Riding the Therapy-go-round

There's nothing like a little autism diagnosis to set your schedule on its ear.

For three years, C and I had no schedule, no obligations. We ate, slept, played, and occasionally cleaned the house. We took Kindermusik classes, played at the park, and watched Sesame Street.

Then came autism.

Overnight, our freewheeling schedule became a set, rigid routine going from preschool to therapy and back again. C now goes to 3 days of half-day preschool/wk, two private speech sessions, one OT, and one PT. He also gets ST and OT at school. We do theraputic listening at home, and he takes supplements 3x/day. And to his very great credit, C has adjusted to all this better than I have.

And we actually have a very mild schedule, as autism goes. I know families who have their 3-yr-olds in 30-40 hours of behavioral therapy/wk plus speech, OT, PT, etc. C, thank goodness, learns fast and doesn't have any serious behavior problems, so behavioral therapy isn't on the radar for now. That's especially good financial news, since insurance doesn't cover it, and even a basic program would run us over $30,000/yr. Needless to say, we don't have that kind of money! So, in addition to his formal therapies, V (my husband) and I do a lot of one-on-one with C at home. We're working right now on some Floortime style activities and some RDI style communicating. Basically, I guess you could say we're cobbling together our own therapy based on what C responds to best.

It's funny, because one of the common traits of kids on the spectrum is a problem dealing with changes - the desperate need for everything to remain the same. This has not proven true with C. He thrives on new challenges and rolls with the punches beautifully.

Strange as it sounds, I need to work on being as flexible as my autistic son!