jordan: explained.

been wondering how to word this post for awhile now. guess it's easiest just to say it. we believe that Jordan has some form of autism. wow. it's almost freeing to even type it out. for about a year now, somewhere deep inside I knew that J was different. I always wrote it off as him being "quirky" or in Jordan's World. Maybe 3-4 months ago I shared this with Asah. After watching him closely we could not avoid/deny it any longer. I began to read and research everything I could. It wasnt pretty. J seemed to have all the classic signs and symptoms, right down to walking on his toes. (Had no idea that was even a red flag). This morning we went to our regular pediatrician for a consultation and to share our concerns. I've been journaling his behaviors for about a month now to get a clear picture. I also printed off a developmental checklist for 36 months and found that he has only met about 1/2 of the milestones. Talk about a springboard for action. Dr. Tran was awesome. Very affirming. She gave us some tools for early intervention as well as a Referral to Pediatric Neurologists in Baton Rouge. It will take some time to get an appointment there (think: Months) but meanwhile we can begin taking steps to get him lined up for Therapies, etc even before an official eval/diagnosis.

Pray with us. Jordan is still Jordan. Happy, free, loving, caring, Athletic, warm hearted. We want to get the best help we can, so that he can improve in his speech, social skills, and other areas where he needs extra help. We believe that he is on the high functioning end. In fact, if you didnt know him you wouldnt think a thing was wrong. There are days he is fine. There are very difficult days. Mostly when we're out of routine.

any questions, ask away. now that we're walking this journey, we'd love to be a resource to inform others, especially of the early signs.

Edited to Add:
Just wanted to share an excerpt from a blog i'm now addicted to, thanks to Allison!!
It is the blog of a mom with a son Just Like Jordan. Here's part of a letter she wrote to him. My thoughts exactly. Sharing this has already been a good thing. So many people out there know of many many other resources for us. This is only the beginning!!

I'm sorry the little things are so hard for you. I'm sorry that I just don't understand sometimes.

I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you and your smart, wonderful, mysterious brain. I'm so proud of your good strong eyes that never miss a thing. I'm so proud of how far you've come and how well you talk now. I'm so proud of what a happy, confident boy you are, in spite of everything else.

I love you. I love hearing everything you have to say. I love your voice, your smile, the way I hear you humming along to the music in your room. I love how you manage to thoroughly charm people, even when you're making their job a little harder. I love how you always give me another chance to be a better Mommy, a more patient, fun and understanding Mommy, and how a rotten morning can still lead to a wonderfully sunny afternoon.

You're too amazing for this world, Noah. And that's our problem, not yours. Don't ever forget that.