Guest Blogger for Autism - Tina

Elise has several precious friends at school. One very dear one is Jameson. His mother, Tina, was gracious enough to share:

Jameson’s Story
"It begins with two older siblings getting ready to leave the nest for college. His brother going to North Georgia, a couple of years later his sister going to Georgia Tech. I didn’t know why I wanted another baby so badly, but the answer came when I realized that God knew I would not be able to handle empty nest syndrome. There are 2years between Jameson’s brother and sister, and 12 years between Jameson and his sister.

Jameson was delivered at 38 weeks by C-section for failure to progress. He was a big boy weighing in at 8 pounds and he had a huge head. He spent 7 days in the Special Care Nursery. I knew something was up the moment the nurses handed him to me in the recovery room. Couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but he was not crying, he was not awake, he was just there. Jameson had CT Scans, EEG’s and numerous other tests.

Findings were, reflux, VSD murmur, apnea, and a subarachnoid hemorrhage. We were referred to the Babies Can’t Wait program in the hospital, but I knew nothing about the program and knew nothing about the above diagnosis.

Jameson slept for the first 4 months of his life. I mean he slept; we had to wake him up every 4 hours to feed him, around the clock. So for the first 4 months, there was no cooing, gooing, or babbling, just sucking on a bottle every 4 hours. At his 2 month check up the pediatrician asked if he was tracking with his eyes. I replied no all this baby does is sleep. At that moment she told me that the subarachnoid hemorrhage that he had at birth could lead to cerebral palsy, and we need to get him in the Babies Can’t Wait program…. Why wasn’t I told this in the hospital?

The paper work was started and by the time Jameson was 4 months he was finally getting physical therapy. We stayed in the Babies Can't Wait program until age 3, getting speech therapy at age 2. Jameson started making noise at 12 to 13 months of age. I was always asking the pediatrician if she thought he might be autistic, because of all the delays, she would only say let's wait and see. At Jameson’s 3 year check up the pediatrician finally agreed with me, and we got scheduled at the Marcus Institute for a formal diagnosis. When we left the Babies Can't Wait Program we went to Challenged Child and Friends, an early intervention learning center with therapist and nurses on staff. Jameson’s vocabulary continued to grow, but no sentences were forming.

When Jameson turned 5 we entered the public school system, where he continues to grow and thrive. Jameson now is speaking in sentences, and can request the things that he needs or wants. He still has some sensory issues, hates long sleeves, but has learned to wear a jacket and long pants. Noises continue to be bothersome, but we have learned to deal and cope. Jameson is a very loving child that has taught us a lot."