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It's Confirmed. Your Child has Autism.
For parents who's child has been given a recent diagnosis:
Let me be the first virtual person to hug you and tell you that you are going to be alright.
I want to let you know that autism is not a negative disorder that it is often generally presented to be.
A diagnosis of autism can be frightening, overwhelming, confusing, and devastating. Sometimes parents wait for an official diagnosis for months because they had suspicions all along, but even then, it can still be completely shocking when you are told the news.
If you are looking at this page...
Know that all parents will handle this and each additional stage of their child's diagnosis in their own way. This also applies to additional family members.
Getting a diagnosis might make you feel like your whole world has completely changed and you will feel sad about your child’s hopes and dreams and a life that you assumed that they would have had, but it’s natural to have a range of different emotions about when you get a diagnosis.
You might feel...
Afraid - because you don't know what is going to happen at this point to your child or in their future.
Sad - because this heartbreaking news has been so much to deal with.
Denial - because maybe this diagnosis could be wrong.
Depressed - because it seems like all hope has disappeared and this is like the end of the world - for your child, for you, and your family.
Grief - because you mourn for loss of the many ideas and expectations you had once thought your child would experience since the beginning.
You might....
Cry - out of exhaustion.
Yell - out of frustration.
Scream - because your angry.
Hide - because you don't want to deal with people.
And then some....
Yup. Getting a diagnosis - to sum it up - it hurts.
And there will be times throughout your life when something comes up for your child that you will have no control over and these feelings mentioned or not mentioned here will surface again. You are not alone. Many parents (including myself) have experienced these same emotions.
I will be perfectly honest with you, the above section is not at all one of my favourites on this website. It was very hard for me to complete because it resurfaced a lot of memories of extremely difficult times for my son and myself. But I do want to be honest and open about everything that we have personally experienced and put out the good and the bad about autism. We still have our moments, and most likely still will as we go along, but thankfully now there are many many more goods than bad's!
From one parent to another....
The two best pieces of advice that I can offer any parent on how to cope with fighting any battle that you face which affects the well-being of your child is to simply:
Educate Yourself!
and
Provide Unconditional Love to Your Child ALWAYS!
Your wealth of knowledge and loving support towards your child are huge elements which will not only make you stronger, it will be the best weapon you have to tackle any situation with confidence. These two principals have helped me become the best advocate for my son over the years.
While this may be a scary and difficult time for you, keep in mind that this might also be a scary and difficult time for your child as well! So now is the time for you to muster up that special parental strength that you have within you so you can do your very best to stay positive in their eyes for them. While it is much easier said than done, and on some days it can be quite difficult, by remaining a positive attitude moving forward will make everything easier for both of you in the long run. While no one is perfect, regardless of whatever you hear about what is "wrong" with your child, remember that they are always going to be "perfect" to you in your eyes - just the way they are.
Right now, you both are just on a different journey than you would have expected to be on. Remember that your child is still the same person that you have loved all this time. You will see and realize that this piece of paper that you have received with whatever is written on it, will never change anything about how much you love your child.