What Happened? - Part 4

We went in for Jeremy's checkup/shots the first week of December 2004 when Jeremy was about 16 months. He also received the flu shot at the end of December.(Note, these dates are accurate because I have his medical records) Around that same time it hit me, something was different with Jeremy. Our sweet engaging little boy seemed stop making eye contact as much as he did before. He would have these blank stares. What was worse... he also seemed to stop babbling and forming new words. I felt a strange grip in my stomach, but began moving mechanically. I don't' remember how, but I somehow got the telephone number to what I think was the NIH (National Institute of Health) and called. I must have looked it up online. A gentleman answered and I must have explained to him what I wanted. It was probably the next week that I received a pamphlet in the mail. My stomach was nervous, but I managed to open it. It listed the signs of autism. As I went through the list, it was clear to me that he was beginning to show some of the signs on the list, but not all. There was a small part of me that held on to hope. Jeremy wasn't doing anything like lining up toys or flapping his hands. More Info I reasoned, well if he doesn't line up with all the list points, then maybe I am wrong. I was going back and forth between doubt and hope. At times like these you feel such mixed emotions. I felt such pain. I wondered, how could this happen to our family? On the other hand I felt relief because to me, I had an answer about what was happening. Funny, little did I know this was the easy part. Ahead of me was an uphill battle over the next several months to convince everyone else including my husband that something was seriously wrong. I didn't talk about any of my concerns at first. I just kept observing and making mental notes. One other behavior emerged. It seemed like Jeremy at times would not respond to his name. My husband and I both noticed the endless crying in situations where Jeremy had no reason to cry. Every indoor location outside the home sent him into a fit of tears. He would only calm down when he was sure we were leaving. Some of the neighborhood Moms decided to start a play group since we all had preschoolers and toddlers. Each week, we would meet at a different house. Jeremy would cry from the time we arrived until we started to put his shoes on to go back home. Soon, I started to say things to my husband like, "have you noticed the difference in Jeremy?" To him the crying meant he just was not comfortable anymore being around other people. He didn't really notice the loss of eye contact. I think that was because he out at work close to 12 hrs each day and traveled for work. He just was not around the kids as much. As far as the not responding to his name, I would say this didn't happen as much in the evenings when my husband came home. I think it was because the boys missed him and his presence was able to draw Jeremy out some. The clock was ticking..