Meet Patrick!

Autism affects 1 in 70 boys - one of those boys is mine......

Patrick Michael Brown, our first child, was born on May 4, 2007. From the moment my husband Jimmy and I looked at Patrick, we were in love... he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. I knew that my life would be forever changed and that there was nothing on earth that I would not do to protect this beautiful miracle of ours. Our lives, however, were changed in ways that we would have never imagined.

From early on I felt something was not right with Patrick, but I couldn't put a finger on it. He was a wonderful sleeper, a great eater and always happy -- Patrick was too good to be true! He seemed way to happy and content to be left on his own. As the months went by, we realized he was not accomplishing the normal developmental milestone on time (or at all) that come naturally to babies his age -- how to crawl, how to walk, how to drink from a sippy cup, how to clap his hands - we had to teach Patrick how to do all these things. I was living in a constant state of anxiety.

Jimmy and I would bring our concerns to our pediatrician's attention at each well visit, but the doctor was never concerned. One of the most important lessons I have learned from this experience is to always trust your gut - a mother's instinct is never wrong. You have to trust and believe in yourself because no one knows your child better than you. If your doctor does not listen to you, find another doctor.

When Patrick was 9 months old, I began reading about autism. When I learned the early warning signs of autism, I knew in my heart that this is what we were dealing with. Jimmy mentioned this concern to Patrick's physical therapist (PT) who was treating him for torticollis and low muscle tone. She at first dismissed it and believed he was developmentally delayed. However, by the time Patrick was 12 months old, our PT was concerned enough to ask us to bring this up again to our pediatrician at Patrick's well visit - again, the doctor said it was nothing to be concerned about. It was at this point that Patrick's PT suggested we take Patrick to the Suffolk County Early Intervention for a full evaluation. Their diagnosis was devastating, but finally we had a diagnosis and could begin a course of treatment for our beautiful little boy. Whereas our pediatrician kept dismissing our concerns and ignoring the many red flags Patrick was displaying for autism, our PT took our concerns seriously, and we were able to get Patrick help at a very early stage. So I would urge you to always trust your mother's instinct.

Patrick's initial evaluations at 12 months old showed that he was in fact very delayed in every area of development. It was devastating to read on paper how far behind he really was. As a result of his global delays, at 13 months of age my baby began receiving Special Education, Speech, Feeding Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and continued with Physical Therapy. When he wasn't making much progress, we had him further evaluated by a developmental pediatrician who diagnosed Patrick at 18 months with PDD-NOS which means Patrick is on the Autism Spectrum. I knew going in to the appointment what the outcome was going to be because I had been preparing for this moment since Patrick was 9 months old, but now it was reality. It took me months before I could even say the word Autism. I was living with a constant feeling of anxiety and sadness, but we immediately took action to try to find ways to help our son. A week before Christmas Patrick began almost 20 hours a week of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy in addition to the therapies he was already getting.

We immediately started seeing a Defeat Autism Now! doctor. A DAN! doctor uses biomedical techniques to treat children with Autism. Patrick began a casein-free and gluten-free diet and began taking many vitamins and supplements to try and help him heal and possibly recover. While Patrick's progress has been very slow over the past two years, we celebrate ever bit of progress he does make. I try not to dwell on the things he is not doing and try to focus on all the things Patrick can do.

Since we started this journey two years ago, I never imagined how much it could change my life. I am able to appreciate so much more, and I do not take anything for granted. Patrick has brought so much joy and happiness into my life. I admire his strength and his determination to learn. He works so unbelievably hard each day but always remains happy. I am so blessed to have been chosen to be Patrick's mother. He has been given to me for a reason, and I will never stop fighting for him, and I will never give up on him -- He is the love of my life.

Please visit our website at http://www.thebutterflymisison.org/