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September 29, 2007, 10:40 pm PDT
Been there done/doing that!!!!!!!
My son is now 18 and is going to a special needs program and will graduate this spring. I have been writing a book for three years about my son's struggles as our state (Idaho) has one of the worst mental health care systems around - no joke; it has been deemed this! My son and I have been working very hard and have struggled from day one - only we didn't get the autism diagnosis until he was 16!!!!!!!!!! We knew at the age of 6 mos. something was wrong with Brian and doctors began testing for obvious problems. From then on "they" could never get ALL the diagnosis correct so therefore the treatments were never correct - Brian has 5 neurological disorders! Autism being the main issue along with an information processing disorder. I have busted my butt since he was young and have worked in special ed classrooms as a teacher for 12 years; working alongside legislators as well as clincial doctors, institutions and physcologist for 18 years. I have studied autism and learned the first hand effects as my brother also was autistic ADHD. I would be willing to "talk" and maybe we all could be sort of a "release" for each other. It is still very tough - Brian is trying an independent living program with 2 psr workers; 3 doctors, intensive therapy, several meds, he has had 14 years of speech and cognitive therapy. I read just about every article put out on autism - even the ones the stars write like Jenny McCarty's in Peoples... it gives you hope and makes you feel less alone. I too believe that there is a special place in heaven for mothers like us! There has to be as this is the toughest struggle you can go through; each day zaps all your energy mentally and then physically and when your tears are all cried out you wonder if your heart will ever be healed. Then the day finally comes when your child finally says for the first time "I love you, mom" and can give you a hug. You will be forever changed; and when his doctors and psr workers look at you and tell you that "he is so much further ahead than many kids with his disorders", you can finally breathe and maybe sort of realax some...
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