by Joe and Debbie Shaumeyer
The day has come for me and Joe to be open with our family and friends. What we are about to tell you is very painful and sad for us. Our son Austin Lane Shaumeyer has Autism Spectrum Disorder. Itâs a neurological developmental disorder. There is no cure for it. Itâs a life long disability.
Everything with Austin Lane was perfect until 10 months. We noticed he was more tempermental than RJ and noticed his attention span wasnât the same. We chocked it up to that Austin was different. When Austin turned two in 2003 I told the Dr. that he hadnât begun talking like we thought he should. Our Dr. told us that âbig brotherâ was doing all the talking and it will come in time, donât worry. After Austinâs 3rd Birthday in August 2004 he still wasnât talking very much like a normal 3 year old. Last October 2004 I was talking with family candidly one day about Austin. My cousin asked me if I knew what Autism was. I replied no and began to hear things about it that compared to Austin. I denied it. Thatâs not our son.
A neighbor of ours talked to me about Parents as Teachers in the district. We did the screening in November 2004 and we became âALARMEDâ. After that we had our 3 year check up for Austin and back to the Doctor we went. I told her we are more concerned about why he wasnât talking and the significant tantrums he was having. She referred us to Childrenâs Mercy for testing.
In December of 2004 I got online and looked up Autism. I found I could download a test/checklist to know for sure. I took the test so many times and each time found Austin fell in the spectrum. I cried. I canât tell you how much I cried, how much it hurt, how angry I was, how much in denial I felt, how heavy my heart became. I went to Joe with it. He didnât believe it, wouldnât believe and was angry that I looked it up. I spoke to my closest family and friends about it. They were in shock and denial for me as well. A dear friend of mine told me, âIts not the Autism you are upset about, itâs the dreamed life you envisioned for Austin you are grieving the loss of.â
My family and friends, those who are mothers, I canât tell you how hard it is to admit and acknowledge that something like this has happened to our son. Our first step is to tell all of you about it. We get asked why Austin doesnât speak, how old Austin is. Itâs more obvious now that heâs older. If anything we can say Austin doesnât have it near the severity I have read about or heard about. Now, Joe and I send Austin to school in hopes that early intervention will help him. I have read so many things and looked up a lot of information, and could go on and on.
If you decide to talk with me or Joe about this⦠itâs okâ¦But I canât promise you, that if you do, I wonât cry. I might cry or tear up when I talk about it. I ask that if I didnât include a family member or friend in this message, if it comes up tell them about it. Itâs ok.
Thanks for listening to us.
