I wasn't ready to be a grandmother and was less than thrilled about my daughter being pregnant at a young age (19), but from the minute Jayden was born, none of that mattered. He kicked way more than what seemed normal, and it was an extra long pregnancy with Jayden being born 9 days late. He swallowed meconium, had low oxygen, and was in NICU for 24 hours, but everything was great after. He wasn't the best eater when breastfeeding, and my daughter soon switched to formula. He spit up A LOT but his doctor didn't seem to be concerned. When in his baby swing, he would hold his head up and to the right in a very odd way. He appeared to be focusing on the moving parts of the swing. By about 6 months, it was obvious he was scared of loud noises and too many people in a room. He constantly rubbed or pulled at his ears, and he hummed the entire time he was eating. His doctor never made the connection when concerns were voiced about his ears. He had a normal hearing test. He exceeded all milestones and walked at 9 months without crawling much first.
After he turned 1, he began lining up his toys and became obsessed with trains. By 18 months he was barely talking and we couldn't understand what he did try to say. He had in-home therapy and was officially diagnosed with autism at age 2 even though we knew well before that. Jayden is 4 now and for the last year has had mostly 40 hour weeks of ABA therapy but is now doing half days each of ABA and developmental pre-school. His diet consists of mostly bread-type foods, and he has had some digestive issues. Other than that, the behavioral and speech therapies have helped SO much! His therapists say they've never seen another child make as much progress in such a short time, and he has become the class clown in group activities! He is one awesome kid, and his Mimi loves him!
Greenwood, IN
