different, not less.

Yesterday was a big, long day for all of us. We were at Children's for five hours with Emmett for his assessment. It was a lot to handle for him, but he couldn't have been more cooperative and flexible. He was such a good boy through the whole thing and we were so proud of him. By the way, have I raved about how much I love Children's Hospital? The. Best.
Emmett was diagnosed with autism. Matt and I were bracing ourselves for that outcome, but it's still overwhelming to hear a doctor say it out loud and make it our new reality. I surprised myself; not one tear was shed by me. I stayed really strong. Maybe tomorrow will be different. 

The assessment was broken up into three parts. The first part was auditory, which Emmett passed with flying colors! He normally hates having anything on his head, but he kept the headphones on. I think he had a little helper from above. ;) He had a standard hearing test integrated with toys. The other part of the test involved him repeating words out loud when he heard the doctor say them. 

how adorable and small does Emmett look sitting there behind the glass?:)

The second part of the assessment was speech/communication. Emmett had some difficulties in this area. He and the doctor looked at books, played with toys and did different things with objects to assess how well he can speak and converse with others. He has a hard time understanding directions, describing things he sees, and using proper pronouns. He will be starting speech therapy to help with these difficulties.

 The third part of the assessment was was behavioral. Dr. Amy looked over the results of the first two parts, did her own observing and testing, asked us tons of questions about his behavior and habits, then gave her diagnosis.This was the longest part of the assessment and Emmett was getting so tired, but he held on.

Dr. Amy also wants Emmett to start occupational therapy. This will help greatly with his difficulties with eating, getting dressed, potty training, etc. He may also need physical therapy down the road. We also need to make an appointment for him through the school district to see what his options are.

The minute we pulled out of the parking ramp, Emmett was asleep. It was such a big day for him. It was 5:00 by the time we left the hospital. Then we had to race to pick up Ethnie from her friend's house to get her to swimming by 6:00. Let's just say we had a late dinner and hardly got any homework done. Hmph.

Emmett,

I love you with all my heart and soul. You are an amazing boy. Dad and I are going to get you all the help you need to unlock all of your skills and talents. Life has so much to offer; just you wait!

love- mom