First Notice

There are so many excuses parents can find for their child not talking ("My brother didn't talk till he was three, but then started talking in full sentences!"), being asocial ("His dad also prefers not to spend a lot of time around others"), having an intense focus on one subject (...alright, I did think that was a bit odd). With these excuses we find it easy to not see what is right infront of us. To over look what may be apparent to others but completely foreign to us. A friend had suggested previously that Brogan may have Autism, but after discussing it with Jerry who had researched it on the internet (for all of you out there, NO, you cannot find all the information you'll ever need to know on the internet!) I passed it off.
However, in April when we were up in Canada Conrad Boehme a childhood psychologist who specializes in such diseases as Autism, Aspergers and the such observed Brogan at a family dinner and helped me fill out an extensive questionnaire regarding the things I had observed in Brogan. The conclusion was positively Autism. Though on the "high functioning" end of the scale, still a positive result.
It's rather devastating to discover your son is something other than what you had dreamed he would be. As I read and researched and studies and dug I discovered that I did not have to let go of the dreams I have for my son, I just have to alter them. Reassess who my son really is and build dreams around that person. He may not be the person I had dreamed, but that doesn't mean the person he will become is any less fantastic.
After our return from Canada I dove head first into trying to find programs, people, ideas that would help us deal with the issues we were facing. I found very little hope in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Everywhere I called there was at least a year wait to even be assessed, then at least another year wait for placement into any program. That was too long! I decided to expand my search and looked into the Austin area where I quickly discovered the services were plentiful and not so in demand. I set up an appointment at a treatment center with the anticipation of seriously having to consider moving to Austin.
Jerry had also been talking to people about Brogan and discovered one of his business associates has a daughter with Autism. They discussed the course this man had taken, what resources he'd used and what improvements they had noticed in her. It turns out the man is a Free Mason, therefore has a lot more strings to pull and access to services the average person does not. He gave us some names to call for an assessment. I honestly had no idea what kind of influence the Free Masons had till I made my first call. The wait time, when I mentioned this mans name, went from 1-2 years to a month. Goes to show you the old addage is true, "It's not what you know it's who."
Other events fell into place during this time also. At the beginning of the school year Rhiannon had a speech placement assessment at her school I was required to be at. I was unable to find someone to take care of Brogan during that time, so I brought him along with me. After only a few minutes in the same room as Brogan the speech therapist inquired if I'd had him assessed (that seems to be a word I use a lot lately) by the district for placement in their program. I explained to her that I'd called a few times and never got a response back. She told me she'd arrange a meeting. Once again, within a month Brogan was set up for a play session with the districts specialists.
Brogan was given the diagnosis of "High Functioning Autistic border line Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified." Which qualified him for placement in the districts PPCD (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities) program 5 mornings a week, three hours a day. Occupational therapy daily and speech twice weekly for 1/2 hour. Brogan is very much a mama's boy, so I was rather concerned what his reaction would be to being dumped with strangers every morning. He surprised me and completely loves going to school. When I get him out of truck every morning and hand him over to his teacher he has a little smile that plays upon his lips. It's really very sweet.
This is not the end. I am not content with him simply going to school and hoping the progress they make there is significant enough to "main stream" him by Kindergarten in two years. Proactive and involved. Constantly researching what I can do to increase the chance of unlocking the little boy inside.