There were all sorts of warning signs as my little boy began to grow from a baby to a toddler. Sometimes I’d worry; sometimes I’d hope for the best, but most of the time, I lived in denial. The problem with denial though is that every once in a while, you’re hit with situations that are too hard to ignore.
Our first wakeup call was when Andrew was about twenty months old. We took him to a birthday party. In attendance were several other children around the same age as him. The children were full of speech, and Andrew hadn’t spoken a word in several months. I had all sorts of explanations, but something seemed wrong when we saw Andrew's behavior in contrast to the other children's.When child came near him, he wandered somewhere else where he could be by himself. When it was time to play pin the tail on the donkey, all the children were so excited and engaged. They each seemed to have a hard time waiting for their turn. But Andrew didn’t even seem to understand the point of the game, and had no interest in playing.
The next activity was a treasure hunt. Most of the kids were giddy with excitement, running around the backyard in search for prizes. Andrew was completely aloof. Instead of searching for treasure, he studied the perimeter of the yard, running along the fence and touching each board with his fingertips as he went.
Perhaps the most heart breaking moment at the party was when the moms wanted all the kids to line-up on the deck for a picture. I tried as hard as I could to get my little guy to sit down next to the other kids, look at the camera and smile. He began to cry, wiggled out of my arms, and ran off to continue playing in his self-chosen world of isolation. The other moms watched, bewildered and perhaps full of their own conclusions but no one dared to say anything to me. The picture was taken and Andrew wasn’t in it.
