Tuesday 29 November 2011

Zachary James...

So, at the start of this year in the second week of February we popped a 3 year old Zachy into daycare for 2 days a week for the first time ever.
first day of kindy :(

I was a little apprehensive at first, like all mothers, I just wanted Zach to never leave my sight and just be around me... but on the other hand, I was looking forward to reclaiming a day where I could go to op shops without having to take Zachy with me and the tantrums, toilet runs and "i'm bored" that goes with taking Zach anywhere. 
He went amazingly well when I dropped him off, Zach is a super social little boy and ran off and didnt even look back as I left!! :'( (am I really THAT boring??) When it was time to pick him up, he chucked the biggest earth shattering tantrum and did not under any circumstances want to come home with me!! (how rude right??) 
anyway, so he had been going for about 3 months and everything was going pretty swimmingly and then one day the director called me in and wanted to have a talk to me.
she said she was worried that Zach was showing signs of a child with autism and that I should take him to see a private paedatrition. I was pretty upset by this and thought immediately "what the hell does she know? there's absolutely nothing wrong with him!" (this is called defensive mother mode.. as a mother you will experience many a time)
At that stage we were financially unable to take him to see a private paed, so we opted to go on the hospital waiting list... AND BOY DID WE WAIT!!
A few months passed and they were able to get Zach some funding to get Zach his very own teacher. (which was an absolute blessing) 
Long story short, the hospital jerked us around so much we cancelled and got Josh's parents to pay for a private paed to see Zach.
He was diagnosed with a severe form of Echolalia and no autism! (I did a mental high five when the doctor told us he wasnt showing any of the signs of autism)
so it was off to speech therapy we go!

Yesterday was Zach's second speech therapy lesson.

Zachy learning to associate words with his therapist Kylie

At $75 a pop plus $30 in fuel to get down the coast every fortnight, its no easy feat for us to afford this, but when it comes to your children there absolutely nothing you wouldnt sacrifice for them. Nothing you wouldnt do for them! 

Zach is coming along in his speech in leaps and bounds. He can even sometimes tell me what he did in the day if he concentrates hard enough. 

sometimes I get that awful mothers guilt, like, "is this my fault? did I not read to him enough? should I send him to daycare where the other kids dont really like to play with him because his speech is a little different? what could I have done differently?"
the answer to all the above is something I just cant answer or fathom in my head yet. 

We have cut him back down to one day a week, as I just cant handle him possibly being picked on 2 days in a row.. kids that age can be so harsh, and altho it doesnt affect Zach (its seriously water off a ducks back) it may affect him later on in life. 

most adorable boy God ever put on this earth.

I just want Zach to experience happiness every day.. I'm not going to lie tho, he is a pain some days and I struggle to cope with his tantrums (especially in public), but at the end of it all, I want him to be truly happy with who he is and know that I am so proud and honoured to be his mamma!  

No comments:

Post a Comment