Hi, I’m Lisa a stay at home mom of a special needs child. My son, Erik who is 6 years old, falls into the autistic spectrum. We are still undergoing more testing to rule out anything else.

I was asked to write about my experiences with my child, my struggles, heartbreaks, small miracles and getting help.

What is the autistic spectrum? Think about the classification of autism as a giant umbrella. Underneath are different types of autistic levels and traits. Autism can vary from very mild cases, such as Asperger’s syndrome, and severe cases, like the classic autism with debilating symptoms.

My son falls under this umbrella, which they call the autistic spectrum, he has some traits that are autistic but some of them are not. Erik is very intelligent, has a great sense of humor. When he is interested in something it has his complete undivided attention. He does not have good socialization skills and has terrible trouble making friends with other children because they are scared of him because of his bizaar behavior. He has trouble discerning visual cues, either you are his best buddy or out to get him . New places and people scare him. He clings to me when he is uncomfortable often not making eye contact and buring his face. Erik is also a high energy child and does repeative movements, which to most people watching him, think of it as disturbing . When outside he runs around in circles until he is exhausted. When he can’t run he will make drumming sounds with his hands on a table, tapping a pencil and so on. These movements soothe him the more uncomfortable he is the louder it gets. Those are some of the challenges we have faced along our journey.

Our story begins when Erik was 2 years old. It became apparent to me that he was “different” from other toddlers. I could not put my finger on it, but I knew he was different. I was not in denile but hoping it was just a phase.

He was a happy child babbling away, exploring, and learning. The differences between Erik and other children of his age became more apparent when we started to go to mommy and me classes. Other mothers with their children would stare at us because of Erik’s frequent outbursts, bazaar behavior, and lack of speech. I could not keep him still and all he wanted to do was run circles around the room over and over again. His lack of interest in what the class was doing was very distracting for the teacher, who would stop the class whenever Erik got out of hand. I was embarrassed and felt ashamed that my child wasn’t like everyone elses. I stopped going all together because I couldn’t take the constant staring and whispers.

Erik’s father and I showered him with love. Then one day at the pediatrician’s office I asked if Erik should be tested. The pediatrician agreed and was concerned that Erik still baby babbled, tripping and falling often and his lack of fine motor skills (like picking up small objects like a raisin), instead of being where he should be. So I called the early intervention program in my school district.

Our first meeting with them brought me much relief. I thought now we’re getting the help we need. Erik was seen by a child psychologist, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist. Erik was uncooperative at first, he would hide behind me scared to death, but eventually warmed up to them. They played games. Erik never spoke or made eye contact at all. If he wanted something he either grunted and pointed or babbled. Often we could not understand what he wanted and then he would “act out” in frustration. He could understand us but he couldn’t say what he wanted. He never called me ma ma, or mom or daddy or da da. He would just walk over and started to babble away.

The following September, Erik’s was still 2 years old and not potty trained, Erik started the Preschool with Disabilities program. The program focused in on Erik’s needs,which was called an I.E.P., as well as the students. His class was small only 6 kids. It was a half day program with bus service to and from school.

Everything was play based so to Erik it was fun. The teachers taught Erik, and the class, sign language so he could communicate his needs and being understood at home and school. His speech was slow in coming but he was much happier because he could sign. He loved to ride the bus and enjoyed going to school. He cried when it was Saturday and there wasn’t any school.

More of our story in the next installment.

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