I knew things with Rory were not going as they should when he was around 15 months.
He was a gorgeous, boisterous toddler, a real handful! I started our journey with our family Dr who referred us for a hearing test, suggesting my concerns were nothing more than a paranoid mother.
Naturally his hearing tests were fine and sadly we were referred to a specialist who was less than understanding and very bluntly told me my gorgeous boy had Autism. His words were harsh as he told me Rory would never amount to anything, he would always be as we saw him now. Non verbal, manic and that we should consider our options. His words were like a knife in my heart. For the one and only time, I felt hopeless and full of despair. I stopped our car on an overpass and had a fleeting moment where I thought my family would be better off if we didn't go home.
Luckily I sought a second opinion and this Dr was an angel! She told me that we had many options and that Rory would grow and thrive with our guidance.
We immediately began speech therapy, occupational therapy and early intervention and saw wonderful results. His talking began to change and we saw purposeful words not just repetition. We travelled the long road to toilet training and we were surrounded by amazing supporters who understood the tears and triumphs!
As he began school we were truly blessed to meet the most amazing teacher who showed us how much more we could achieve.
Rory is 11 now and reads, it may be an early level but reading nonetheless. He has mastered basic writing and can type into the computer just about anything he wants.
He is still profoundly Autistic but I never imagined in those early days we would come this far.
Words can not express our joy and our thanks to all those wonderful people who have shared Rory's story.
Melbourne, Australia
