Free Menopause to Matrimony (Fortytude Series Book 2) by Shelly Hickman

general, she’s not very affectionate.” Carly’s voice is hushed even though Claire sits in her lap and can hear every word. “And except for when she can’t do something she wants, like this, she doesn’t seem to show much emotion about anything. She rarely laughs…”
    “And she doesn’t really interact with us much,” I add. “Unless we kind of force her to. She’s wicked smart when it comes to music, though.”
    Dr. Barker raises his eyebrows with interest.
    I lean over in my chair to speak to Claire. “Pumpkin? Do you think you could show the doctor the piano thingy you play?”
    She rubs her eyes and turns away from me.
    “Can I see it?” I whisper, and Carly hands me the tablet. Claire turns back around to watch what I’m doing. “It’s okay, peanut. I just wanna go to that app you like.”
    When I open the program, which basically consists of a touch piano keyboard, I hand her the iPad. “Will you show us how you play?”
    The app is a lot like the game Simon I played as a kid, only with piano keys. It plays short melodies so that the user can replicate them, making them gradually more complex. The first few melodies are very basic, and Claire copies them without effort. As the exercises increase in difficulty, her fingering becomes much slower, but her accuracy is spot on. She never misses a note.
    Dr. Barker’s eyes open wide as he watches with interest and places a hand over his mouth. The kicker is when the program plays the opening notes of Für Elise. All I can figure is that Claire knows this one already, because even with her round little fingers, not only does she play each note to perfection, she nearly duplicates the timing.
    She’s now calmly lost in her world again, and the three of us look at one another.
    The doctor leans back and reaches for the jar of suckers. Then he holds it out to her. “Claire, would you like a sucker now?”
    She stops playing long enough to eye the jar. Still holding the tablet, she hops from Carly’s lap and peers at the selection of suckers. After choosing a lemon flavored Dum Dum, she swiftly takes a seat in the red chair.
    “Well…” Dr. Barker hesitates a moment, processing everything that took place. “I can tell you what this appears to be, however, keep in mind that she’s far too young to be making any kind of solid diagnosis, especially without specialized testing.”
    “She’s autistic, isn’t she?” Carly concludes with dread on her face.
    The doctor holds up his hands. “Possibly. What do you know about Asperger’s Syndrome?”
    She glances at me before responding. “Not much. I came across it when I was researching autism. All I know is that it’s a high functioning form of autism, right?”
    “That’s right. And if you’ve already done some research, you’re probably aware that Asperger’s Syndrome has officially been replaced by the term autism spectrum disorder. However, diagnosticians are informally using the expression and so are the thousands of people who already have the diagnosis. Whatever we call it, it’s very difficult to diagnose, especially this young. In fact, if it weren’t for her musical gift, I wouldn’t have even mentioned it at this point in time. The obsessive and antisocial behaviors alone could be perfectly normal behaviors for her that she may outgrow, but the fact that they’re coupled with this ability… That’s what makes me suspect Asperger’s. Again, this isn’t by any means a formal diagnosis.”
    “They don’t test for it this young?” I ask. “Is there anything we should do in the meantime?”
    Dr. Barker grabs a notepad from the counter and begins writing. “I’m going to give you the names of a couple of organizations to contact. If this is what we’re dealing with, early intervention is key. There’s no cure, but if you can start focusing on her social interactions now, it will help her down the road.”
    Carly’s shoulders droop and she issues a sigh. When she leans