The Alex Monster

He was what people called a "good" baby. He rarely ever cried, but when he did, he screeched, earning him the nickname, 'Monster Man' or "pterodactyl'. He was almost always quiet, babbled when he learned how and smiled for people, but always just content to just lay around and do nothing.
He learned to crawl at 7 months and was running by the time he was 10 and a half months. Once he learned how to move, he never stopped. Noise often followed where he ran too, screeching away like the monster he is. He could say a couple of words but everything else was babbles. We didn't think anything of it at first because babies develop differently.
When he was 2, he was still babbling and his vocabulary only grew by a few words. He knew what he wanted though and would point or try to get it himself. I thought it was a little odd that he was still babbling like a baby, but my husband was not convinced that there was anything wrong. Some people suggested that we take him to his doctor to ask, but my husband wasn't worried. He also started to pick up little habits. All of his toy cars HAVE to be lined up in neat rows, blocks have to be stacked just so, wouldn't eat things with certain textures, sounds seemed to upset him.
Right after he turned 3 this year, my husband went to away for military training, and Alex and I went to visit my family. We spent some time with my aunt, who happened to be a special needs teacher of 20 years, and after spending a few hours with him, told me that she thinks he might be autistic. She said it was nothing to worry about, but get him checked.
After we came home, we started the evaluation process, he was put into speech and was diagnosed with ASD&ADHD. He has appointments set up to be evaluated for OT, PT, and ABA now. He has an amazing personality, and is the greatest gift I ever was given.

Hannah Mills
Fort Hood, TX