My very Special Jacob

In November of 2010 my 11 year old son Jacob was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, he is lower functioning that Asperger's level in his daily activities with a maturity of about 5 yrs old and the comprehension of about a 2-3 yr old.  In 1st grade he was diagnosed with ADHD, but as he grew older we suspected that there was something more going on, he just wasn't maturing as others his age.  Jacob is my little bubba, he has always been my baby and he loves to cuddle and get loves and just be snuggled up with Momma on the couch.  He is my heart and soul. 

The diagnosis of my son being ASD was an absolute and overwhelming blow to me.  I am still trying to accept his diagnosis and educate and learn all that I can about ASD and what it means to my son.  For most of his life I was his only parent, now my fiance John is in our lives and has not only assumed the role of his father, but loves him as if he were his own son.  My daughter Ashley, who is 18 with her own emotional issues, was in complete denial at first but is sincerely trying to understand, learn and accept the changes we must make for her brother.  This is an adjustment in our family that is difficult, for years we thought that Jacob was just being defiant and out of control because of his ADHD, not realizing that there were all the other issues that he was trying to deal with in his own way.  Yet we all are trying and we are all support each other as well as Jacob.

Jacob has struggled is school so much through the years with no medications helping fully and just being passed through the education system.  He lacks the skills to do the basics of a 5th grader, he cannot read a book completely and retain or comprehend it, he has no clue how to write a report much less a paragraph longer than 3 sentences, they have just failed my son.  Next year he is being forced to move to a middle school that I feel he is so unprepared for.  I cannot imagine my son with the maturity of a 5 year old, sensory sensitivity to noise and touch, navigating the school with the other children that are like sharks waiting for the weak.  I am terrified for my son!

At the moment I am in a battle with his school and the district to get him on the correct IEP so that he is getting the full educational benefits and resources that he has the legal right to.  I believe that my son needs more 1 on 1 assistance and that he needs more supervision and protection, the school wants to give him the least of anything they legally have to. 

So as of now that is where I am in this battle with the world and the schools to accept and help my very special Jacob.