Anonymous
Our Lockdown News.
Everyone has an interesting lockdown story – films, TV shows and books are going to be using it as fodder for years. Our story is that our five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
As I am sure many ASD parents will agree, when you finally get that diagnosis, you breathe a massive sigh of relief. Someone agrees with what you have been saying, and you can finally quieten that voice in your head telling you, you are making it all up. The only thing I can liken it to, is when you go for your twelve-week scan and see that little wriggling baby on the screen. It is not just a food baby!
In April of 2020, deep in the home-schooling, only-allowed-to-exercise-for-one-hour-out-of-the-house time, we scheduled a call with our Child Psychologist (CP). Our daughter had been for the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) in January, and we had been waiting for communication.
We had given the kids a mountain of snacks and an engaging TV programme to watch while we spoke to the CP on speakerphone in the kitchen. We could tell that she felt awful about delivering the news down the phone. Part of her job is to be there for the parents as well as the children. Covid meant that we lost the human connection. She told us after that she usually looked in parents’ eyes to work out how to deal with each situation. A crackly phone line is not the best way to hear that your child has a hidden disability.
To be honest, the news was not that much of a shock to us. We had been expecting them to say Autism since we had gone to the GP just before she started primary school. What I think is brilliant about having the diagnosis is that people can quickly understand that she has additional needs and that she may need more help in certain areas. It has also given us an area to research and educate ourselves in the best way to help her.
I do not see ASD as a disability, I see it as a special ability, and she amazes me every day.
