The Other Side of the Coin

Wow, I AM prolific tonight!  I just re-read my post "What Would Einstein Do", and I have to add something to that.

While I think the testing scenario that Logan went through was a little pointless, I don't wish at all to discourage people from putting their children through testing.  The other side of this coin is that this way of diagnosing children for autism or other disorders is all that we have at this present time. Hence my previous remark about "the dark ages".  There is so much about spectrum disorders that we simply do not know or are just beginning to understand. And what we DO have is a comparison approach.  Can we get Logan to do this thing or answer this question?  Scientifically speaking, if he can't or won't do these things, we must assume that he is mentally deficient.  Yes, there may be information locked in his head and he may actually be working out complicated math formulas as we speak while watching Curious George at the same time (yes, it can be done), but we have to go with what we see, and what we see is that he cannot do A, B, and C.

The point I was trying to make earlier is that there simply must be a better way to go about it.  Until the powers that be come up with that better way, I do applaud physicians everywhere who reach out to families like ours and use the knowledge they do have to improve the lives of  our children.

Can you tell we have a lawyer in the family?

After diagnosis the next best thing you can do is some forms of therapy. However, dear readers, this mom has done the following today:  taken four kids to school and picked up five. (I always end up with extra kids in the van.  I don't know how it happens.  And I don't care.  We live in a great neighborhood and my kids have a lot of friends.  They all understand Logan and "get" him.) I have visited a sick relative.  Packed up an apartment (not finished yet).  Returned phone calls.  Cleaned up a filthy dog.  Watched said dog gaze around the house in wonder with a "retarded"  look on his face because I finally trimmed the hair out of his eyes and he can see.  Broken up a fight between two siblings.  Paid a trip to the mall.  Paid another trip to a craft store.  Cooked dinner.  Ate too much ice cream.  And now it's about to tornado or something outside, whatever, all hell is about to break loose, and it's all good.  Maybe we'll get to talk about emergency preparedness in the hall bathroom at three am again if the sirens go off.  Goody.