This past year and a half of this adorable cute boy has been rough. He has struggled a lot, over came many obstacles, and is still a happy little monster. We love this boy to death, and are so thankful each and every day for the light and love he brings into our home. I'm up late tonight worrying about him, and some things we recently learned about him. Things that will help him to develop, grow, and be happy. But the news is hard to swallow. My eyes tear up typing this. I worry about what people think of him, or how they will treat him. I would never want anyone to think anything bad, or have Kai feel bad. I would do anything I can to keep him from that, one of my reasoning's for posting this. (And so I don't have to explain this over and over. I want people to understand this sweet boy.)
This week Kai was "diagnosed" with PDD. Pervasive Development Disorder. He saw a psychologist this week that watched Kai, interacted with him, and talked with me. He did not want to diagnose Kai with Autism because it is based on a spectrum. But he did say, that he would say Kai has mild autism. Kai is very young to be diagnosed with this, but its so helpful to know now, rather than later, to get a head start on this adventure. I would say that we are very lucky to have this knowledge now, rather than later, when it would be a bigger issue.
The only reason I am blogging about this, is so everyone is aware. It is really hard as a parent to have a loving and happy child, and have people asking or telling you that something is wrong, or isn't right with your child. Who is to say what "normal" is. I want everyone to be aware of his situation, to know Kai is OK. He is happy, smart, and loving. To me, that is "normal". All kids, talk, walk, sit up, etc. on their own time. Kids should not be a race, or a competition.
We are very lucky to have found a label, as much as I hate giving children or people labels. It will help us educate ourselves and Kai, so that he can hopefully out grow this. The psychologist believes he has a high chance of over coming this, and being very close, if not completely normal. It's just going to take work.
A little bit about PDD. Not PDDNOS, Pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified.
Children with PDDs, such as autism, can display a wide range of symptoms which can range in severity from mild to disabling. They also vary widely in their individual abilities, intelligence, and behavior.
These are some symptoms and behaviors that Kai has.
- Difficulty with verbal communication, including problems using and understanding language.
- Difficulty with non-verbal communication, such as gestures and facial expressions.
- Difficulty with social interaction, including relating to people and to his or her surroundings.
- Unusual ways of playing with toys and other objects.
- Difficulty adjusting to changes in routine or familiar surroundings.
- Repetitive body movements or patterns of behavior, such as hand flapping, spinning, and head banging.
- Changing response to sound. (The child may be very sensitive to some noises and seem to not hear others.)
We feel so blessed looking back at the pregnancy, at 20-something weeks the high risk Dr. told me there is a high risk that he might not make it, shortly after I was on hospital bed rest, thinking Kai would come at any time, he fought until coming early at 34 weeks. Two rounds of RSV, and being hospitalized, and now 18 months with Dax as his brother :) He is a fighter, and he will fight through this. I have to remember this: Kai has no idea he has PDD. He knows that he is loved, and is happy. He has no reason to cry, feel bad, or embarrassed. As a mom, sometimes I worry too much about my feelings and worries, instead of him. I need to start thinking like Kai. I'm Loved, Kai is loved, our family is loved, we need to be happy. We are SO blessed. I don't know what I would do with out Kai, his smile, personality, and the joy that comes from
him. I hope that friends and family will also see Kai, as Kai, and not as a label, like we do.
I used spell check, but hey it's 3:00AM!! So forgive me... there may be mistakes...
