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Kaia's Story
Kaia is a fun-loving, affectionate and thoughtful little girl.
She is nearly six, attends her local primary school and has
a best friend called Sophie. She loves horses, dolls, and fantasy stories such
as 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter'. She adores 'Angelina Ballerina',
although I have to admit that I find it totally nauseating. She wants to be a
ballerina when she grows up and has just started taking ballet lessons. She has a
wicked sense of humour
and enjoys playing tricks on people. Click here to read
more about Kaia's likes and dislikes.
Kaia has autism.
This presents itself as an obstacle to learning language,
a lack of the innate knowledge of how to interact, and a
difficulty in understanding some aspects of the world. It means that Kaia has to
work hard to achieve things that most children find come naturally.
Kaia
has not always had autism*, it developed during her second
year of life, yet was not discovered until she was three. This period of
uncertainty, worry and eventual diagnosis is a difficult time. As Kaia's parents
we would like to be able to help other parents who find themselves struggling
along this grim and taxing road.
What can we do to help our child?
Nutrient supplements and autism
Mercury poisoning? Surely not!
Family album - an opportunity to meet the rest of the family
(may be slow due to photos)
Useful links:-
Autism Research Unit (ARU)
Autism Research Institute (ARI)
Allergy Induced Autism (AiA)
To join a parent-support email
group post a blank email here.
*
There are different types of autism (see What is Autism link). Some children are 'different' from early babyhood. Others are, or appear, normal until toddlerhood, or even later. I feel in my heart that Kaia was not born with autism, but developed it later. Some would say that she's always been autistic but that I failed to recognise it until later. Looking back at videos taken in her first year I believe that my gut feeling is right: that Kaia was a 'normal' baby who began to develop autism around her first birthday.