Testing, Testing, 1.2.3

We are having another evaluation done on Preston at the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) at the University of Washington. The last evaluation he had was 2 years ago and his team (therapists, teachers, psychologists) at school recommended it. I was thinking of doing it again anyway because it had been a couple years so I was fine with getting him scheduled again. They have a 3 month wait list to get in so I returned the paperwork as soon as I could. We got a letter from them saying we'd get scheduled in 3 months, but then the next day a lady called saying they were ready to schedule his appointments. Sweet! It's quite the process with 4 different days filled with appointments. He gets evaluated by a psychologist, speech therapist, physical therapist and then we talk with a social worker and fill out many forms of evaluations based on what we see at home. Then after all the therapists and evaluations are complete they meet with us and discuss their findings. I think his team at school wants to rule out autism. If he does get an autism diagnosis this time then he would qualify for all day preschool next year and that is what they want to figure out. (He has another year before kindergarten because his birthday is in October, which is to his benefit.) Plus, they see things that he was doing 2 years ago that he's still doing. Some things he's really improved on like his speech and self help skills (putting on coat, shoes, clothes), but then his social skills are still lacking.

I've always been resistant to the "autism" diagnosis because I don't want him to have it. I realized I am in denial about having a kid with developmental delays. Kyle and I have always hoped he'd "snap" out of it and be normal. But as the years go on we realize that might not happen. It's really hard. It's hard to deal with his constant issues, and having to discipline him (he's gotten better, when he was younger it was even worse, very emotionally draining). But it's also hard to realize you have a kid with special needs. It's something I never expected to deal with in my life. I always saw other parents with special needs kids and think "bless them for everything they go through with that kid because that would be hard" and would hope I never had to deal with that. I know his condition could be worse. I know we are all dealt with things in life that are hard and we are given them for a reason. These challenges are here to make us stronger. I just need to accept it and stop comparing Preston to other kids his age. I'm really bad at comparing. When I compare it just makes me more upset that he can't do certain things or behave a certain way like other kids his age. It just makes life more challenging because when we go out and Preston is interacting with other kids we always have to be like a "hawk" and watch him constantly just in case he does something bad or mean. It's not just a relaxing thing to let him go play. It's amazing seeing Lindsey grow and develop because she is doing things that Preston has just barely shown interest in (like putting on her coat, shoes, trying to buckle her car seat). So having another normally developed kid has really shown us how amazing development is because it just happens naturally...for most. As Preston has improved with his development, things have gotten easier. He is pretty independent and plays great on his own. :) He's cute, smart and likes to have fun. Then there are those rough days where Kyle and I ask "why us?" "what are we to learn from this?" It's always a challenge. But onward and upward to more testing and we'll see what the professionals think this time around.