ROY G. BIV

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple....okay so its not Indigo, Violet, but this was Christopher's phrase this morning.  I'm guessing it came from some cartoon but it would have to be something he recalled from at least the night before.  We also got to see some rare pretend play this morning.  Christopher found his doctor kit this morning and checked out my ears and heart.  This may not be a big deal for most people but pretend play is something that we've been working on for a long time.

On the surface, Christopher looks like he is doing really well and he is.  One of the biggest problems with working with Autism, is making sure there are no gaps in development.  Kids learn things in a certain order to build upon skills and it can be difficult to make sure skills are met when you have a three year old working on 1 1/2 year old skills.  Probably one of the most frustrating things and the hardest to keep from doing is comparing to other kids your child's age.

Christopher received an early diagnosis compared to other kids.  When I think about the reasons for going for a diagnosis it wasn't to give Christopher a label, it was to give this "illness" a name.  If you go to the doctor and find out you have a cold, the flu or cancer; you have given your illness a name and know how to battle it.  In order to know how to fight the monster that was hindering Christopher's development we had to give it a name.  Once we understood what we were fighting against, we were able to go after it head on.  If you have cancer and treat it like the flu, the cancer is going to win in the end. Even if something happens and a doctor determines it isn't Autism but was Sensory Integration Disorder or some other disorder that doesn't have a name yet, there have been no interventions we have used that have caused harm.  The interventions have only helped to open some doors to him.

In the end, it is the Roy G. Biv moments that keep me going strong and always wondering what the future has in store for us.