I want to help so many people who are raising a child on the Autism Spectrum.  Hopefully sharing my experience will be a good start.  I can’t give you all the answers to questions you may have in a short blog, though, I have started the conversation.  

There are so many ways I could have approached the topic of Autism.  I could have written about each characteristic as it presented itself.  For instance, I could have written about the lack of understanding social cues.   I decided to take the approach of breaking down our journey chronologically, by my son’s age.

Grayson at 4 years old was one challenge after another.  His communication was complicated. Grayson could pronounce all words clearly, he was so articulate.  But, his answers did not match the questions he was asked.  He would “TV talk”.  You could ask Grayson what he would like for lunch and he would answer with a quote from the cartoon, usually Sponge Bob.  You could even give him a choice for lunch, “Would you like a grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly?  Again, his answer would be another quote from a cartoon.

At school, Grayson spent most of play time alone. Other children interacted with each other, my son was happily playing by himself.  There is nothing wrong with being a good natured only child who enjoys alone time.  But, at preschool his behavior stood out, his teacher commented that he rarely joined in with other children on the playground. 

Most frustrating for me as his mother, he didn’t seem to hear me.  I know for preschoolers this is quite typical.  But, the preschool director became frustrated with my son and me.  She would tell me to let him hang up his backpack on his own.  I could have given my son chocolate and cash and he had to be told and then directed to hang up his backpack.  He would walk into his classroom and he seemed completely overwhelmed.  It was as if he really couldn’t hear me, yet I knew he could.  

I came to realize, I needed to have my son tested.  Something was not right about his behavior, now I had to figure out what my sweet son was all about.