I am happy to report that Lewis P. is okay!
A Friend In Need
Lewis P is in the hospital.
Who is Lewis P and how do I know this? He's a boy who goes to school with C, and he's also one of the first and only people C has ever mentioned to us. In fact, C has described him as "his friend," a proclamation so profound and surprising I don't think I could ever forget the name.
I asked C if he had played with him today. "No, Lewis P is at the doctor."
"He's not at school?"
"No, he's at the doctor."
C says a lot of unusual things, so I asked my wife about it. Her expression was grim. "Yes, I heard he was in the ICU."
So now there's this. A little boy I don't even know, but who has distinguished himself to me by being my son's first official friend, and now he's apparently in the hospital.
I don't know you, little Lewis, but I hope you will be back at school soon. There's a little boy I know who would like to have his friend back.
ASD Diagram
I designed the (hopefully) simple graphic below to help people understand the family of Autism Spectrum Disorders — as outlined in the DSM-IV — and how they relate to one another (click on the image to see a larger version). I did not include Rett's Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, as they usually receive their own diagnoses apart from an ASD.
As you can see, much of the confusion comes from the duplicative use of terms like PDD and ASD at both the category and sub-category levels.
It's important to note that the just-approved DSM-V subsumes both PDD-NOS and Aspergers into one category called, quite simply, Autism. In addition, a new category called Social Communication Disorder has been created to hopefully account for children who don't meet the new ASD criteria but still have deficits in the key areas of communication and social skills.
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Let me know what you think on Twitter: @1asddad
The Tambourine
Tonight C walked up to me, holding a drum in one hand and a tambourine in the other. Smiling, he thrust the tambourine toward me and said, quite clearly, "You play it, Daddy!" I was so shocked, I nearly forgot to take the damn tambourine from him. This was neither scripted nor prompted; this was a genuine request, directed at me, in the form of a verbalized desire to interact.
And interact we did: I shook the tambourine in time to his drumming for a good two or three minutes, and every so often C would look at me and smile as we played together.
Hope.
Questioning Autism? App is Available!
I’m proud to announce that our iOS app Questioning Autism? is available in the App store!
Questioning Autism? is an iOS app designed to help concerned parents understand the signs and symptoms of autism, and to convey their observations to their pediatrician. The app features 12 simple questions, and the ability to share the observations with notes via email. Parents and caregivers can track a child’s progress over time, and save their observations for multiple children. Also included are helpful resources and the ability to share the app socially.
Questioning Autism? was inspired by our own difficulties explaining our concerns to our pediatrician, and the delays in getting help for our son that ensued. My hope is that this app can help some other parents avoid these problems. The app was built by Netsoft-USA in collaboration with one of their long-standing clients, Active Health Management. Ideally, Questioning Autism will be built for other platforms, in multiple languages, and possibly include a Web-based version as well.
So far, feedback on the app has been incredibly positive, with some parents saying they wish an app like this had been available before they got their diagnosis, others suggesting it would be a great tool for friends and family to help them understand what their child is going through. An ABA therapist even mentioned that the app could help raise awareness among clinicians and doctors in other countries who are unfamiliar with the signs of autism.
If you are curious, or know someone who might be having concerns about their child, I'd be grateful if you'd share the app with them. And, if you can take a moment to rate or review the app, even better!
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Let me know what you think on Twitter: @1asddad