Conor update

So Conor's appointments are winding down. Friday we had an evaluation at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. While out concern was minimal we were happy to be told Conor did not have any spectrum disorders. They did say he does have some sensory issues they did not seem to cause him too many problems so it isn't something we need to address.

We did learn at this appointment that Conor has motor planning issues which are likely a cause of his delays. This was not much of a surprise as this had been brought up in his last speech therapy session. The appointment really answered a lot of questions for us however. Issues with motor planning as I understand them mean that Conor knows what we are saying and may even know the appropriate response however he has difficulty processing the appropriate steps to make him body give the appropriate response. So he may know to touch his finger to his nose when asked where his nose is but gets stuck figuring out how to put his finger on his nose.

Friday's appointment was the first appointment where I finally felt like I got a start of answer to the question what can we expect. While I don't know exactly what to expect they did say that with intervention we should have an idea in a year of how affected Conor will be by all this. My understanding is this motor planning thing will always be an issue for him when faced with a new motor challenge but his level of difficulty will depend on his ability to work around his limitations.

As a result of new understandings of Conor we will begin an occupational therapy evaluation, an educator evaluation and schedule a sleep study. While this is once again more things to add onto the pile I'm relieved to be moving onto adding interventions for helping Conor instead of looking for answers. So we have more appointments, new insight and only one more appointment in DC for a while (Thank God!).

In trying to focus on the positive I've been thinking about past with Conor and how I feel they helped prepare me for future challenges with him.  I feel like our challenges with fertility helped get me through a miserable pregnancy. Conor's "easy" personality helped make life easier as a baby. This may have made Conor's motor difficulties as a baby easier to handle (its tough not being able to carry your baby on your hip for so long or sit him on the floor for 10 months). I also feel blessed that his easy personality makes all these appointments much easier to get through (I think doctors appreciate this too).

So my positive focus for the day is that I can work to better understand that this process must be so frustrating for Conor as he struggles with knowing what he wants or the answer and not being able to communicate it properly. (In the evaluation they noted that because he's so social this inability to communicate would be extremely frustrating for him.) Maybe this will help me maintain perspective through the terrible twos!