My son is four soon.

My son has not been diagnosed, but I always knew something was off with him and I don’t mean that negatively towards him in anyway; my son was just different and his doctor even agreed.

He never played with others, he didn’t even acknowledge others. He never listened to responded to his name. When he played with toys, he’d just line them up into a huge line - cars, action figures, magnetic tiles, Legos.. they all needed to be in a row that was perfectly straight and if you altered or interrupted what he was doing, a global meltdown would ensue.

He didn’t talk. He wasn’t communicating anything, would only scream cry and sometimes say “mama”, mostly it was “dada” and random weird sounds. Also, the universal theme but as the Minions would sing it. It was a whole thing.

He didn’t like to be touched. My husband had to go into appointments with us and physically restrain our baby/toddler because he would turn into a feral crocodile; he would kick and scream with an intensity that honestly made me worried he would hurt someone.

He stopped eating everything but a few foods and ONLY those foods; he’d have a meltdown if you tried to even get him to look at a new food, let alone touch it. Brushing his teeth was so bad that I would just cry and I dreaded it, because it didn’t matter how many times I did it or how I tried, he just absolutely hated it and honestly, by extension, I think he just hated me.

I talked to his dr about it, she got me into a program and I got a speech therapist that came and helped us. From there, he was accepted into a fantastic PreK early at my older son’s school and has absolutely excelled to the point I almost can’t remember that he was that terrible.

He’s turning four in a few days and his progress is nothing short of amazing.

He talks now, though he still says things in a baby type voice. He says sentences and he’s learning to ask for and to tell what he wants and he does it really well. He even sings, which honestly makes sense because the speech therapist helped me realize that he responds more to music.

He is okay with being touched now and even asks for cuddles and hugs to help regulate his emotions. Bear squeeze hugs are the best for this and he always asks for a squeeze hug. He no longer hits and if he does, it’s simply to show he is at his limit and cannot process anything else and not because he wants to hurt anyone.

He eats more foods and has actually started trying new foods, without screaming and crying and trying to throw plates at me. He will sniff, lick and then take the tiniest bite known to man, but he is TRYING and my heart cannot take it.

He plays with toys, though things usually still end up in a line, he doesn’t have a meltdown because you moved something anymore. He just will put it back in its place and he’s learning to say “stop” or “no” or “mine”. He’s able to play with others and though he hasn’t really progressed to the step of putting a doll in a house and having the doll do a task, I couldn’t be more prouder of him.

He is gentle. He says sorry and gives kisses when he accidentally hurts you. We’re finally starting to potty train although it’s taking a long time because he’s just now finally starting to understand certain things.

He brushes his teeth and lets me do this with NO FUSSING and NO BITING! 😭😭

Thanks for listening to my teary eyed rant lol