Tonight he is hooking up a different dvd player in the basement...not sure why when no one uses the tv down there, but we'll go with it.
So far tonight he is in a GREAT mood! Very minimal fighting. So woo hoo for that!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Comments
I just happened to look at my blog and noticed that people have added comments! I hadn't even realized this so I will respond to them as soon as I am on my PC vs my Treo...much easier!
Thank you for all of your helpful comments and messages of hope. It is nice to know we are not alone on this journey!
Thank you for all of your helpful comments and messages of hope. It is nice to know we are not alone on this journey!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
additionally
Every night he has huge projects planned for himself. Huge intricate projects that could never possibly be completed before bedtime. Projects he obsesses over working on until it consumes his every thought. Things like - unhooking his computer and rehooking it up, replacing all of the batteries in toys he never plays with, finding his CD that went missing when he was four, reorganizing his video games, reorganizing his movies, reloading all of the music in his mp3 and in his sister's mp3 player, reorganize his 1000 pieces of Star Wars stuff...
And seriously, this is stuff from just the last week! Tonight was a double whammy of projects - finding the CD that went missing when he was 4 (and he can tell you when it went missing, where we were at and what he was wearing) and replacing batteries.
I don't mind the OCD qualities of the projects. I understand his feeling of need in accomplishing these seemingly silly tasks. Instead, the horrible'ness of this is the frustration he feels when the proects aren't completed as quickly as he hoped (Im sure it's because he was hoping to quickly rock out several projects a night instead of just one!). Frustration leads to anger - isn't anger the path to the dark side?? If only my Star Wars analogies would help me out! You would think that someone so into Star Wars and determined to be a Jedi (well Jedi & blimp driver) when he grows up would be more willing to hear my analogies.
So, closing yet another night filled with the sound of mechanical happenings coming from his room.
PS - we played Star Wars trivial pursuit with hima nd he got nearly all correct Crazy things like 'In New Hope who was the first to speak and what did they say'. He's such a cool super memorizer kid!
And seriously, this is stuff from just the last week! Tonight was a double whammy of projects - finding the CD that went missing when he was 4 (and he can tell you when it went missing, where we were at and what he was wearing) and replacing batteries.
I don't mind the OCD qualities of the projects. I understand his feeling of need in accomplishing these seemingly silly tasks. Instead, the horrible'ness of this is the frustration he feels when the proects aren't completed as quickly as he hoped (Im sure it's because he was hoping to quickly rock out several projects a night instead of just one!). Frustration leads to anger - isn't anger the path to the dark side?? If only my Star Wars analogies would help me out! You would think that someone so into Star Wars and determined to be a Jedi (well Jedi & blimp driver) when he grows up would be more willing to hear my analogies.
So, closing yet another night filled with the sound of mechanical happenings coming from his room.
PS - we played Star Wars trivial pursuit with hima nd he got nearly all correct Crazy things like 'In New Hope who was the first to speak and what did they say'. He's such a cool super memorizer kid!
anger
Anger appears to be the strongest emotion for my boy. He is constantly angry and easily goes over the edge with it. The therapist has him tracking his emotions each day until our next appointment (Mon), but I want faster results. I understand things won't change overnight and we must be patient with the process. It's just so difficult to watch him like this. I know he doesn't like feeling out of control, but he doesn't know how to help himself and I don't know how to help him.
blah
blah
Thursday, April 16, 2009
new hope
I haven't written in quite some time because things have been insanely busy. Now I find myself recouping from back surgery with an amazing amount of time on my hands!
We started seeing the new therapist on the 6th and will see her every other Monday @ 11, which means I have to take him out of school for about two hours every other Monday. It initially sounds insane, but after the weeks we've recently had it now feels like a blessing.
It seems each day is progressively worse, which seems impossible. His anger/frustration is always at the surface of his mood and is easily set off. He is more and more set in his ways. The littlest things set him off. The therapist put together a treatment plan that will focus on two main categories- anxiety & social awareness. Under each are many subcategories. I am beyond hopeful that we will soon have the techniques to help him cope.
I also am working on food allergy testing and official sensory processing testing, but there are so many hoops to jump through! It is increasingly frustrating.
With all of that I am still intensely hopeful...that's what we have to be.
We started seeing the new therapist on the 6th and will see her every other Monday @ 11, which means I have to take him out of school for about two hours every other Monday. It initially sounds insane, but after the weeks we've recently had it now feels like a blessing.
It seems each day is progressively worse, which seems impossible. His anger/frustration is always at the surface of his mood and is easily set off. He is more and more set in his ways. The littlest things set him off. The therapist put together a treatment plan that will focus on two main categories- anxiety & social awareness. Under each are many subcategories. I am beyond hopeful that we will soon have the techniques to help him cope.
I also am working on food allergy testing and official sensory processing testing, but there are so many hoops to jump through! It is increasingly frustrating.
With all of that I am still intensely hopeful...that's what we have to be.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Our issues
I have a girlfriend from highschool that I met up with who does vision therapy for autistic children and offered to give us some ideas, tips, help with the issues we are dealing with. So, I compiled a list of what we are dealing with in hopes that she will have some magic dust that will help us with these issues...wishful thinking, I know! But anyway, here it is.
aggression
sleeplessness
headaches from noise
noise sensitivity
rocking
focus issues
lack of eye contact
obsessions
poor handwriting/coloring
loud talker
easily frustrated
anxiety/worries a lot
has a hard time making friends
doesn't understand sarcasm
doesn't understand joking
everything is black & white, there is no gray area, everything is very literal
can't bear the thought of himself or anyone breaking the rules
lack of imaginative play
doesn't engage in play with other kids
toileting issues - has to have complete quiet, door locked, no clothes on
messy eater - has to touch everything
when he gets frustrated he instantly goes into a "self-hating" mode where he says that he is stupid, his brain is stupid, etc.
aggression
sleeplessness
headaches from noise
noise sensitivity
rocking
focus issues
lack of eye contact
obsessions
poor handwriting/coloring
loud talker
easily frustrated
anxiety/worries a lot
has a hard time making friends
doesn't understand sarcasm
doesn't understand joking
everything is black & white, there is no gray area, everything is very literal
can't bear the thought of himself or anyone breaking the rules
lack of imaginative play
doesn't engage in play with other kids
toileting issues - has to have complete quiet, door locked, no clothes on
messy eater - has to touch everything
when he gets frustrated he instantly goes into a "self-hating" mode where he says that he is stupid, his brain is stupid, etc.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
long time, no post
Nothing new here, just continuing to try to change our world. I met up with a girlfriend from HS for lunch (several of us really) and the one does vision therapy for autistic children. She has a ton of tricks to teach me that help with all different aspects of the spectrum. I have to give her my list of issues so she can gather some techniques for us to try.
How exciting is that?! I will share everything I learn!
On other notes, today was both good and bad. He is very on today, but also very easily annoyed and his annoyance instantly turns into huge frustrated fit. Tonight I had to hold him tight, which I still don't understand the concept of how this works, but it really does work. In general he pulls away when you try to hug or hold him just to love him, but when he is melting down if you hold him super tight he calms. I have been doing this trick since he was little, before I even know why or what it was helping.
One step at a time.
On a perfectly wonderful note - here is the reason why I love him so much --
He is the best over complimenter and over worrier in the world. For example, there is a boy in his class who is always getting in trouble. We he decided that it is his job to teach this boy how to behave because he knows that the boy's life will be better if he would only learn how to behave. He has been putting together little motivators for this boy and his newest motivator is for me to throw a party at home for the class if the boy can go one whole day without getting in trouble.
We're still dealing with the noise. I'm trying to teach him calming techniques that he can do himself when it gets to loud to help calm himself.
Any ideas are appreciated!
How exciting is that?! I will share everything I learn!
On other notes, today was both good and bad. He is very on today, but also very easily annoyed and his annoyance instantly turns into huge frustrated fit. Tonight I had to hold him tight, which I still don't understand the concept of how this works, but it really does work. In general he pulls away when you try to hug or hold him just to love him, but when he is melting down if you hold him super tight he calms. I have been doing this trick since he was little, before I even know why or what it was helping.
One step at a time.
On a perfectly wonderful note - here is the reason why I love him so much --
He is the best over complimenter and over worrier in the world. For example, there is a boy in his class who is always getting in trouble. We he decided that it is his job to teach this boy how to behave because he knows that the boy's life will be better if he would only learn how to behave. He has been putting together little motivators for this boy and his newest motivator is for me to throw a party at home for the class if the boy can go one whole day without getting in trouble.
We're still dealing with the noise. I'm trying to teach him calming techniques that he can do himself when it gets to loud to help calm himself.
Any ideas are appreciated!
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