Friday, November 20, 2009

#2 AMMON FROM BIRTH TO 4 YEARS OLD:

The first day Ammon was born, I noticed he was extremely sensitive to sound. He cried every time I'd cough or sneeze. I didn't think a lot of it.

In his first year, Ammon's head circumference grew from a normal size to an adult size. It stopped growing about the time he turned one. The doctor had his head scanned, but it showed no abnormalities, other than it was HUGE.

As Ammon grew, he was slow to speak and walk, but not super slow. Still- I didn't think much of it. He was odd in his communication, but I always knew what he wanted and still didn't think much of it. I didn't know better.

Ammon was very very shy. He cowered and clung in public places, or even at Grandma and Grandpa's house when there were other people there. Always, when he entered the house he covered his head and hoped no one would notice him. He avoided social situations even at Grandma's house. Mostly, he prefered to watch TV in the back room where no one else was.

If I were to ask Ammon, "Ammon, do you want a cracker?", he responded, "NO! It's a square!" -or- "Ammon- Look at the dinosaur." His response was, "NO! It's yellow!" I remember watching a train go by the side of the road, and I wanted to point it out to him, but I knew he would not be able to follow my directions, and would only get frustrated. I never realized it, but Ammon never cried due to emotion. He cried if hurt, but never because he was sad. At night, there were occasional signs that he had been awake in the night, but he never called us. More than once, we found him asleep by our bedroom door in the morning. I didn't realize that although he spoke well, he didn't know how to tell us he couldn't sleep.

Ammon didn't like to touch things, so he fisted up his hands and interacted with most things with clenched fingers. He became increasingly selective about his food choices until he'd only eat spaghetti noodles, McDonalds french-fries, Tang, and milk.

Ammon was obsessed with DINOSAURS, WHEELS, SHAPES and COLORS. He had a long, red dinosaur spiky tail he insisted on wearing at all times. He claimed he was a T-Rex.

At church, he curled up into a little ball on his chair and did not interact.

I was a very naive mom. I managed to communicate just fine with him for the most part, and he had a cute laugh and sense of humor. I thought perhaps he'd grow out of it. -Nope! I'm sure there were other abnormal signs, but honestly- it's hard to remember as so much has changed in the last four years! (This is where, if you're a mom kicking yourself for not recognizing your child had issues before- DON'T! I didn't realize for a long time! You're not alone. I loved him so much, and I just loved him just how he was.)

That's pretty much where Ammon was... right up until I realized something was seriously wrong!

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