At age two and a half we finally got in for a speech evaluation. We waited seven months to get Matthew in for an evaluation. I signed him up for the first available appointment in the Columbus area we could get. We drove from Hilliard to Reynoldsburg for the appointment which was a 40 minute drive. During and after this appointment it became more clear that something was wrong with Matthew! This appointment confirmed some things and pointed me in the direction of a diagnosis.
Mike met Matthew and I at the appointment. We signed in and took him back to the room with the speech therapist. The therapist told us the plan and we were headed to the lobby to wait. Matthew had separation anxiety and did not want me to leave him with the therapist. There was lots of screaming and crying as we closed the door. I went to the lobby to sit down. He never stopped screaming and crying! After about 20 minutes the therapist had us come back to the room. Matthew immediately came to me and stopped crying once I picked him up and gave him his pacifier.
Mike and I sat down to hear what the therapist had to say. She said "He's a very sweet little boy but I believe he could be autistic." She said he would not do anything. He was throwing toys and kept standing by the door crying. She sent us home with a list of doctors and clinics to contact to get him a diagnosis. I walked out of there numb and in a daze. I remember saying to Mike "What are we going to do?" We had no idea what autism was! He just said quietly, "We are going to get him the help he needs." We got in our separate cars and it was a long ride home. I was numb and trying to figure out what to do next and Matthew was sound asleep in the back from his screaming fit.
So I made sure I put the list of places to call to get Matthew help in a safe place. Once I was rested and had a plan in mind I wanted to start making calls. I wanted to get on everyone's waiting list as soon as I could. The journey to get a diagnosis continued to drag on.
