Speech and the Waiting Room

I had my first experience of being in a waiting room with other Mothers while my little guy was off having his evaluation. A very kindly woman approached me and we were soon telling each other about our lives. I guess I had told a few tell-tale signs and she soon became very quiet and looking very concerned.

"Uhm...Er...does your son have a diagnosis?" She asked looking very troubled.
"Yes, he has autism."
"Oh thank goodness!" She says with a huge smile.
"Pardon?" I asked with a mix of confusion and irritation.
"Well you said a few things that made me think he was but I didn't want to say anything in case you hadn't gotten a diagnosis or didn't suspect. He is still very young and a lot of kids don't get a diagnosis so early." She was rambling on very quickly to explain that she was glad I knew, not glad of the diagnosis itself.
"Oh yeah I already know." I couldn't help but laugh.

She then tells me about her son and his condition and we share our thoughts and speculations about what is the reason that it seems certain people are prone to have children with disabilities. Mind you these are only speculations and observations and I won't list them here because none of them are based on fact.

We enjoyed having another adult to talk to that was not a husband, therapist, or doctor. Someone who had some idea what the other was going through and was not going to judge the others child.

After awhile I see him coming down the hall holding the Evaluator's hand totally ignorant that I was even nearby. When he does see me he immediately starts trying to pull this woman, his new playmate, back to where they had come from and away from his boring old Mother. He doesn't take long to come to terms with the fact that the fun is over and his new playmate has to give me a report of how he did. He sits on my hip quietly, forehead on my shoulder and squeezing my arm, while the evaluator tells me about words he said and things he identified. She tells me about oral motor exams and motivations and her words are partially lost to me. I closed my arms around him to reciprocate the squeezes as he rubs his nose on mine and wraps his arms around my neck.

Seems our small time apart from each other did us both some good.