When my daughter was born, we were thrilled to start our journey as parents. She was like any other child, adorable, active, and growing up well.
As time went by, we noticed that she wasn’t speaking much nor looking at us when we called her name, like she used to do. We could see she was regressing in her skills, like not knowing how to wave goodbyes or gave us her flying kisses anymore.
When she was 2 years 7 months, my husband sat me down and shared his suspicion that Heidi could be on the Autism Spectrum, and we should get Heidi checked and properly diagnosed. After speaking to doctors and getting her diagnosed, it was confirmed that Heidi was on the spectrum. For first-time parents like us, it wasn’t easy to take it in, but we know there’s nothing we can’t do together as a family.
Personally, it wasn’t easy at first for me, I know the path we were about to walk would be different from most. But what I’ve come to learn is that different doesn’t mean less—it means being extraordinary in its way. This is the story of her growth, her triumphs, and the light she brings into our lives every single day.
Communicating was difficult for Heidi. She was babbling, not making eye contact, and unable to establish connections with others. So we decided to put her into a pre-school nursery and we picked the one that could provide her with sensory play. We also signed her up for speech therapy and one-on-one early intervention sessions.
When Heidi was 5 years old, we came across Kuching Autistic Association (KAA). She was attending her kindergarten as well as sessions at KAA to give her more exposure to the classroom environment and communication with others. Heidi adapted well in KAA and she enjoyed going to her sessions. Heidi was making good progress such as identifying colours by pointing and was very good at solving puzzles. She started to tell us what she wanted by pointing and communicating more.
Her progress was more visible when she was 7 years old. Heidi started to not only identify colours but saying them out, though she may not be correctly pronouncing them. She was also able to read her ABCs and I,2,3 until 10. At times, she tried reading 11 to 20 as well. She was able to look at us every time she wanted something, she was comfortable with eye contact and was better in her imitative skills. We were thrilled at her progress!
KAA has given her the confidence she needs to speak and enable her to try new things. The teachers’ effort coupled with Heidi’s learning from other special children in primary 1 had given her opportunities to learn more. Heidi is now more independent in feeding herself and has been more adventurous in trying new food. She is also more open to try new environments and we did this by exposing her to public areas such as the park, malls and supermarkets. We are also glad MBKS and KAA made the initiative to build a park for special children at the MBKS park in town. We took her there too for some runs to let go of some steam for better sleep at night.
One of the biggest milestones was Heidi finally knowing how to properly blow her candles and bubbles on her own. The tasks seem so easy for other children but these were hard for Heidi and when she finally could do it, the whole family was cheering with her! Now, she could independently walk to her classroom without us sending her – I praise God for each progress.
We celebrated at every success Heidi achieved, we could not have done it without the help and encouragement of those around us including all supportive teachers and staff of KAA. They had been instrumental in cheering for Heidi and giving us the circle of parents who share the same great hope for our children. Thank you KAA for journeying with us, we are grateful for you.
We know it is still a long way to go but we are happy to see this progress and hope Heidi continues to improve. As parents, we learn that each child is different and we must not compare one with the other but continue to encourage and celebrate each milestone with them. What’s important for us is for Heidi to be independent in caring for self and able to live a full, happy life! To all parents and families who share the same experience like ours, let’s continue to support one another and yes, we got this!