Late Diagnosis, New Beginning

I wish we had known earlier and that bothered me for a long time -  like so many others, we were given labels that almost fit, but not quite. First it was ADHD and then came Autism. And while parts of those descriptions made sense, there was always something more—nothing ever felt like it fully explained the daily and sometimes epic battles, the extreme anxiety, the need for her to be constantly in  control and why nothing we did made it better- day after day, month after month, year after year...and then at age 9.... the diagnosis of PDA - Pathological Demand Avoidance.

Finally, things clicked.
Finally, the pieces fit.

Getting a late diagnosis is bittersweet. There’s a mixture of  sadness and anger for the years spent misunderstanding, struggling, and trying to fit into a framework that wasn’t built for our child.  But there’s also relief and the empowering knowledge that you can finally understand and support your child in the ways he/she truly needs

We can’t change the past.
But we can change the future.