http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34480829/ns/health-mental_health/
1 in 110 children have autism. Amazing, and yet we still live in a world where people have no idea what it is.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
great sensory task...
Making paper airplanes!
It requires hand/eye coordination, concentrating on instructions, and manipulating the fingers to make the creases....and....all you need is a piece of paper!
We went on a fieldtrip to the Henry Ford Museum and they have an airplane exhibit where you can make different paper airplanes and then fly them through these targets...quite fun.
It requires hand/eye coordination, concentrating on instructions, and manipulating the fingers to make the creases....and....all you need is a piece of paper!
We went on a fieldtrip to the Henry Ford Museum and they have an airplane exhibit where you can make different paper airplanes and then fly them through these targets...quite fun.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
ok...my ultimate favorite funny story!
So, I took the kids to the child center at the gym while I went to work out. They love going and always have such a great time. Well, when I came to pick them up Boy was waiting for me and looked pretty nervous. As soon as I walked up to him he told me that we had to leave right away because an older kid was going to KILL him. I couldn't imagine what could have happened to cause someone to want to KILL him so I asked him...
So, the story is that he read the kid's name tag on his back and the kid's last name was "McDonald". And, with the most serious and sincere face, he proceeds to tell me that he tapped the kid (who was older) on the shoulder and said "Hey, so is your Dad Ronald McDonald?". And, he was completely serious. I am guessing the kid didn't realize that Boy truly thought that his Dad could be the big redhaired guy and instead probably thought that he was making fun of him.
....we spent over an hour that night explaining to him that there really was no such person as Ronald McDonald, yes we understood that he was on commercials and appeared to be in the stores, but really and truly he doesn't exist. I am not sure he is convinced!
It reminds me of another story from last year when he met a boy named Luke in his class. Luke happened to ask Boy "Do you know who my Dad is?" and Boy said "yeah, Darth Vader." -- the more I think about it, I think he probably really did think his Dad was Darth Vader until he met him!
So, the story is that he read the kid's name tag on his back and the kid's last name was "McDonald". And, with the most serious and sincere face, he proceeds to tell me that he tapped the kid (who was older) on the shoulder and said "Hey, so is your Dad Ronald McDonald?". And, he was completely serious. I am guessing the kid didn't realize that Boy truly thought that his Dad could be the big redhaired guy and instead probably thought that he was making fun of him.
....we spent over an hour that night explaining to him that there really was no such person as Ronald McDonald, yes we understood that he was on commercials and appeared to be in the stores, but really and truly he doesn't exist. I am not sure he is convinced!
It reminds me of another story from last year when he met a boy named Luke in his class. Luke happened to ask Boy "Do you know who my Dad is?" and Boy said "yeah, Darth Vader." -- the more I think about it, I think he probably really did think his Dad was Darth Vader until he met him!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
all over the place
"You can't catch a hard baseball in your mouth" ~Joseph age 10
Things that have started to upset Boy:
1)The kids yell at him because he laughs too loud. His solution? He does not understand why they do not realize that his loud laughing is a result of his Aspergers. I tried to explain to him that it could be a result of his Aspergers, but it is a behavior that he has the ability to control.
2)One of the kids tells him he's a "manial freak". He doesn't have a solution for this one and really, neither do I. This seems like pretty typical 7 year old behavior, but is he being called names because of his quirky aspergery things or what? My advice to him was for him to tell the kid that it was not a very nice thing to say...
3)He was not picked to be a student council rep from his class. His solution? He will raise his hand higher next year. To me this is an amazing breakthrough...he actually wants to join a team of other kids whose goal is not Star Wars, Batman, School House Rock related?! awesome!
Keep moving forward, keep moving forward, all we can do is keep moving forward...
Things that have started to upset Boy:
1)The kids yell at him because he laughs too loud. His solution? He does not understand why they do not realize that his loud laughing is a result of his Aspergers. I tried to explain to him that it could be a result of his Aspergers, but it is a behavior that he has the ability to control.
2)One of the kids tells him he's a "manial freak". He doesn't have a solution for this one and really, neither do I. This seems like pretty typical 7 year old behavior, but is he being called names because of his quirky aspergery things or what? My advice to him was for him to tell the kid that it was not a very nice thing to say...
3)He was not picked to be a student council rep from his class. His solution? He will raise his hand higher next year. To me this is an amazing breakthrough...he actually wants to join a team of other kids whose goal is not Star Wars, Batman, School House Rock related?! awesome!
Keep moving forward, keep moving forward, all we can do is keep moving forward...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
thank you for your comments!
awww, thank you all for the comments! They really are helpful to read. Everyday is a journey to another day and another day and it is always changing. I know that if we weren't battling these issues it would just be some other mind warping situation that would make me feel like a failure! haha. I guess the only parents who feel like failures are the ones who are trying their hardest not to be failures.
Of course...it is so easy to beat yourself up and imagine that had you gotten in that extra 5 minutes of sensory yesterday he would not have scribbled a picture and would have stayed inside the lines for once, but that isn't realistic.
With the girls I am pretty certain they will figure out coloring in the lines and handwriting and learning to ride a bike, but with boy I know it is more difficult for him...the things of childhood don't come naturally to him.
But with all of that aside, I have to remember that there are other things that he does amazingly well that most other people are completely incapable of doing...the girls won't memorize full length movies, or remember exactly what they were wearing the first day it snowed last year, or be able to add or multiply any numbers together quickly because they've stored the answers to memory... I have to get my brain out of the mold of what a child *should* act like, be like, think like...we are all uniquely different. Gotta remember that!
Of course...it is so easy to beat yourself up and imagine that had you gotten in that extra 5 minutes of sensory yesterday he would not have scribbled a picture and would have stayed inside the lines for once, but that isn't realistic.
With the girls I am pretty certain they will figure out coloring in the lines and handwriting and learning to ride a bike, but with boy I know it is more difficult for him...the things of childhood don't come naturally to him.
But with all of that aside, I have to remember that there are other things that he does amazingly well that most other people are completely incapable of doing...the girls won't memorize full length movies, or remember exactly what they were wearing the first day it snowed last year, or be able to add or multiply any numbers together quickly because they've stored the answers to memory... I have to get my brain out of the mold of what a child *should* act like, be like, think like...we are all uniquely different. Gotta remember that!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
overwhelmed
I think things are becoming overwhelming at school for boy. I am going to email the teacher after this blog. It seems like he comes from school and just becomes out of control kid, which I think is a reaction to trying so hard to keep it together all day. It has to be a lot for a kid to try to bear.
So, because of the fact that he comes home and turns into a tangled mess of unfocused'ness, he cannot sit to work on homework and he melts down super easily. Tonight we are going to try to not do homework directly after school and instead let him have some playtime first. I now recall his therapist suggesting that immediately after school he goes to his room and gets to play with whatever he wants until he feels as though he has unwound himself enough, with no interruption from the girls. We have tried to implement it with him, but he insists that he does not need to do that. Today I am going to insist that he try it out.
Another thing that is becoming increasingly more difficult is the fact that our morning routines are completely out of control. We have a pretty simple routine that is charted out for him to follow and everything works well up until showertime -- he gets up, lets the dog out, eats breakfast and takes a shower...
...when he gets out of the shower, he gets out as a totally different kid! I wonder if it is the water that jostles him to life and into a frenzy? Maybe some kind of sensory situation...whatever it is, it is unbearable. When he is in this mode, he is no longer able to follow the routine chart. I tell him simple things to do like "Put your underwear on" and he just sits there, even if he repeats it back to me. It seems as though he is in a daze that he cannot be shaken out of. "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" is what I chant throughout the house with "What are you supposed to be doing?" and then I start just saying "underwear", "underwear", "remember underwear" and it goes on and on, then we get those on and we move to the undershirt. It would just be quicker for me to dress him myself, but then what happens? He's 13 and can't dress himself for school?
*sigh*
So on top of all of this craziness, I also get to sit everynight and contemplate the things we didn't accomplish during the day that we should have...
..oh crap, we didn't do sensory today or
..oh crap, I bet he had milk today or
..oh crap, forgot to track his anxiety levels today or
..oh crap, we should have studied spelling tonight or
..oh crap, I should have had him do his callirobics or
..oh crap, I forgot to brush him this morning or...
...it just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and I know that is true with anyone who has kids, all of the "oh crap" moments, but I swear I feel like our "oh crap" moments are detrimentally affecting the progress we are trying to make with him.
so...blah.
So, because of the fact that he comes home and turns into a tangled mess of unfocused'ness, he cannot sit to work on homework and he melts down super easily. Tonight we are going to try to not do homework directly after school and instead let him have some playtime first. I now recall his therapist suggesting that immediately after school he goes to his room and gets to play with whatever he wants until he feels as though he has unwound himself enough, with no interruption from the girls. We have tried to implement it with him, but he insists that he does not need to do that. Today I am going to insist that he try it out.
Another thing that is becoming increasingly more difficult is the fact that our morning routines are completely out of control. We have a pretty simple routine that is charted out for him to follow and everything works well up until showertime -- he gets up, lets the dog out, eats breakfast and takes a shower...
...when he gets out of the shower, he gets out as a totally different kid! I wonder if it is the water that jostles him to life and into a frenzy? Maybe some kind of sensory situation...whatever it is, it is unbearable. When he is in this mode, he is no longer able to follow the routine chart. I tell him simple things to do like "Put your underwear on" and he just sits there, even if he repeats it back to me. It seems as though he is in a daze that he cannot be shaken out of. "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" is what I chant throughout the house with "What are you supposed to be doing?" and then I start just saying "underwear", "underwear", "remember underwear" and it goes on and on, then we get those on and we move to the undershirt. It would just be quicker for me to dress him myself, but then what happens? He's 13 and can't dress himself for school?
*sigh*
So on top of all of this craziness, I also get to sit everynight and contemplate the things we didn't accomplish during the day that we should have...
..oh crap, we didn't do sensory today or
..oh crap, I bet he had milk today or
..oh crap, forgot to track his anxiety levels today or
..oh crap, we should have studied spelling tonight or
..oh crap, I should have had him do his callirobics or
..oh crap, I forgot to brush him this morning or...
...it just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and I know that is true with anyone who has kids, all of the "oh crap" moments, but I swear I feel like our "oh crap" moments are detrimentally affecting the progress we are trying to make with him.
so...blah.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
School House Rocking...
...a kick off the block, for our favorite School House, School House Rock!
Oh wow, School House Rock is back in full force as one of our obsessions...oh joy! Nonstop listening to the music, which at least we are on something educational so that is a bonus.
Handwriting is still such a huge issue for us, oy! Sensory therapy is helping, but we just really need to slow him down a lot. We are at sensory therapy right now doing homework until his therapist comes out and let me tell you...nightmarish! UGH!
To me the worse part of his aspergers is his inability to focus on homework!
Oh wow, School House Rock is back in full force as one of our obsessions...oh joy! Nonstop listening to the music, which at least we are on something educational so that is a bonus.
Handwriting is still such a huge issue for us, oy! Sensory therapy is helping, but we just really need to slow him down a lot. We are at sensory therapy right now doing homework until his therapist comes out and let me tell you...nightmarish! UGH!
To me the worse part of his aspergers is his inability to focus on homework!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
long time no post
"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peach of mind." ~Christian Larson
It has been quite a while since I have posted something on the blog. I think we have become overwhelmed in the chaos of the school year now that everyone is settled in to their work. All I know is I am exhausted!
Where to start with where we are at...
I am intensely dreading this Halloween season. I feel horrible forbidding the eating of chocolate in the house, but I know (and boy realizes too) what milk does to him and it is just impossible for him to function with milk in his system. I do let him "cheat" sometimes on the weekend, but we definitely pay for it after. It still amazes me what milk does to him. I think the things that he misses the most are mac-n-cheese and pizza. I have been searching for shredded milk-free cheese and cannot find it. I mentioned this to the sensory therapist and she suggested I buy the block of milk free cheese and....wait for it....shred it myself! DUH?! Seriously, why did I not think of that myself? Oh yeah, that's right because half the time I can't even remember my name or what day of the week it is.
Anxiety levels are very high lately and we are trying different ways of tracking that for him so his therapist can work through it with him, but he has anxiety over having to mark the anxiety chart that he has anxiety...this is my life. Today we played outside in the leaves and the kids next door were taking our leaves to their yards....anxiety ensued...
The sensory therapy is the best thing we have EVER done...ever...period. His OT is so amazingly kind and understanding and she really knows how to get through to him. She has been working on his handwriting, coordination, fine motor skills and I believe we are seeing some pretty good results. We really need to slow down his handwriting and coloring so we are working with Callirobtics, which is writing in patterns to classical music, to the beat of the classical music. The problem is that he tenses up when writing, looks really closely at the paper and moves quickly for fear of not being able to finish quickly enough. Gotta slow him down a few beats.
Friendships are still difficult for him. It breaks my heart to see him so stuck in his ways.
So, overall we have not had much progress to report on, but we are still working hard.
Newest obsession to report on -- School House Rock. This one is an obsession from about two years ago that is now making its way back around town. He listens to it nonstop and sings all of the song. I am a pretty huge fan of SHR so I'm happy to hear the music and dance to it while cleaning the house...in about a week I will be pulling my hair out to "I'm just a Bill", can't wait.
It has been quite a while since I have posted something on the blog. I think we have become overwhelmed in the chaos of the school year now that everyone is settled in to their work. All I know is I am exhausted!
Where to start with where we are at...
I am intensely dreading this Halloween season. I feel horrible forbidding the eating of chocolate in the house, but I know (and boy realizes too) what milk does to him and it is just impossible for him to function with milk in his system. I do let him "cheat" sometimes on the weekend, but we definitely pay for it after. It still amazes me what milk does to him. I think the things that he misses the most are mac-n-cheese and pizza. I have been searching for shredded milk-free cheese and cannot find it. I mentioned this to the sensory therapist and she suggested I buy the block of milk free cheese and....wait for it....shred it myself! DUH?! Seriously, why did I not think of that myself? Oh yeah, that's right because half the time I can't even remember my name or what day of the week it is.
Anxiety levels are very high lately and we are trying different ways of tracking that for him so his therapist can work through it with him, but he has anxiety over having to mark the anxiety chart that he has anxiety...this is my life. Today we played outside in the leaves and the kids next door were taking our leaves to their yards....anxiety ensued...
The sensory therapy is the best thing we have EVER done...ever...period. His OT is so amazingly kind and understanding and she really knows how to get through to him. She has been working on his handwriting, coordination, fine motor skills and I believe we are seeing some pretty good results. We really need to slow down his handwriting and coloring so we are working with Callirobtics, which is writing in patterns to classical music, to the beat of the classical music. The problem is that he tenses up when writing, looks really closely at the paper and moves quickly for fear of not being able to finish quickly enough. Gotta slow him down a few beats.
Friendships are still difficult for him. It breaks my heart to see him so stuck in his ways.
So, overall we have not had much progress to report on, but we are still working hard.
Newest obsession to report on -- School House Rock. This one is an obsession from about two years ago that is now making its way back around town. He listens to it nonstop and sings all of the song. I am a pretty huge fan of SHR so I'm happy to hear the music and dance to it while cleaning the house...in about a week I will be pulling my hair out to "I'm just a Bill", can't wait.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
@sensory therapy
At sensory therapy waiting for boy to be done. He loves coming here!!
I can't wait to see what they work on today.
October 11 - Walk Now For Autism @ The Palace sponsored by Autism Speaks -- checkin 10am
walk starts @ 12
I can't wait to see what they work on today.
October 11 - Walk Now For Autism @ The Palace sponsored by Autism Speaks -- checkin 10am
walk starts @ 12
Monday, September 21, 2009
another week, a new beginning
Yesterday was difficult. We had a fabulous day, but boy really had a hard time of it. I cannot quite figure out why. He may have had some milk this weekend, but not enough to cause the issues we saw yesterday....let me explain.
First of all, we had a super busy weekend, which probably did not help matters. It was busy and chaotic and anxiety filled. Friday we had a ton of running around to do and the kids worked on cleaning the basement for a playdate they were having Saturday...overall Friday wasn't too bad, just busy.
Saturday we had ballet, then a bbq at my Grandma's senior center...this induced high anxiety because boy was certain there would be roller coasters. He was worried up until the point where he could actually see there were no roller coasters set up in the parking lot. After that we went home and awaited the arrival of his playdate...somewhat of an anxiety inducing moment as he was worried he would not have enough time to do everything he had planned. The playdate was inside and they were loud and rowdy, which doesn't bother me, but usually puts him in an elevated mood...he becomes overly loud, overly rowdy, overly anxious, overly sensitive, overly unfocused...everything just becomes over the top. It is really hard to bring him back down in this situation.
So Saturday was a late night, perhaps he didn't sleep well...which brings us into Sunday. Sunday we went to Frankenmuth to celebrate FIL birthday. Frankenmuth is boy's most favorite place to go...ever...E V E R! We used to go overnight at least 4 times a year. There is a strict routine to a Frankenmuth visit...very strict routine and it involves spending the night. We haven't gone in quite a while because he became so set on the routine that it really wasn't fun for us anymore because we wanted to veer off of his path and that was absolutely not allowed. So, we planned a day trip to Frankenmuth for dinner and explained ahead of time that we could not possibly stay. He seemed ok with that and didn't even ask to stay while we were there....but he was in an "out of control" state the entire time.
By out of control I mean unfocused, loud, couldn't listen to us, easily frustrated, easily angry...he even had a meltdown at the table and started punching himself in the head. I do not think this was milk related. I think this was strictly "Aspergers" related. I think that he was out of his element because we were in a place where he had a routine, but we weren't able to do that routine because we weren't spending the night. I also think that he was overly excited to go there since it had been so long....overall it was a very hectic day. He couldn't stop saying "pee" and "poop", he couldn't stop himself from squawking, he couldn't stop himself from melting and hitting himself...just overall hectic.
So, where do we go from here? Is there a solution to making this type of situation better? Was there something I could have done to prevent or control? Or, will these things just happen?
What is my goal with anything that we are doing for him? I don't think it is logical to try to "fix" (goes along the same lines of "curing" his Aspergers, which again I hate the term!)....what is it I am trying to do?
...I sat and thought on that question for quite some time...
I believe my goal is to help him learn to deal with it. Teach him how to self regulate himself. I need to keep reminding myself of that..I need to teach him how to self regulate himself. I cannot always modify the family schedule to be less hectic for him (sometimes yes, but it's not feasible always) instead he needs to learn how to cope with changes. He needs to get to a point where he can understand what he is feeling and know to excuse himself to adjust what he is feeling if needed. I will be successful if I can help him with that.
I think the biggest or most difficult thing to deal with with an Aspie kid is the fact that there are so many areas that we need to work on...there's sensory and emotional well being and helping with the lack of friendships and anxiety and handwriting and fixations and unflexibility and noise sensitivity and transition issues and whatever comes up tomorrow ...as a parent it is overwhelming to know what area to start with....I think that is where I am at...I think I am trying to tackle his Aspergers as a whole instead of focusing on one area at a time...not sure what the best approach is though and I doubt anyone really has an answer to that...
First of all, we had a super busy weekend, which probably did not help matters. It was busy and chaotic and anxiety filled. Friday we had a ton of running around to do and the kids worked on cleaning the basement for a playdate they were having Saturday...overall Friday wasn't too bad, just busy.
Saturday we had ballet, then a bbq at my Grandma's senior center...this induced high anxiety because boy was certain there would be roller coasters. He was worried up until the point where he could actually see there were no roller coasters set up in the parking lot. After that we went home and awaited the arrival of his playdate...somewhat of an anxiety inducing moment as he was worried he would not have enough time to do everything he had planned. The playdate was inside and they were loud and rowdy, which doesn't bother me, but usually puts him in an elevated mood...he becomes overly loud, overly rowdy, overly anxious, overly sensitive, overly unfocused...everything just becomes over the top. It is really hard to bring him back down in this situation.
So Saturday was a late night, perhaps he didn't sleep well...which brings us into Sunday. Sunday we went to Frankenmuth to celebrate FIL birthday. Frankenmuth is boy's most favorite place to go...ever...E V E R! We used to go overnight at least 4 times a year. There is a strict routine to a Frankenmuth visit...very strict routine and it involves spending the night. We haven't gone in quite a while because he became so set on the routine that it really wasn't fun for us anymore because we wanted to veer off of his path and that was absolutely not allowed. So, we planned a day trip to Frankenmuth for dinner and explained ahead of time that we could not possibly stay. He seemed ok with that and didn't even ask to stay while we were there....but he was in an "out of control" state the entire time.
By out of control I mean unfocused, loud, couldn't listen to us, easily frustrated, easily angry...he even had a meltdown at the table and started punching himself in the head. I do not think this was milk related. I think this was strictly "Aspergers" related. I think that he was out of his element because we were in a place where he had a routine, but we weren't able to do that routine because we weren't spending the night. I also think that he was overly excited to go there since it had been so long....overall it was a very hectic day. He couldn't stop saying "pee" and "poop", he couldn't stop himself from squawking, he couldn't stop himself from melting and hitting himself...just overall hectic.
So, where do we go from here? Is there a solution to making this type of situation better? Was there something I could have done to prevent or control? Or, will these things just happen?
What is my goal with anything that we are doing for him? I don't think it is logical to try to "fix" (goes along the same lines of "curing" his Aspergers, which again I hate the term!)....what is it I am trying to do?
...I sat and thought on that question for quite some time...
I believe my goal is to help him learn to deal with it. Teach him how to self regulate himself. I need to keep reminding myself of that..I need to teach him how to self regulate himself. I cannot always modify the family schedule to be less hectic for him (sometimes yes, but it's not feasible always) instead he needs to learn how to cope with changes. He needs to get to a point where he can understand what he is feeling and know to excuse himself to adjust what he is feeling if needed. I will be successful if I can help him with that.
I think the biggest or most difficult thing to deal with with an Aspie kid is the fact that there are so many areas that we need to work on...there's sensory and emotional well being and helping with the lack of friendships and anxiety and handwriting and fixations and unflexibility and noise sensitivity and transition issues and whatever comes up tomorrow ...as a parent it is overwhelming to know what area to start with....I think that is where I am at...I think I am trying to tackle his Aspergers as a whole instead of focusing on one area at a time...not sure what the best approach is though and I doubt anyone really has an answer to that...
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
special note about casein free diet
Here is a special note of something I discovered about the casein free diet....
Be careful of lunchmeat! I didn't even think to look, but found that there is milk protein in some lunchmeats...who would have thought it!
Also, we bought vegan cheese slices to make grilled cheese sandwiches...boy ate it, but didn't think it was all too great. We also bought soy pudding, which is a huge hit!
Be careful of lunchmeat! I didn't even think to look, but found that there is milk protein in some lunchmeats...who would have thought it!
Also, we bought vegan cheese slices to make grilled cheese sandwiches...boy ate it, but didn't think it was all too great. We also bought soy pudding, which is a huge hit!
today's sensory therapy update
"A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner."~ Anonymous
Today's therapy was really great. Ms. Sue is working with boy on his handwriting, continuing to focus on strengthening his hands.
Next week she is going to put together Callirobics for boy to try. Basically it is handwriting to classical music. He won't necessarily be forming the letters correctly, but will instead kind of be doodling while listening to the music...trying to pace himself to the sound of the music, which is supposed to slow him down in his writing. It is supposed to teach the hand strokes that make up handwriting to the quiet beat of the music. I think it sounds very exciting!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
we survived!
I am very happy to announce that we survived the first week of school!Boy ate all of his lunch everyday, which may not seem like a huge accomplishment, but trust me it is! Last year the noise in the lunchroom was so overwhelming that he couldn't eat. He lost 3lbs the last two months of school -- this summer it was my goal to plump him up a bit and he gained 6lbs!
I have high hopes that this year will
be great! His handwriting is an issue, but I think it has improved somewhat. I brought a handwriting paper of his to sensory therapy yesterday to use as a baseline...can only get better from here!!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday, Monday...
So good to me (ba-da ba-da-da-da)
Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday mornin', Monday mornin' couldn't guarantee (ba-da ba-da-da-da)
~Mamas & The Papas
We survived!!
Yes, I knew we would survive, even if the day had been bleak and horrid we would have survived it, but the day wasn't bleak or horrid or terrible or tear filled or miserable or any of the other things that I nervously waited for...the day was....
"pretty great" according to boy. I was hoping to just get a "good", but instead we got "pretty great", which to me is pretty freaking awesome!
We started the day, "Goodmorning Chart" in hand, with therapeutic listening while he ate breakfast. Usually the therapeutic listening is supposed to go for 30 minutes (I swear I will blog a separate blog about the coolness of this!), but we only got in about 20 minutes, which was perfectly fine with me. He completed his chart and we were off to school.
The office entrance was decorated with balloons, which is apparently exactly what happened last year so the familiarity begin for him. I walked him to his class and he found that the seating chart had him and his cousin together, super bonus! He put away his stuff and got right down to business. I think the fact that yesterday was a 1/2 day was a little awkward to him because after school (and even today) he commented on how tomorrow (Tuesday) they would actually start working.
Last year there were HUGE issues with discipline in the class. Boy is super rule follower guy so I never worried he would get in trouble in class, but he had high anxiety over it. He would obsess over who was getting in trouble and getting their name on the board. The teacher (who I really did like) also did group punishment if one kid misbehaved too much and the anxiety that was created there was unreal. Well the very first thing boy announced to me yesterday upon leaving school was the fact that there is a new procedure when someone gets in trouble. Basically everyone starts with a green card, but as misbehavior happens they flip their cards to various colors indicating varying degrees of "in trouble". Anyone who keeps a green card all week gets put in a drawing for some kind of prize. At the end of each day the kids write their color for the day in their daily folder and the parents are encouraged to check that. It sounds like a very successful process and I think it will really help alleviate his anxiety about getting in trouble.
The teacher also walked the kids around the school and introduced them to the "specials" teachers (art, music, spanish) to help familiarize themselves with those teachers again. I think this will be another huge help to our anxiety issues because last year boy had a lot of stress about transitioning to the various different specials throughout the day/week. Last year the school councelor walked him to each of the specials and introduced him to the teacher (even though he had already been in their classes). It seemed to help and I think that this was also helpful to him in remembering how the routine works.
Kudos to the teacher for having such great ideas for the first day!!
I questioned him about the noise, which was a difficult thing to get past last year, and he stated that it was noisy, but not too bad. That could be because it was just the first day or it could be that the therapeutic listening is helping...we will have to see how that goes throughout the year. He did comment that the other kids must have grown up a lot because they weren't nearly as bad as they were last year...he's such an old soul living in the body if a 7 year old. I love him!
He didn't make any friends or talk to anyone (or so he says), but he did quiz the class to see if anyone remembered how funny he was last year, which no one did so he was determined to come up with some funny jokes to start telling. This morning on the way to school I asked if he had come up with any good jokes to tell today and he said no, but he has some great jokes planned for April Fools day and the last day of school...so I am hoping that doesn't mean he is planning on waiting until April to make some friends! haha.
Overall it was a very great day, he was in high spirits and excited to go back today. Today is the first full day of school, which means he is eating lunch there....hopefully it is just as wonderful a day as yesterday!
Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday mornin', Monday mornin' couldn't guarantee (ba-da ba-da-da-da)
~Mamas & The Papas
We survived!!
Yes, I knew we would survive, even if the day had been bleak and horrid we would have survived it, but the day wasn't bleak or horrid or terrible or tear filled or miserable or any of the other things that I nervously waited for...the day was....
"pretty great" according to boy. I was hoping to just get a "good", but instead we got "pretty great", which to me is pretty freaking awesome!
We started the day, "Goodmorning Chart" in hand, with therapeutic listening while he ate breakfast. Usually the therapeutic listening is supposed to go for 30 minutes (I swear I will blog a separate blog about the coolness of this!), but we only got in about 20 minutes, which was perfectly fine with me. He completed his chart and we were off to school.
The office entrance was decorated with balloons, which is apparently exactly what happened last year so the familiarity begin for him. I walked him to his class and he found that the seating chart had him and his cousin together, super bonus! He put away his stuff and got right down to business. I think the fact that yesterday was a 1/2 day was a little awkward to him because after school (and even today) he commented on how tomorrow (Tuesday) they would actually start working.
Last year there were HUGE issues with discipline in the class. Boy is super rule follower guy so I never worried he would get in trouble in class, but he had high anxiety over it. He would obsess over who was getting in trouble and getting their name on the board. The teacher (who I really did like) also did group punishment if one kid misbehaved too much and the anxiety that was created there was unreal. Well the very first thing boy announced to me yesterday upon leaving school was the fact that there is a new procedure when someone gets in trouble. Basically everyone starts with a green card, but as misbehavior happens they flip their cards to various colors indicating varying degrees of "in trouble". Anyone who keeps a green card all week gets put in a drawing for some kind of prize. At the end of each day the kids write their color for the day in their daily folder and the parents are encouraged to check that. It sounds like a very successful process and I think it will really help alleviate his anxiety about getting in trouble.
The teacher also walked the kids around the school and introduced them to the "specials" teachers (art, music, spanish) to help familiarize themselves with those teachers again. I think this will be another huge help to our anxiety issues because last year boy had a lot of stress about transitioning to the various different specials throughout the day/week. Last year the school councelor walked him to each of the specials and introduced him to the teacher (even though he had already been in their classes). It seemed to help and I think that this was also helpful to him in remembering how the routine works.
Kudos to the teacher for having such great ideas for the first day!!
I questioned him about the noise, which was a difficult thing to get past last year, and he stated that it was noisy, but not too bad. That could be because it was just the first day or it could be that the therapeutic listening is helping...we will have to see how that goes throughout the year. He did comment that the other kids must have grown up a lot because they weren't nearly as bad as they were last year...he's such an old soul living in the body if a 7 year old. I love him!
He didn't make any friends or talk to anyone (or so he says), but he did quiz the class to see if anyone remembered how funny he was last year, which no one did so he was determined to come up with some funny jokes to start telling. This morning on the way to school I asked if he had come up with any good jokes to tell today and he said no, but he has some great jokes planned for April Fools day and the last day of school...so I am hoping that doesn't mean he is planning on waiting until April to make some friends! haha.
Overall it was a very great day, he was in high spirits and excited to go back today. Today is the first full day of school, which means he is eating lunch there....hopefully it is just as wonderful a day as yesterday!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
school, school, I love school
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. ~ Albert Einstein
School starts tomorrow. I have high anxiety about it this year. The start of last year boy cried everyday for 2 months. It was a very difficult time for him and we found over the weekend that the majority of the boys from last year are now in a different class so he has a bunch of boys he really doesn't know. Anxiety is high for him too so I'm trying really hard to not let him see how I'm feeling.
So, we will see what happens tomorrow. We are doing therapeutic listening now everyday...I'll have a whole separate blog about that, probably tomorrow. I think I will brush him in the morning too to help ease his stress level.
All of my charts are in line, we should be set to start another fabulous year. Honestly, as much as I hate the fact they have to go back to school, school is really what helps regulate his moods because there is a constant routine that deviates very little from day to day. School provides a better routine than I can ever do on my own so I know it is good for him. I just wish they could stay home with us forever...they grow up too fast. It is sad!!
So, wish us luck for tomorrow...thankfully it is just a half day.
School starts tomorrow. I have high anxiety about it this year. The start of last year boy cried everyday for 2 months. It was a very difficult time for him and we found over the weekend that the majority of the boys from last year are now in a different class so he has a bunch of boys he really doesn't know. Anxiety is high for him too so I'm trying really hard to not let him see how I'm feeling.
So, we will see what happens tomorrow. We are doing therapeutic listening now everyday...I'll have a whole separate blog about that, probably tomorrow. I think I will brush him in the morning too to help ease his stress level.
All of my charts are in line, we should be set to start another fabulous year. Honestly, as much as I hate the fact they have to go back to school, school is really what helps regulate his moods because there is a constant routine that deviates very little from day to day. School provides a better routine than I can ever do on my own so I know it is good for him. I just wish they could stay home with us forever...they grow up too fast. It is sad!!
So, wish us luck for tomorrow...thankfully it is just a half day.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities."~ Stephen Covey
Ok so I have been ALL about the schedules and routines and lists and charts and to do lists and been done lists...it is quite overwhelming! But I have narrowed things down a bit and think that the following will be super helpful for us this year, thought I would share with all of you.
Good Morning, Welcome To Your Day chart: this chart represents the things that need to be done in the morning before we walk out the door for school (since school is 6 days away we will work in school mode).
I think adding the sensory items to the charts will ensure that the sensory is not overlooked.
Also, since things are so insanely busy with school starting, I need to create weekday routines for quick reference. For example it would be something like the below...
We also need to go down to a daily @ school schedule that he can keep in his desk at school so that at any given moment of the day he can find out where he is at and where he has to go.
Hopefully these will be helpful and make him more productive if he feels like he is in some kind of control.
Hopeful, ever so hopeful.
Ok so I have been ALL about the schedules and routines and lists and charts and to do lists and been done lists...it is quite overwhelming! But I have narrowed things down a bit and think that the following will be super helpful for us this year, thought I would share with all of you.
Good Morning, Welcome To Your Day chart: this chart represents the things that need to be done in the morning before we walk out the door for school (since school is 6 days away we will work in school mode).
- I have added to the good morning chart a task for him to choose what sensory fun we will do that night
- I have put a variety of sensory fun tasks onto white 3 x5 notecards and based on what we have going on that night, he can randomly choose 1 or 2 cards (blindly choosing eliminates him needing to make a choice (which is a meltdown begging to happen), but still gives him some ownership)
- Pick up cotton balls with tongs
- Pick up cotton balls with tweezers
- Sift rice into cups with one hand
- Play war fast and deal cards
- Play uno, deal cards quickly
- Shaving cream in the shower on the tile
- Shaving cream in ziplock bags with food coloring. Allow them to write and draw on the ziplock (make sure you double bag)
- Shaving cream car wash - drive cars through it
- "Draw" pictures with cooked spaghetti noodles
I think adding the sensory items to the charts will ensure that the sensory is not overlooked.
Also, since things are so insanely busy with school starting, I need to create weekday routines for quick reference. For example it would be something like the below...
We also need to go down to a daily @ school schedule that he can keep in his desk at school so that at any given moment of the day he can find out where he is at and where he has to go.
Hopefully these will be helpful and make him more productive if he feels like he is in some kind of control.
Hopeful, ever so hopeful.
fun sensory things to do
"Art...is an attempt to bring order out of chaos." ~ Stephen Sondhein
We have been working with the Cheerios cookbook that our sensory therapist gave us and there are a lot of fun things in it to be done that can equate to some sensory fun times.
Tonight we made these cute little cheerio peanut butter sprinkle balls. This works some sensory in because boy had to form the balls, which are uber sticky and ick, and then roll them in sprinkles...this is after he helped measure and pour all of the ingredients.
His sensory therapist suggests having him help make different food and teach him that when we cook, we must taste what we make...try to force him to start wanting to try a variety of food, broaden his tastes.
Here is the recipe for cheerio peanut butter sprinkle balls.
1/3c of sugar
1/2c of light corn syrup
1/2c peanut butter
3c cheerios
sprinkles
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
Mix the sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat, stir until near boiling.
Add peanut butter and stir until thoroughly combined.
Stir in cheerios, mix until well coated.
Form into little balls, roll in the sprinkles and set aside for about a 1/2 hour until they have hardened.
Voila! Enjoy!
We have been working with the Cheerios cookbook that our sensory therapist gave us and there are a lot of fun things in it to be done that can equate to some sensory fun times.
Tonight we made these cute little cheerio peanut butter sprinkle balls. This works some sensory in because boy had to form the balls, which are uber sticky and ick, and then roll them in sprinkles...this is after he helped measure and pour all of the ingredients.
His sensory therapist suggests having him help make different food and teach him that when we cook, we must taste what we make...try to force him to start wanting to try a variety of food, broaden his tastes.
Here is the recipe for cheerio peanut butter sprinkle balls.
1/3c of sugar
1/2c of light corn syrup
1/2c peanut butter
3c cheerios
sprinkles
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
Mix the sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat, stir until near boiling.
Add peanut butter and stir until thoroughly combined.
Stir in cheerios, mix until well coated.
Form into little balls, roll in the sprinkles and set aside for about a 1/2 hour until they have hardened.
Voila! Enjoy!
Monday, August 24, 2009
I detest the word "cure"
Ok, the next few lines of my blog may horribly offend many people, but that is in no way my intent. I am speaking only on behalf of my son with Aspergers and if my son were not so "high functioning" I may not at all agree with my opinions here...
So, here it goes.
I am so sick of hearing about how Jenny McCarthy "cured" her autistic son. The reason I am so sick of hearing about this is that I hate the term "cure, curing, cured". Cure, curing, cured makes it sound like it is a disease. And again I am only speaking on behalf of my aspie son when I say this, but for me his Aspergers, which is classified under the term autism, is not a disease. It is who he is. It is just who he is. I have no desire to cure him of it, it is what makes him the quirky little guy that he is. I do have a desire to help him situate himself in the world where everyone else is so "normal" (another term that I DESPISE). But I do not at all hope to cure him. I hope to take his amazing skills and talents and development them into something that works for him.
The word cure just grates on my nerves. Let's not let our children believe that they need to be cured of this disease, let's not let them believe they have a disease. Let's let them know that they are different, as everyone is different, and we are not working towards a cure, but working towards making them the best people they can be.
So, here it goes.
I am so sick of hearing about how Jenny McCarthy "cured" her autistic son. The reason I am so sick of hearing about this is that I hate the term "cure, curing, cured". Cure, curing, cured makes it sound like it is a disease. And again I am only speaking on behalf of my aspie son when I say this, but for me his Aspergers, which is classified under the term autism, is not a disease. It is who he is. It is just who he is. I have no desire to cure him of it, it is what makes him the quirky little guy that he is. I do have a desire to help him situate himself in the world where everyone else is so "normal" (another term that I DESPISE). But I do not at all hope to cure him. I hope to take his amazing skills and talents and development them into something that works for him.
The word cure just grates on my nerves. Let's not let our children believe that they need to be cured of this disease, let's not let them believe they have a disease. Let's let them know that they are different, as everyone is different, and we are not working towards a cure, but working towards making them the best people they can be.
Friday, August 21, 2009
sensory therapy update - this past week
Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
*highlight - classical music really is calming..use it and use it often!
Wednesday boy came out of sensory therapy wearing this huge contraption set of headphones on his ears and something resembling a back brace wrapped about his waist. It was very hard to keep myself from laughing! The therapist was walking behind him chuckling as he walked up to me and started talking extra loud (much louder than his normal level of loud).
Ms. Sue decided to start him with therapeutic listening to help with some of his anxiety and noise sensitivity issues. She was very impressed that he knew the music was Mozart before she even told him, which started a huge discussion (on his part) all about the wonders of the fabulous Baby Einstein...one of his huge previous addictions. I am surprised (and beyond thankful) that the therapeutic listening did not prompt a regression to the world of Baby Einstein...I'm not sure I could survive that!).
Ok so here is the info part - the therapeutic listening system teaches the body how to block out the noise that is disruptive. Has anyone ever said "Hey, do you hear that ringing sound?" and before they asked you didn't hear it, but after they asked you realize it was there the whole time? The fact that you did not hear it meant that your body, on its own, was blocking out the disruptive noise so you could continue doing whatever it was you were doing. Some children do not have the ability to do that. Therapeutic listening is supposed to teach their ear muscles to drown out that noise.
The headphones and CDs are what the program are composed of. We supply the portable CD player, which he can wear on himself so he can continue with his usual activities. The headphones are special in that they provide different frequency levels (high/low)in each headphone, sound comes in from different parts of the headphones and during the music it will change from normal to scratchy to staticy.
Last year I priced the therapeutic listening programs when we first really started seeing issues with noise. They were over $300. For this program through our sensory therapy we rent out the equipment for $10 for 2 weeks at a time. The $10 is refundable once the equipment is returned. Ms. Sue is going to get it ready for him to take home next week...I am super excited to start this and ESPECIALLY at the start of the year!!!
On another note, can I just express again how much we love our sensory therapist. Boy noticed a cheerios cookbook in her office and was so taken with it she let him borrow it for the week. We came across alot of really good sensory activities and have been working on them.
Sensory cheerio activities that are fun:
*highlight - classical music really is calming..use it and use it often!
Wednesday boy came out of sensory therapy wearing this huge contraption set of headphones on his ears and something resembling a back brace wrapped about his waist. It was very hard to keep myself from laughing! The therapist was walking behind him chuckling as he walked up to me and started talking extra loud (much louder than his normal level of loud).
Ms. Sue decided to start him with therapeutic listening to help with some of his anxiety and noise sensitivity issues. She was very impressed that he knew the music was Mozart before she even told him, which started a huge discussion (on his part) all about the wonders of the fabulous Baby Einstein...one of his huge previous addictions. I am surprised (and beyond thankful) that the therapeutic listening did not prompt a regression to the world of Baby Einstein...I'm not sure I could survive that!).
Ok so here is the info part - the therapeutic listening system teaches the body how to block out the noise that is disruptive. Has anyone ever said "Hey, do you hear that ringing sound?" and before they asked you didn't hear it, but after they asked you realize it was there the whole time? The fact that you did not hear it meant that your body, on its own, was blocking out the disruptive noise so you could continue doing whatever it was you were doing. Some children do not have the ability to do that. Therapeutic listening is supposed to teach their ear muscles to drown out that noise.
The headphones and CDs are what the program are composed of. We supply the portable CD player, which he can wear on himself so he can continue with his usual activities. The headphones are special in that they provide different frequency levels (high/low)in each headphone, sound comes in from different parts of the headphones and during the music it will change from normal to scratchy to staticy.
Last year I priced the therapeutic listening programs when we first really started seeing issues with noise. They were over $300. For this program through our sensory therapy we rent out the equipment for $10 for 2 weeks at a time. The $10 is refundable once the equipment is returned. Ms. Sue is going to get it ready for him to take home next week...I am super excited to start this and ESPECIALLY at the start of the year!!!
On another note, can I just express again how much we love our sensory therapist. Boy noticed a cheerios cookbook in her office and was so taken with it she let him borrow it for the week. We came across alot of really good sensory activities and have been working on them.
Sensory cheerio activities that are fun:
- String cheerios on pipe cleaner to make bracelets
- Make pipecleaner people and string cheerios on them
- Make a mask and glue cheerios to it -- make sure you use the palming technique where he picks up the cheerios with one hand (thumb and forefinger), palms them, then manipulates them out of his hand with his thumb and forefinger again to place them on the glue.
routine chart ideas
As requested, here are the routine charts that I created for my son. They are fairly simple.
Right now we have a Good Morning and Good Night chart. I laminated them and he marks off his tasks with a dry erase marker, which adds a level of fun to it.
When school starts I will be adding a Homework Chart. I also create little charts for him for what his school day entails so throughout the day he can review the chart and find out where in the world
he is at.
I also need to create a detailed shower chart that I can laminate and put in the shower with him. Maybe he can use soap to mark items off. It is amazing how hard it is for him to remember what he needs to do in the shower.
Monday, August 17, 2009
routines, routines, oh how we love our routines
We are strictly enforcing the routine charts now :)
School starts in two weeks, gotta be ready for the super chaos to begin.
So far the routines have been happily accepted, welcomed with open arms. I laminated them and he uses a dry erase marker so that alone makes it seem fancy.
Right now we have a good morning and good night chart. I am also creating a homework and shower chart.
Fun times!
School starts in two weeks, gotta be ready for the super chaos to begin.
So far the routines have been happily accepted, welcomed with open arms. I laminated them and he uses a dry erase marker so that alone makes it seem fancy.
Right now we have a good morning and good night chart. I am also creating a homework and shower chart.
Fun times!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
fingerpaint is evil..or at least mildly annoying
"When I was a kid, a book I read advised young artist to be themselves. That decided it for me. I was a corny kind of guy, so I went in for corn." ~ Walt Disney
I pulled out the fingerpaint tonight. I could not understand why it was so hard to find, hidden deep in the darkest recesses of a closet. I guess the last time I put it there I should have attached a note to it to remind myself why I had hidden it so well...or maybe just my face with X's for eyes...surely that would have reminded me of what I was about to get myself into...
The most important thing that I had forgotten about fingerpaint is the fact that boy loves to play with it, but hates the feel of it...and the two forces pushing against eachother (the love/hate relationship of it) lead to meltdowns of astronomical proportions...
Thus began my night.
So, the kids start to play with the fingerpaint. Here is how it went...
Girls:
1) hands in paint, oh neat
2) swirl swirl swirl
3) mix some colors, oh neat
4) swirl swirl swirl
Boy:
1) hand in paint, ick blah ick wash hands
2) hand in paint and try to quickly swirl, ick blah ick wash hands
3) hand in paint, great now the colors are mixed together, ick blah ick wash hands
4) hand in paint, now Ive made the color of poop, ick blah ick wash hands and chant "poop" over and over again with a little squawking on the side.
It went over and over again until he was too frustrated and started to meltdown. Into the shower he went, but not before he smeared his last remaining bit of messy fingerpaint hands down the hallway, through the bathroom.
The mess doesn't bother me because it cleans up easily. But here's the question...should I have "forced" him to continue while hoping the eventually he would get used to the feel of the fingerpaint and wouldn't need to wash his hands and could then go on with the "loving it" part that he was trying to do? Or does the fact that a horrible meltdown was approaching mean that it is right to stop?
Things that make you go, hmmmm......
I pulled out the fingerpaint tonight. I could not understand why it was so hard to find, hidden deep in the darkest recesses of a closet. I guess the last time I put it there I should have attached a note to it to remind myself why I had hidden it so well...or maybe just my face with X's for eyes...surely that would have reminded me of what I was about to get myself into...
The most important thing that I had forgotten about fingerpaint is the fact that boy loves to play with it, but hates the feel of it...and the two forces pushing against eachother (the love/hate relationship of it) lead to meltdowns of astronomical proportions...
Thus began my night.
So, the kids start to play with the fingerpaint. Here is how it went...
Girls:
1) hands in paint, oh neat
2) swirl swirl swirl
3) mix some colors, oh neat
4) swirl swirl swirl
Boy:
1) hand in paint, ick blah ick wash hands
2) hand in paint and try to quickly swirl, ick blah ick wash hands
3) hand in paint, great now the colors are mixed together, ick blah ick wash hands
4) hand in paint, now Ive made the color of poop, ick blah ick wash hands and chant "poop" over and over again with a little squawking on the side.
It went over and over again until he was too frustrated and started to meltdown. Into the shower he went, but not before he smeared his last remaining bit of messy fingerpaint hands down the hallway, through the bathroom.
The mess doesn't bother me because it cleans up easily. But here's the question...should I have "forced" him to continue while hoping the eventually he would get used to the feel of the fingerpaint and wouldn't need to wash his hands and could then go on with the "loving it" part that he was trying to do? Or does the fact that a horrible meltdown was approaching mean that it is right to stop?
Things that make you go, hmmmm......
Monday, August 10, 2009
have you brushed before?
So, in sensory therapy Wednesday the therapist decided that we should start brushing boy to help ease his anxiety issues. Lately he has had a lot of worries so hopefully this will start to help. This is what the brush looks like that our therapist gave us.
The documentation that I have states that this is done to:
- modify behaviors related to defensiveness
- enhance body awareness
- maintain a calm state of arousal
- apply an accumulation of somato-sensory input to help organize the central nervous system
- For two weeks we need to brush him every 2 hours, except when he is sleeping.
- We need to start with one hand, brush three strokes -- hand, palm, forearm, inner arm, upper arm, across the shoulders, behind the neck, down the next arm, hand palm.
- Then move down a thigh, calf, down the next thigh, calf
- Do not brush feet, inner arm (like armpit area) or inner thigh as those areas are too sensitive
- Joint compressions on the wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle
- Line up the joints and pump to a count of 10 at each one
- keep the brush held horizontally to the arm and leg and apply sufficient pressure
- use a brushing motion; slowly brushing, not scrubbing the skin and rotate the arm/leg while brushing
- brush no more than 3 times over any one area
- avoid any itch, scratch, outch, tickle or light touch
- do not lift the brush at the end of each stroke
- never brush the head, chest or stomach
- the complete routine should take no more than 3 minutes
Monday, August 3, 2009
it's been a busy while!
Wow, I cannot believe that it has been so long since I have blogged! Of course, I have a ton of information to share, so let me share away..
Updates with sensory therapy:
We have homework that we work on now. The homework we do with boy helps with his manual dexterity, at this point. Here is what we do:
We are now charting anxiety levels for the next two weeks with boy assigning a number to his anxiety. I hope this will help with his anxiety issues and give him ways to manage his anxiety. His newest thing is counting down to October 3rd, which is the date that he remembers he got a flu shot last year and so is convinced that the flu shot will occur on October 3rd again...
I love his memory, but it can also be a burden!
Updates with sensory therapy:
We have homework that we work on now. The homework we do with boy helps with his manual dexterity, at this point. Here is what we do:
- Deal cards quickly
- Play War FAST (this is a super favorite now)
- Pick up cotton balls with tongs of varying sizes or tweezers (you can use tongs, tea strainers, etc). He can switch hands if his right hand gets tired.
- Thread foam shapes on string
- Play with shaving cream on a placemat (make figure eights with right hand, then with left hand, then with both hands -- both hands works on bilateral coordination)
- Shaving cream on the shower walls while he showers (this one is my own creation)
- Picking up coins or buttons one at a time
- Placing handfuls of coins or buttons into a container one at a time
- Shuffling cards
- Sorting cards
- Turning cards over as fast as you can
- Tying and untying small knots in rope (haven't tried this one yet)
- Clipping clothespins onto edge of folder (haven't tried this one yet)
- Flicking cotton balls at target (this one is really fun)
- Assembling nuts and bolts (haven't tried this one yet)
- Place a row of paper cups on table and overturn as fast as you can
We are now charting anxiety levels for the next two weeks with boy assigning a number to his anxiety. I hope this will help with his anxiety issues and give him ways to manage his anxiety. His newest thing is counting down to October 3rd, which is the date that he remembers he got a flu shot last year and so is convinced that the flu shot will occur on October 3rd again...
I love his memory, but it can also be a burden!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
sensory therapy - evaluation results
"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." ~ Stacia Tauscher
We had the completion of the sensory evaluation today and the results are not good, although it is pretty much what I was expecting.
He scored at a level of 2 year old and 4 year old. Wow right?
The testing was based on the BOT-2 testing system and is scored based on the below:
So the evaluation results were harder to hear than I imagined, but it's a good thing. We are finally getting help, we are finally finding resources, we are finally making progress. We are moving forward and things will be significantly better by the time school starts. This is a positive thing!
The therapist is wonderful! I just love her. Boy was very goofy/silly today and had a hard time keeping it together, which happened last time too. I think he is nervous/anxious so this is his way of dealing with it. Ms. Sue was very patient with him and kept him on track.
Some things we need to work on -- playing with tennis balls!!
Next appointment next Wednesday...can't wait!!
We had the completion of the sensory evaluation today and the results are not good, although it is pretty much what I was expecting.
He scored at a level of 2 year old and 4 year old. Wow right?
The testing was based on the BOT-2 testing system and is scored based on the below:
- Fine Motor Precision—7 items (e.g., cutting out a circle, connecting dots) - scored as 4 y/o
- Fine Motor Integration—8 items (e.g., copying a star, copying a square) - scored well and on target for his age. He was able to perceive the object and duplicate it...there were issues with the way his lines overlapped or curved due to the motor skill issues
- Manual Dexterity—5 items (e.g., transferring pennies, sorting cards, stringing blocks) - scored as a 2 y/o
- Bilateral Coordination—7 items (e.g., tapping foot and finger, jumping jacks) - scored as a 2 y/o
- Balance—9 items (e.g., walking forward on a line, standing on one leg on a balance beam)
- Running Speed and Agility—5 items (e.g., shuttle run, one-legged side hop) - scored as 5 y/o
- Upper-Limb Coordination—7 items (e.g., throwing a ball at a target, catching a tossed ball) - scored as a 4 y/o
- Strength—5 items (e.g., standing long jump, sit-ups)
So the evaluation results were harder to hear than I imagined, but it's a good thing. We are finally getting help, we are finally finding resources, we are finally making progress. We are moving forward and things will be significantly better by the time school starts. This is a positive thing!
The therapist is wonderful! I just love her. Boy was very goofy/silly today and had a hard time keeping it together, which happened last time too. I think he is nervous/anxious so this is his way of dealing with it. Ms. Sue was very patient with him and kept him on track.
Some things we need to work on -- playing with tennis balls!!
Next appointment next Wednesday...can't wait!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
nervous hair twiddler
"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." ~ Leo Buscaglia
Here are some pictures of how you can tell when boy is worried about something...
The last picture is what his hair ends up looking like each and everyday!
Here are some pictures of how you can tell when boy is worried about something...
The last picture is what his hair ends up looking like each and everyday!
aspergers is little hamburgers...
"Aspergers is little hamburgers inside of me with arms and legs...you know cause AS-PER-GERS sounds like HAM-BUR-GERS. And the little asperger hamburgers have different names...one is shy, one makes noises, one likes Star Wars..."
So the therapist told him yesterday that he has Aspergers and read him a story about "Mike" who has Aspergers and was really focused on Star Wars to the point where his friends didn't want to play with him anymore because they didn't always like Star Wars. Boy said it sounded like him...hmmm go figure! Anyway, the therapist told him that she is going to help him work on different areas of his Aspergers so he can be the best boy he can possibly be and that one of the things they will work on is friendships. He was excited about that.
Then after she explained it to him and explained some of the traits of Aspergers that matched his own traits, she asked if he understood, which he said he did. Then he gave her his own ideas of what Aspergers was...little hamburgers with arms and legs. They hang out inside of him and he will always have them. Sometimes they make him shy, sometimes they make him make noises or do other things.
It was pretty "Gray" thinking for him...he's such a black and white thinker guy. I was amazed, although Im pretty sure he completely believes what he said that there really are little limbed burgers tap dancing around inside of him, but it works for me.
So, if anyone is having difficulty explaining Aspergers to an aspie...maybe you just need to tell them about the little hamburgers...I think I shall now have to write a childrens book with cute little hamburgers with little arms and little legs....little teeshirts that say "Hey I've got my Aspie Burgers on today!"... haha
We went through the first chapter of the book, which he found very interesting. We went through the "Strengths/Talents" section where he could circle things that he felt he was good at or that he really enjoyed learning about and he gave us a little synopsis of each item and how it pertained to him...some of the cute ones were:
dates? - "Yes, I like to remember dates...do you want to know which day someone in class got their name on the board?"
facts about a certain topic? "Yes...let me go get my Star Wars droids.."
mechanical things? (we had to explain what this meant) - "OH yeah, I like batteries" and then he whispered to me "Dad always gets mad at me about batteries because I take them and put them into the toys he doesn't like"
putting things in order? "Yes but the SISTERS always move my things!!!!"
Really those darn sisters! They are really nothing but trouble.
So overall that went pretty well. I am glad he finally knows. Basically the end of our conversation was "Ok, you have this, you will always have this, but you are awesome anyway"
He really is the coolest kid. He is the coolest kid to adults, he is the coolest kid to the older kids in the neighborhood...the kids his age just haven't quite realized how cool he is yet, but they will!
So the therapist told him yesterday that he has Aspergers and read him a story about "Mike" who has Aspergers and was really focused on Star Wars to the point where his friends didn't want to play with him anymore because they didn't always like Star Wars. Boy said it sounded like him...hmmm go figure! Anyway, the therapist told him that she is going to help him work on different areas of his Aspergers so he can be the best boy he can possibly be and that one of the things they will work on is friendships. He was excited about that.
Then after she explained it to him and explained some of the traits of Aspergers that matched his own traits, she asked if he understood, which he said he did. Then he gave her his own ideas of what Aspergers was...little hamburgers with arms and legs. They hang out inside of him and he will always have them. Sometimes they make him shy, sometimes they make him make noises or do other things.
It was pretty "Gray" thinking for him...he's such a black and white thinker guy. I was amazed, although Im pretty sure he completely believes what he said that there really are little limbed burgers tap dancing around inside of him, but it works for me.
So, if anyone is having difficulty explaining Aspergers to an aspie...maybe you just need to tell them about the little hamburgers...I think I shall now have to write a childrens book with cute little hamburgers with little arms and little legs....little teeshirts that say "Hey I've got my Aspie Burgers on today!"... haha
We went through the first chapter of the book, which he found very interesting. We went through the "Strengths/Talents" section where he could circle things that he felt he was good at or that he really enjoyed learning about and he gave us a little synopsis of each item and how it pertained to him...some of the cute ones were:
dates? - "Yes, I like to remember dates...do you want to know which day someone in class got their name on the board?"
facts about a certain topic? "Yes...let me go get my Star Wars droids.."
mechanical things? (we had to explain what this meant) - "OH yeah, I like batteries" and then he whispered to me "Dad always gets mad at me about batteries because I take them and put them into the toys he doesn't like"
putting things in order? "Yes but the SISTERS always move my things!!!!"
Really those darn sisters! They are really nothing but trouble.
So overall that went pretty well. I am glad he finally knows. Basically the end of our conversation was "Ok, you have this, you will always have this, but you are awesome anyway"
He really is the coolest kid. He is the coolest kid to adults, he is the coolest kid to the older kids in the neighborhood...the kids his age just haven't quite realized how cool he is yet, but they will!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
miracle book
I'm still reading Aspergers: What does it mean to me? and I haven't even begun to work with boy with the workbook...there's just so much info to absorb and honestly I'm not yet ready to tell him that he has this condition? disability? What do we even call it? I'm sure I will end up with just "thing"..."So, you have this thing..." hmm...
How would I tell him he had an ear infection? "You have an ear infection, you need to take antibiotics."
So how about, "You have Aspergers, but don't worry, there's no medicine you need to take for it." I'm sure he will just be like "ok cool, what is it? Alright then."
Anyway, the book touches on so many important topics, providing information for him to read about each AND providing strategies to help him deal with the various issues associated with Aspergers. I am very excited to start working with him with this book!!
How would I tell him he had an ear infection? "You have an ear infection, you need to take antibiotics."
So how about, "You have Aspergers, but don't worry, there's no medicine you need to take for it." I'm sure he will just be like "ok cool, what is it? Alright then."
Anyway, the book touches on so many important topics, providing information for him to read about each AND providing strategies to help him deal with the various issues associated with Aspergers. I am very excited to start working with him with this book!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
aspergers: what does it mean to me?
I cannot even begin to blog about the last two days of my life. Basically, we had another milk infestation during vacation and I can't believe I didn't learn from my mistake the last time we had the milk infestation. All I can say is...we were on vacation and I felt badly that he couldn't have icecream so I thought...oh, it's just a little icecream...it can't hurt TOO bad.I was wrong. Very very very wrong. It is really quite difficult to track down the ingredients of all foods that he eats. It seems much easier to say "hey is this peanut free?" (and have the waiter know what the heck I am talking about) than to say "Hey is this milk free? No, I don't mean lactose free, I mean completely milk free? Well, it matters because milk is evil in our family!" -- That conversation didn't happen quite like that, but based on the looks I received it could have gone exactly like that.
So anyway, we are day two with strict no milk again and I think the crack, I mean milk, is almost out of his system. If things are not turned around by tomorrow, I think I will check him into a detox clinic...I wonder what kind of crazy look they'll give me.
On a much more exciting note! I finally FINALLY made it to the book store to get "Aspergers: What does it mean to me?" by Catherine Faherty. It was recommended to me by our therapist as a great book to use with boy to help explain to him what is going on and why he feels the way he does. My initial feeling on the book is really good. I'm super excited about it.
The book is in a workbook format that he and I will go through together (once he has the milk crack out of his system of course). The first section explains autism and the spectrum -- questions like "Was I born with autism?", "Why do I have autism?". It also stresses that there is nothing wrong with having autism, it does not mean that you are sick, it does not mean that you are bad, it does not mean something is wrong with you...all it means is that you have a different way of thinking. Immediately after that it goes into strengths, such as being very detailed and able to easily memorize various things and asks them to list their strengths in these areas.
Next, it goes into routines, changes, schedules and how to be more flexible. For example (and this one holds true for us) the book goes through why it is important to allow others to be first at somethings even if you always like to be first no matter what. Then there are a few lines that they can write on to mark when they allowed someone else to go first instead of themself.
There is also a sensory section that lists the various sensory issues that they can circle if they are bothered by them with fill in spots where they can provide more info...this will be super helpful for us because I'm still not 100% on what areas we are sensitive to and non-sensitive to.
Overall this book looks amazing and I cannot wait to dig further into it! I will blog what I find is good, bad, and boring! Please let me know if there is anyone out there who has also used this book.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
batman=a great vacation
Yesterday we spent the day/night hanging at The Great Wolf Lodge, which was great! Boy absolutely loved the wave pool, didn't like the tube slides. We were very water-logged by the time we were done there! Overall it was a good day with low anxiety issues. Our room had the bunk beds for the kids and they thought that was super cool.
Today we hit Kings Island, which obviously was hugely stressful for boy. He was so worried we wer going to make him ride the huge rollercoasters like Beast. After some convincing he felt slightly better, but wouldn't ride really any of the kids rides. That was ok to him though..he didn't feel like he was missing out and was more interested in this ball game you play and can win a batman stuffed animal. Thankfully my husband won him one. That alone made the vacation perfect in his eyes. He spent the rest of the day playing with the batman, yea! the day was saved!
Here are the rides we rode & what my kids thought of them...
Backyardigans swings - all 3 liked them
Scooby's Haunted House - all 3 were scared, but thought it was fun after
LazyTown Scopters - this had the most RIDICULOUS line! Boy hated the ride...it was high up
Bumper Cars - all 3 loved it
Fairly Odd Parents Coaster - Manthy was the only one who would ride & she loved it
Driving Cars - boy liked it
SpongeBob 3D movie - boy hated it, the movement of the seats scared him
SpongeBob water thingy - boy loved, girls hated it
Lil Bill's Giggle Coaster - boy hated it
I'm forgetting alotM but that's ok. If anyone is thinking of going to KI with kids and have questions let me know.
Tomorrow we hit the KI waterpark. I am thinking there should be less stress with that.
All in all, the kids have been fabulous! Bonus - we got to meet spongebob!
Today we hit Kings Island, which obviously was hugely stressful for boy. He was so worried we wer going to make him ride the huge rollercoasters like Beast. After some convincing he felt slightly better, but wouldn't ride really any of the kids rides. That was ok to him though..he didn't feel like he was missing out and was more interested in this ball game you play and can win a batman stuffed animal. Thankfully my husband won him one. That alone made the vacation perfect in his eyes. He spent the rest of the day playing with the batman, yea! the day was saved!
Here are the rides we rode & what my kids thought of them...
Backyardigans swings - all 3 liked them
Scooby's Haunted House - all 3 were scared, but thought it was fun after
LazyTown Scopters - this had the most RIDICULOUS line! Boy hated the ride...it was high up
Bumper Cars - all 3 loved it
Fairly Odd Parents Coaster - Manthy was the only one who would ride & she loved it
Driving Cars - boy liked it
SpongeBob 3D movie - boy hated it, the movement of the seats scared him
SpongeBob water thingy - boy loved, girls hated it
Lil Bill's Giggle Coaster - boy hated it
I'm forgetting alotM but that's ok. If anyone is thinking of going to KI with kids and have questions let me know.
Tomorrow we hit the KI waterpark. I am thinking there should be less stress with that.
All in all, the kids have been fabulous! Bonus - we got to meet spongebob!
Monday, July 6, 2009
just can't wait to get on the road...
"There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it." ~ Charles Dudley Warner
Tomorrow we are off on an adventure. Well, not too much of an adventure, but a 2 adults, 3 kids and 5 hour car ride kind of adventure. We are headed to King's Island in Mason, OH.
Tomorrow night we are staying at the Great Wolf Lodge so the kids can somewhat unwind from the trip and have a blast with the water park activities. Then Wednesday & Thursday we are going to enjoy the amusements of the park -- thankfully there is a water park included with the K.I. admission because I think that may be the only thing the kids really end up wanting to do. Friday we return home, but I am really really hoping to convince my Husband to go 30 minutes south, into KY, to check out the Newport Aquarium...I think that will be amazingly fun! We shall see.
Hopefully it will be a smooth journey. Hopefully.
I will try to blog the fun from my phone for anyone who may care to read it!
"Most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting." ~ Robert Thomas Allen
Tomorrow we are off on an adventure. Well, not too much of an adventure, but a 2 adults, 3 kids and 5 hour car ride kind of adventure. We are headed to King's Island in Mason, OH.
Tomorrow night we are staying at the Great Wolf Lodge so the kids can somewhat unwind from the trip and have a blast with the water park activities. Then Wednesday & Thursday we are going to enjoy the amusements of the park -- thankfully there is a water park included with the K.I. admission because I think that may be the only thing the kids really end up wanting to do. Friday we return home, but I am really really hoping to convince my Husband to go 30 minutes south, into KY, to check out the Newport Aquarium...I think that will be amazingly fun! We shall see.
Hopefully it will be a smooth journey. Hopefully.
I will try to blog the fun from my phone for anyone who may care to read it!
"Most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting." ~ Robert Thomas Allen
things that make you go hmmm?
So, my favorite brand of bread is Aunt Millie bread. You can find Aunt Millie bread just about everywhere and it comes in a variety of types/flavors - wheat, potato, sour dough, white, italian, etc.Well, when we started our milk-free journey I was much disappointed to find that my Aunt Millie bread contained milk products...all varieties, bummer!
But then...
My husband found that some stores carry Aunt Mille bread from "Perfection Bakery" and if the Aunt Millie bread came from Perfection Bakery there were NO milk products. And, that seems to be across the board for all bread, bun products...if it is stamped Perfection Bakery, then there is no milk.
huh?!
How can that be so? Isn't the Aunt Millie bread a certain recipe that each bakery follows no matter which bakery bakes it?
Apparently not...very interesting...very interesting indeed!
Friday, July 3, 2009
pancakes in a can?
wow! everything I'm looking for wrapped up into one site!
Alisa - thanks so much for your comment on my blog. It brought me to your website www.godairyfree.org, which appears to be every possible thing about milk-free diets that I am looking for....all wrapped up into one website!
Seriously? Ice cream without milk? GENIUS!
I can't wait to try out the recipes!
First on the list are the frosting recipes...the peanut butter fudge frosting sounds almost too good to be true.
Thanks again for your post and your help in introducing me to such a great site!
Seriously? Ice cream without milk? GENIUS!
I can't wait to try out the recipes!
First on the list are the frosting recipes...the peanut butter fudge frosting sounds almost too good to be true.
Thanks again for your post and your help in introducing me to such a great site!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
wanted: a tasty milk-free cake/frosting recipe
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." ~ Albert Einstein
We are having a birthday party this weekend so I am in search of a tried and tasty milk-free cake & frosting...
Got No Milk?
We are having a birthday party this weekend so I am in search of a tried and tasty milk-free cake & frosting...
Got No Milk?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
sensory therapy session 1
"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it."~ Buddha
Today's sensory therapy was great! We started off doing more testing:
Basically she stated that he has coordination, gross & fine motor, auditory and tactile sensory issues. When she gets to know him a little better, she will start him on therapeutic listening.
This is by far the most exciting time in our life! We are finally getting answers. We are finally getting somewhere!!
Today's sensory therapy was great! We started off doing more testing:
- line up plastic pennies and then pick them up with his right hand and put them into a cup on his left side, all while timed.
- pick up small pegs with his right hand and put them into peg holes while timed.
- take mixed up cards (some red squares, some blue circles) and separate the cards into two piles, with his right hand only while timed.
- thread a shoelace through wooden block beads while timed.
- jumping jacks
- play card games - simply flipping the cards over (for example dealing cards) helps build the hand dexterity.
- one handed sorting - practice taking something from the right, with your right hand, and putting it into a cup on your left.
Basically she stated that he has coordination, gross & fine motor, auditory and tactile sensory issues. When she gets to know him a little better, she will start him on therapeutic listening.
This is by far the most exciting time in our life! We are finally getting answers. We are finally getting somewhere!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
boy, bites & benedryl *update*
I totally forgot to update on our night last night. Thankfully he slept through the night and was asleep by 11pm, which is really good for him.
This morning the swelling was down and now it is just bruised. Still a little itchy, but not too bad.
This morning the swelling was down and now it is just bruised. Still a little itchy, but not too bad.
and all is right with the world
milk, no milk, milk, no milk
So as I stated in a couple of posts, Saturday was super milk infestation day (I think I will now forever refer to the consumption of milk by Boy as an "infestation") and Sunday we paid the price. Yesterday was a no milk day and we had a great day. This morning was a great morning also.
Could it really be that the elimination of milk products (casein specifically) produces such a dramatic affect in behavior?
From what I have read, here are the supposed reasons:
When you consume casein (in milk products), your body breaks it down into by products that some believe are leaked through the intestines and into the blood -- studies show that autistic children are more likely to have gastrointestinal issues including leakage. (We certainly have gastrointestinal issues with boy!) There have been studies done that show that these by products are more commonly found in the urine of autistic children versus non-autistic children. "Casein has been documented to break down to produce the peptide casomorphin, an opioid that appears to act primarily as a histamine releaser." -- wikipedia.
So basically - children consume milk, aren't able to break it down and rid their body of the casein by products...those by products may be leaked into their blood or it could just be the fact that it doesn't pass through their systems normally and behavioral issues arise. From what I have read, the opioid act like a drug in their systems.
I swear I have been extremely skeptic about all of this, but I've seen results. Could the changes between Saturday/Sunday be just a coincidence? I'm not sure. I will certainly test the theory again in a few weeks and introduce milk products again to see if we get the same results.
When checking ingredients for milk, look for these items: milk, milk protein, casein, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate.
So as I stated in a couple of posts, Saturday was super milk infestation day (I think I will now forever refer to the consumption of milk by Boy as an "infestation") and Sunday we paid the price. Yesterday was a no milk day and we had a great day. This morning was a great morning also.
Could it really be that the elimination of milk products (casein specifically) produces such a dramatic affect in behavior?
From what I have read, here are the supposed reasons:
When you consume casein (in milk products), your body breaks it down into by products that some believe are leaked through the intestines and into the blood -- studies show that autistic children are more likely to have gastrointestinal issues including leakage. (We certainly have gastrointestinal issues with boy!) There have been studies done that show that these by products are more commonly found in the urine of autistic children versus non-autistic children. "Casein has been documented to break down to produce the peptide casomorphin, an opioid that appears to act primarily as a histamine releaser." -- wikipedia.
So basically - children consume milk, aren't able to break it down and rid their body of the casein by products...those by products may be leaked into their blood or it could just be the fact that it doesn't pass through their systems normally and behavioral issues arise. From what I have read, the opioid act like a drug in their systems.
I swear I have been extremely skeptic about all of this, but I've seen results. Could the changes between Saturday/Sunday be just a coincidence? I'm not sure. I will certainly test the theory again in a few weeks and introduce milk products again to see if we get the same results.
When checking ingredients for milk, look for these items: milk, milk protein, casein, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate.
Monday, June 29, 2009
cute pictures of boy - age 2, 3 & 4
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair a broken man." -- Frederick Douglass
Such a sweet boy!!!
Such a sweet boy!!!
boy, bites, & benedryl
- "Learning to live in the present moment is part of the path of joy." -- Sarah Ban Breathnach
I'm glad we didn't freak and do an emergency visit somewhere because there isn't much they could do. Apparently he had an allergic reaction to whatever bit him and it wasn't infected so that was good. The treatment for this is a liquid medicine STRONGER than Benedryl, which to some people may sound like a blessing -- my pediatrician stated that they sometimes use this as a sedative for kids...hmm...not my kid!
Benedryl and Boy do not go together. He has the total opposite reaction to Benedryl, where most kids get tired from it or even can't keep their eyes open....Boy stays up ALL NIGHT LONG. Seriously, all night...
...long...
This happened to us last year or the year before when he happened to need to take some due to a cold that he had. He stayed up around the clock, couldn't sleep. 2am, 3am, 5am rolled around and he was still up. 7am still up...finally at 11am he fell asleep and I nearly did a dance of joy....until 2 hours later he was up again and ready to go for the day.
So, Benedryl is bad, very very bad in our house and now my Pediatrician has prescribed something even STRONGER than Benedryl to help with this weirdo bug allergic reaction thing. However, I must say that so far he is not all hyped up, but it is 10:45 and we are still battling him to fall asleep...
I will let everyone know in the morning...wish me luck please!!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
our week coming up
"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Boy got some weird kind of bite at the fireworks party last night and his entire foot/ankle are swollen and red. It doesn't look serious enough for an ER visit (although everytime I look at it I nearly pack him up to go!), but he needs to go in first thing in the morning.
Wednesday is our first official sensory therapy since our evaluation. I need to ask if I get an official report on what his sensory issues are.
I need to contact the Pedi-Gastro doctor to find out if we see him before the appointment we set up for the 6th.
Need to get ready for vacation -- King's Island on the 7th!
Boy got some weird kind of bite at the fireworks party last night and his entire foot/ankle are swollen and red. It doesn't look serious enough for an ER visit (although everytime I look at it I nearly pack him up to go!), but he needs to go in first thing in the morning.
Wednesday is our first official sensory therapy since our evaluation. I need to ask if I get an official report on what his sensory issues are.
I need to contact the Pedi-Gastro doctor to find out if we see him before the appointment we set up for the 6th.
Need to get ready for vacation -- King's Island on the 7th!
got milk?
Yesterday we had several parties to go to and I was unsure how to handle telling the hosts that boy was milk free and couldn't eat the various treats being served. I didn't want to be rude when we aren't even 100% sure it's helping.
So, I let him eat pizza and cookies and cake and more cookies...let him enjoy himself.
Well, we are paying the price today!! He has been bouncing off the walls today and his indecision levels are off the charts.
So, lesson learned? We are back to milk free and will continue to monitor to see if it's making a difference or not.
It's all about trial & error and it really annoys me!
(blogging from my phone)
So, I let him eat pizza and cookies and cake and more cookies...let him enjoy himself.
Well, we are paying the price today!! He has been bouncing off the walls today and his indecision levels are off the charts.
So, lesson learned? We are back to milk free and will continue to monitor to see if it's making a difference or not.
It's all about trial & error and it really annoys me!
(blogging from my phone)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
bowling master
Today we had a bowling birthday party and boy did an awesome job bowling! I am not exactly sure how he did so well considering how he would crinch up his entire body and wouldn't extend his arm to actually throw the ball...but that gave him the magic touch apparently!
He didn't have to bowl "normally" to be good at it...just further proof that "normal" isn't always best!!!
He didn't have to bowl "normally" to be good at it...just further proof that "normal" isn't always best!!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
amazing discoveries
I learned so much in our one hour sensory evaluation yesterday, that I cannot even begin to put it all into words, but I will try.
First - I am now officially a huge sensory therapy addict! From just my ONE hour evaluation, it had such a huge impact on our life. Nearly everything that we have been troubled over is sensory related and can be helped.
For more sensory related info, join this site: www.sensoryplanet.org - become a member, join some groups, gather info, inform your brain, change your life!
Ok, so first our OT/PT (Sue) asked what areas am I the most concerned about. Wow, most concerned? Of course I have this huge gigantic list of sensory issues that I have discovered just from reading about it, but what am I the most concerned about? I had to keep telling myself "small steps, small steps". So, my most concerning issues would be his noise sensitivity (because it makes it so he can't eat lunch at school) and his handwriting/coloring (because well, just because I don't want him to keep struggling). I think she noticed me fretting over only having to select a few to start so she let me rattle off my entire list and took notes. Here are our key issues:
Sue played a game with boy where he had to use his right hand (writing hand) to pick up dry elbow macaroni, only using his right hand. He had to palm the macaroni and then, still using just his right hand, he had to put each macaroni into a cup one at a time. This was extremely difficult for him and he kept wanting to use his left hand to help. He had no problems picking up the macaroni (using index finger and thumb coordination), but had a huge amount of difficulty using his index finger/thumb to manipulate the noodle from the palm of his hand, to his finger tips and into the cup. This is a game we will now play at home to help strengthen that motor skill.
*Using his hands to eat could be that he likes the feel or it could be lack of control over the utensils.
So, he lacks in the motor skill department, which I anticipated. However, what I did not realize is how the motor skills affect other areas. (I hope I can explain this as well as Sue did!). She took him to a huge play room with various swings hanging from the ceiling, bean bags, jumping ball areas, ladders, slides -- it was the coolest room. She told him that he could play with anything he wanted and she watched him react.
While we played in the sensory room, she rattled off tidbits of information about my other concerns.
His rocking and hair twirling can be many things; balance issues (vestibular), anxiety related or due to under stimulation.
For balance issues (which he doesn't like to be off the ground except while swinging) the auditory and vestibular nerves are close together. Sometimes children who have auditory issues (his noise sensitivity) will try to overcompensate by rocking and moving (vestibular).
For anxiety issues the rocking/hair twirling could be a way to self-regulate himself and calm himself. For most people, when we are anxious we are able to internally talk ourselves down, but for him he may not have that ability so he tries to achieve that by rocking/hair twirling.
For any of these, we must use him as a guide to figure out what he is lacking and change the behavior to one more appropriate.
There is so much more that I could report on and I am sure I will add to this post soon, but I think I will publish now before it becomes too large.
Overall, I am extremely excited for this new adventure. I feel like we are finally moving!!
Appointments are weekly, I will report everything we do at the appointments. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions!!
First - I am now officially a huge sensory therapy addict! From just my ONE hour evaluation, it had such a huge impact on our life. Nearly everything that we have been troubled over is sensory related and can be helped.
For more sensory related info, join this site: www.sensoryplanet.org - become a member, join some groups, gather info, inform your brain, change your life!
Ok, so first our OT/PT (Sue) asked what areas am I the most concerned about. Wow, most concerned? Of course I have this huge gigantic list of sensory issues that I have discovered just from reading about it, but what am I the most concerned about? I had to keep telling myself "small steps, small steps". So, my most concerning issues would be his noise sensitivity (because it makes it so he can't eat lunch at school) and his handwriting/coloring (because well, just because I don't want him to keep struggling). I think she noticed me fretting over only having to select a few to start so she let me rattle off my entire list and took notes. Here are our key issues:
- noise sensitivity
- handwriting/coloring
- rocking, hair twirling, hand flapping
- chewing
- uses his hands to eat
- feel of things on his skin
Sue played a game with boy where he had to use his right hand (writing hand) to pick up dry elbow macaroni, only using his right hand. He had to palm the macaroni and then, still using just his right hand, he had to put each macaroni into a cup one at a time. This was extremely difficult for him and he kept wanting to use his left hand to help. He had no problems picking up the macaroni (using index finger and thumb coordination), but had a huge amount of difficulty using his index finger/thumb to manipulate the noodle from the palm of his hand, to his finger tips and into the cup. This is a game we will now play at home to help strengthen that motor skill.
*Using his hands to eat could be that he likes the feel or it could be lack of control over the utensils.
So, he lacks in the motor skill department, which I anticipated. However, what I did not realize is how the motor skills affect other areas. (I hope I can explain this as well as Sue did!). She took him to a huge play room with various swings hanging from the ceiling, bean bags, jumping ball areas, ladders, slides -- it was the coolest room. She told him that he could play with anything he wanted and she watched him react.
- He did awesome transitioning to the new room, kudos!
- After she told him he could play anything he wanted, he was super timid.
- He asked "what does this do" pointing to a swing and she would only respond with "I don't know" and he would just stand there.
- Finally, he decided he would try out the swing and stated that it looked like a swing (it was like a huge padded rectangular shape) and he sat on the swing.
- After sitting on it and gently swinging he stood up and walked away from it.
- You get a new toy and you come up with a bunch of ideas on how you can play with it (new blocks - oh I can stack them, I can put them into the bucket, etc etc)
- You execute and try out your ideas (ok I'm stacking the blocks, oh they don't stack well, that's not any fun...)
- You move on to the next idea that you had with the toy (ok so stacking wasn't fun, lets put them in the bucket)
While we played in the sensory room, she rattled off tidbits of information about my other concerns.
His rocking and hair twirling can be many things; balance issues (vestibular), anxiety related or due to under stimulation.
For balance issues (which he doesn't like to be off the ground except while swinging) the auditory and vestibular nerves are close together. Sometimes children who have auditory issues (his noise sensitivity) will try to overcompensate by rocking and moving (vestibular).
For anxiety issues the rocking/hair twirling could be a way to self-regulate himself and calm himself. For most people, when we are anxious we are able to internally talk ourselves down, but for him he may not have that ability so he tries to achieve that by rocking/hair twirling.
For any of these, we must use him as a guide to figure out what he is lacking and change the behavior to one more appropriate.
There is so much more that I could report on and I am sure I will add to this post soon, but I think I will publish now before it becomes too large.
Overall, I am extremely excited for this new adventure. I feel like we are finally moving!!
Appointments are weekly, I will report everything we do at the appointments. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions!!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
still milk free
We are still doing the milk free diet while we await results of the latest blood workup being done. We believe we have noticed significant behavior changes in boy now that he is milk free, although we have had almost one mess up each day!
We aren't even starting the gluten until after all of these tests are done for boy. If we are on the gluten free diet when he has an endoscopy then those results will be inconclusive too!
A lot of inconclusiveness going on...I think it is just a ploy to keep getting my $30 copay...
Speaking of which, has anyone watched the Michael Moore documentary on health care? I am sure that it is not 100% accurate, BUT it is convincing!!!
We aren't even starting the gluten until after all of these tests are done for boy. If we are on the gluten free diet when he has an endoscopy then those results will be inconclusive too!
A lot of inconclusiveness going on...I think it is just a ploy to keep getting my $30 copay...
Speaking of which, has anyone watched the Michael Moore documentary on health care? I am sure that it is not 100% accurate, BUT it is convincing!!!
inconclusive
blah, inconclusive data on our blood test for celiac disease. The gastro doctor ordered more blood work before he will diagnose...I hate waiting! Results should be in on Friday.
More to come!
(bloggery from phone)
More to come!
(bloggery from phone)
Monday, June 22, 2009
sensory evaluation!
On another note, I completely forgot! We have our sensory evaluation on Wednesday. Can't wait!!
Everything is falling into place. I feel like we are finally get answers and are cutting through the red tape.
Go team!
Everything is falling into place. I feel like we are finally get answers and are cutting through the red tape.
Go team!
always good to know someone...
We got lucky! We were able to get an appointment tomorrow at 9:15am with the gastro doctor! I am so thankful to get an appointment so quickly to eliminate that crazy window of worry!
I will blog everything that we learn...I need to make a list of questions...
I will blog everything that we learn...I need to make a list of questions...
- What can he eat?
- What can't he eat?
- How long before his small intestines heal?
- Are there any enzymes he can take that will help digest the gluten if he does happen to eat it?
- Can he have milk?
blood work up - update
Boy tested positive for celiac disease. I just KNEW something different was going on with him. I haven't seen the doctor officially yet, but my guess is we will be treating this with a gluten free/milk free diet.
Initial thoughts: how will we survive this? I know we will, you always do whatever is necessary for your children...but how? I give huge amounts of credit to people who are doing this already for themselves or their children!
Next steps: we are going to meet with a gastro doctor and our own pediatrician to discuss.
This explains so much, so in one way the news is horrifying and in another it is a relief to just have the information so we can move forward. Moving forward with a diagnosis feels like you are accomplishing more than just eliminating and seeing what happens...I'm so not scientific enough for the "eliminate and see what happens"!
I will keep everyone posted and if there is anyone out there with recipes...I would much appreciate them :)
Initial thoughts: how will we survive this? I know we will, you always do whatever is necessary for your children...but how? I give huge amounts of credit to people who are doing this already for themselves or their children!
Next steps: we are going to meet with a gastro doctor and our own pediatrician to discuss.
This explains so much, so in one way the news is horrifying and in another it is a relief to just have the information so we can move forward. Moving forward with a diagnosis feels like you are accomplishing more than just eliminating and seeing what happens...I'm so not scientific enough for the "eliminate and see what happens"!
I will keep everyone posted and if there is anyone out there with recipes...I would much appreciate them :)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
out & about 4 autism walk
Saturday we went on the "out & about 4 autism" walk for the Macomb/St. Clair County of the ASA.
It was a one mile "fun walk", which boy thought would last FOREVER! In between complaining he enlightened everyone on everything there is to know about Star Wars. Everyone was thoroughly entertained.
It was really nice and a beautiful day...aside from the birds, boy is afraid of birds! Who would think there would be birds on the beach :)
It was a one mile "fun walk", which boy thought would last FOREVER! In between complaining he enlightened everyone on everything there is to know about Star Wars. Everyone was thoroughly entertained.
It was really nice and a beautiful day...aside from the birds, boy is afraid of birds! Who would think there would be birds on the beach :)
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