9 Years Ago Charlie Was Diagnosed

July 22nd is a date that stands out to me. It’s the birthday of someone very special, and it’s the day, nine years ago, that we received Charlie’s formal diagnosis of autism. Slate has a recent Explainer column on how do you diagnose autism (prompted in part by Michael Savage’s claim that autism is widely overdiagnosed). Now Jim and I are convinced that Charlie could have been, and would have been, diagnosed in his first year and this had nothing to do with him being aloof or withdrawn or not wanting to be held or not “bonding.” Charlie was always affectionate, loved to be held, laughed and grinned big when trying to show my parents that he could hold the crib rail and not fall. But he did seem to be able to keep himself amused with a stack of board books or a pile of baby toys for a long time. A long long time. And he did do... [read full story]