A New Year, A New Reality

Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). This is the overall diagnosis we received for Morgan on Wednesday. Huh? What is this? Why does autism have to be so complicated? I'll see if I can explain how they came to this conclusion.

Morgan was evaluated using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), Module 1. I quote, "It is a standardized observation instrument used to assess social and communicative behaviors in children with autism. The ADOS, Module 1 includes activities such as free play with toys, response to name, response to joint attention, bubble play, anticipation of a routine with objects, responsiveness to a social smile, anticipation of a social routine, functional and symbolic imitation, participation in a birthday party and snack time."

The ADOS is scored in two sections, Communication and Reciprocal and Social Interaction. In the Communication section Morgan scored a 4... which put her in the "Autism range of 4-10" (the Autism Spectrum range was 2-3). In the Social Interaction section she scored a 4 as well... which put her in the Autism Spectrum range of 4-6 (Autism range was 7-14). So, overall the final score was an 8 which put her in the overall Autism Spectrum range of 7-11 (Autism range was 12-24). A "typical" child would score anywhere from 0-6.

So, if that made sense, Morgan is on the higher functioning end of the spectrum, which we feel very fortunate about. They said if she was older she would be diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, but not knowing where she will end up in her language development, for now it is PDD-NOS. Basically this means she does not have all the traits required to make her "classically" autistic, but she has enough of them to put her "on the spectrum."

Overall, if we have to have a child on the spectrum, we are grateful that she is where she is. The recommendations we have to move forward include the combination of "typical" and "developmental" preschool that we already have in place (Yay!). There is also a possibility of a special program through Eastern Washington University for the next school year. They did not recommend additional speech and language therapy, but we will revisit this if needed in six months. They also recommended what is called Relationship Development Instruction (RDI) therapy at home. They gave me a book to review that gives instructions on how to work one-on-one with your child to teach them basic body language and other non-verbal communication.

Finally they gave us a great list of contact information for local resources and support groups, such as the Inland NW Autism Center and the Spokane Chapter of the Autism Society of Washington. There are lots of learning opportunities for us through both of these groups.

Aside from the test scores they did tell us that we have some other things going for us as Morgan is both smart and strong-willed. Other autistic children can be more passive making motivation difficult. As much as her being strong-willed is challenging to us i.e. stubborness and tantrums, it can only work in our favor in the future.

So, this is our new reality with our Morgan. I think we feel as good as possible about knowing what we are dealing with now and look forward to learning better ways to communicate with our daughter and help her reach her full potential. Also, during our meeting with the psychologist and SLP (speech therapist), they were able to observe Piper and noted that she had good communication and social skills for her age. They did say the key time frame for some kids with the onset of autism is 18-22 months (though I think Morgan showed signs all along). I think we'll breathe easier in Piper's case once she reaches her developmental milestones at age two.

Have you hung in there? We are off to a NYE party with friends tonight. Looking forward to ringing in a whole new chapter in our lives!

Many Thanks

We have so many things to be thankful for this year. Our little Morgan, of course, would be at the top of our list. She just lights up our home each day with her big smiles, laughs and developing personality. We just can't imagine our life without her. Sometimes I even forget that it's 6:00 am when I go in her room and she's ready and raring to go jumping up and down in her crib.

We are so thankful for our families as their love and support are essential. We are also blessed with great friendships, some old and some very new, but each important in their own ways.

I am blessed especially by my husband who's giving heart and loving ways calm my ever-anxious spirit in ways no one else can. We are thankful for our church community who shows us the love God calls us give to others as well as challenging us to grow in our faith and deepen our relationships with Jesus.

We spent a relaxing Thanksgiving with David's Aunt and Uncle, Trudy and Dan who live in Coeur d'Alene. I just downloaded some pictures from the day and as usual, they are all photos of Morgan...I think to myself, why didn't I get any shots of the adults? I've got to work on that.

Morgan had a "first" today...ice cream! Now that she's had this most wonderful experience, I'm not sure she'll eat anything else. This is the first "food" she's eaten that she actually cried when we took it away. Oh boy, we've got our hands full. Check it out...

First Bite

Hmm, it's cold, but I like it

Another bite

(she opened her mouth really wide for each bite which means she really likes it)

Hey!!! I'm not done yet!!

For Great Aunts Bonnie and Berri

Here's Morgan in her onesie from the Portland Rose Garden! She looks so cute in it!! Here are a few more pictures...she was making the funniest faces.

Vacation Recap - Lafayette

Now for Part 2...our Lafayette visit. We stayed at my parent's house. My Mom and Dad were so excited to have their first grandchild come stay with them!! They couldn't get rid of us fast enough so they could have Morgan all to themselves. That made it easy for us to go out to dinner with some friends and take some "baby breaks" in the afternoons. Everybody was happy! Here's some pictures from the visit:



Daddy feeding her in her "big girl" booster seat.


A diaper change in the trunk of Grandpa's car after a stroll around the Lafayette Reservoir. Who has a trunk this clean?! Only my Dad. :-)



Brunch at Millie's, a Lafayette favorite...and yes, she did flirt with some boys and an older gentleman at the restaurant.



Grandma's got hold of the back of Morgan's skirt to keep her steady.



Morgan started clapping while we were on vacation!


Morgan and Walt, David's best friend from high school...and his best man. Walt and his wife Becca are expecting their first child in January '09. We're sooo excited for them


Morgan "army crawling" to Auntie Ali and her new bath time book.




The knobs on Grandma's kitchen drawers looked really yummy.




At Auntie Ali's office at Old Navy corporate in San Francisco. She has a bear like this one at home too. Ali has lots of pictures of Morgan in her workspace, so everyone came to see her in person.




Another shot at Auntie Ali's desk. As we were leaving David heard someone say "must be a baby model"...the star of a future ad campaign?!




With Grandma at the Open House party. They match!


With Grandpa, watching Daddy (on his phone, of course)


Actually holding her bottle...this doesn't happen often folks. She must have been really hungry!


Getting some reading done on the plane, about to head back to Spokane.


She slept the whole way home. One passenger commented as we were getting off the plane "I didn't even know there was a baby on this flight." Yay, Morgan!

Now we have our first trip under our belt...next, we're headed to Chicago to visit Auntie Cristen, Uncle Ian and Cousin Jack. We can't wait to see them!

Vacation Recp - Twain Harte

I'm finally getting to that recap I promised! We had a great time in California! Morgan did pretty well on the flight to Oakland. Just a little fussing at the end when she wanted out of the car seat.


After a quick stop in Lafayette to borrow my parent's car (thanks Mom and Dad!) we headed to Twain Harte. For those not familiar, Twain Harte is in the Sierra (Mountain Range) Foothills near Sonora...on the way to Yosemite. David's family used to vacation there when he was a kid and his parents have now lived there for about 10 years. They have a wonderful little lake for rafting swimming and just relaxing. It was the place to be! We had a great time at the lake and spending time with David's three siblings, their spouses and kids.


Morgan's first experience with sand. She had a mouthful of it by accident the next day. Didn't seem to bother her at all.


First swim in the lake with Daddy. It was cold when you first got in, then it was nice.


Having fun with Grandma


Per my Wordless Wednesday, the "new" cousins, Keilah, Jack and Morgan. They have four older cousins, Madison, Jamie, Regan and Makena.


Loved the bear baby floatie!


Napping at the Lake



Hangin' with Grandpa


Aunt Cristen and sleepy Jack


Morgan and Mommy


Morgan loves her cousin Maddy


David, Makena and Morgan...Kenna, Morgan loves you too!!


Twain Harte Lake

I'll recap Lafayette tomorrow!!

Wordless Wednesday: "New" Cousins

Our Little Rock Star

Morgan loves her little bongo set. It plays two ways, with the drums side by side (like the picture below) or you can adjust it so the bottom of the drums attach to each other so it rolls on the floor. The tops of the drums are actually buttons that she can "smack" with her hands to play music. She likes them a lot and fortunately the music hasn't become too annoying...yet.

As you can see in these photos Morgan is also wearing her Rock "star" onesie. This is courtesy of her cousin Jamie and the BDS (Baby Delivery Service). When I was pregnant we got clever gifts in the mail from the BDS about once a month. Morgan also has onesies that say "Cutie" and "Little Pig" (as Morgan was born in the Year of the Pig...but it also could describe her appetite). Thanks so much Jamie!

Look at those chubby cheeks and arms!