Am I depressed or is it genuine problems ?

[pulisa]

You've certainly been through the mill, Sarah. I have great respect and admiration for you and all that you say on here. I have a Stephen too and he had a missing thumb when he was born so one was "made" for him from his index finger. He was born without an oesophagus too so i didn't have a lot to contribute to the post natal group about feeding!! He has Vater's syndrome which I think is now known as Vacterl anomaly and his stomach is now at the back of his throat.

My daughter was feral but now is completely the opposite. The shoe shop owner kindly used to close the shop when she went in for a fitting because she was so wild. You wouldn't believe it now.

These experiences are dreadful but they give you resilience and strength. You have to get a grip because no one else will get a grip for you. The meds and therapy package only takes you so far. The "grip" gives you power.

[Sar89]

She’s fine now blueiris… she’s more or less reached the teenage years. Now she just grunts at me, I only see her when she wants food or money. Her Xbox, phone, youth club and friends are farrrrr more interesting than mummy these days 🤣

[Sar89]

Oh goodness Pulisa a missing thumb! You don’t realise how important thumbs are. You really do need them for everything ! I will be honest I have never heard of his condition which I’m surprised about with the amount of googling Iv done over the years! Poor boy sounds like he’s been through the mill! Can he eat normally now ? That’s so nice of the shoe shop man. I dread taking Stephen anywhere like that. It looks like the luftwaffe have flew over it when he’s finished �� your words really give me hope for his future Thankyou so much xx

[pulisa]

You really can't predict the future at 5. What you don't want is the quiet, withdrawn and shut down little boy who withdraws into his own world and is non-responsive. Your Stephen doesn't sound like that at all. You may find that when he develops language that it comes quickly and you'll look back on those pre-speech days with amazement.

I think you should make the most of his school years. He'll have routine, predictability and a team of experts around him to guide him..and you..My 2 would go back to school at the drop of a hat!

[Sar89]

Yes he’s definitely not withdrawn nor quiet… he’s rather bombastic �� I suppose he will be who he’s meant to be in the end. Thankyou for the support Pulisa it’s been really encouraging xx

[pulisa]

Not at all. You sound like a wonderful mum. Don't let anyone get you down? The important thing is that you take care of yourself and keep yourself as mentally afloat as possible because your life is tough. You sound as if you won't take any nonsense though which is awesome! xx

[Sar89]

Ha yeah that’s me take no prisoners 🤣 I’m ok I just need to sleep better really that’s probably a main problem. I know exactly what I do because it’s a battle to get him to sleep when I do eventually get him down I stay up for hours for that me time but then he goes to school now so I don’t need to actually do that. Plus I seem to be a bit of an insomniac anyway (always have been) I struggle to sleep near the baby because I think my Body is on high alert for the screaming that’s sure to come in the dead of night 🤣xx

[glassgirlw]

My brother is autistic. Was diagnosed around age 2. Wild was an understatement. He would run one end of the house to the other and bounce off closet doors…strip the elastic strings from his socks…hang upside down off furniture. We got lucky in our school system and it did wonders for him. He started to develop speech around 5-6 but was very limited.

he’s now 35 and in a day program, still lives at home with my mom. He’s advanced much farther than the doctors ever thought he would but he won’t ever be high enough functioning to live on his own. Communication is much better but still broken short sentences. He does love doing his jobs at his day center though and he’s just overall very happy.

it will get better once you get past these first wild years!!

[pulisa]

"High functioning" autism sounds like a "better" outcome but this is not the case for my 2. Happiness/contentment with life is so important.

[Sar89]

I always suspect that’s what Stephen will be like. Unable to live independently. If I’m completely honest that thought kills me for purely selfish reasons. However the most important thing is his happiness and I just want him to be happy. Ha yeah sounds like him alright. He woke up this morning and started bouncing on end of bed naked (4.30am) screeching with laughter. He’s nuts 🤣 he does make me laugh though because he’s so wild. My sister calls him Dobby the free elf ! X