WHO IS EVAN?

I thought I'd do a little "get to know you" of my precious boy, Evan.

Being my first child, Evan is the one that taught me how to be a Mommy. When we first brought him home from the hospital, he was NOT a happy camper. ALWAYS crying. ALWAYS fussy. I was thinking to myself, "Oh My God, what have I gotten myself in to????" LOL!!!

Although the first weeks as a new Mom were rocky to say the least, once we began to get in our own comfort zone, I was able to experience the first moments of pure unadulterated joy with my son. He was my little boxer man. From the moment he came out of the womb, he was swinging that crazy right arm of his. Always moving & squirming - he was Mama's busy boy!

My friends named him Super Baby. He was crawling at 4-1/2 months old and RUNNING at 10 months old. He ran circles around other kids his age! My little dynamo!!!! I was so proud.

As Evan began to get a little older, it became pretty apparent to me that something was - different - about my son, though. He very, very rarely smiled (especially not social smiles). He wasn't talking AT ALL, long after his friends were talking. He rarely responded to his name. He never let me cuddle with him. I used to explain away my worries by saying, "He's just my serious boy. He's a THINKER."

After a while it became apparent that there was something else going on. Long story short, I had him evaluated, and it turns out that he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified). Which, according to the neurologist, means he is mildly autistic. I *knew* this in my heart for a while before it was confirmed by the neurologist, so when he was diagnosed, I was actually RELIEVED. This meant we would be able to get early intervention for him at least!!!

We had in-home speech, developmental and occupational therapy for him from 19 months old until he turned 3 and aged out of the program. Developmental therapy focused on more social behaviors, Occupational Therapy focused on sensory & eating issues and Speech Therapy is - well, pretty self-explanatory.

Once he turned 3, he was evaluated by Special School District and qualified to go to a local preschool that is a mixed class. Half of the class is kids with special needs and the other half is typically-developing children. I was THRILLED that he would get this amazing opportunity!!!!

So since he turned 3 at the end of 2008, he's been going there. It has done WONDERS for Evan. He still gets speech and occupational therapy at school, too!

***EVAN TODAY***

Evan today is a mostly happy, very talkative, inquisitive, sneaky, and completely SILLY SILLY boy. He puts me through my paces on a lot of days, but I remind myself that he IS 3-1/2 years old, after all.