or psychedelic drugs. As she rounded out her third-grade year, my niece [is she still my niece if her uncle and I are divorced?] began having marked problems at school. She was suffering meltdowns, anxiety, stress, and a decline in her academics.
JD mentioned it in passing so I got involved.
Background: Alice had been diagnosed with sensory processing issues as a toddler but where I am always overstimulated [and shut down] she is understimulated [and explodes]. When JD and I were married, we had Alice twice a week. I knew I had sensory processing issues and was helping with Alice but I had no idea about autism at that point.
It was interesting to see the differences between Alice and me because it also allowed me to see more about how the sensory issues affected me. An autistic in a sea of NT's may not always realize they are different, but start pointing out some differences in specific areas and I started to catch on quick. Plus with Alice being 3/4 [the "Learning to express yourself" age] I was able to help her communicate her sensory needs while I learned more about how both of us experienced the world. [More about this in a later post.]
Present: After discussing the situation with JD's sister I made some recommendations for adjustments at school. When those helped I was welcomed to become more involved. Armed with my new knowledge of autism I realized Alice qualified as autistic under DSM5 [but not DSM-IV]. At this point, JD's sister was not very happy with me but after she had some time to process [and talk with a JD who has much more understanding and care for who I am] she came to accept my opinion as a starting point. It helps that the school counselor saw several of the same things I noticed.
So all my studying and research work served a purpose, JD and I have mended several bridges, and Alice now comes to my home once a week. Her transition back to school this year was a pleasant one. As much as I do not want kids, I enjoy having Alice back in my life. Rocky still is not sure about her but it is funny to watch him sneak up on her then run off once she acknowledges him.
