Post 8/6/08 Where to begin…

I had lunch with one of my best friends yesterday and we were discussing one of our regular topics, autism. She has been supportive and listened endlessly to my stories of all my children with autism and my desire to begin an autism site. I asked her to give me 5 questions she would ask about autism.

Her response surprised me. Rather than the many topics we had discussed over the years, she mentioned, where would you begin? For instance, you are a young mom, after years of concern and worry, and have just received a diagnosis of autism for your 2 year old son. 

It is difficult to get any assistance for your child with autism until there is a medical diagnosis. Often this begins at the doctor’s office with a label of  PDD, or pervasive developmental disorder. Often,this is a diagnosis that is a precursor to autism. Once your doctor has diagnosed PDD, you may be able to seek asistance from local agencies, the county and/or private facilities.