Youngling is autistic.

Do we have a formal diagnosis yet? Well, yes and no. We go back to the specialist in May. Reading his evaluation from the specialist I see phrases and hints of things I wasn't ready to hear a year ago. "Pervasive developmental problems" is one. Hello?! PDD-NOS anyone? I went to college, got a degree in English, and I completely missed that? Obviously, in the area of reading comprehension we can safely assume I was stamped with a big, fat "FAIL" in red ink.

I mean, I've suspected it for that year. The kid is massively, consumingly obsessed with Legos. And Star Wars. And Lego Star Wars. He lines things up in rows. He repeats silly noises that he hears. Has no volume control. Is obsessed with Legos. No. Really, really REALLY obsessed. And can have like an hour long conversation about them.

At his IEP review last night the district psychologist told me she suspected he had Asperger's a year ago, but I clearly was not ready to hear it. Slap some ginormous feather on my ass and call me an ostrich. (No, seriously, please do....it might hide some cellulite.) But here we are a year later, my head is out of the sand and I am able to type those first 3 words without having a box of Kleenex at the ready.

It's a beginning. The first solid step I've taken into our future. Thankfully, it wasn't on a Lego.