#25daysofautism

Day 4: when you started seeing signs

I remember the phone call like it was yesterday. One day I was at work and my dad called me. Courtney was basically inconsolable. I broke down in tears and asked “what is wrong with my little girl, Dad?”

Courtney was just days away from turning 2. I was starting a new school year so Courtney was spending the days with either my parents or my in-laws. She was in a horrible phase. It was like we were living her colicky days all over again. All she did was cry. I would get her at the end of the day and grandparents would say the same thing every day…she was fussy.

There were 3 things that made her happy during this phase. Car rides, a walk in the stroller or being pushed in a swing. It’s funny that the swing calmed her then because she actually does not like swings anymore.

At this point the words were gone, any eye contact she had was gone and she kept to herself. I was starting to wonder before this moment. I actually spent the summer trying to convince joe that Courtney at least had a significant speech delay if not something more. I think I myself was hoping I was wrong about the “something more”. But by the time this picture was taken on the swing set at my parent’s house I was almost for certain. I was no longer just a teacher of children with autism. I had a daughter with autism.

So when I asked my dad what was wrong that day, I knew the answer. My little girl was slipping into her own little world. The world of autism.