nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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Trevor has Asperger's Syndrome

Today has been a day filled with ups and downs.
We're now the proud handlers of a box turtle. When we got to the ballfield for Ry's game this evening, the boys found this box turtle on the first base line, trundling his way across the dusty diamond. He's (I say he---it might very well be a she, for all I know!) really kind of cute, small and rather tame. I'm wondering if he was a school pet set loose.
Ry's game went very well. He got a hit in every time he was at bat and managed to field some balls at third base with a fair amount of efficiency. He came away happy (they won) and I came away happy to see him feeling so good about his sport.
I got the results of Trevor's psych. eval. today.
The results are good basically what I expected. Some of it is really good and some...I don't know how to put it. Trevor's been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is part of the autistic spectrum. As I've said before, he's had autistic behaviors since infancy. I just always thought they were his "quirks". I think, somewhere inside of me, I knew. I've done a heck of alot of research in regards to his behaviors and this is something that's stuck around. In some ways, it's a really good thing that I've got an official diagnosis, because I can now get him on an I.E.P. (individualized educations plan) at school, get him set up in a situation that will help him struggle less with social situations and with his education, with teachers who are trained to deal with kids who have his sort of behaviors.
He's still the same kid, still my sweet, big-hearted, sports-loving tow-head. Just...with a diagnosis.
In some ways it was a bit of a blow for me. I knew he wasn't your run-of-the-mill kid. I think that when your child is born you have certain hopes for his future. Now I just think it's been hammered in that some of his happiness is going to be really hard-earned. Maybe some small part of me (one not rooted in reality) hoped that it was my imagination, hoped that it wasn't anything really, just a marching-to-his-own-drummer sort of thing. And this was a death knell to that unrealistic hope.
On the flip side, the psychologist said Trev is very bright, that he's reading at nearly a 7th grade level but has alot of trouble explaining or sorting through it when someone is putting pressure on him. While he misses some of the more subtle social cues while interacting with someone, she said he relates much better than alot of kids she's seen. She said to expect him to continue to struggle some socially and that he'll probably always prefer adults over kids---we're less complicated. She said things I already knew, that Trevor will learn to adjust to some of his behaviors and some he'll just struggle through. She recommended keeping him in therapy, said that'll help his transitions and said that as long as his anxiety stays within the threshold it currently is, he'll not need meds.
And best of all, she said he shows NO signs of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or ADD. SO. Yes. Good news and not so great news but overall, it set me on a path to utilize tools that'll help him, in the long run. And I suppose it's better to know what you're facing than keep wondering and having suspicions. Simply put, to know is better than not to know.
I love my boy, full of sunshine and quirks. I just wish his life could be easier on him. It's all so bittersweet.
N.

10:13 p.m. - 2006-06-06

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