[ChemistCat]

Thank you so much for sharing this with me.

All I can say is that I like all of my children the older they get, but watching my AS son grow is just amazing. When he was 4 this idiot stupid jerk of a neurologist told us to institutionalize him, that he was hopelessly retarded, would never have friends, etc etc. His ability to read (since age 2) was a freak splinter skill, useless to him without social skills, and no more meaningful than a trout learning to tell an artificial fly from a real one. SIGH.

Well, everything he said is wrong. My son is just going to be fine. He'll have two sisters to help him when we're gone, if he needs help. He may not. I begin to think he may do better in life than any of the rest of us will!

[truthkeeper]

When he was 4 this idiot stupid jerk of a neurologist told us to institutionalize him

Thank God you got away from this clown. I had the opposite situation, thankfully. I already suspected autism when I tracked down the psychiatrist for a diagnosis. He was one of only two in the L.A. area (under our insurance plan) with a background in autism. He confirmed the diagnosis, but said he saw a bright future for him due to the early intervention (2 1/2) and the fact that he had superior intelligence. Amazing since Tanny was not even verbal at that time and could not make eye contact. (He has since made tremendous strides in these areas.)

He also gave me many helpful referrals and suggestions. As I said, the man was just plain good.

[Mfkmmof4]

Your post is beautiful and brought tears to my eyes. My son was diagnosed with mild mental retardation at about 4 with developmental delays. I then asked the doctor if he could be wrong and he said yes but did not think so.

He is now 12 and while my son has issues his teachers from early on thought and honestly believed retardation was not the issue. School psychologists examined him and came away with his cognitive skills did not match the diagnosis of retardation.

Finally, he was diagnosed with autism but someone still wanted retardation as part of his school coding. I am not in denial about my son but we fought and now he is labeled autistic. This child can cook, drive you nuts, play Nintendo 64 skillfully and mock me constantly :)