When we heard the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder , Moderate- I knew Robbie would never be a star athlete or honor student. I read all the books about "healing" and while we tried all the diets, hours of ABA and every additional therapy we could- my brain knew- sort of. BUT ...deep down- I thought - he would excel beyond everyone's wildest dreams. To be clear- Robbie is doing really well. Robbie is doing amazingly well , for Robbie. So that's why I broke down in the neurologist office this morning. She said the things I have been saying but hoping would change- for years. For Robbie, daily life can be exhausting, it's like living in a foreign country where you don't know the language. You try to communicate for a while and then give up, because its too much. He retreats into his head, where its safe. There is a limit. For years we've had additional hours of ABA therapy, but at this point we have paused. The neurologist agreed that we have - at this point - capped. That's not to say other outlets would not be beneficial. Physical activity and social interaction is extremely important.
Robbie does try. Many times he amazes me. We try a sport or activity and he loves it- or so it seems. The issue arises when we try to repeat that. He doesn't want to return. Boxing, Basketball, Soccer, Bowling, Swimming, painting....etc. To be fair, it gets harder to take him to an activity, even when you know it will benefit him, when he's screaming "I DON'T WANT TO GO" and you have another child- with their own activity saying- " I really want to go."
Today we discussed a few options with the neurologist. I took notes , as I always do. I tried to be positive , as I always do. The notes were the same, as they always are. The same groups or organizations. Have you tried special Olympics??" I nod and thank her. I know she is genuine. One of the best we've seen in the last 11 years. And yes we have tried special Olympics- twice - with horrible outcomes. And yes I will absolutely try again.
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