Our first visit was to the family doctor and we expressed our concerns. He laughed it off saying, "she's not stupid, she's a smart kid" give her time and she will be fine. Looking at our blank faces he suggested we see a Pediatrician but there will be a waiting period of 6 months to see him. We took the referal letter and true enough we were told the next appointment was at the end of 2011, dejected by the response we still took the appointment.
My wife started her own little research and decided we see a speech therapist to see if they can tell us what is wrong with angel. The following week, still confused and wanting answers we went for the speech therapist appointment. After listening to our concerns, the speech therapist with a blank look on her face said " your child is autistic" puzzled by that reply we asked her to tell us more, without much explanation she said Angel might never speak again and we should see a pediatrician who deals with autism.
Still numb in the head with what we just heard we walked out not saying a word to each other. On our way home I kept glancing in the rear view mirror and could see my wife unable to fight her tears having a cry in silence. There was just the same echo in my head "your child is autistic" "your child might never speak again" I always thought I would easily handle any situation that i come across in life but today I just wanted to be dead, I wanted to run away, I wanted to crash my car and end my day right there and then. I wasn't even aware and before you know it, I had tears rolling down my eyes. Something is wrong with my little baby and i am not able to help her is all I thought.
The next few days was an emotional rollercoaster for us and our family. at that point we could do nothing but wait for the pediatrician appointment to confirm our fears. During all this Angel was still the same with her fear of ceilings and closed rooms. she would bable but not say the words she used to before.
Almost a week after the speech therapist appointment, I get a call from the pediatrician's office saying there's been a cancellation and if I would like to come in tomorrow? Yes please! The next day we met the pediatrician and before he could say anything he was curious to know why angel was looking at the ceiling and what was she looking for? we explained the day care incident and the days to follow, to which he had no explanation as to what was causing angel to do this. Once again we repeated our concerns and he quickly took out a "autism checklist" but half way through the checklist he stopped and said, Angel could have some sort of "Post Traumatic Stress" ( yet another new word for us!) Angel seemed to have confused the top pediatrician as he couldn't decide for sure if she was indeed autistic or some other issue. He told us to see a speech therapist of his choice and a psychologist and then get back to him but he mentioned this would take time. In the meantime get angel tested for "Rhett Syndrome" ( another new word)
What exactly is wrong with angel?? So far we have Developmental Dyspraxia, Autism, Post Traumatic Stress and Rhett Syndrome. Still no answers and still confused. We just wanted the world to end...........
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