Follow up and May meeting - May 16,17

Hello everyone remember me? Yeah yeah yeah I know it has been ages since I have updated but not without a good reason. I won't bore you with them however, I will skip to the reason we are all here. Caleb. Boy have we been learning a lot the last few weeks. I know every post says that and it is still true. This has been such a learning experience for all of us and I don't see that slowing down any time soon.

On May 16th we had a follow up appointment with Caleb's wonderful psychologist Dr. Perez. She wanted to check in on his progress and in on how we are doing as a family. She is pretty amazing. Jon was able to go with us this time and was amazed at how quickly Caleb warmed to her. Right off the bat Caleb has seemed completely at ease with her and very open and receptive to her when she interacts with him. It is amazing to see.

We went over some of the results of some of the ASD  (Autism Spectrum Disorder) testing he did at the begining of the month. Not suprisingly he has very real problems with his attention. The term ADHD was tossed around but not as a base problem rather it was put out there as a symptom of the bigger problem. All of these things can be worked with which is where we are heading. We should have her report of all of his tests, couselings, and interactions as well as her diagnosis and her recommendations for his therapies.

Once we get her report we head back to his pediatricians office to get the referrals for his occupational and speech therapies both of which we are 100% certain he will need. None of these things amount to a huge hinderance in his life but with therapy he will learn to focus and be more efficient. With time he shouldn't even notice these things and neither will we.

She told us that she already saw changes in Caleb just since his diagnosis which is a huge sigh of relief. I don't think she quite expected me to be so proactive about it. I have been though. Insanely so.

June will be a very busy month as far as appointments go. He will see his counselor, his allergist, his pediatrician, and he will start all forms of therapy.

On the seventeenth we went to our second meeting with the Onslow Chapter of the Autism Society of North Carolina. I walked away feeling so very confident and refreshed. I love having a place where we can go and be completely open about what Caleb and our family is going through. There isn't a single judgement nor a single person who looks down on you because all of them are facing the same things. I look forward to it every month.

This months guest speaker was the wonderful Ann Palmer. She is a wonderful woman who has released a series of books about Autism Spectrum Disorders and Aspergers. They cover a menagerie of topics and are honest and real. I encourage any person who wants to learn more about the disorders to get one of her books and read. After sitting around a table with her and the rest of these amazing people we walked away with so much confidence and hope. I will leave you with the link to her website. I encourage you whole heartedly to check it out and see what she has to say. I promise you won't regret it.

http://www.annpalmerautism.com/index.html

This week I also had the pleasure of hearing from a friend I haven't talked to in many months. After telling her about Caleb's diagnosis she said something I think I will always remember. She said "I would tell you I'm sorry but I'm not worried about those boys. They have such beautiful souls".

To a mother who has been getting bogged down with treatments and appointments and medical jargin it meant the world to me. It made me realize that maybe just maybe everyone will see past that term and see the beautiful little boy with the big heart that I get to call my son. He really is an amazing little person. He cares about things so deeply especially with him only being four.

Autism Fact of the Day. Today I want to leave you with a list of prominent people who are on the Autism Spectrum.

Notable people with Aspergers:

Henry Bond, writer and photographer^[1]

Phillipa "Pip" Brown (aka Ladyhawke), indie rock musician^[2]

Michael Burry, US investment fund manager^[3]

Lizzy Clark, actress and campaigner^[4]

Ryan Cleary, LulzSec hacker^[5]

William Cottrell, student sentenced for fire-bombing SUV dealerships^[6]

Paddy Considine, actor^[7]

James Durbin, finalist on the tenth season of American Idol^[8]

Robert Durst, American real estate developer accused of murder^[9]

Tim Ellis, Australian magician and author^[10]

Daryl Hannah, actress^[11]

Peter Howson, Scottish painter^[12]

Luke Jackson, author^[13]

Heather Kuzmich, fashion model and reality show contestant on America's Next Top Model^[14]

Adrian Lamo, American computer hacker^[15]

Clay Marzo, American professional surfer^[16]

Gary McKinnon, computer hacker who broke into high-security military and government sites^[17]

Les Murray, Australian poet^[18]

Robert Napper, British murderer^[19]

Jerry Newport, American author and mathematical savant, basis of the film Mozart and the Whale^[20]

Craig Nicholls, frontman of the Australian alternative rock band, The Vines^[21]

Gary Numan, British singer and songwriter^[22], although he has not been medically diagnosed.^[23]

Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author^[24]

Dawn Prince-Hughes, Ph.D., primate anthropologist, ethologist, and author^[25]

Nicky Reilly, failed suicide bomber from Britain^[26]

John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye^[27]

Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in economics^[28]

Satoshi Tajiri, creator and designer of Pokémon^[29][30]

Raymond Thompson, New Zealand scriptwriter and TV producer^[31]

Liane Holliday Willey, author^[32]

Travis Meeks, lead singer, guitarist and song writer for acoustic rock band Days of the New^[33]

Adam Young, multi-instrumentalist, producer and the founder of the electronic project Owl City^[34]

Go check it out over on wikipedia. Get ready for a wonderful shock! That is about all I have for you this update my lovelies. Until next time

Marching to a Different Beat,

One very blessed mother