Autism-Where Do I Begin?

I wanted a forum where I could share and help spread awareness about Autism to the community. I hope to use my blog for that purpose. In not knowing where to begin, I thought I'd begin at the beginning. This is my journey through the world of Autism. I hope you will feel free to comment or ask me questions about this journey. 

Let's go back to a time of no Internet, no cell phones, when the word "Autism" was something most people hadn't heard of. There were 1 in 10,000 children diagnosed with the disorder at this time. The year was 1988 and my beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed son Brandon was turning 2 years old. He was like any other toddler running around, happy and carefree. He loved his "sissy" Amber and his "mommy and daddy" and told us so.

I can still picture him at the window, waiting for his sister to come home from elementary school.  He would get so excited seeing her, yelling "Here comes sissy, here comes sissy." Little did we know or even suspect that our lives would soon change. I was pregnant with my youngest daughter Shannon and life seemed so "normal" (for lack of a better word).

His little sister finally arrived (they are 15 months apart). We were just getting used to having our new addition to the family but suddenly something was different about Brandon. The first thing we noticed was that Brandon wasn't as alert or engaged with us. He had been sick with an ear infection and ran a high fever along with it. When I took him to the pediatrician, she said "He is probably just recovering from his infection and will be better once he takes all of his "anti-biotics." He had also just had his 2-year vaccinations. 

The day after his shots, Brandon stopped talking. I took him back to the doctor and this time she told me, "It was probably because he was jealous of his new sister" and "He will come around."

This never happened and on the next visit to the doctor I made her observe him for 10 minutes. She called his name -- no response. She tried to get him to look at her -- no response. I will never forget the look on her face. She left the room and when she came back in, she handed me a piece of paper with the words LATE ONSET AUTISM. And without explaining what that was, she sent us on our way.  This is where our journey and advocacy began.

I had no idea what to do and unfortunately my doctor did not point me in any direction. I had a friend who had a disabled daughter and she suggested I contact the Regional Center in my area. My mother, bless her soul, had sent away for information from the Autism Society of America and said we should take Brandon to UCLA to have him looked at. Our first appointment was with Inland Regional Center.

Stay tuned for more to come ...