Little Nate is autistic.
Let me tell you about my wifey's 4 year old son Nate,
He loves Halloween. Loves "fun scary" things. He love Christmas, snow, presents, Santa imagery. He love birthdays, singing, presents, parties.
He covers his ears when sounds are too loud. He gets absorbed in his own world and rocks back and forth. He gets excited and flaps his hands. He gets happy with toys and spins in endless circles.
Nate will make eye contact with those he's bonded to, but he won't hold eye contact. He'll smile when you smile at him. He'll ask what's wrong, or what you're doing. He'll kiss your boo-boos, and he'll ask you to kiss his boo-boos. He wants hugs and kisses from those he's bonded to. When he meets new people, he tries to hug them and walk into their houses before you tell him it's okay to do so.
Nate refers to himself in third person a lot. He doesn't understand pronouns very well, in general.
Nate loves to try to play with others, but he doesn't understand that others might want to play in a different way than what he imagines. Nate tries to kiss and hug kids he's just met, and he doesn't understand why they pull away,
Nate is 4, but he is not potty trained. He will sometimes pee in the potty, but not consistently. He will lie when he poops, and he sometimes smears it on the wall or on toys. He sometimes eats his poop.
On Thursday, at his first autism screening, the doctors were able to go ahead and officially diagnose him autistic. He scored high for autism in areas of play, socialization, and repetitive behavior. The doctors also strongly suspect ADHD, and might do an early diagnosis, but that's not official yet. But he is definitly on the autism spectrum; that is official.
Nate is my wifey's 4 year old. I performed Wiccan fertility rituals with her, when she was trying to conceive Nate.
Nate is likely the closest I'll have to my own child.
He's going to have genetic tests, a special needs preschool, and various services to help him, and to help us adults.
Nate is still Nate. He is loved, and I am glad we now can access resources to help us help him.
He loves Halloween. Loves "fun scary" things. He love Christmas, snow, presents, Santa imagery. He love birthdays, singing, presents, parties.
He covers his ears when sounds are too loud. He gets absorbed in his own world and rocks back and forth. He gets excited and flaps his hands. He gets happy with toys and spins in endless circles.
Nate will make eye contact with those he's bonded to, but he won't hold eye contact. He'll smile when you smile at him. He'll ask what's wrong, or what you're doing. He'll kiss your boo-boos, and he'll ask you to kiss his boo-boos. He wants hugs and kisses from those he's bonded to. When he meets new people, he tries to hug them and walk into their houses before you tell him it's okay to do so.
Nate refers to himself in third person a lot. He doesn't understand pronouns very well, in general.
Nate loves to try to play with others, but he doesn't understand that others might want to play in a different way than what he imagines. Nate tries to kiss and hug kids he's just met, and he doesn't understand why they pull away,
Nate is 4, but he is not potty trained. He will sometimes pee in the potty, but not consistently. He will lie when he poops, and he sometimes smears it on the wall or on toys. He sometimes eats his poop.
On Thursday, at his first autism screening, the doctors were able to go ahead and officially diagnose him autistic. He scored high for autism in areas of play, socialization, and repetitive behavior. The doctors also strongly suspect ADHD, and might do an early diagnosis, but that's not official yet. But he is definitly on the autism spectrum; that is official.
Nate is my wifey's 4 year old. I performed Wiccan fertility rituals with her, when she was trying to conceive Nate.
Nate is likely the closest I'll have to my own child.
He's going to have genetic tests, a special needs preschool, and various services to help him, and to help us adults.
Nate is still Nate. He is loved, and I am glad we now can access resources to help us help him.