A...

...is for Asperger's Syndrome. This was the first A word to pop in my head and I'm having trouble thinking of any other A words - I just keep coming back to this. It's such a big part of our lives now and I'm so hungry to learn more and more about AS.
Jaden wasn't officially diagnosed with AS until almost 7 years old, but him being on the Autism spectrum was suggested at age 2. At that time, I wasn't ready to accept any such thing. I was in denial I guess and was actually offended that the doctors at the developmental clinic would even suggest it. They had only met with Jaden once, for like 20 minutes - how the heck could they make such a hasty call?! I knew he had speech delays and I wanted to make sure there weren't any other learning disabilities, but Jaden was a smart kid! I was just ignorant though - I didn't know anything about Austism and could only think of Rain Man when the word was brought up.

I started to research the whole spectrum deal online and was surprised at what I had found. There's a huge range of levels with Autism and it's not as uncommon as I had thought. The thing with Austism & AS is that it's hard to diagnose kids at an early age. It isn't until they start school that it becomes easier to determine their learning styles and what works for them and where they have trouble. We of course started Jaden in speech therapy at 2, but it wasn't until his official diagnosis this year that we've been able to nail it down the a label of Asperger's Syndrome. Since his diagnosis, I've learned so much on the topic and am encouraged by the amount of research that's going on these days. Not to mention the publicity that Autism is getting. Jenny McCarthy's son Evan has autism and she's been very open about his progress and how by changing his diet alone has made such a difference, including writing a book called Louder Than Words. There's been numerous shows like 20/20 and Dateline covering Austism and how many kids have been misdiagnosed with ADHD & OCD. There's a new book out now that I really want to get called Look Me In the Eye written by a man that's lived with AS. Because of new research and doctors becoming more aware, kids are able to get the resources they need earlier now.

Here's a video explaining what AS is and how if falls on the Autism spectrum. It's actually part 2 of a 3 part series on Autism. If you're interested in the other 2 parts.....here's a link to part 1 & part 3.

And here's a really great video made by a 16 year old boy with AS. He explains his AS using cartoons he created. I can relate to so much of what he says! My fav part is at the end where he says he wouldn't take a antidote for AS if there was one because it makes him who he is. There's no way to know why/how people develop AS - but even if I did know, I'd never go back and change a thing! Jaden is the most loving, caring, funny, interesting, honest kid I know and I can't imagine him not being the way he is!!! :0)



And you know what....Bill Gates was diagnosed with AS at age 9.....so you never know, I might be the mother of the next Bill Gates! :0)