Well, on Wednesday I explained to Kassidy that she has autism. When I got home from work she was in the bath so I sat down next to tub and asked her how her day went and she said, "Fine, the same." So for some reason I just jumped right into the conversation and I asked her if she ever felt a little different then the other kids at her school and she looked at me and said, "a little". So then I told her "Remember how your legs feel funny when you wear pants and sometimes you feel like you are losing it or you have meltdowns because you can't handle whatever is happening at the time? Well you have a condtion called autism. (I figured it would be too much info to explain PDD or Aspergers so I just generalized it as autism.) Kassidy asked me what autism is and I told her that it meant that her brain is wired differently then other people and it makes her think in different ways then other people. Then she said with wide eyes open, "I have to get my brain rewired!?!" (Duh mommy, did you forget she thinks logically!) So I told her, "No, nothing is wrong with your brain. You were just born with a brain that chooses a different way of thinking then most people and sometimes that can make things a little harder for you. But the good thing is that it sometimes means you think better then other people. There are a lot of very important and intelligent people who have autism." Kassidy (who will be 8 in a few days) said, "Does that mean I am going to be one of the smartest people in the world?" I told her it was possible if she worked really hard. Then we talked about how mommy has a condition (Fibromyalgia) and I do fine and live a good life. Then she asked me if she was gonna die young and I told her, "No way. Do you know that we think Daddy has some type of autism too and he is 45 and he lives just fine." (Her reply to that was "sometimes".) Then I explained to her that she had a doctors appointment the next day because we want to get the ball rolling as far as getting her social/motor skill help and she said, " Is it with a therapist again?" I told her "No, just a regular doctor I think" and she said "Good because only crazy people go to therapist." Just as I was gonna address that subject (note to self - will have to address the crazy people/therapist issue) Kassidy said, "Ok, can I get out of the tub now? (Which is her way of saying the conversation is over). Then before bed she asked me what did she have again and I told her it is called autism and she went to sleep. Now with Kassidy, it usually takes a few weeks for something to sink in (usually when you least expect it) and then we find out her true feelings about the situation. But at her doctors appt yesterday she actually did pretty good. She was nervous and said a few times in the waiting room that she wanted to go home but it was said with a calm voice and no meltdown. She wouldn't look at the nurse at all but she did do moderate eye contact with the intern and doc. She was able to follow most of the directions given to her and only asked calmly a few times to go home but when I told her we had to wait until the appt was over she didn't throw a fit. She was obsessing over the fact that there was no windows in the office and that she couldn't see outside but she handled it pretty well. Although when the doc announce we were done and could go, she was out the door before the doctor! It just seemed like although she still did not want to be there, she now knows why she is there and that seemed to relax her a little. Next we move on to a neurologist/autism specialist to see what additional help we can get for her. So far, it has gone better then I expect. Or is it the calm before the storm?
No school today due to snow so she is HAPPY as can be today anyways.
No comments:
Post a Comment