March 21, 2012 was the day we finally got our official diagnosis. The Neurologist looked over the desk at my husband and I and said "Your Son has ASD; we are classifying him with Aspergers". We had danced around this diagnosis for a couple of years after he'd been improperly diagnosed with two other conditions.
The Neurologist said he was extremely high functioning and very bright and advanced for his age. Though we knew it was coming it didn't make that blow any easier. The doctor confirmed that everything as we knew it was about to change; little did we know how much.
Having a child with special needs of any degree is life altering and March 21st of 2012 will forever be embedded into my brain. Since that day we discovered a lot about our son; ourselves and the support system we thought we had in place. Our lives literally changed almost instantly and we quickly got over the pain in our hearts and jumped right into what do we do to make everything easier for our child and for our family as a whole.
Since the official diagnosis our son has made huge strides in a short amount of time. My husband and I have gone at it alone with very little help and support. But together as a family we stand proud regardless of the relationships that have suffered because some could not handle our new normal. Matt is now 11 yrs old; a 5th grader and an awesome big brother to his 5 yo sister. He goes to an after school therapeutic program which he loves; has a mobile therapist once a week visit our home to help us as a family manage his condition and is one of the top students in his class. He is mainstreamed with no IEP and makes us proud every single day. We'll continue to jump those small hurdles together as a strong family unit.
Gilbertsville, PA
