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Zachary
and Ashton riding in Mickey Mouse's car |
Here We Go Again
In September of 2001, Zachary was also diagnosed with High Functioning
Autism (HFA or Asperger Syndrome). We are beginning to accept that AS and
HFA are actually the same thing. It has taken us quite a while to accept
that. One of the problems was in seeing how different Ashton and Zachary
were at various stages.
While Zachary was very clingy as a baby, as a toddler and preschooler
he seems to be more daring than Ashton and often completely care free.
Before Zachary could even walk he began to climb. We have found him on top of
the refrigerator, on the top shelf of his closet and we even had to take
the bunk beds down to keep him off of the top bunk. |
Do You Understand Me?
Our first concerns with Zachary came with his ability to understand us.
Born April 14, 1998, he is still unable to respond to questions such as,
"Why did you hit your brother?" His response will be something like,
"Momma made my bed." Zachary has has a high IQ, so we know that he has the
ability to learn the proper responses. We have also discovered that he not
only has a language receptive problem, but he also has trouble
communicating his thoughts. He has the vocabulary, but not the
understanding.
Zachary's problems with language are the cause of his aggressiveness.
He is not able to communicate his thoughts and gets frustrated. Since he
is not always able to simply say, "Ashton, please hand me that toy beside
you," he lashes out in anger and hits his brother, kicks the wall or
throws a toy. |
Zachary and Ashton in front of cockpit of Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space
Center |
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The
Poole family at Pawpaw and Mimi's house for Christmas (2000) |
What Do We
Do Now?
We are currently in the process of applying for Occupational Therapy
and Speech (vocal) Therapy for Ashton. We have discovered that we qualify
for a Medicaid Waiver because we have a son with Autism (actually two). We
also have to complete the diagnosis process for Zachary by having a
Medical Doctor examine him (Neurologist). Zachary is in need of Speech and
Language Therapy as well as "Play" therapy which is a long process of
teaching him how to play with other children without losing his cool.
We have been learning how to take Ashton to "big" church since he is
almost too old for our church's Extended Session. Some things work one
week and not the next, but we are making progress.
We really do have two wonderful, sweet, intelligent boys. We may never
completely understand what they are experiencing or how to help them, but
we are doing what we can. If you have advice that you would like to share,
feel free to email Wendy. |
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