ORLANDO, FLORIDA- Brooke’s son had been enrolled in three different schools by the time he turned 4 years old, but none of them were a good fit. She says he was overwhelmed by the amount of kids and would often hide in the bathroom. Brooke knew that she needed to get him evaluated for autism, but had already been on a waitlist for one year. Each day, she forged ahead by searching the Internet in an attempt to find a clinic with available appointments and discovered As You Are, a virtual clinic for autism diagnostic evaluations.
“This being virtual is exactly what we were looking for anyway, because I don’t know how I would have gotten him to a place in-person. That is too hard,” she said.
The virtual process was the perfect fit for this family since the three video calls with a physician happened right in the comfort of their own home. Her son was diagnosed with autism and immediately enrolled in therapy, which he previously wasn’t able to receive without an official diagnosis. He’s been attending ABA therapy for one month, and Brooke says it’s already changed his life.
She said, “For the first time, he is loving life, he is so happy. He is able to be himself which is something we never had before. He used to have meltdowns after preschool, he’d hit his head on the wall and couldn’t handle it. Now he tells me about his day and is happy.”
Brooke says she’s finally found a community of local autism moms she can relate to, and her son has a whole new group of friends, as well.
“We didn’t belong anywhere until we had a diagnosis. We’re very thankful for you guys, for speeding up that process. We thought this would never happen for him,” she said.
Do you have questions about your child’s development? The team at As You Are provides diagnostic evaluations for kids 16 months to 10 years old via telehealth appointments along with useful resources, including an online autism screening. Learn more at asyouare.com.
