One year ago we sent in a referral to the Glenrose to have Rylan assessed so that we can come up with a diagnosis and a clear path to helping our little man. On Jan 3rd and 4th we travelled to Edmonton for the appointment with a ton of nerves but also some excitement. Rylan underwent the Autism assessment as well as several others and many appointments with a large variety of specialists. Those two days were the toughest that we had been through with Rylan in the last several years. Both Kevin and I had to fight back tears and the urge to go to him during those assessments but we knew it was necessary to get the answers we were looking for.
On the second day the doctor sat us down and told us that Rylan had Autism. Since that day we have been getting asked a lot of questions and I hope this will help. For the past year we had an idea that this could be the diagnosis we received. When those words came out of the doctors mouth we were not shocked and for me I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I finally had answers and now I knew exactly what path and therapies were needed to help Rylan.
For the past 6 months I have slowly been coming to terms with the fact that our life will not be what we had thought it would. I had many good cries and nights of stress and came to terms with what our future may hold. Now that the diagnosis is here we are in work mode to get everything lined up to start seeing Rylan thrive. It still is a struggle to see him have tough times but many of the things that he used to struggle with make complete sense to use now. We do not view Ry's autism as a disability but more of things that challenge him and require a little more work on our part.
We are thankful for the wonderful school he is at, family that has supported us and the Glenrose for making those two days as painless as possible.
