Family desperate to have little boy properly diagnosed

When looking into the big beautiful eyes of five-year-old Falcon Hagan-Watson, of Fairleads, you could not imagine that this boy is stuck in a confusing world of his own.

While other children blissfully play, Falcon spends hours meticulously packing his toy cars in a line and making non-verbal sounds of enjoyment. However, disturbing this process could lead to the boy suffering a full-blown meltdown and severe anger.

Mom Megan Hagan-Watson believes that her son may fall within the autism spectrum, but is struggling to have him fully diagnosed due to the financial constraints of being a single mother of two.

“Falcon was one of a twin, but his sister, unfortunately, died in utero due to it being a high-risk pregnancy,” said Megan.

“He was subsequently delivered at 38 weeks and was a healthy baby. When he was two years old, I started noticing that he would no longer eat, reacting adversely to different textures.

“He was also not speaking, only making non-verbal sounds, which would lead to severe frustration as we were unable to understand him,” Megan said.

“Falcon has since learnt to make hand gestures to communicate his needs, however, these are limited.”

The child further developed obsessive behaviours towards touching soft textiles and is negatively impacted by loud noises, which trigger anxious outbursts.

“I realise that Falcon may be autistic, as all the characteristics are there, but I need him to be fully diagnosed to get him the help and treatment that he deserves.”

According to Megan’s sister, Jackie de Caires, to have Falcon fully diagnosed, he needs to be assessed by a panel of specialists, which has become an unattainable feat for the family.

“We have been to Tambo Memorial Hospital on numerous occasions only be turned away as they do not have the services available to help us,” said de Caires.

“Falcon has since been seen by an occupational therapist who has made further referrals, as well as an audiologist who has recommended that we see an ear, nose and throat specialist but this cannot be done as we are trying to save up to raise the necessary funds.”

Looking defeated, Megan says that all that she wants is for her son to get the help he needs to live a functional life.

“We need the tools to be able to better understand his unique needs,” said Megan.

“Falcon deserves to be understood and granted the opportunity to live in an environment where he doesn’t feel like he is a prisoner of his mind.”

To raise funds to engage with specialists in the field, the family has created a BackaBuddy account.

For more information contact Jackie on 061 759 7275.

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