Confirmation

Yesterday we officially received the results of some of Tinkerbell's testing. To our complete and utter lack of shock she is Autistic. She tested almost identically to her sister (one point difference during the entire test - interestingly enough that point pushed her into "autism" rather than "autism spectrum disorder,") so we are assuming she too will eventually end up with a diagnosis of Asperger's. Honestly, it was just good to get the results and have them in writing so that the school district can get started with the appropriate special ed. Children like her and her sister can be difficult for a school to test as there can be quite a bit of subtlety involved. Her current therapists were worried a typical 45 minute screening wouldn't be enough. Luckily, we were able to get her tested as a small part of a larger study that she took part in and they were finally able to give us the results as her part is winding down.

It's funny - 6 years ago my world was basically turned upside-down by the exact same news. This time around there are only knowing chuckles and relief to have the results in hand. It's amazing how a lot of knowledge and a bit of time can change things. This time around we understand it's not the end of the world or life as we know it. We understand that knowledge is power and will lead to us being better able to help her in the long run.

So are we happy? Of course not. Obviously this sort of diagnosis leads to a question about the future that is impossible to answer fully, but at least we know that a good future is possible and we will choose to work with that.

(On a lighter note to all statisticians - 3 full siblings, and the two *girls* are the ones on the spectrum. Gotta love the odds, no?)