11.05.2013

Diagnosis and Down Time

Today we had Violet's autism assessment, which was one of the big reasons for us coming back to Kansas.  We left early to make sure we could find the clinic.  We needed to score some lunch and check our mail, too.  I didn't exactly know where we were, so I was very pleasantly surprised when we made 2 turns and found the mail facility and Trader Joe's.

Next it was off to the assessment.  The determination? PPD-NOS (High Functioning Autism) with Sensory Integration issues.  What does this mean?  Really, nothing new.  Violet has always been Violet and she always will be.  The only thing that changes is our ability to get the training we need to help her grow into exactly who she was made to be.

So her diagnosis is good news.  But the appointment flat wore me out.  3.5 hours of talking and watching and thinking and prodding will fry a brain.  Thankfully the kids had a blast, they didn't even want to  leave.  Violet really attached herself to the doctor...literally...I had to peel her off the doctor to leave.  

I had dinner to consider, but couldn't bring myself to actually use the mush between my ears, so we stopped at Chick-fil-A so the kids could play while I had some coffee and sent an email to daddy about our girl.

I initially wanted to go to Target afterwards, but it was rainy and already getting dark so we came home instead. The kids have been begging to see The Croods again, so tonight is a family movie night complete with popcorn (stove-popped in coconut oil with lots of butter, Real Salt and nutritional yeast) and a Zevia soda, which was waiting for us as an awesome surprise at the mailbox! (Keep an eye out, because they are going to give 5 of my readers a free 6-pack of their own 0-calorie, smarter soda!)

I'm really grateful for this much needed family night and a few days with no doctor appointments or bills or anything except settling in, getting some school done and learning what it really looks like to do life without Allan.  There will probably be some tears, but hopefully there will be a lot of love, too.

I'm wishing you all some rest of your own in this season of go-go-go.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I have never been to Chik Fil A, and now that we're gluten free I figured I never will...do they have many gluten free options?

Glad to hear the day went well, in spite of the fried-mush-brain! Enjoy the downtime and that yummy zevia!

Tara said...

Dawn, CFA has a dedicated fryer for their french fries. Their grilled chicken is gluten-free, so the kids eat the grilled nuggets and some fruit and an apple juice. It's actually the only place I think we've been able to get an actual kids' meal since we went GF. For grown ups they have really yummy salads that are pretty substantial with grilled chicken and their shakes (except cookies & cream) are GF. We LOVE Chick-fil-A, they are an absolute lifesaver when we're on the road. :)