Ready for Riley!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Ethan will be evaluated by specialists at Riley Children's Hospital's REACH Clinic.  I'm not sure what to expect.  We've waited so long for him to be seen, so I am hoping to get some answers.  These are the things that various therapists have told us might be a possibility:

• low muscle tone
• verbal apraxia/dyspraxia
• global apraxia/dyspraxia
• sensory integration disorder

Kenny and I also think that he has some severe reflux issues.  He started spitting up around his second birthday.  Many times throughout the course of a day, he will tilt his head forward, grab his throat and say, "Sick!", or "Ucky Mouf!" He also has some bowel issues, which have caused us to modify his diet.  To date, we have tried a lactose/dairy free diet as well as sugar free.  Just last week, we reintroduced dairy and sugar, and he seems to be tolerating them, so maybe it is no longer an issue.  However, we still feel the need to bring it to the specialists' attention.

Although, no one has said that they believe Ethan has autism, we have had to complete many questionnaires relating to it.  He is very social, but does exhibit some autistic characteristics, such as the occasional hand flapping.  He tends to do this when he is excited or upset about something, or having a hard time getting his words out. Some of his therapists believe that it is a sensory issue.  Because I have been told that apraxia is most likely his condition, I have researched it on the internet.  I read that many children with apraxia also have sensory issues.  Many of those children are misdiagnosed as having autism, when in fact they have sensory integration disorder. 

I don't know what tomorrow holds, or the news that it will bring, if any.  All I know, for now, is that  Kenny and I love Ethan more than words can express.  Regardless of the diagnosis, we will leave loving the same sweet, dimple-cheeked boy that we arrived with.