Amy Case first noticed that something was “not right” with her first son Zach when he was twenty months old. Up until then, Zach was a healthy toddler who seemed to progress at normal levels. But four months shy of his second birthday, he began to regress: he lost some language skills he had earlier mastered and would often wake up at night. These issues weren’t completely indicative of autism, but when he also began to have difficulty playing well with other kids, Amy became more concerned.
“He would lose eye contact with other kids and just wasn’t my ‘happy, social’ toddler all the time,” explains Amy.
The mother of three who lives in Richmond, Virginia says, surprisingly, that her pediatrician was not helpful in diagnosing Zach’s autism. In fact, when Zach was turning two, “he dismissed my concerns about language and told me to wait until age three to worry,” she says. Luckily, Amy ignored her doctor’s advice after reading that early intervention and therapy can be key to alleviating some autistic symptoms. At two and a half, Zach was evaluated by an infant services department who found that his development was “within normal limits and said he was fine.”
As you can imagine, Amy began to feel desperate as she watched her son slip further and further away. “At a little over three years of age, we started to get concerned again with language. He stopped talking in sentences and was down to just one- and two-word-phrases,” Amy reflects.
At the same time that his language skills were diminishing, his health followed. Zach began to get more frequent allergies and constantly had a runny nose and watery eyes. Ironically, during a follow-up visit with a new pediatrician regarding Zach’s allergies, Amy’s son’s apparent autistic symptoms were finally recognized.
“At a follow-up visit we saw a new pediatrician and he noticed Zach wasn’t talking much, and had some sensory stuff going on, like rubbing his face on the wall. Our new pediatrician referred us to a specialist. We saw two different ones and got the same diagnosis from both,” Amy remembers.
Now, at three and a half years, Zach would finally qualify for therapy—right? Not necessarily. Sadly, when Zach was diagnosed, it was in July and his school didn’t have anyone to do an evaluation to see what services Zach would qualify for.
“So we started speech therapy and had to pay privately, since insurance wouldn’t cover it,” Amy explains.
Amy was still struggling to find adequate services for Zach when pregnant with her third child. Luckily, one day out of the hospital from her daughter’s birth, Zach was found eligible for a program. Excitedly, she and her husband Mark anticipated putting Zach into therapy, but more snags ensued.
“It was late August and therapy services would not begin until early November. And the preschools around here were not well-equipped to handle children with autism. There wasn’t enough staff and they more or less tried a ‘one size fits all’ approach,” Amy laments.
So not only was she dealing with the demands of a toddler and an infant, but she and Mark had to share duties caring for their more demanding, autistic child without qualified help. When they did finally find a good private school in her area, they were shocked at the price tag: a $50,000 yearly tuition!
Coping Zach is now eight years old. He has two younger siblings: Jared six and a half years and Katie four and a half years. Life at the Case household is never easy. In fact, when I asked Amy, who was eager to share her story to help others, if she could write it, she just didn’t know if she could find the time or leave Zach with his brother or sister in case he lashed out at them and hurt them.
