Family Update

I feel like it has been forever since I posted anything and apologize in advance for this being so long. Things have just been crazy around here. We have been traveling back to Iowa a lot for many things like dance recitals, baseball games, baby showers, more baseball games, etc. We also had a fun filled weekend of visitors over the fourth. (I will post some pics soon) We also made a trip to Kansas City for our much dreaded appointment at KU Med for the boys. As many of you know Tyson was there 1 year ago and they diagnosed him PDD-NOS. For those who are wondering what the heck that stands for, don't feel alone because a year ago we didn't have a clue either. This stands for Pervasive Development Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified and falls under the autism spectrum. If you are wanting to read more on it please visit http://www.autismspeaks.org/. Basically he did not have enough characteristics to be classified as autism. This year we went back for his 1 year evaluation. They started by telling us that he has made humongous strides in everything. They were very impressed. They ended with telling us he is now considered to have autism instead of PDD-NOS. The doctors tried to make it clear that this was not a bad thing because all his "symptoms" are mild. Seems weird to be down graded yet it be good news, huh? Well, long story short because of his strides they can now determine whether the trait is because of autism or because of development delays. He now has more that are autism traits yet they are all mild. Weird, I know. Therapies and such don't change much for him and he will be starting kindergarten in August. Wish us luck!

Next is Charlie. I had a few concerns with him so I decided to make an appointment for him since we were already going to be there and the waiting list is insane. So after a LONG morning of evaluations the doctors informed us that he was being diagnosed PDD-NOS. He has quite a few delays so far so they have some concerns with him too. Because he is so young there are not a lot of things we can do for him yet. We will get as much help as we can early and hopefully that will make this journey just a little easier than with Tyson. I just thank my lucky stars everyday that they are both so happy and so much fun to be around. We have a long road ahead of us, but we must just take it one day at a time!

Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew is a book I have been reading that I have really enjoyed. I found it on http://www.amazon.com/. Family-your copies are in the mail!