Saturday, May 29, 2010

Tyler

Tyler is my firstborn, and life has been a bit of a struggle for him from the start. My mom blames his condition on getting shots with mercury in them, but I don't know. There is no way to know. One knowledgable doctor said it could have been the shots along with some other pre extisting factors.

Tyler's delays in large and fine motor skills, muscle weakness, poor coordination and language skills showed up early. He wasn't given any particular diagnosis. I remember asking if he could have aspergers syndrome when he was only four-years-old. I was told no. I asked that question repeatedly until he was 15 and the right person was listening. He went to someone who really knows his stuff and there was no doubt in his mind that Ty has aspergers. I have to say though that Tyler is not at all like the character in the movie "Adam." That man had some other issues going on. I wish someone would have listened earlier because there's a lot of early socialization stuff they can do with asperger's kids. He is also ADHD. He did attend a really good early intervention program where he got help with both his language and motor skills.



Tyler was born in ND, then when he was 15 mo old, we lived in Okinawa for only 9 months. We were sent back to get help for Ty.

Rick was station in SD from the time Tyler was two until he was five. There were a lot of cool things to do with kids during the summer. Summer lasted about ten days!! Okay, maybe a little more than that. From SD we went to England.



We spent three days in France when Rick was stationed in England. We went to Euro Disney. (We went to Tokyo Disney right after Ty turned two.) From England we went to Georgia.








We let Ty play any sport he had an interest in. Even though his poor coordination and muscle weakness keep him from exceling, he had fun with sports up until the point that it became competitive.



Tyler's asperger's didn't affect his ability to learn at all. He's quite smart. However, social skills and coping skills aren't his strengths so school was difficult for that reason.

Tyler's strengths lie in technology. He's majoring in digital design in college.








Even though sports aren't Ty's strong point, he is certified in scuba and he has found a new challenge. See video.

3 comments:

Karen said...

Sounds like he's doing well, and has found his niche. Blessings**

One Crowded House said...

we used to go tubing like that all the time when I was younger- so much fun... then I tried it once as an adult- and my arm muscles are so much more weak, my arms were very sore the next day!

Lou said...

and you wanted me to do that?????
this is why I decided not to come. wish I could have found a cheaper way to get out of coming down.LOL