Trying to get her to look at the camera is difficult
Finally got one of her looking!
When Sylvie was a baby, she had her blessing (or some other churches call it a christening) and Julio said his impression of her was that she was special. We didn’t quite know what that meant, of course all children are special, but Sylvie would be in a different way. As a baby, she developed normally and met all of her milestones. Even as a toddler, she seemed to be meeting all of her milestones besides being very small and an extremely picky eater. But, after Tessa was born, we and especially others, started to notice changes or differences. Sylvie is overactive and climbs on everything-chosing to get things and do things herself instead of ever asking for help. She doesn’t make eye contact much when she talks to you, it’s hard to have a two-sided conversation with her. She also started doing things like jumping a lot, waving her arms, clenching her fists when she’s excited, nervous, upset. tShe gets upset easily and has a very hard time following directions. So we decided to have her tested for any autism disorders. The pediatrician was no help at all and told us to contact the school district. We also contacted a state agency that diagnoses and funds therapy for autistic kids. They did an intake with me over the phone and said, “She doesn’t sound autistic to me. Go to the school district and then let us know what they find.” You see, Sylvie doesn’t exactly have all the traits of an autistic child. she does have language skills, she does socialize and interact with other children, she is very affectionate and shows emotion. The first person to screen her was a speech therapist and she scored in the average range for language and pronunciation. But, the speech therapist did think it necessary to refer her to a psychologist for further evaluation. The first psychologist was puzzled after observing her and said, “I’m not sold on the autism thing.” But, we wanted a second opinion. So, an autism team was set up to do further testing. That was over a month ago. In the meantime, Sylvie has been attending speech therapy to practice her pragmatic skills-conversation, asking for help, staying on task. She likes it and has been doing well. This week, I got a call from the Special Ed office suggesting I take Sylvie to a Head Start class that does inclusion. That means that most of the students are normal, but there are 5 special needs kids in the class and there is extra support staff. We went and Sylvie freaked out at first, but then she warmed up and seemed to like what she saw. We had our meeting with the special ed teachers and psychologist yesterday to find out their official findings and make an action plan. The psychologist said she does exhibit autistic behaviors, but doesn’t meet all the markers to be diagnosed with autism. So, the official (for school purposes) diagnosis is Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not otherwise Specified. She will also be tested by an Occupational Therapist for Sensory Integration Disorder. She will be attending the inclusion class and continue speech therapy through them and probably occupational therapy. We’re hoping this will help Sylvie cope with her anxiety, hyperactivity, attention span, social skills, etc. The psychologist said that in order to get an official medical diagnosis, we should still consult a pediatric neurologist, but for now, she is getting the services she needs.
It’s been so hard to come to grips with having a child that isn’t “normal” or “perfect”. Sylvie is a special little spirit that has come into our family to teach us patience, love and understanding. I just fear that the world world won’t understand her and will reject her. It’s hard as a mother to think of these things when you only want the best for your child. All I want for her is to be happy and be able to function in the world. Her family loves her so much.
