The Diagnoses

Hmmm...this could be very therapeutic for me. This should be in an autism handbook...when you find out your child or children have autism, the first thing you should do is start blogging. This will save you time and money. How, you ask? You won't have to waste time and money seeing your own personal shrink; you can just blog when the kids are in bed and get things off your chest.

I'm always writing in my journal, so why not do it online? My life is an open book anyway. After finding out that three out of four of our children have autism, and my hubby has Asperger's, I can't pretend anymore that things are okay. I'm tired of trying to be a neurotypical family and "fit in" with society. I am learning to embrace the differences and ignore the ignorant.

So, here is the run down or the low down:

Husband-William age 39 diagnosed in 2004 with mild Asperger's, ADD, mild Non-Verbal learning disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, depression and anxiety। थे प्स्य्चोलोगिस्ट लेटर मदे अन अप्पोइन्त्मेन्त् विथ मी टू दिस्कुस अल ऑफ़ ठेस। शे सैद ठाट विलियम इस वैरी कोम्प्लिकातेद।

He has an IQ of 130, speaks three languages and dabbles in three more. Don't get him started with Japanese! He was in the Army National Guard for 11 years and received an honorable discharge. He is an Eagle Scout. He has a Bachelor's degree. He is currently attending school (again!) to see if this time, he can succeed in finding a career. (...a very long story...) His interests include, basketball, basketball stats, crossword puzzles, reading, and lateral thinking puzzles. (Boring!!) He always carries around at least 7 pens in his pocket at any given time. It's usually 11 pens. I ask him why and he says, what if one runs out--and what if I want variety? (Oh brother, can't argue with that.) With the anxiety and Asperger's comes the time spent in the bathroom dropping some friends off at the pool. Every day this occurs, for an hour a day, and sometimes longer--if we have social plans. He is a pack rat. He always carries a giant backpack with him and a giant water bottle----"just in case" or "what if I run out?". He really needs some psychotherapy but we can't afford it.

Mercedes is our oldest, age 12. She is a good helper to her autism brothers and her Aspie dad. She was diagnosed with Anxiety, ADD, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder almost two years ago. She loves reading, swimming, watching movies, playing the piano and writing stories.

Hunter is the oldest boy, age 8. He is--and always has been--a handful. He was diagnosed in 2006 with PDD-NOS, Tourette's, ADHD and in 2007 with seizure disorder. He is extremely creative and what his counselor calls--"a quirky kid". He is a cub scout and a budding artist. His art can be viewed online at kindtreeproductions.com. His current fixation is Tracy Turnblad from the movie Hairspray. I had to hide the real hairspray. It didn't help much; now he is using air freshener. But we need the air freshener for the poopy bums! It's so frustrating...

Mason is the alpha male age 7. He was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (how two brothers who are totally opposite can have the same diagnosis is beyond me--this prooves how long that spectrum really is! He also has verbal learning disorder and CAPD (like sister). He loves video games and lining things up. He is a BIG dude for his age. He is taller than Hunter by an inch and broader. In the summer he likes to play flag football. He likes to joke around and he gets embarrassed easily.

Ryder is my four year old baby. He was born with sagittal suture stenostosis (fused soft spot) and at 11 weeks of age he underwent surgery to correct it. He lost alot of blood and had a transfusion. This was such a tough time for us. As he grew, we noticed he didn't have eye contact with us, he liked to rock, and words never emerged. He was diagnosed with Autism in 2006. He also has seizure disorder and hypotonia. Last October he learned how to walk at age four! Yeah! Now, if we can get the words to come...His current fixation is the blinds.

As for me, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was a teenager. I guess it was good to get it over with then, because I learned alot and I feel that it has helped prepare me for these current challenges. I also have a degree as a LPN, but I am a stay-at-home mom. I love it.

Here is our story...