Welcome to team TheosaurusRex's fundraising page!
Theo’s Autism Story:
Theo has a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and combined type ADHD. It was quite the journey to get these diagnosis and help our wonderful boy.
Since the age of 2, I had fought with his pediatrician at that time about getting him evaluated. At 2 years of age he didn’t say more than 25 words and only played by lining up his toys. At that time his pediatrician would not listen to me and said it was just because he was a “Covid baby.” We started birth to three for the speech delay and hoped that he would just blossom with words.
At age 3, he started Early Childhood with the school district because of his speech delay (he still only had about 25-30 words) and we started to see some improvement. At his yearly check-up I still brought up an autism evaluation to his pediatrician and was again denied.
Last year he started P4J and we had seen improvement with speech, but had other issues being reported back from his teachers. AT his IEP meeting last year, it seemed like he had made progress with speech but there were some other concerns. They had asked if he had been evaluated for being on the Autism spectrum, they suggested if I hadn’t looked into it that I should. So I made an appointment with his pediatrician (who we had switched when he turned 4). His new pediatrician actually listened to our concerns and put in a referral for his evaluation. Finally someone was taking my concerns seriously, but the downside was getting the diagnosis so late in age. Getting services for a newly diagnosed 5 year old proved to be a little more difficult and I had to do a lot of research.
Getting that official diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder does NOT change who Theo is or how much I love my son. But, it does give us insight as to how his mind works and what he might need. With this diagnosis we have gotten him more support in school so he can be successful. As well as finding him services in the community that will help him be successful in life and can help us understand our son better.
April 19th my family will be participating in the One Walk, Big Strides for Autism 2026 walk in Fitchburg. All money raised is donated to the Autism Society of Wisconsin. This is their largest fundraiser of the year and it helps fund their numerous efforts supporting the Autism spectrum community. The ASW does an incredible amount of work to provide support for those on the autism spectrum and their families. All of the money raised allows the ASW to continue programs like Autism 101 workshops, support and social groups for individuals on the spectrum, caregiver support groups, and monthly family enrichment activities.
The Autism Society of Wisconsin has provided my family with some excellent resources that I might not have been able to find on my own. Below is the link to donate to team ThesaurusRex to help raise money for this amazing organization
