When my little girl was diagnosed with significant developmental delays, the words used to describe her were "severe cognitive impairment" and "global developmental delay (motor, speech, language, social)." We were later told twice by two different doctors that she has autism, but then were told twice by two other doctors that she does not have autism but she has developmental delay. Regardless of her medical diagnosis, we prefer to focus on her strengths, interests, and dreams, in all aspects of her life.
