is it a kind of dream?

Pumpkin has just finished with the child development clinic, day 2.

Pumpkin has semantic-pragmatic disorder, as defined by the speech-language pathologist today, who said she is definitely on the spectrum and was talking high functioning autism.

We'll have a big meeting on 18 Sept in the morning, with all the professionals she's just seen these last two mornings, and pool the information into one big report, which we can then take to schools and make sure that they can help her when she gets there.

She has problems understanding the nuances of what is said to her, she has social impairments (ie she cannot understand what kids are doing or why, or indeed relate to kids at all), and she has little/no imagination, cant imagine people or relate to them.

Every professional we've talked to AGREED with us today. We were gobsmacked, stunned really, at how receptive they were, instead of being fobbed off as we have been for so long by health visitors etc, told pumpkin was normal, etc. The CDC didnt think she was normal, oh no.

*aims this at the entire planet Earth*

I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!

I've been saying it for 3+ years, the kid is autistic. I've known it from birth - she was never 'normal.' She's 'disabled.' She's 'special.' She's different.

My god, the relief and vindication are almost palpable.