Peter's Post

This post is to help anyone who doesn't, understand what our son Peter's abilities and limitations are and why. 

Why he has limitations:

Peter was born with a small deletion on a gene or two on chromosome 12. This presents with the following symptoms:

1. Slightly shorter fingers and toes.

2. Different facial characteristics, including a high arch in the roof of the mouth, almond shaped eyes, a slightly pointed forehead, and thin upper lip with a longer philtrum, and turned up nose

3. Intellectual disability 

4. Developmental delay

5. Slightly decreased muscle tone

And in Peter's case, though it is unsure if the following is due to the genetic anomaly above:

6. Thin corpus colosum, dipping toward the center

7. ADHD

And perhaps partly due to the above:

8. Compromised working memory and processing time, which contributes to the need for repetition and some social accommodations such as tolerance for interruptions or prompt closed loop communication. 

One more thing that is different about Peter, is that ever since he was 2 or 3 he started clearing out postnasal drainage or extra mucus with a snorting sound followed by a "hock-a-loogy" sound. It is not a sound highly accepted socially, but one doctor called it a tic. I did notice that he did/does it more often when he is nervous. And recently, someone pointed out that it stimulates the vasovagal nerve, which tends to produce a calming response. After learning about the differing facial features with his genetic condition, I wondered if partly, it may be due to the high hard pallet arch that he has.  At any rate, it is something he finds productive or comforting to some degree and doesn't have a ton of control over, considering a lot of effort has been made to help him stop.

Peter is normal in pretty much all other ways.

He has a God-sent talent in music. That is his language! He LOVES it!! Because of a most gracious and caring neighbor,  Brother Scheppard,  he knows how to fish and knows a lot about it, has some good work ethic, and is wonderful at communicating.  He is not autistic, as that diagnosis includes a void in the area of communication.  He expresses himself boldly and most the time, unashamedly. He is curious about others and is not afraid to make friends and start up relationships with people.