When he was little, and the diagnosis was still new, our neurologist commended us for being ahead of the curve in seeking Noah’s Asperger’s Diagnosis.
I remember being struck by the strangeness of that statement, that there was a “curve” relative to diagnoses. As if waiting for anything, when he was flapping, and refusing to make eye contact, and fixating on things, was even an option; as if other parents would have missed it. But they do. Parents miss things. We are so fallible. We are busted and busy and time-weary, and we aren’t doctors. My paranoia played a large role in getting Noah taken care of early, to be sure (see, Matt? Neurosis has its benefits). But I realized on Tuesday why it usually takes parents longer to see things when the high-functioning autism is in its subtle, earlier stages.
It’s usually that because by the time they’re 10, a child on the spectrum stands out among his peers like a road flare in the dark.
