By Aimee Davis

by Aimee Davis

It was July 2003 when the Doctor told me "Your son has Autism."  I had just given birth to my second son 2 weeks before.  Here I was cradling a newborn baby and hearing the most devastating news of my life. In all honesty, I already knew this would be the diagnosis.  I had already researched Autism and the behaviors and symptoms described my son perfectly.  But deep down in my gut I had hoped and prayed that the doctor would tell me it wasn't Autism and that my son would be fine.  Instead, my worst fear was confirmed.

Tristan started off in the world a "typical" child. He developed normally and met all major milestones on target. He started talking at around 11 months.  He began putting 3 word sentences together.  His favorite was to boss his cousins around at tell them "sit down now" or "get down now." But shortly before his second birthday things began to change. His words began to slip away.  Concerned, I asked his doctor about this problem. His doctor at the time, told me "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll see by the time he is 2 he'll have such a big vocabulary you won't be able to shut him up."  A few months later things had not gotten better. That February Tristan became very ill. He ran really high fevers for a week, followed by a sinus infection, ear infection and strep throat all in one month. He was on antibiotics the entire month. He was so sick and weak all he did was cry. I barely heard any words at all. The only thing that would calm him down was to watch his favorite Elmo movie over and over. He also lined up 4 or 5 different toys that all made some kind of noise and pushed the buttons repeatedly. I had never seen him do anything like that before. It was very compulsive and manic. By the time Tristan began to feel better again, he was a changed little boy. He had no speech left.

I really believed he would snap out of it and began talking again. I was in denial that their was anything major wrong. Soon other odd behaviors began to arise. He would have uncontrollable tantrums and would throw himself on the ground with such force. He became very irritable and moody. I had trouble getting him to sleep. He was very hyper, manic and did not like changes. I could not get him potty trained, and he no longer seemed to understand things or comprehend what I was saying. It became very difficult to take him places. He became an expert escape artist and ran away every opportunity he got. After all these things I could No longer let myself believe my child was fine. After someone finally mentioned to me "sounds like PDD" I started researching on the Internet. Autism popped up over and over and after reading about it, I knew in my heart this is what has overcome My child. We sought help immediately and Tristan was diagnosed with Autism 3 months before his third birthday.

Today at age 6 little progress has been made. Tristan is still nonverbal. He is still not potty trained and he still will run off if given the opportunity. He has No sense of fear or danger. We had to change the locks on our house to keyed dead bolts to insure his safety. He has many sensory issues and gets sick often. His personality has changed for the better. He is mostly a happy giggly little boy. He is in constant motion. He has amazing speed and balance. People can't help but fall in love with him. He has the cutest little face and big green eyes. He has the best smile! His smile can brighten your day when your feeling down and it melts my heart everyday. I love him unconditionally. I can't imagine my life without him. He is a special little boy.