April is the World Autism Awareness Month! Have You Met an Angel?

My best kiddy patient was a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He was handsome, sweet, huggy and soft spoken. I remembered. It was our first meeting when 5 y/o PY came with his parents. The family had had issues getting PY to eat his meal independently and to express hunger, or fullness.

PY came to the clinic. Calmly, he walked around our confined clinic. He stood next to me, leaned on my arm rest and stared at me. I offered him a tight hug. I asked him to sit on my laps. He did. He did that calmly throughout the 45min of assessment and conversation among his parents and me. I thought i saw his parents being surprised and a little worried. PY was too kind to a stranger. 

PY didn't speak much. His speech was delayed, our speech pathologist said. "Was it good, dear?" "Good"..."Did you enjoy the class?" "Enjoyed". The conversation would be followed by a nice moment of peacefulness. Silence.

In February and March of 2015, I waited for my therapy sessions because i knew PY was attending. Every time i saw his angelic face, my mind and soul was purified and uplifted. I was ready to go all out again.

I was warmed by PY's subtlety.  Never before in my lifetime, as a children dietitian, i felt so close to my patient. I was truly grateful to have known this family and this child. 

PY learned, in his own way, at his own pace. He had sensory issues that limited his food intake. At 5 year of age, he only eats 5 or 6 food. Dirtying his palm was a big deal to him. This boy used his finger tips to "knead" the sweet potato dough during our therapy classes. :)

We played to work on his feeding problems. The sessions were good for him. I was glad PY parents were supportive and have kept sending him back for the subsequent sessions. We were glad to see improvement in him after the group sessions.

I hope to see PY soon and to meet all other children like PY. They would be the reasons I remain a children dietitian/feeding therapist.

Apr 2 is the World Autism Awareness Day! Have you met an angel? I have. :)

This post was first published on 02/04/2014
http://www.babycenter.com.my/thread/754491/apr-2-is-the-world-autism-awareness-day#ixzz45V2jPwo5