Welcome to a day in my life. I can't guarantee that this will be an exciting read for anyone. My life is filled with all the mundane activities of a stay-at-home-mom just trying to raise her three sons to be the best men they can be.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

One of the questions we're asked all the time when people find out that Matthew has Nonverbal Learning Disorder is when did we know something was wrong.

In short we started suspecting something when he began school at 4 years of age, althouh he wasn't diagnosed until many years later.

As a baby he was happy and healthy. There was no indication that he was cognitively any different than any other child his age at that time. He was an early talker and always amazed us with his vocabulary as a preschooler. He was inquisative, active, and loving but had a difficult time following rules and request making him seem like he was being defiant (although we seemed to know it wasn't defiance.)

At the age of 2 1/2 we started to get a glimps of anxiety. (screaming at a fall fair when we were watching bungee jumping and the person jumped, and at my sister's wedding when he started freaking out any time the photographer came close with the big lens.)

When he joined a part time preschool he seemed to struggle relating to the other children althouh he was never agressive or anything like that. He just seemed socially akward already. He had a couple of litle friends who he would play with one on one and did ok in those settings but looking back I was always around helping him navigate his environment (maybe mother's intuition.

Throughout his preschool years he was more successful wih interactions with adults and loved wowing them with all the knowledge that he seemed to retain in his little brain.

We all saw what a smart little boy he was.

Then, he started school ...



-posted from my iPod touch.

3 comments:

  1. It's amazing how, even as a first-timer, your mother's intuition was so sharp. Matthew has done so well over the years - you're a great mama, Barbara. <3

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  2. I am probably getting ahead of you here with this question........(sorry).
    So from the time you noticed these differences, did it take a while to figure out/diagnose that Matthew had a disorder?
    Were there tests when he was younger?

    I will wait for your next post miss. Barb.

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  3. Must have been a hard thing to go through when it was all new. Learning how to avoid confrontations and making it easier for him when you could. I tip my hat to you and your courage!!!

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