My oldest child had a miraculous birth where he was pronounced dead and then was delivered via emergency c-section after they found a faint heartbeat, and weighed in at a mere 2lbs. 3oz. From birth he faced many challenges physically, emotionally and mentally. He received an SPD diagnosis at three years old when I insisted his “premie sensitivity” wasn’t going away and he wasn’t growing out of it like his pediatrician and endocrinologist said he would. I took him to a psychologist, because I had a gut feeling something else was going on.  

We were told by the psychologist that diagnosed him with SPD to come back to see her at seven years old for an ADHD diagnosis and meds if we desired. I went back and they assessed him and received the ADHD diagnosis, because I had a gut feeling he had ADHD after researching it extensively. 

At nine years old after three assessments and thousands of dollars, a denial of DD services from our county due them testing him and determining his IQ being too high to qualify for their services, and school staff telling me that I didn’t know what I was talking about, he was finally diagnosed as ASD Level 1. I made a list of his symptoms of ASD, in which I found from an old book called, The Complete Guide to Aspegers, by Tony Atwood, and I brought this to a Behavioral Pediatrician who saw the examples I gave and was able to diagnose him after a few appts. 

I had a gut feeling and didn’t stop pursuing that which would get my child the help he needed to have the most amount of support to create a pathway of success. The public school system in America has to have the medical diagnosis on hand before they will allow accommodations such as sensory breaks or longer test times. So I did whatever it took to figure out how to get him that help. I went with my gut. 

I knew before the specialists, the doctors, the teachers and the school counselor. Go with your gut parents. You are your child’s expert. You know them best and you know what is best for your kiddo! Keep up the good work!