The last thing I wanted to do was to label my child as “Autistic.” The evaluation I talked about in my previous post (Boxing With Shadows: Diagnosis) was not a formal diagnosis. It was an evaluation by a team of professionals who gave me their opinion on what could be causing Stovie’s developmental delays. Once a child is diagnosed, the diagnosis goes on his or her medical records, and then on their school records. There was a certain finality with that scenario that I wasn’t ready to accept.
On the other hand, it was difficult to choose a treatment without a formal diagnosis. I was reluctant to dive headlong into treatments that were specifically for Autism. It was as if somehow engaging in those treatments would be admitting that the doctors’ evaluation was true. I didn’t want to believe that they were right – I wanted to keep believing that he could get better. I had the faith and the drive to believe for his recovery, but eventually, I had to put works to my faith and make a choice about how to proceed.
Given Stovie’s symptoms, I decided to go with treatments that were known to have the highest effectiveness rate with autistic children. I will address these treatments in a series of posts over the next couple of weeks.
Kerri,
Thank you so much for sharing on such a touching and personal story. I can only imagine the battles you and your family have had to face and the difficult decisions you have had to make. God continues to use you and your family to touch the lives of others like no one else could! Keep the faith!!!
Blessings,
Kim
Thank you Pastor Kerri for sharing this story. I really needed to hear this. I feel your pain as a mother of how hard it is to hear that diagnosis for your child. All you can do is continue to pray over him and and know God is doing an amazing work on him and your family. Your testimony will change lives.
I am a single mother of four. My oldest and youngest have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and my middle son has a severe slow learning disability. I had to sign papers recently acknowledging that he will never graduate from high school with a regular diploma. I will continue to pray over my children and know that God has a plan and a vision for their lives. Thank you Pastor Kerri.
Blessings and love,
Kelly
Hey Pastor Kerri,
I wanted to thank you so much for your posts about autism. I am experiencing similar emotions this year with my daughter, Shea. I knew you mentioned this during a few Sisterhood sessions, so I wanted to read your blogs about this condition to help guide and encourage me and my family through this process. Do you have any other recommendations on activities that you did with Stovie to help him with his developments?
Hi Daisy — I think I pretty much covered everything we did in our posts. I know the pain you must be feeling. I encourage you to do as much as you can tot talk with other moms who are going through what you are going through and keep up hope. Celebrate the wins, even if they seem small. Praying for you and love you!