jordanc's Journal

I'm still fighting the insurance company over Harrison's speech therapy.  They don't think he has a "medical necessity" for it.  Sometimes, I just want to scream.  I wish they would experience what I (and everybody else with an autistic child) experience on a daily basis.  Wait, I wouldn't wish that on anybody.  I am lucky, however, because Harrison is verbal.  He's just way behind.  My heart really goes out to parents of non-verbal children.

My wife and I had a parent-teacher conference last night.  Harrison is making progress, slowly but surely.  I've seen him grow and develop over the past few months, but it was really good to see it on paper.  Thinking about where he was then and where he is now makes me realize how far he's come.  He has worked harder at getting the most basic of skills that most people take for granted.  I really am proud of that little boy; he's taught me ALOT about hard work and persistence.

A few days ago, we had a little mini-crisis.  I received an email from Harrison's daycare provider saying that we would have to make other arrangements for daycare this summer.  She is taking on other children and cannot meet Harrison's special needs.  My wife and I went into panic mode.  Harrison has been bounced from two other daycare providers who said they couldn't (or didn't want to) meet his "special needs".  Harrison has a difficult enough time transitioning to new environments without this coming along.  When starting a new daycare environment, he stops eating (and sometimes drinking) there.  He won't allow himself to have BMs there (because not more than five minutes after arriving home, he has one every time).  This can't be good for his fragile system that my wife and I are trying so hard to fix. Why can't these people just give our children a chance.  They deserve the care and stability that every other child deserves.  But it really seems like people get afraid of what they don't know.  If they do really get to know Harrison, they will know what a kind, gentle, and loving soul that he is.  He can teach anybody (myself included) about perserverence and compassion if they just give him a chance.  People just need to look into the eyes of an autistic child to see everything good in life.  And I don't mean just look.  They need to understand what they're looking at.  If everybody also had the work ethic of an autistic child, the world would be a much different place.  People just need to give our children a chance.

I'm off my soap box, and I really do feel a little better.  My wife just called to say that out daycare situation is solved to the best possible of ways.  One of the the teacher's assistants in Harrison's ECSE preschool said she would watch him this summer.  Another assistant and his actual ECSE preschool teacher will serve as "back-ups".  They told my wife they would be very willing to include Harrison in everything their families do.  And when possible, they would also work with Harrison on his IEP goals!!!!!  Harrison knows these people, so he's comfortable with them.  They've shown a genuine concern for his development and have already worked with him, so they now about his strengths and weaknesses.  Well, I am starting to have a hard time describing what I'm feeling about what my wife just told me about this.  I couldn't be happier for Harrison.  Every once in a while, he actually gets somethings he deserves.  The rest of what he deserves, I'm still working on.  As I've always said, I love him too much to give him any less.