In April 2023, when I decided to share something about my son, I had just taken him for the second ADOS-2 assessment. The first assessment was in 2021, and both times were typical.
At that time, I was still very sad, and my cognition and observation had not changed much in the past two years.
I still felt at the time
He will not be able to take care of himself and will need to be cared for for the rest of his life.
There is no ability to learn and imitate.
He doesn't take the initiative to talk to people and has no ability to communicate.
He has no feelings, no "loved ones".
His life would eventually become a tragic joke.
In the 2 years since the intervention, his progress has been very small. I posted a story expressing that powerless despair.
Later, from May, my son slowly improved a lot, and the change happened quietly at that time, he began to evaluate things, we drove to Hebei to play, he felt that the drive was too far, and said that he would not go in the future. One of the more memorable times I was on June 10, 2023, when my son asked me what I was carrying, "What is this?" ”。I'm impressed because it's a question I've been waiting for for years. Throughout the second quarter, he has made great progress, and his vbmapp evaluation has also improved rapidly. However, during Q2, his progress was not too visible and he could not show it in public.
By Q3, he may have accumulated more "strength", improved faster, and seemed more obvious to outsiders. The outstanding performance is the ability to learn imitation, and quickly stand out in large gatherings and group classes in institutions. His progress was so fast that at the end of August and the beginning of September, I began to think about getting him out of the institution and going to kindergarten integration. vbmapp is close to a full score, and there are no children suitable for classes together.
At this time, is my son still typical? Still typical, no reciprocal socialization, no non-verbal communication, no friends of the same age, preferring to play with adults, and stereotypical traits are still obvious. But his progress is also very obvious, in order to test that he can integrate into the kindergarten, the degree of classroom follow-up is not high, we look for extracurricular classes to try classes, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that it can be close to 70%. In this way, I successfully exited the institution and entered the kindergarten again.
After entering the kindergarten, although I stumbled and encountered various problems, the overall progress was rapid. Language is advancing rapidly, and language ability permeates all aspects of life. The stereotypical characteristics have changed, especially in the pickiness of diet. From the ignorance when I first entered kindergarten, to now, I can go home and tell you what I ate in kindergarten, what classes I attended, and what interesting (interesting) things happened. The scope of interest has been greatly expanded under the influence of teachers and classmates.
Bigger, more gratifying progress is socially. When you enter someone you like and are close to, you will be very happy to take the initiative to hug and hold your hand without letting go.
Looking at it again, is my son still typical? I think it's still typical, and the core issues are still obvious. There is no reciprocal socialization, there is a lack of non-verbal communication, there are no friends of the same age, and they prefer to play with adults, and stereotypical traits are still obvious. However, his progress is real, and his progress has broken through himself, and even more so through his parents' vision of his future. What I'm thinking about now is not a special school for a long time, but how to integrate him into primary school in 2024, at least he should learn all kinds of knowledge.
My son is no longer the same person he was half a year ago, let alone the same person he was three years ago. My perception and feelings about autism have also changed drastically and become more comprehensive. I used to think he would need to be cared for all his life; Later, I slowly came to accept that a lot of autistic people live well, and they are concentrated in certain professions, even experts in related fields. I remember when I posted that article, many parents unfollowed me. Perhaps these parents are more unfortunate than me, and their children have never seen any progress, so they can't accept my optimistic ideas.
I have walked all the way through this three-year long journey, at first it was faltering, it was difficult to walk an inch, but recently it has become smoother and smoother, running in small steps. The weight of life that can be borne is getting lighter and lighter. Accept children, create a relaxed, trusted, and safe environment, targeted guidance, education, and do not set any restrictions, so that children can burst out of their own inner strength and energy, and maybe children will be able to walk out of their own way.
Wait for the flowers to bloom. 
Autism