We were expecting a diagnosis of ADHD or better yet, being told that people were overreacting and in fact T was a perfectly normal 4 year old growing up and going through a few rough patches. No such luck. When they said to us that our son was on the Autism Spectrum, I almost felt like I had been smacked across the face… We weren’t expecting it..or to be honest, weren’t even facing it as an option. So much had changed since we switched daycare locations. Looking back, we see why. The old daycare expected him to assimilate. They expected T to do what they asked of him and when he didn’t, would discipline him for not being a good listener.

Then we switched to a daycare that was focused on integration and understanding the needs of each individual child. It was like night and day..no outbursts, hardly any aggression…all because it turns out T has ASD and with it, an auditory sensitivity…translation: he doesn’t like loud noises and thrives on structure & routine. We now have caregivers who seem to understand special needs and know what needs to be done to address them..we are beyond thankful for the experience with the new daycare and the school. Both who seem incredible advocates on trying to get help. Apparently though the “getting help/finding resrouces” is the next hurdle we are going to have to face and its going to be a doozy.