What Do I Say?

I don't know if it is okay for me to complain about the situation with Timothy. I am not complaining about Timothy. I wouldn't change a thing when it concerns Timothy. I love him with all of my being. But sometimes the situation that we are in can be really hard.

People come up to us. Strangers are all of the time stopping us to look at Benjamin and talk to Timothy. And I think that is awesome. They think that my children are cute. What parent wouldn't want that?

But the thing is, they try talking to Timothy. Timothy doesn't talk. Hardly at all. So when people come up and say, "What's your name?" or "How old are you?" they don't get an answer. He just looks at them or looks away. And then they are standing there with no response.

Most of the time, I say "His name is Timothy" or "He's 4 years old!" gleefully. And if they keep trying to talk to him, I'll say "He's just a shy boy". Which is the truth, Timothy is very shy. And a lot of times, people will back off at that point. But sometimes they don't. And it can be very uncomfortable.

And I am not upset that people stop to talk to my children. I am fine with that. But I don't know how to handle the situation sometimes.

Timothy has not been diagnosed with autism yet. He may not even have autism. We are waiting for the developmental specialist to set the appointment. But even if he does get diagnosed with autism, do I tell people "He has autism" if he does not respond? Do parents of autistic children tell other people that in certain situations?

I am really confused on how to handle those types of circumstances. And I hope that I am not the only person who has ever felt this way. I am going to read other parents stories and how they handled things. I have a wonderful friend on facebook who is mother of autistic children (Shout out to Alicia) She has really helped with any questions that I have.

I just feel like I am the parent. I should be the strong one. I should know how to handle this stuff. But sometimes I don't. And it can be really hard. And I hate that I am even making it into anything because this isn't about me. It is about Timothy. I think doing some research on other parent's testimonials will help though. And blogging about it is helping too.

-Ashli

Mason Jar Candle Holders

We did this a little while back. I had these jars from Walmart that I had bought ages ago, and I had no idea what to do with them. Then I came across something really cool on Pinterest that I wanted to try!

Dollar Tree Trays

I actually did this project a few months ago and am just now blogging about it. But it's super easy and super cheap! I already had the super glue, primer and white spray paint, so I literally just had to buy the photo frame hardware, 3 Dollar Tree Trays and the stickers. (I actually bought more stickers than what I used for this project)

Update on Autism

Timothy just turned 4 years old. We have now switched pediatricians. Everyone was super nice at the last pediatrician office that we went to but honestly....I felt like they didn't take our concerns all that seriously when we expressed them until last year when Timothy was already 3 years old.

And maybe they thought we were just being too worrisome or they thought that he was just a shy boy. (We have thought those things also) But as doctors, I feel like they should have stepped up more than they did with the situation. They had been seeing Timothy since the day that he was born. We had never taken him anywhere else until recently.

But I am not going to play the blame game. Things have ended up this way for a reason.

Timothy went to his new pediatrician on Tuesday April 28th. (Our newborn has been going there since he was born and we really like them so far) It was just for a 4 year checkup. But we ended up being there for an hour because Timothy was scared, and they had a lot of questions.

This doctor took our concerns very seriously. She watched and saw for herself. She said that she could not diagnose him but that she "would say that I am 99% sure that it is autism."

As I said before when talking about this with his teachers, this was a relief. Not that he might possibly be autistic. But that our concerns were being heard and something will hopefully be done soon to help.

On Thursday in the mail, the doctor sent us letters on appointments with an eye specialist to check his sight, an ear specialist to check his hearing, and a developmental counselor to see if he is autistic.

2 days. That's how quickly this pediatrician was on top of it. 2 days. I am beyond thankful.

Hopefully in the upcoming weeks, we can get more educated on the situation at hand and find out what is really going on. I know it's going to be a long, probably difficult process. I am trying to prepare myself for whatever comes ahead of us. I know that I was made Timothy's mommy for a reason. And that we can get through this.

-Ashli