(This is current as of May, 2008; Isabella will be 7 in a few months.)

Our family
Carrie and I were married in 1992 after dating through high school and college. In 1997, thanks to my hard work and dedicated “can do” attitude (and some Clomid), we had Madeline, who’s now a typical gymnastics freak, walking on her hands almost as much as on her feet. In 2001, thanks to the hard work of… well, mainly a doctor, we had Isabella. Oh, and Carrie helped out on those also. Isabella was diagnosed with “not autism but perhaps PDD-NOS” at around 2ish, but we’re as confused as the experts as to the root cause of her difficulties; she doesn’t exactly fit a particular category. She loves being around people (as long as they’re not therapists with a long task list for her), looking at books, and playing her Nintendo DS. Our biggest goals currently for her revolve around improved social interactions, fine motor skill development, and increased attention.

Autism journey
We noticed some right-side weakness early on with Isabella; she did everything with her left side. When she started on solid food, she would frequently choke. That sent us flying to the doctor. One of the medical staff at the office found that her swallow reflex didn’t work on her right side which caused her food to lodge in her throat. We all were thinking stroke – she must have had a stroke somewhere before or during the birth.

The neurologist performed some scans and found no obvious damage (though we still wonder). Another expert said Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), though that didn’t explain any of the physical aspects of her disability. Yet another said that she seemed to have a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) but probably not classic autism. The consensus was PDD-NOS, but only because that covered the widest portion of her symptoms. (9/19/08 Update: the doc said Asperger's Syndrome was a more appropriate diagnosis)

Her pediatrician had initially pointed us to Early Childhood Intervention (ECI), and through that program we began to have our eyes opened to the community of treatment options, therapists, and doctors.

We frequently debated whether it was better for her to be with typical peers or with other children with Learning Differences (LD). She might be “pulled up” by typical peers, but then again she might just be left behind. With LD kids, she might get the specialized attention she needs, but she might also not be motivated to excel by the others or might start imitating inappropriate behaviors.

We started with LD peers. When she was old enough, we put her into the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) with the local public school. Unfortunately, the teacher was overwhelmed with the wide variability of her students and Isabella got lost in the mix, and we pulled her out. After PPCD, we switched to typical peers, putting her into a typical preschool for a few years. Switching again, we put her into a specialized private school for children with disabilities ($$$, plus one extra $). Unfortunately (again), that kindergarten program was not as beneficial as we’d hoped, and we pulled her out.

Looking again at what the public schools had to offer, we decided to switch again and put her into a public school but have her mainstreamed with the typical kids, along with some assistance from the school therapists as needed. That school has been a Godsend, and Isabella has thrived there thanks to a wonderful staff, including her teacher, the therapists that help her, the nurse that lets her use her (thankfully quiet and non-automatic) toilet, and her Meemaw (Carrie’s mom), who teaches there.

Therapies and Interventions
Here’s a list of the things we’ve tried. We’ve been very fortunate with therapists; they’ve all seemed to work very hard to get to know Isabella and have really zeroed in on the areas in which she needs help. The list shows what age Isabella was when she was involved with these therapies.

OT: 9 months – now. This has really helped her.
PT: 5 yrs – 6 yrs
Speech: 18 mons – now. This has REALLY helped Isabella thanks to her wonderful therapist, who has tailored the therapy to Isabella’s special needs.
ABA: 2+ yrs – 5 yrs. The ABA therapist was less rigid than some, and this really seemed to help Isabella.
Music: 6 yrs – now
Sensory Integration OT: 4 yrs – 5.5 yrs

Also, she’s had swimming lessons in the summer and a little gymnastics. I think a little more (private) gymnastics would help. Also, we try to go swimming frequently in the summer as she loves that, and we like to find ways to keep her active. Another thing that helped her was the trampoline. When we first got it, she couldn’t jump at all. Now she can (but would prefer that I bounce her anyway). So I think the trampoline has helped her coordination and strength. Another thing that she likes to do that is therapeutic is to help out with preparing certain foods. For example, she likes to put powdered lemonade into a pitcher and fill the pitcher one cup at a time with water, then stir it. She always wants to make it but never drink it. Another example is making a cake with her Nana (my mother). That one she does like to enjoy after making. One other thing that seems to help is biking; we just got her new training wheels that are much more sturdy and give her a little more confidence.

There are a couple of things that we are about to try or are considering. Her prism glasses should be arriving any day now. Also, we’re thinking seriously about trying a GFCF diet and perhaps some therapeutic horseback riding.

It’s difficult to know if any improvements come from the therapies or if they are just incidental. All we know is that we have to keep trying to help her any way that we can.