Matthew’s Story

When I was pregnant with Matthew I was put in the hospital at 32 weeks because I was dilated to about a 4. My gyn doctor was worried that I’d have the baby at home if I wasn’t hospitalized. So after being in the hospital for a total of 4 weeks, my high risk doctor decided to do an amnio test to see if the baby weighed enough and that the lungs were mature. So I was allowed to have Matthew at 36 weeks and once my water was broken, Matthew came very quickly! He weighed 6 pounds 2 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. As far as I was concerned he seemed very normal and nursed very well. We always referred to him as being such a good baby because he hardly ever cried and slept a lot. In fact, I remember taking him to a funeral that lasted 3 hrs. long and we hardly heard a noise from him!

At the age of 4 months, we noticed that something was not right. Matthew would not hold his head up and was not able to grasp anything with his hands and was not making sounds. He was also very “floppy.” The pediatrician recommended that Early Child Hood Intervention (ECI) evaluate him and determine if he was delayed. Matthew began receiving services through ECI at the age of 7 months. He also suffered with many ear infection and finally at the age of 7 months had tubes put in his ears. Matthew did not sit up until he was almost 12 months old and even then we had to put pillows around him to protect him in case he toppled over. He began to crawl at the age of 18 months (not very much because he hated being put on his tummy) and finally started walking when he was around 3-4 yrs. old.

Matthew was released from the ECI program and was put in a PPCD (Public School for Children with Disabilities) class. When Matthew turned 5 he was transferred to another public school to attend a Functional Life Skills (FLS) class at an elementary school here in Weatherford. To this date Matthew still attends an FLS class at the high school and is considered a “Junior.” Matthew has had various testing done to try and determine if he fits any of the “typical syndromes” but the tests have come back normal. So up until last month when we got the PTHS syndrome diagnosis, he was a puzzle and was p

ut under the Autism umbrella. Matthew currently wears orthotics in both shoes and back when he was much younger wore AFO’s (braces). He has also worn glasses since he was around 3-4 yrs. old. Every milestone that Matthew has achieved has come at a snails pace but nonetheless progress! From not being able to feed himself to now able to eat spaghetti! He has a great appetite and thus loves to eat! Earlier on we focused more on gross motor skills first and up until recently I felt guilty for not working more on his speech. Now with this diagnosis I don’t feel as bad considering that PTHS kids either have no speech or very limited speech. For Christmas we bought him an iPad so that we can hopefully find the right app that suits him : ) Basically, Matthew is generally a very happy teenager that is super passive and has no behavioral issues. Back when he was younger he did a lot of flapping and made lots of humming noises. Over the years we have noticed the flapping has diminished quite a bit and not as much humming. He can get himself dressed with assistance but can’t button or snap any of his pants or shirts. He loves to have books read to him and with a verbal command will go to his book shelf and pick out a book (almost always a Dr. Seuss book) – especially if read by dad (Larry). He loves to watch Sesame Street, Sponge Bob, and Blues Clues. His favorite movie is The Incredibles! Matthew also enjoys music – especially Sesame Street music. He can unbuckle his seat belt in the car, and can open his own car door to get in and out. This was one of the many things we have worked on that he finally was able to achieve. Matthew can also bring his cup from the table to the kitchen counter with a verbal command and we are still working on carrying his plate. There are so many things we would like for him to do on his own but experience has taught us that we need to be patient with Matthew. He learns better with prompting, consistency, repetition and again patience! I could go on and on about Matthew but I think I’ve made this a little longer than it should be : )

Matthew has two brothers – Michael (22 yrs old) and Andrew (15 years old). Michael graduated from Arizona State in December of 2012 with an English degree and is an Actor as well. He teaches theatre arts at a middle school while pursuing an acting career. Andrew is a Freshman in high school and enjoys athletics – especially football, track and basketball. He is a student athlete with an interest in math and science. He absolutely loves genetics! My husband Larry is an Aeronautical Engineer for Lockheed Martin. As for me I left my job at Lockheed Martin back when Matthew was 10 months old so that I could stay home and take care of him. Once Matthew started school I got involved as a volunteer so that I could get to know all the teachers, etc. Eventually I started substitute teaching and last year after 8 years of doing that I decided that I needed to be home more! I enjoy it and life is a lot calmer : )