We went to see Dr. Moshe, another neurologist, to get a second opinion. We wanted him to confirm Declan's diagnosis of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, or more truthfully, for him to deny it all. The nurse walked us into an examining room and asked us to wait for the doctor. The shelves in the small, quiet room were filled with toys. I scanned them looking for something that might appeal to Declan. I passed over the cars and trucks, the legos, the action figures as usual, not without the pang, the fleeting and silent wish that he would, like most little boys I knew, be unbearably drawn to such a blatant display of boyhood crushes. On his own, however, Declan sat beside the plastic purple dollhouse that rested on the floor beside the doctor's desk. For a moment, I was encouraged that he chose a prop for pretend play. An educator, I knew that pretend play was one of the most important developmental stages for children to enter, and in my opinion, should refrain from leaving until they were good and ready. As Declan opened the tiny door of the house, I chimed in, "who's there?" trying to get something going. Declan closed the door. He was not interested. Instead, he repeated the action, opening and closing the door, over and over. The only shift in his play occurred when he moved his body in order to look at the door from another angle, moving so far to the side that he had to look out of the corners of his eyes. There was something about looking at the door in this way that was satisfying to him, but like most of what was occurring these days, it was a mystery to us why.
Dr. Moshe entered the room, introduced himself, and shook both of our hands. All three adults stood talking above Declan, who continued his play on the floor below. As we shared Declan's historyagain, now feeling more like a script, Dr. Moshe observed Declan. Even when responding or asking new questions, his eyes never left Declan. Then suddenly, as if bringing to our attention an untied shoelace, he stated, "he's autistic, you know."
Brendan and I later learned from his neurologist, Dr. Orrin Devinsky, and from Dr. Cecelia McCarton, founder of the McCarton Center for Autism, that Declan did not, in fact, have autism. Instead, the doctors that knew him well asserted that he had autistic-like tendencies, and that they were likely due to the seizures he was experiencing. "Make the seizures go away," we heard, "and the tendencies will go away too." Yesterday, I came upon the movie Autistic-Like. I have not yet seen the entire movie, but am grateful to listen to and know the other voices out there that share similar experiences. Meet Erik Linthorst and his family:
For more information about Autistic-Like, visit the website: http://www.autisticlike.com/
I'm learning so much!!!
Posted by: Jennifer | 11/27/2009 at 03:50 AM