Monday, April 20, 2015

Autism Awareness

My youngest son has a form of autism. He is diagnosed with PDD-NOS, which is high-funtioning. Because autism is only a part of what he is, I don't scrapbook this part of him frequently. I do scrapbook and post a page about his life with autism during the month of Autism awareness, though. Here is the page:




He's had a wonderful year. I ascribe that to seeing a psychologist BEFORE the school year to help train him in relaxation techniques. I don't know if this will work for others, but it worked for Dominic. The year has been disruptive, but he's managed and excelled, in particular by learning to manage his unstructured time.

Design wise, I tried to use happy colors and happy symbols, since it's been such a positive year.  Many years ago a fellow high school teacher, one who works with kids on the spectrum, told me that children with autism make progress by making two steps forward and one step back. This year Dominic has made two steps forward and another step forward. He is a wonderful young man growing more and more into himself.

Thank you for visiting my blog and learning about my son's journey! He is a treasure, and he is growing each year more comfortable into who he is and what he wants to be. I'm enjoying every second of the journey.

2 comments:

Bi Medeiros said...

A beautiful boy page for Dominic! May this year be very, very blessed for him as well!

alisonm said...

Way to go Dominic!!!!