Director of Permanent Supportive Housing | Certified Board Member | Mental Health Care Champion
February of 2023, I came to discover that the most special parts of my son were a result of his neurodivergence- fitting criteria for Level I Autism. As a mother, you know your child. I saw signs at age 2 and took him to get tested. They ruled him out as "disruptive disorder" and separation anxiety. I fought that diagnoses because I felt they were labeling my child, and if anyone knows my Dev Kev, knows he is not even close to disruptive. Let alone, he was just 2 years old! Needless to say as the years progressed, his keen knowledge of random facts and statistics were mindblowing. He could hold full debates and conversation with adults at 5. Yet, in his intelligence he had and has his challenges. Yes, he is smart as ever. He Tests gifted every year in school, but struggles, even at age 10, with opening things like a freeze pop, or figuring out the most basic of tasks like how to put a trashbag in the garbage. Even in that, it is intriguing. At school each year I have to advocate for my child because his intelligence masks his inability to understand abstract thought. And it is not until the teacher outreaches me regarding a very blunt or concrete response that I remind them of his way of interpreting verbal information. It is then they are able to understand. Seeing how my son stims is not the stimming you see for children who are Level II or III with the arm flapping. But he will do a self soothing hum and will run around what may seem aimless to others, but it means something to him. He also has his dolphin jump as I call it when he gets really excited. Basically, wheb you first meet my child, you would never know he is on the spectrum. You can gage his intelligence. But unless you KNOW him or we tell you, it won't manifest easily. It is a spectrum disorder because it looks different for everyone. But what is a common theme is how his mind receives information about the world around him and what he does with it. And for this he and I will walk. To raise awareness that Level I is still Autism. Click the Link to Join us October 13 on our walk by Joining Team "DEVERYday Chronicles" or supporting us in raising our goal. Autism Speaks #Autism https://lnkd.in/e5W_gN6k
Beautiful. Inspiring.
LPCC-S
2 个月You are a warrior at home and at work!!