My Deaf Son With Autism By Jennine Gosk I am a deaf mother of a deaf three-yearold with autism, Zachary. We have been on the journey of autism for more than two years. Zachary was born Deaf. My vision was that he would go to a Deaf school, be part of the Deaf community, play sports, and be around his deaf friends, just like his mom. I felt a sense of pride that my child was Deaf. Over time, he learned to sign 12 words, played with other children and his family members, and was a bright toddler. I had no idea anything would happen to him when he turned 18 months old. I used to imagine that he would grow up as a neurotypical deaf child. In July 2009, we moved from Pennsylvania so he could attend a playgroup at the Delaware School for the Deaf (DSD). Around that time, Zach stopped signing, had repetitive behavior, and didn’t play with other children. I thought he was feeling overwhelmed due to the move, and I didn’t really pay attention to his symptoms. In August, I brought him over to my aunt’s house. My cousin Kevin noticed his odd behavior, and studied him carefully, noting specific symptoms: chewing his shoes, poor eye contact, dislike of being touched, and 36
no signing. Kevin wrote a long note telling me that he suspected Zach might have autism. I was stunned and in disbelief at this revelation. I said, “But he wasn’t born with autism.” Kevin explained that as a speech pathologist working at a school for children with autism, he recognized Zach’s behavior was similar to his students’. He also said that 90% of those children’s symptoms appear between 18 and 30 months old. He added that Zach needed to be evaluated by a professional. The very next day, I called Zach’s social worker and playgroup teacher. The DSD team and social worker recommended that I wait a few months to see whether Zach’s behavior would change once he started playgroup. After a few months, there still wasn’t any improvement, so DSD called for a team evaluation, which included a psychologist, teacher, and pathologist, from Delaware Autism Program at Brennan School. It often happens that autism is misdiagnosed in deaf children because of communication difficulties or simply not paying attention. The team knew my son used to sign and that he came from a Deaf family, so they carefully observed him in the classroom three times. Other kids attempted to approach Zach to