You know, one of my pet peeves as a nurse is parents. Granted, I am one . . . and I understand that I am equally annoying to other nurses. In any event, I float to many different units in our local hospital and on some blessed days I am fortunate enough to find myself in the triage area of our emergency room. Documentation requires me to ask that little question : "Are your child's shots up to date?" I should really count the number of parents who look at me with a deer-in-the-headlights expression and say, "Well, can't those things cause diseases in little kids? Like, make them retarded? You know, I really meant to do some research on that but I haven't gotten around to it. So no, he hasn't had anything since his Hep vaccine in the hospital when he was born {child is 2 or 3 or 4}." If you're gonna choose not to vaccinate, make it an educated choice!!! I'm wishy-washy on the subject of parental rights in regards to vaccines. On one hand, I recognize a parent's need to have control over what goes into their child's body. On the other hand, vaccines were developed to prevent widespread suffering and even death. Smallpox was eradicated in the United States, right? Well, after 9/11 many of us who were front-line got to experience the joy of that nasty little vaccine. Lots of emergency health care workers, firemen, policemen, EMT's, etc., had the choice to receive the inoculation. What happens when more and more people follow the trend of non-vaccination and we enter a state of germ warfare? But again, I can't support the government forcing parents--I'd hope that parents would choose to protect their children. Do vaccines really cause ASD and other neuro conditions? Evidence points to probably not. Whether driven by guilt or the staggering number of people who choose not to vaccinate, the government seems to be moving away from thimerosal (mercury based preservative) in vaccines (www.fda.gov/CBER/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#tl). I guess I can say this for myself: Grayson is an only child at this time, but if Danny and I have more children, they will be vaccinated.

We had a rough start today. Gray didn't want to go to preschool for the second day in a row and generally he goes easily when reminded that he'll be playing on the playground. We were worried that something upsetting happened Wednesday but since he is either unable or unwilling to answer open-ended questions, we had no luck. He's quiet at school, a completely different child. His teacher addresses him and I can see him listening, but he's so very reluctant to meet her gaze. He's also very docile to the point of submissive; he lets other kids yank toys out of his hands and splash him with water and he shows no reaction whatsoever. I wonder sometimes if preschool is really necessary, but he always seems to be in a good mood when we pick him up.

About our family . . .

My name is Jennifer and I'm mom to Grayson, age three. Recently in parent-teacher conferences I was informed that my little boy is not progressing as he should be in the areas of language development and socialization. He's always said things in a quirky manner but his delays lie in the flow of the conversation--knowing how to give and take with speech and listening. I'm a registered nurse and acquainted with developmental milestones, but I'm well known as an overly cautious mother and I've been told time and time again that children develop at their own pace. His interaction with other children is non-existent. Last night, Danny and I tried to remember an instance when Gray initiated conversation with another child--it was futile. He just doesn't.

So we're waiting. Waiting for the school system to contact us for our initial eval with a diagnostician. Waiting for more thorough insurance to kick in so that we can contact a specialist of our choosing. And you know what? The hardest part is feeling helpless and knowing that for now, we just wait.