I was 20 years old when I found out I was pregnant with Monkey Man. He was born 11 days after my 21st birthday. I had always knew that I would be a mom one day and there he was. He was perfect in every way and I was so glad when I could bring him home. I became a single mommy when he was only a month old, but was content raising him on my own. Even from the beginning I knew he was different. Just his mannerism and his quirks. When he was 2, I had him evaluated for a speech delay and they told me, "Oh, he is a boy, he'll catch up." I let that statement keep me in denial for another year. I knew he was different, from the way he played with toys to the way he acted around other kids. Something just wasn't right. At 3.5 years old he was diagnosed with autism. That is when our whole world changed. After a couple of months I became OK with everything, things were falling into place. Monkey Man was starting speech and occupational therapy, getting screened for special education and was making some progress.
Monkey Man is now 5.5 and is doing remarkably well. He has been in a regular class room (with lots of supports), has been receiving 26 hours of ABA therapy, has graduated from occupational therapy, and still receiving speech therapy. He takes things literally, has some behavioral issues we are still working on, it still quirky, but he lives life to its fullest and has taught me so many things.
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