Lanes story is one I tell to everyone who asks. He was born six weeks early and every milestone he hit was early.
Until he hit the age two. My precious boy, my last baby, stopped talking. He was potty trained and over night, it stopped. Then came the temper tantrums. Running into walls, hitting his head on everything. Screaming for seemingly no reason at all. The pediatrician kept saying he was normal, but in my heart, I knew. Something was different. He was still my perfect boy, but something was wrong in his little world.
We moved when he was four, and that was when we started getting help and answers. I was registering my daughter for school and I was asked if I wanted to enroll Lane in 4K. I was ashamed when I said no, but I could not put other children at risk if he were to have a tantrum. Then the school explained that they had specialized testing they could do. I was nervous to put him through that, but I was happy to finally have someone to listen. We went through two months of testing, mostly because he could not sit still.
We got the test results back at the end of the school year and I heard the words I had dreaded. My son had autism. My heart broke. I thought it was my fault. My husband was my rock and helped me through.
We set up appointments with doctors and the teachers and finally got plans in place. We found out that Lane has Aspergers, ADHD, and a mood disorder. We have had luck with medication and different therapies. We seem to be on an even keel for now.He has a brilliant mind, and is testing off the charts. He starts football this fall and is so excited. He still has his bad days but with the help of friends, family and his school we are adapting. I know we still have a long hard road ahead, but we know that he will have a support system that will let him excel.
Edgerton, WI
