My son was your average typical baby for the first year of his life. He smiled on cue, rolled over, sat up right on time and was a pretty easy going baby. At just about a year old his pediatrition became concerned about a few questions I had answered on an Early Intervension questionaire. One was that he doesn't answer to his name and the other two were that he played with his toys in an inappropriate way and that he was fasinated by a certain part of the toy rather than the toy itself (for my son it was the tires). I agreed to have a therapist out to the house for an evaluation and although she felt there were some areas of minor concern, she felt that my son was developing just fine. At the time, I agreed with the therapist and it wasn't until a year later that I started to notice little quirks about my son that left me with a perplexed feeling. My husband's cousin is Autistic so the thought had occured to me that my son might be in the spectrum somewhere. I had heard of Autism before and had a fairly good idea of what some of the symptoms were. I went online and started reading up on it. Most of the knowlage I had was right there on the screen, lack of eye contact, isolation, etc. I am really glad I read on further because there is so much more to Autism that just the very few symptoms that is common knowlage. As I read I could see my own son! My heart must have skipped a beat! I had to do everything in my power not to push the PANIC BUTTON. My son went through a few standard tests (hearing and Progress Center) and it was determined that he should go see a specialist in Portland,OR. There was a wait to see the Dr. so in the meantime, The Progress Center began therapy sessions once a week. Mostly covering communication, sensory, and social. He did really well and had fun for the most part (beware if things dont go his way). This past October was his official review by the specialist in Portland. We waited quite awhile and when he finally called us back he only had about 20 mins of one-on-one time with my son when he made his official diagnosis. "Joshua does not have Autism". I should have gone with my gut and asked for a second opinion but I had this notion that you trusted the expertise of your Dr. and had faith that "this guy knows what he's talking about". I went home and made my contacts to family and concerned friends that Josh is not Autistic. But ever since then I have this suspision that the Dr. was wrong. I spend nearly every waking moment with him and I know him in and out. If I had to diagnose him myself I would say that he has a mild form of autism. But since I don't have a licence to practice medicine a lot of my family and friends agree with the Dr. The therapists have worked with him and have stated (prior to his official Dx)that they felt if he were to be diagnosed with anything that it would be mild autism. It is frustrating to know that your child is a little different and no one can see it but you and your husband. What I think throws people off is that Joshua is the most social and charming child they have ever met. How can this kid be autistic if he's so social? Everyone knows autistic children shy away from most forms of contact. Well, that was my belief too before Joshua came along. Now I'm not so sure. While he's Prince Charming and very friendly, he'll never look you directly in the eyes. While he is able to play along with the therapists ideas of what they should be doing together a lot of the time it doen't happen without a struggle and even then his cooperation is very brief. He uses Echolalia and 1-2 word phrases most of the time to communicate his needs. Although, he has had some brief spontanious speech that clued me in on what a little ham he is. He really wanted me to stuff a pillow in his shirt and he thinks it's hilarious :) There are a host of other little things that point a finger at Autism, the problem is is that my husband and I (along with a few great theapists at the center) are the only ones who can see it. Joshua's time at the center is quickly coming to an end and he has been evaluated by the local school district to attend a pre-school geared towards all sorts of developmental maladies. I will be attending that meeting this Friday as a matter of fact. I really hope he qualifies. He has difficulties still with inflexability,a short temper, and staying still. I really shudder at what the first day will be like. Come April, we have a follow up visit with the same Dr. that diagnosed him before. I don't want my child to be diagnosed with Autism but I feel that if it isn't Autism exactly, it's something and I want a name for it. I want to be absolutly sure that he has every chance to succeed in life, leave no stone unturned. That's where I'm at and I just wanted to share.