Can you imagine a world where no one understood you. A world that consists of silence and constant confusion. A world where your simple wants and needs are right before you, but you have no way of letting anyone know what you want, if you feel bad, are scared or lonely. Welcome to our Son's world "Joshua's Place"

A look at Joshua's 1st 3 years

"What is wrong with Joshua?"

We were at a family get together there I was, sitting in a room filled with family members and friends. It was an ordinary day when all of a sudden this mother came up to me and said I think your son has autism. I said pardon me she repeated herself and said I think your son has autism.

I hardly heard of the word before that I associated autism with the movie rainman. You see Joshua was very active always running, spinning things, lining up his toy's, toe walking etc… but on the advise from our doctors despite the fact his speech was off we were told he is just delayed it will all be ok.

But now this mother comes to me and says I think your son has autism. Well I left that party that night came home me and my wife spoke about it but brushed it off saying to each other no way not even realizing what autism was about or even consisted of. So I went to bed that night tossing and turning to the point I could not sleep I got up sat down in my computer chair and typed in the word autism in the search engine.

What I saw next really opened my eyes. That day was the beginning of a journey in search for answers to what autism was and what was wrong with our Joshua!

Joshua's First Year

Joshua was born on October 1st, 2004 by normal delivery. He was a perfectly healthy baby at 7lbs. 12oz and 20 inches long. We were in heaven. You see 6 ½ months into the pregnancy we were called into the doctor's office and told because of findings that Joshua could be born with Down syndrome. Well let me say that basically took the joy out of the rest of the pregnancy not because of what we were told because we made it crystal clear that we did not care what they told us we were going to have our baby regardless and love Him or her just the same.

But after that was a lot of meetings counseling etc… But Joshua was born healthy and without Down syndrome. Things were pretty good during Joshua's first year. Joshua met all of his first year milestones, he was affectionate…he smiled etc… and a cute giggle. Joshua did not mind noise and did not care who held him or watched him. However Joshua would wake up nighttime screaming and would wake up frequently.

Joshua also had a problem with eating he would not eat anything unless it was purified so basically it was just bottled baby food. He loved T.V especially Disney movies or educational shows like Baby Einstein etc…When we addressed this to our doctors or even to other parents we were told not to worry, he will grow out of it.

We have a 12 year old daughter named Cassandra so we did a lot of comparing we noticed a lot of things were off and not the same. We were comparing Joshua to Cassandra and realized it was totally different. During the first year we thought everything seemed to be developing fine and Joshua's pediatrician was in agreeing with us. Every appointment we were told everything was ok even if we brought up a concern like the eating or toy lining up we were told it was normal he would grow out of it.

Then just before his 2nd birthday we were at the family function and I was told that I think your son has autism. As I said I came home that night could not sleep got out of bed sat in my computer chair and typed in the word AUTISM in the search engine. What I say totally blew me away. I sat there for hours reading about autism. Looking at the signs and symptoms, looking at the traits, looking at and comparing what I was reading to our son.

I would see lining up toys then would say that is Joshua, I would see toe walking then would say that is Joshua, I would see spinning of toys then would say that is Joshua, etc…. I sat there and compared all I saw and read to my son and it was like they were talking about him like they knew him and were writing about my boy. I remember my wife waking up for work and I told her about my experience and we both we very concerned and in awe.

So we did what any parent would probably do and that is make an appointment for the pediatrician which we did that day. And again when we got there we voiced our concerns told him what we were told at the party and I told him what I saw when I checked out the internet. He told us he did not think that Joshua was autistic that he was just delayed and he would grow out of it.

Well I was not happy with that decision as now I was really comparing Joshua to what I was seeing on the websites I would read I became really interested in autism and studied it like I was obsessed with it I wanted to know everything there was to know about autism. Then Joshua started to have what we called seizures he had asthma and we had to use a nebulizer for him when he would get an attack.
During one of his asthma attacks we had to take him to the emergency room for a treatment while in the emergency room he took a bad seizure the doctors worked on him for over 30 mins to get him stabilized and then he was in the hospital for a few days and he started to take a medication to control his seizures he took this medication for almost a year. Never had another episode and we stopped the medication.

Because of the seizures we ended up at Sick Children's Hospital and were hooked up with a neurologist there and I again voiced my concerns to them that I think my son might have autism told them the story of what I was told and what I read etc…. We were then referred to a neurologist in Mississauga where again were told they do not think he has autism but possibly c could have some type of disorder a learning disorder.

Well this did not set well with me so we were given another appointment this time again in Mississauga but the doctor this time was the head the chief of the children's department. When we got to the appointment we watched as he played with Joshua etc… then again I voiced my concerns to him and right away he said to me I think your son has autism. He did some testing etc... With Joshua and then confirmed to us that Joshua did indeed have autism. I told the doctor that day all about my concerns about the waiting lists etc… and he arranged for us to have Joshua started in Speech and occupational therapy, and whatever I could get him into I got him involved.

You see I was already prepared because I did so much reading on autism I knew that early intervention was crucial and I was not about to sit around waiting. I knew that there would be long waiting lists to get the needed service that we would require for Joshua. Joshua was almost 2 years old and now was diagnosed with autism. He was placed on a waiting list for IBI treatment almost right after he was diagnosed with autism.

I myself was on disability from work I had several health issues I was dealing with so I was able to be home with Joshua and help him with programs and get things rolling for him. We registered him for daycare which has helped Joshua so much, we took just about every course we could take at Geneva Centre in Toronto, and we took the more than words program which I recommend to every family. Our lives basically became filled with autism services and what we could do to help Joshua.

It was not easy my wife would work all day then I would pick her up and off to a meeting we would go to learn more about autism and how we could apply it to our son's life. You see I was not just going to sit around waiting for the Governments of this Province and Country to tell me I had to wait on some waiting list in order for Joshua to get the treatment he needed. We decided to do whatever we could ourselves while we waited.

Joshua was almost non verbal when he was diagnosed with autism just before his 2nd birthday, he could say just a few words which we were concerned about but again told not to worry he was just delayed. But after we took all the programs and applied them to Joshua and after we got him into the daycare around other children all the time and after we would dedicated our TV to basically just Joshua we would put on educational shows for him to watch ones he could learn from etc… and bought him V-tech toys that were fun to play with and he loved them. Soon after doing this we noticed he was speaking more and with the help of speech therapy and Occupational Therapy he is now speaking and starting to put together words.

I had suddenly gone from being a dad on disability at home, to the parent of a special needs child with autism and I became obsessed with advocating for my boy which I am still doing to this day. Joshua is now in school in JK he is doing well he adjusted very well which I will credit the daycare for. Being there was able to prepare Joshua for the transition to regular school. We are still dealing with toileting among some Behavioural issues. And we are still waiting for his IBI treatment. Been over 2 years now and we are still waiting.

That is the main reason we started this group and site called Fund autism now we are advocating on behalf of all children to get the government of ours to step up to the plate and hit a home run for our kids.

The one thing that has proven to us is that early intervention is crucial, if I were not home and able to do what I did for Joshua like many parents both are working and have to be to survive. I saw with my own eyes that early intervention is so crucial. And SITTING ON A WAITING LIST IS NOT GETTING OUR CHILDREN THE MUCH NEED HELP THEY NEED AND DESERVE.

Some Words of encouragement

It is not easy raising a child on the spectrum; our lives are now basically filled with teachers, doctors, child psychologists, speech pathologists, neurologists, developmental specialists, respite workers. I am actively involved in several autism groups. I realize after doing lot's of studying and reading and speaking with several people that Joshua being diagnosed was not the end of the world but rather the start of one that is a bit different. I can truly say Joshua has been such a blessing. I have met so many wonderful and dedicated people who have a great deal of enthusiasm, courage and respect for him.
I would like to say to parents who are just finding out that their child has autism, please allow yourself to express what you feel. You will go through different stages and feel different emotions don't beat yourself up over it after all you are only human. Once you have given yourself some time, stand Tall Square your shoulders and face this head on. There will be times that you feel like no matter what you do - you're doing it wrong.

But you will see soon enough that what you are doing is making a difference in your child's life, it is just a different life than what you originally had in mind. Most importantly don't do it alone get together with a group of people other families who are going through the same thing talk about it learn from each other contact a support group. It really helps to know you are not alone…and believe me you are not.
This is a little bit about Joshua and our adventure so far, don't hesitate to contact me if you want to talk.
Please share your story with me send an e-mail I would love to hear how you made it because together we can make a difference.

For more information contact:
Joshua's Place
6 - 295 Queen St E Suite 232
Brampton, ON L6W 4S6

Email: info@fundautismnow.com