Intro: K is a girl with Autism

"K" is a sweet & silly & affectionate  6 year old girl. She loves school and riding the bus. K enjoys The Wiggles and Dora the Explorer. Also she loves most any type of music and dancing too it. K loves when she listens to music with Daddy and Daddy sings to her. She loves toys that light up and play music or make random sounds. She also likes toys that have to have to do with ABC's. K enjoys playing outside and going to the park. She likes to ride her bike and go swimming. She also likes to play with play dough and puzzles and painting and drawing. K loves to be tickled!!! She will ASK to be tickled!!! K also like riding on horses. K is afraid of cows (only when trying to feed them). K like to go to McDonald's for the Happy Meal toy and likes the occasional soda and fries. She loves Birthday Cake Ice from Baskin Robbins. K likes pizza but LOVES, LOVES to eat salad and yogurt.  K also loves clothes - especially clothes that are glittery, metallic, light up or has some sort of graphic on it.

K may sound like any other 6 year old girl, but January 2011 she was diagnosed with Autism - Infantile Autism to be exact. This diagnosis did not come as a surprise to us - we have know all along for the past 2 years that she had Autism. We just had to go threw the motions of Early Steps, Child Find, and "The Official Diagnosis" from her Pediatric Neuro Developmental Doctor. Child Find had done the evaluation on K when she was 3 or 4 years of age. In January 2010 they placed her in a pre-K program for kids with Autism after everything was said and done based on the ADOS.

Based upon my experience of working with kids inside a day care setting and working with kids in a summer camp for the disabled, I had knew that K had Autism. I did do my research and I knew with 110% certainty.  K is more of a 2 year old inside a 6 year old's body. K has the speech and social skills and understanding of a 2 year old. Her speech is like really bad broken English - ie: "Potty minute" (Meaning "I will go potty in a minute"), "Please Ahhh" (meaning: "Please open your month"), "tickle", "Piggies" for "This little piggy..." she will say "Piggy Market" or "Piggy Home" or "Piggy Nine" or "Piggy Roast Beast" etc, and various other short and slitted phrases. She knows enough to get her point across most of the time. She knows all her shapes and colors and her ABC's and can identify her letters and some numbers. She has a very had time with her handwriting - she can make a circle, but is having the toughest time trying to write a square or letters. She can cut with scissors but not like a Neurotypical child. Her social skills are very much like a 2 year old - she will play with things but does not want to share, she is better with older kids or adults. Her understanding is the same - she will climb and you can tell her no a thousand times and she will keep doing it. She can be placed in time out or redirected and she will still do it. Her gross motor skills (walking, running, riding) a bike are right where they should be.

Now when K get upset or frustrated she will do what I call her "hell cat"/"feral cat" mood (may seem like harsh phrasing but it is used ONLY to sum up a series of actions). This mood is when she will yell or scream or growl, she will hit/kick walls and doors, she will hit her head, she will throw things, she will squeeze someone's arm (with me she will try to dig her nails into my skin when doing this - but only to me - and this is where the "hell/feral cat" comes in).

Currently K goes to school full time at the local public school that has an Autism Program and she is in extended care because both I and my husband work until about 5 pm. K goes to therapy 2 times a week. Once for OT and once for speech. I sit in the sessions so I can do the same out home with her. Occasionally I will take her to C.A.R.D. She is goes to Girl Scouts and I do have her go to church - but I am in the process of finding the "right" church for her. We do work related to speech and OT during the week.

I started a few days ago to start a Twitter Account to detail brief daily adventures of K. Then I found with only so much space to type in that I may need a Blog if I want to elaborate on a subject. So here we are today with a better explanation of the Makings of K.