Austin was born, free of complications, at 36 weeks. He thrived. He blew every milestone out of the water from 0-12 months; an over-achiever some would say. He was clapping his hands, mimicking words and far exceeding all fine motor skill expectations by 8 months old. By 12 months old progress slowed and by 18 months old progress came to a complete halt & we even saw some mild regressions.
In June 2013, Austin turned 2 years old. He had no words, very little fine motor skills and would stem constantly. After a failed attempt at preschool we decided to have him evaluated for Autism; and in the mean time, began physical & occupational therapy. Austin started therapy in October 2013 with no words, no receptive language and very little fine motor skills.
Six weeks ago we received Austin's official Autism diagnosis. He has been classified with moderate to severe Autism. While our journey with Autism is just beginning, I feel like it started the day he was born; it was on that day that I knew I would go to the end of the earth to make sure he lived a happy, successful life & that didn't change with any diagnosis.
Austin is now 3 yrs old & on the path to success, a success all of his own. He now has many words, mimics new words daily, counts to 20, follows basic instructions; the list goes on and on. He still faces obstacles & I'm not naive enough to think he won't continue to throughout his life; BUT, we chose to celebrate the boy he is today while working towards an even better tomorrow.
Portsmouth, OH
