
lorida. On the average day she can be found running, jumping, playing, talking with her many friends at school and learning as much as she can. She loves to learn new things. She also sings and plays the piano. Gina was an accomplished vocalist by age 6. But, that's not the amazing part of this story. Gina has autism. When Gina was just 2 years old she was diagnosed with PDD NOS (an autistic spectrum disorder). The pervasive development disorder diagnosis was a result of evaluations sought because Gina could not speak at age 2. In fact, Gina did not really start speaking any words until after age 3. In addition to a speech and language delay, she had many other developmental delays. She did not have age appropriate social skills. She had poor eye contact, sensory issues, and feeding issues among others. She had difficulty transitioning and did not adapt well to new environments. She was often afraid in public and could not tolerate noisy places such as theme parks or carnivals. She had odd behaviors such as scratching the floors and walls and stacking her toys instead of playing with them. She had no imaginary play skills. When she went to a playground, she showed no interest in other children. She would simply pick up sticks and rocks. The doctors that diagnosed her were unable to state whether her condition would improve or worsen. They were unable to tell us whether she would ever be able to speak. Their advice was to enroll her in a specialized program as quickly as <b>...</b>
dwight howard
incredible singer
talented child
good luck charm
Prodigy
Gina