A Boy Named Finn, Part II

I hate to dilute the focus of the crowdsourcing blog by posting more personal accounts about my family's efforts to care for our developmentally delayed son. Still, I opened these barn doors myself, and have no regrets about it. We received invaluable information after that first blog post was reproduced on such sites as the Scholastic blog and Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab blog. So I decided I would publish one final update, as well as thank everyone who commented, emailed or republished the original post:

Yesterday we took Finn to one of the best pediatric neurologists in New York City. It didn't take him long to issue a diagnosis—Finn, he's quite sure, fits somewhere on the autism spectrum. And so we come to another twist on this bewildering road we're traveling. I'll be charting our progress on this journey, but not here. We've launched a separate blog—A Boy Named Finn—to perform that service. Next week Crowdsourcing.com will return to its regular programming—and content.

Comments

[Sebastian Schuster]

I'm quite confused that the _final_ diagnosis is "somewhere on the autism-spectrum". Wouldn't that be one of the first assumptions any therapist would at least take into consideration? Didn't you visited four?

How is this relevant to the crowdsourcing aspect? Well, I never would have given you the advise to let Finn check for autism/asperger-syndrome, because, well, it's so obvious!

[alanbooker]

Hi Jeff, I really appreciate the fact that you have managed to offer an up-date. I say this because I have been and I am still there in a world where there are no definitive answers, just the unfolding of a very personal journey to an unknown place that will be most probably continue to be unknown to some degree.

“Somewhere on the autism spectrum” is a very fair diagnosis. Definitive diagnoses are very difficult to arrive at early on in the developmental process. As Finn matures and traditional milestones are reached more specific observations can be made.

I applaud you for being able to share so early on the deeply personal process. Emotional chaos and myriad other elements will rein. The heart in the mouth feeling will then subside enough to allow your insights gained from treading the path to enable you to see much more clearly. You will then manage to sort out the parameters.

As sad as it is, our contemporary culture encapsulates disabilities to certain groups rather than acknowledging that we are all afflicted to some degree. I strongly encourage you to seek other families who might be treading a similar path.

Great hope resides in the fact that one can with time find a productive equilibrium that enables normalcy to support the oncoming challenges.

Warm regards, Alan

[alanbooker]

Hi Jeff, I really appreciate the fact that you have managed to offer an up-date. I say this because I have been and I am still there in a world where there are no definitive answers, just the unfolding of a very personal journey to an unknown place that will be most probably continue to be unknown to some degree.

“Somewhere on the autism spectrum” is a very fair diagnosis. Definitive diagnoses are very difficult to arrive at early on in the developmental process. As Finn matures and traditional milestones are reached more specific observations can be made.

I applaud you for being able to share so early on the deeply personal process. Emotional chaos and myriad other elements will rein. The heart in the mouth feeling will then subside enough to allow your insights gained from treading the path to enable you to see much more clearly. You will then manage to sort out the parameters.

As sad as it is, our contemporary culture encapsulates disabilities to certain groups rather than acknowledging that we are all afflicted to some degree. I strongly encourage you to seek other families who might be treading a similar path.

Great hope resides in the fact that one can with time find a productive equilibrium that enables normalcy to support the oncoming challenges.

Warm regards, Alan

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[tish grier]

Hi Jeff,

Sad to hear of Finn's difficulties--and it sounds as if you have a somewhat better idea of things. Time, however, will probably reveal more....

Having had a personal blog for a number of years, well before I ever started shooting my mouth off about media, I found that being transparent and writing about difficulties in my life brought me in touch with people (maybe not a crowd, but people) who helped and supported me through those difficulties. The information they shared has been important, but I found that basic human empathy went a long way towards helping me accept and deal with those things in my life.

You will, I'm sure, be surprised by what you encounter as you blog in a new way. More importantly, you will touch, and be touched in a way that you may have never expected. It's a new journey...best of luck to you as you venture forth...

Tish

[Jim Bennette - CEO of TheCrowd]

Jeff -

I have a very good friend who found out similar news about his 4 yr old son about 12 months ago; his son actually has aspergers. Since then they have hired several specialists to help their son in his growth process including therapists and nutritionists. Thus far it was worked wonders and they believe that through more therapy he will ultimately live a very normal life.

The moral of the story is that although they do not have this whole autism thing worked out yet - they have made several advancements. From what little I personally know, given the you figured this out so early it would seem that things look very good for you boy named Finn. My heart goes out to you as I have two young boys myself. Good luck!

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