hr 10 min, is in a congregational meeting. The children aged 18 mo. to 11 years go to Primary, which lasts the remainder of the block. Half of the time is spent in a group meeting and half in a Sunday School type class. Ages 12 through 112 go to a Sunday school class for 50 min, then to the mens and womens organization meetings for the last hour.
The 18 months to 3 years kids go to a class called "Nursery" during the Primary time.
The Problem: Autism (My boy).
The first block, or congregational meeting, has been improving. We now spend about 25 to 35 minutes in the meeting before we have to get up and walk the half ways. There are some nice stairs for him to climb and get some "sensory intergration". We come back in for the last 10 minutes, because he loves music and will sit quietly while I sing.
While he fit into the nursery age class there were no real issues. Children of his own age were there and he interacted as he usually does....marginally.
In January his class advanced to the "Junior Primary" and now have 50 minutes of group "sharing time" and about the same in a class room. The teachers and the ladies in charge of the primary were unsure what to do with Des. So he remained in the nursery, where it is easier to maintain him. There is a father in there with a few mothers that is his special friend and carries him around the halls when he needs a break from the normal noise and stimuli of the nursery. (We ran into him at the grocery store on Saturday night. He came up and said "Hi Des." Desi looked back and said "How you doing?".....hadn't heard him say that before).
While it is nurturing and easy in the nursery, it certainly isn't challenging or intellectually stimulating.
The lady incharge of the primary called us on Sunday and told us that she and her councilers had been discussing and praying about Des' specific needs and how to make primary a benefit to him.
I was touched that they cared so much to make a plan with out my self or my wife even asking them. The primary president will take charge and be his one on one in primary until they find that certain 'right' person to take in on permenantly. They will begin splitting his time between the nursery, sharing time and classroom time to help him join in and progress with his same aged peers.
Sorry that this is so long, but I wanted to gety all my thoughts in while I still have them, and can build on it.
Norval Joe
Comments(2)
carmel66
Posted on Tue, 5 Feb 2008
That is very wonderful and inclusive of them to look for a way to make this meaningful for your son as well as work for your family. We gave up on church a little over a year ago - two high spirited kids in church. I know He loves kids, but I think He hates me during church or thinks I have a limitless sense of humor. We also lost our sunday school coordinator at that time and it's always a different church member coordinating - which means I would have to be there the entire time...someday....
