When Sara Hood’s 3-year-old son was diagnosed with autism, it was a good thing, in a way.
“I knew early on that something was wrong,” said Hood, a Loudoun County, Virginia resident and autism advocate whose husband, Ziggy Hood, is a 10-year NFL veteran who played for the Washington Redskins.
“It took a lot of tests to finally get to the diagnosis — I know some parents are afraid of the label, but it’s one of the best things that happened to us … because we were able to help him and navigate how to make him the most successful human being and make him as independent as possible once we received the diagnosis.”
In the U.S., about one in 59 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) — a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. Lisa Goring from Autism Speaks said these differences can impact one’s communication skills and social and behavioral interactions.
Signs of ASD can show up in a child’s first few months of life; but sometimes its symptoms — such as having obsessive interests, avoiding eye contact and having unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look and feel — may not appear until the child is almost 2 years old. Goring said other red flags include no “big smiles” by 6 months, no words at 12 months and no back-and-forth, two-word sentences at 24 months.
“And if at any point in time your child loses any skills, you would want to contact your pediatrician or health care provider,” Goring added.
Goring said autism can be “reliably diagnosed by age 2,” but according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than half of children identified with ASD receive a diagnosis by the age of 4. And an earlier diagnosis leads to earlier interventions, which research shows has a significant impact on improving a child’s language ability and social interaction.
“Early intervention is a way to help you and your child understand their world and help them develop the skills they need to live their best possible life, and so the sooner that intervention is started, the better the results,” said Goring, who added that every state offers early intervention evaluations and services, free of charge, even without an ASD diagnosis.
After Hood received her son’s diagnosis, she said she “mourned the future” she had planned for him, but quickly put that aside and “dove headfirst into everything and anything” to give her son the best chance at success. That resulted in a combination of speech, physical and occupational therapies, as well as applied behavior analysis therapy (or ABA), which she said had the biggest impact.
Her best bit of advice for parents of a child with autism: Never stop advocating for the needs of your child, and never hesitate to reach out to others going through the same thing.
“Talk to someone, because you’re not alone,” Hood said.
“Don’t struggle by yourself; don’t be silent by yourself. Find a resource group, find other families who you can connect with that will help you.”
She has also found helpful tools and connections via Facebook groups and through local and national organizations, such as Autism Society, based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Autism Speaks is another resource for parents of a child with autism and individuals with autism. Goring said the organization has a dedicated response team that answers emails and phone calls in Spanish and English, and its website has a variety of supportive resources from the time of diagnosis through adult life.
Hood’s son is now 8. While he is doing well, she said there are still challenges.
“There will always be challenges, but you learn to find beauty in those challenges,” Hood said.
“I see the world so differently because of him, because he enjoys beauty in the things that we bypass.”
World Autism Day is April 2. It’s an internationally recognized day to increase understanding and acceptance of those living with autism.
