Autism
Jakob was diagnosed when he was 3 and a half. It wasn’t a surprise, I had suspected it since he was 9 months old. This was 14 years ago this month and back then, doctors were hesitant to diagnose before the age of three. So for almost 2 years, all we heard was that he had sensory processing disorder. He...
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When Jakob was little and the diagnosis was new, the fear was so great that the anxiety, depression and the mere fight to survive was overwhelming. There was love there, so much love, it just felt so out of reach from the pain and suffering of the moment. Thankfully, time changes things. The distance from the most stressful of days...
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Jakob has always been a picky eater. For years, he would only eat four foods. Hot dogs, apple-cinnamon protein cereal, bananas and smoothies. Always a specific brand and flavor and he would never deviate. He’d smell his hot dogs every time just to make sure they were the right ones. I tried once to give him the same brand of...
Read More At Jakob’s first IEP meeting when he was three, his teacher asked me what goals I had for him. I had no clue. I mean I knew I wanted him to be better. To be happier. To act more like other kids his age, you know, the “normal” ones. Seeing the end results I wanted was easy. Creating a plan...
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When Jakob was little, he seemed so disconnected. I never knew if he was listening to anything I was saying. I didn’t know if he even knew his own name. He rarely showed any interest in anything I was doing or wanted to do with him. I tried reading books, building blocks, singing the ABC’s. His only interests were jumping...
Read More The first time Jakob had to have blood drawn, it took three of us to hold him down. He kicked, he screamed, and he fought to get free. It was a traumatizing event for both of us. It felt so very wrong and the guilt was immediate, deep and torturous. He didn’t understand what we were doing or why. I’ll...
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Holidays are a fun and exciting time of the year. Holidays can also be a stressful time of the year for both children and their parents. Children with deficits with sensory processing may have more difficulty with maintaining appropriate modulation which may lead to being overwhelmed and having more melt-downs. Keeping in mind the following strategies can help families get...
Read More Jakob was 11 years old and he only ate four foods. Kay’s Naturals Apple Cinnamon Protein Cereal, Applegate Farms Antibiotic-Free Beef Hot Dogs, Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness bottled smoothies and bananas, and it had to be those brands. No deviations. If we tried to sneak in a different cereal or hot dog, he would know. He could tell by sight...
Read More Jakob wore his first Halloween costume when he was six days old. We were having his newborn pictures taken by a professional photographer at the house and I thought it was just so precious. It was this adorable little giraffe outfit and the hood kept falling over his face. I never realized how miserable a six-day-old baby could look. Even...
Read More When Jakob was first diagnosed, one of my biggest worries was that he would never enjoy being with other people. I feared that he would never care whether or not I was in the same room with him and that he would never want or have any friends. He was perfectly fine all by himself in a room with a...
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