I know it has been over a month since I last posted. These last few weeks have been some of the busiest, both personally and professionally. As some of my readers know, I have a young son from a previous marriage and my new spouse and I are raising him. Over the course of three years, I have been seeking a diagnosis for his apparent lack of development in every aspect of his life.

For the majority of this time he has been in special education classes for what is called “pervasive developmental delay” by the educational system. In layman’s terms, this means he is behind in all aspects of mental, social and physical development, and yet there is no known diagnosis.

During the last month, my spouse and I had our worst fears confirmed. My son has been diagnosed as Autistic with Mild Mental Retardation. We were not surprised as my son is going to be nine years old soon, but the words still hit like a ton of bricks. Basically, this means that my son is handicapped with both an inability to function as a normal person in society, and the lack of ability to learn in order to compensate for the lost skills. In the specialist’s office that day, my spouse and I started to accept the future we have been facing.

The best way I can describe the moment is from an old Jerry Lewis t.v. movie. In the movie, he and his wife are in the doctor’s office as he tells them their child has a disease that has no cure, and no known cause, and will permanently cripple or kill. The scene shows him with his head in is hands wondering why. For a moment, I have felt that scene more than anyone else I know.

I don’t have a lot of time today to write. However, for the few readers this site has, I wanted to explain my unusual absence. I already have some ideas that I will be posting soon, but the time frame for those postings has been changing and I will have to adjust accordingly.

Moderator,
The Peregrin Falcon