IN THE BEGINNING: Starting to See Signs of Autism

Jack at 3, as we were starting to notice his differences.

I remember when Jack started flapping his arms when he was happy. He was barely 3 and it was darling!

I remember talking with him at 3 years old over lunch. He would slur paragraphs together and all I could make out were a few words. “He’s only 3,” I kept telling myself when I couldn’t make out his ‘baby talk’. And later he would speak clearly, so he was fine, right? Sometimes I thought we were having a little conversation and his discombobulated dialogue would get very animated. But then I realized the words were vaguely familiar: he was quoting lines from a movie. I was very impressed with his memorization skills!

I remember asking him questions and he wouldn’t answer, he would just repeat my question back. And he could never recall the past: the answer to “where did we go today?” was “where did we go today?”

I remember thinking about my 3 year old, “there might be something wrong with Jack, but I’ll wait until kindergarten teachers notice and they’ll tell me what to do.” >> P.S. This is NOT something I advocate now, as you’ll see below! <<

And, I also remember the day, about 6 months later, when I took Jack to a mommy and me preschool class. I was so frustrated with him because he wouldn’t touch the art supplies put in front of him. He kept running to the window during singing time, away from the group. I stood there, upset by his behavior, and I randomly picked up a reference book about autism. I flipped through it casually. It landed on a page that gave a list of signs of autism. Arm flapping, speech problems, sensory issues, and repeating language were all on the list. Hmmm. After a few days of thought and some internet research, I called the school district and Jack’s doctor to make developmental appointments.

This was where I had the realization that Jack might be on the autism path. I will be sharing much, much more of this story. But here is where I plead to you…

>> Learn the signs of autism. If you have a person in your life whose child exhibits some of these signs, please speak up lovingly. Do something about it. Seek a professional, probably beginning with a doctor. The sooner autism is recognized, the more successful intervention will be. Please do not wait (as I was planning to do) until someone else might pick up on it. Act on your uneasy feelings and thoughts and make some appointments! <<