Interesting item from Laura Shumaker, a blogger for the San Francisco Chronicle.
When Matthew was first diagnosed with what a specialist said was "a developmental delay--probably not autism," few in my circle of friends and family knew what to make of him.What set him apart from other three year old's was not just his lack of language, but his inability to connect. He was fascinated with lights, drains and wheels that roll sideways, and when the two of us joined group play dates with other three year old's and their mothers, we drew sideways glances as I chased him around cheerfully and tried to draw him into the In the end, I felt like the manic cheerleader who kept missing her flips.
But I wasn't upbeat--I was on edge, and I knew that if I started to cry I would never stop.
I was reminded of this painful period in our marriage when I watched NBC's new drama Parenthood by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. One of the core story lines involves a couple slowly realizing that their son has Asperger syndrome.
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