"How I misjudged my health visitor"

When i had my son who is my only child, like any mother, i was on top of the world and couldn't give him enough love. Reaching milestones was slightly delayed, certain behaviours and anxieties he displayed was quite bizarre but to me, not concerning as i didn't have another child to compare, i just thought it was part of my little man growing up.

One area i was concerned about was his speaking, he had only babbled words then lost them. On my son's 2 year development checkup, i stressed my concerns and the health visiter commented that my son was an unusual boy. She made a referral. I came out of that appointment very upset and angry and thought 'She doesn't even know my son, she's not my health visitor, how dare she call him unusual!'

To cut a long story short, after months of assessments and meeting lots of assessers, doctors, psychologists, speech and language therapists and many others, my son was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. We were very worried and confused and went on quite an emotional roller coaster the following months.

Now my son is nearly 5 years old, he goes to a fantastic school and he is making lots of progress. He says a lot more now and seems to be a lot happier. We have just completed our 3rd course relating to autism which were made available to us, which have helped immensely.

It's been nearly 2 years now since our son was diagnosed and we have had so much help and support off all the professionals, not only after but before his diagnosis too. We now live with better knowlege and understanding and feel confident for the future.

Thank you to all the professionals and especially to the health visiter who made that referral. i'm sorry i misjudged you.