Quinn’s remarkable story of the advances she made through Florida’s Early Steps program and early intervention has been selected by the state of Florida to be used in raising funds and promoting the Early Steps program! Yay!

Here is the uncut story we submitted to the state DOH:

We live in Pensacola, Fl.  and received Early Steps services at the Pearl Nelson Center and Discovery Gateway.

Our Story

My daughter Quinn went through a very dark and difficult time beginning when she was about 15 months old and lasting until after her third birthday.

Did she have autism and we caught it soon enough to beat it back? Was it just some kind of developmental phase? Is she just weird? Is it all going to come back again without warning?

We don’t know. All we know is that her brain is a very mysterious place.

At 18 months, she had lost all of her vocabulary and compulsively stacked things for hours on end. She couldn’t hug or wave. She wouldn’t ask for things. She was like a little robot. And, frankly, we were kind of used to it, so we fed her on a regular schedule and put scenes 3 through 5 of “Finding Nemo” on repeat and just tried to keep her happy. Because once she was unhappy, you were in for an unpleasant 12 hours.

I broke down on afternoon after weeks without any sign of affection – or even recognition – from my adorable baby. I did an online search for some of her offbeat behaviors. When I came across an autism red-flag checklist, she hit 8 of the top ten signs. I told my husband, and we both admitted that we had been worried about her for months but each didn’t want to freak the other one out.

So we began the process of screening and researching and fighting and pushing to get something done for her.

We got her to her pediatrician in January and into the Early Steps program shortly before her third birthday in March, and by May she was receiving a full range of services – speech, OT and DT.

The staff at Early Steps and the Pearl Nelson Center not only helped Quinn during her appointed times, they were always willing to answer any questions or concerns we had, and gave our family the information and tools we needed to make sure her therapies became round-the-clock efforts.

Beth Ramirez put up with month after month of Quinn screaming her way through play group with every confidence that she would eventually participate. It took a long, long time, but Quinn adjusted to play group well enough to join Mr. Pittman’s two-year-old class that fall, where she could then come and go from therapy every day.

Now Quinn is in Beth’s pre-K class at PNC, and loves it. She now goes into the play group to set an example for the kids who are in the same place she was a mere 2 years ago.

Quinn was never officially diagnosed with anything – although she was repeatedly and consistently assessed with “characteristics consistent with…” any number of autism spectrum disorders, from autism to hyperlexia to Asperger’s to sensory integration issues.

Now she is four. As far as screenings go, she has been cleared of autism. She is a snuggle bug and makes up hilarious songs.  She has a fantastic imagination and will play roles herself, or create a world of characters with everything from plastic animals to color crayons.

She still has her quirks. She can’t tell you what happened yesterday, and she speaks English as though it is a second language – “Daddy can make that bug to be dead for to go outside with that bug on the driveway?” (”Is daddy putting the dead bug outside?”) She wears sound-blocking headphones to the grocery store.

Then again, she is teaching herself to read and doesn’t want our help.

The change we have seen in her is nothing short of a miracle. We were truly frightened for her when this journey began, and now we feel her future is wide open

I can’t imagine, however, who she would be today without the early intervention and dedicated therapy she received through Pearl Nelson Center and the Early Steps program. It is, frankly, terrifying to consider.

We have been so blessed by our association with Early Steps and PNC and all of Quinn’s therapists and teachers. They have helped and supported Quinn, and helped our family cope with and overcome what could have been a lifetime of difficulty for all of us.

For a great article on the science and impact of early intervention, read this article on EmpowerAutism.com.