Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Kaden's Doctor Appt.

Well, today was a very long day. Lucky for us, Nate was able to get off of work this morning to go to the appt. The doctor's appt went alright. Kaden had fun for part of it because he was able to play!! The behavoiral specialist wanted to see how he interacts, and for the most part he acted the same as if he were at home (which was kind of a surprise to me). She did diagnois him as autistic. Nate and I had some thoughts about this before hand. Since I work with some children with autism or aspbergers (along with many other mental health issues) I have started noticing some similarities between Kaden and some of the kids I see. The specialist did say that if she had to guess Kaden would be able to function mentally on average or above average of peers of the same age group. To me it sounded as though his biggest downfall as of now is socially. There are so many reasons to this, really too many for me to list right now. Don't get me wrong, he is very sweet natured and loves attention but when it comes to peers of his age he doesn't really make an effort or seem to feel the need to interact with them. Luckily this has been caught early which should be easier for us to work with him. It was important for us as parents to know whether or not austism (or what have you) was part of our lives. Knowing this will now help Nate and I as parents do things with Kaden in a different way if need be. We have a lot of learning to do. If anybody knows anything or anyone we can talk to we would appreciate all of the advice we can get. I am blessed to be working in an enviroment where I should be able to talk to someone who knows a lot about autism. That is my plan for tomorrow!! This has not changed how we feel about Kaden in any means. He is one special little boy who has captured the hearts of so many. Nate and I are so totally in love with him there is nothing that would or could ever change that.

4 comments:

Angel Gabi's Mommy said...

So glad to hear things are well. Autisum seems to be the new thing that everyone comes in direct contact with at some point. This is gonna sound silly, but Jenny McCarty has been on tv tons talking about her son with autisum, she has a new book out. I have no clue if it would be helpful, but she seems very educated on the subject. I read her book about pregnancy when I was prego with Gabi and I thought it was great...super funny, definitely not what I expected for a pregnancy book, but so true. I hope you find the answers you are looking for soon! God has Kadens best interest at heart and he knows you and Nate are very capable of being the best care givers for him. Trust that he will guide you though this as well!
Sweet Dreams to you all!
Give baby Ava a pat on the tummy from us and a hug to Kaden!

Anonymous said...

Amy,
It's good to hear all is well with Kaden for the most part. I am glad that you didn't have to go to the apt alone. That is alot for one person. If ever you need someone to go along, let me know, Syd and I could meet you in Topeka, just for an extra pair of hands if nothing else. I used to watch a little boy with severe autism and his mother is a nurse practitioner. They attended several meetings in Wichita on autism, he was even on the nightly news. I will talk to her and see if she would mind if I gave you her name and address or phone. I can't imagine she would.
Know that we are always praying for you and thinking of you. And we miss all of you very much. Hugs and Kisses to Kaden,
Amy and Syd
P.S. The pic of Pirate Kaden, Syd says What in the World is on his eye:)

Anonymous said...

Hey Amy! Gabi's mommy is completely right with the Jenny McCarthy thing...there was an article in a People magazine about her son and it was really interesting how she dealt with her autistic son. I'll see if we still have it at work and save it for you to read! So anyways, I hope everything's going good! We miss you all so much! Let me know if you ever need someone to go to the doctor's with you. I'm always in Topeka or Lawrence so I'd be right on the way!!!! :) I'd be glad to go with you! Tell Nathan hi and give Kaden hugs and kisses from me! And tell baby Ava hi! Hope to see you all soon!
Love,
Jen

Anonymous said...

Hey Amy,

Glad to hear things seemed to go good at the Dr's appt. You know I am always in Topeka Monday-Friday. I would be more than happy to take off and go with you whenver you need someone to go. You may want to look into possibly getting a second opinion on the autism with Kaden though. He seems to be progressing and doing good. I stopped off at Walmart the other night and was going thru the clearance section and came across some flash card game type things. I hope to get them out in the mail this week to you or if Nathan is coming up home any time this week/weekend. They are 3 and 4 letter words that you can spell out. It gives the picture and then you spell the work out. The other one is numbers since I know how much he likes to count also. I think that is so sweet that he seems to be coming so attached to Ava in mommy's belly.
Hugs and Kisses from all, love you guys.
Pamela and Megan