Can it get worst?
Hi, awesome parents!
Our son is 3 years and 2 months old and was diagnosed with autism just a week ago. The diagnosis was difficult for us to process at first, but we’ve decided to stay hopeful, optimistic, and focus on giving him all the support we can.
We’ve already enrolled him in ABA and OT, and we’re currently waiting for his Speech Therapy schedule. We’re also considering enrolling him in a Montessori school so he can have regular opportunities to play and interact with other children.
Right now, he can say words and identify many things such as letters, numbers, colors, animals, and familiar people like Mama, Papa, and Tita. He can also sight-read some words and follow instructions such as putting his clothes in the basket, cleaning up his toys, and washing his hands.
He can drink from a glass independently and use a spoon and fork with some assistance. He can remove his shorts by himself and can put on his shirt and shorts with assistance.
Our main concerns right now are communication and social interaction. He has difficulty communicating his wants and thoughts, making consistent eye contact, and responding when we call his name, especially when he is focused on something. He also has echolalia and currently doesn’t show much interest in interacting with other children.
Despite all of this, we’re happy and hopeful about where we are starting. Our biggest goal right now is simply to help him become more communicative and better able to express himself.
One thing that worries me is whether additional challenges or behaviors might appear as he gets older, or whether some children can seem to get worse before making progress.
For parents whose children were similar to our son at around 3 years old, I would really love to hear your stories. How is your child doing now? How did their communication, social interaction, response to their name, and other skills develop after starting therapy?
Whether your progress was fast, slow, or had ups and downs, I’d really appreciate hearing about your journey. We’re still very new to all of this and would love to learn from parents who have walked this path before us. ❤️
Thank you!