Yes, I still exist…

Well, here it is January of 2008.  Wherever does the time go?  I decided to just post a quick update.  The kids are doing well in school.  I had to call Celia’s teacher and tell him that she wants more work.  He said he’d be happy to oblige, and that her only issue in school is her wandering mind.  I empathized.  At home I can tell her to put her shoes in the basket.  She’ll walk to the bathroom, come back, and say, “What did you want me to do?”  And the shoe basket is just inside our door!!!  David is doing well.  He is beginning to read.  He can read books containing sight words and words in the -an and -at families.  His autistic brain predisposes him to excel at sight words.  Daniel doesn’t show what he knows, and I was beginning to worry that he wouldn’t know anything when he began Kindergarten next fall.  Then the other day he sat down, flipped through a book and named all 26 letters.  He has also shown that he knows quite a few of the letter sounds.  He hides his knowledge so well, I wasn’t sure he knew his ABC’s!  What a relief to find out that all this time he has been absorbing what I’ve been teaching.  And Henry, though 2, also has begun recognizing a lot of letters and some sounds.  His speech is a bit delayed, but I have begun more concentrated “therapy” into our day.  He has shown some improvements just in the last few weeks.  As for me, I’ve finished a few knitting projects.  I hope to post some photos soon.  I’ve also begun a college application to a 2-year program.  With 3 of my 4 kiddos in school in Fall of 2008, I think it would be a good time for me to get a degree.  Well, that’s about all for now.  Perhaps I’ll get to write again soon…

Never thought I’d do it

This morning at 9 AM, I met with the principal of the local public elementary school.  Yes, I know.  Gasp.  I was considering public school.

But, a lot has been going on lately.  The move from TX.  Leaving Amanda and her family.  Moving in with my dad.  And my marriage separation.  Things have not been as honky-dory as I wish.  Believe it or not, I am stressed.  My dad and I get along.  Most of the time.  A couple times he stepped over the line with my kids.  He quite clearly disagreed with my rules, and was rude.  We quarreled.  Then of course, while we weren’t talking to each other, he stepped in dog poop.  Yes, my dog pooped in his bathroom.  And it wasn’t the first time.

It didn’t help that I’ve been off my Celexa for far too long.  I was easily upset.  But with everything going on.  Maybe everyone is right.  Maybe homeschooling it just too much.

And when I called PA Cyber, they informed me that open enrollment ended July 31st.  But I was more than welcome to put her on the wait list and see if she was accepted.  Now, does that make much sense?  It takes 10 days for enrollment to be completed.  And this is a CYBER school.  Not an in person school.  Even if they count the first day of school as August 27th, shouldn’t the last day of open enrollment be August 17th?

Anyway…  My choices were to either go and fill out my affidavit and paper work to homeschool the kids, or to enroll them in public school.  With all the things going on at home, the thought of paperwork and reporting on my homeschooling just seemed like too much.  But at least I do have The Weaver Volume 1.  And I figured I could round it out with the second half of A Beka’s Language Arts and Math from last year.  After all we only finished half.  And it was ahead of what they did in the public school.  And I think if I was in Texas I would do it.

But I’m not.

The principal met with David.  She talked with us.  She said that she thinks David would do well in AM Kindergarten, then leave for his services in the special education room.  He would have lunch, recess, phys ed, music, computer lab, and art with the all day Kindergarten kids.  He’ll get library time with an aide with him.  Between you and me, if she had said anything else, I would have left and been completely justified in homeschooling.  But as it is, maybe it’s for the best.  Maybe.  If the little ones benefit, and David does well, and Celia grows and overcomes some fears, then it will be worth it.

Celia remained adamantly against school.  She also wanted NOTHING to do with the bus.  She was still moping when the principal asked how David will handle the bus.  Remember, there are no seatbelts aboard.  She said that the first few rows are reserved for kindergarteners.  She also said that Celia and David will be riding together to and from school.  Celia perked up.  Then the principal asked if I thought Celia would be interested in sitting with David on the bus.  She overheard and jumped up.  Celia informed her that she most definitely wanted to sit with David.

Things were looking up.

From there I took Celia and David to Wal-Mart.  David picked out a Spiderman 3 backpack–trimmed in blue of course.  A blue lunch bag.  A blue sandwich box.  A Spiderman 3 folder.  A Spiderman 3 thermos.  Celia still has a pink backpack in excellent condition.  She picked out a  pink heart lunch bag.  A pink sandwich box.  A hot pink polka-dot folder.  A pink floral thermos.  Since she’s going into second grade, she also got a pink pencil box, and ten floral pencils.  David needed new sneakers.  He tried on a bunch and settled on a nice black and white pair.

Needless to say, they’re officially excited about the start of school.

Checkups

On Friday Celia and David saw the Pediatric Developmental Specialist in Lubbock for the last time.  When the nurse, Jesus (Hay-Zeus), called our name to go back, Celia was in the bathroom.  David and Daniel rushed to Jesus and I walked toward the door and told him we were waiting on her.  The door closed.  I could hear Jesus tell them that we had to wait for mom.  But I couldn’t see what was happening.

Celia emerged and we joined Jesus and the boys.  Henry was buckled into his stroller, so he was no problem at all.  Jesus immediately said that when he told them they were waiting on me, David stopped and waited.  He said he was impressed at how well David is doing.  I was beaming with pride.

After weighing and measuring the kids, we were taken back to an examination room.  Luckily we didn’t wait too long.

The doctor came in and began with David.  Celia stood right next to me, and couldn’t stop trying to interject information about her own life.  I tried listening to her in hopes that she would calm down, but to no avail.  Finally I said to her that the doctor was focusing on David right now and she would have her chance soon.  The noise in the room from the three boys was deafening.  I’m amazed the doctor and I could talk at all!  But we did.

She asked how school was going for David.  I said we’ve taken a time out because of the move.  But he has a great interest in learning to read, and in all areas he’s progressing.  He’s been coloring and writing more.  His speech is improving.  He knows the phonics sounds to most of the letters.  He is recognizing bigger, smaller, same, and different.  And he’s answering questions better.  Then the doctor asked where David is receiving therapy.  I answered that I’ve been doing it all myself.  (Services in this area aren’t worth the battle with the insurance company!)  But all in all, the Risperdal and Strattera seem to be doing well with David’s ASD.

Finally time for Celia.  She asked about school.  I said she finished the year well and is excited about homeschooling.  But we’ve taken time off because of the move.  The doctor asked if there were any academic concerns.  I said no.  Celia makes very good grades.  And I told her that her first grade teacher never told me until I asked her, but her attention improved at the end of the year, and Celia left her seat less often.  (I had no idea she was having a hard time staying seated!!!)  So, the Strattera is helping Celia.

During the entire visit, in the background, David and Daniel both wanted the Larry Boy stuffed toy.  I ended up having to set the timer on my phone for 5 minutes and make them trade.  The arguing and fighting ended.  As soon as the timer beeped (which was really annoying in the small room) you would hear, “Here you go…” and then Larry Boy would trade hands.  No head locks.  No scratching.  No punching.  Just sharing.

The doctor seemed very pleased with what she saw and heard from Celia and David.  I was very happy myself.

Method to My Madness

Lately I’ve been asked a lot of questions about autism, or therapy, or signing to my children, or eating or sleeping habits of special needs kids… And the list goes on. I’ve been trying to tackle the issues that people seem to want to know about. The result is a combination of chronological journaling and random posts about past major issues.

But what I really want, is for my blog to minister to people’s needs. Whether the need be completely superficial and just wanting to know what size knitting needle I used on Celia’s top, or if someone wants to know more intimate details, like just how many lipsticks David has completely wasted.

So, dear public, I am here to welcome questions. I want to raise knowledge and understanding of autism and other disorders. I want to help people that are also beginning this journey. I can offer empathy and also a long list of books to read!

Eating Issues

We all know I’ve got four kids. Celia never had many eating issues. David has had a few. Daniel qualified for Occupational Therapy because of his eating issues. And Henry. Henry never used to have any eating issues. But now I am seeing jags. For those of you who don’t understand this, a jag is when a child will only eat one thing for a long time. Then they burn out on that and jump to the next jag.

When Celia was a toddler, she was easy to please. But then again she would sometimes be fussy. One day we had an accidental break-through. She had some food with more pepper on it than normal. And she LOVED it! I started using it to my advantage. Green vegetables with pepper. Eggs with pepper. Chicken with pepper. The other thing I found is that if I called all meat “chicken” she ate it more willingly.

Ironically, David was the easiest to feed. You’d think being autistic that he would have had the most issues. But that isn’t how he functions. David’s appetite waxes and wanes more than the tides. As a side-effect of Risperdal, he could have had an increase in appetite. We haven’t seen any increase at all. David has certain likes and dislikes, to be sure. He, like most kids, doesn’t like his foods mixed. He’s not big on sauces. But he complains a lot less about what I make than Celia.

As for Daniel, he is the biggest challenge. He doesn’t qualify as a picky eater, just a problem eater. He eats one or two items from each food group. He prefers burgers, but not the healthy ones. The fast food ones. And they have to be plain. Some nights he’ll eat chicken. Other nights he won’t. Well, that really applies to everything. And to make matters worse, his top front baby teeth came in wrong. They are crooked and create a problem with biting. He doesn’t eat most things that are breaded. He doesn’t eat pretzels. He LOVES animal crackers and eats them at snack time nearly every day. He loves bananas. He recently added apples and oranges to his list of likes. He used to only eat green beans. If broccoli hit his plate he would scream and throw the plate. Then refuse to eat anything. Oh, and he never eats any form of white potatoes except for french fries. Never in his life has he eaten mashed potatoes.

Henry used to only eat grilled cheese for lunch. He would not under any circumstances eat peanut butter and jelly. Now he won’t eat grilled cheese, and will eat P B & J. He loves bananas and yogurt. He likes pretzels and animal crackers. He’s pretty open to most foods, but then something will get into his head and he’ll refuse to eat too.

One of my practices has always been giving the kids their vegetables before dinner is finished cooking. They pest for food, why not give them something healthy? And all the kids are so desperate for food, that they willingly munch all the veggies I can give. Celia, as a matter of fact, has always preferred vegetables to fruit. David and Daniel now enjoy them too. Daniel’s list of acceptable vegetables has grown to include peas (hot or frozen) and even broccoli. For Daniel, getting him to accept broccoli came over much time of making it available. I would first just make it and put it on the table. Then when he was used to it being there, I began putting a very small amount on his plate. After a lot of waiting, one day he tasted it.

The Occupational Therapist said I was doing the right thing by waiting for him to eat. She told me that it was best to offer him dinner and allow him to eat or allow him to go hungry. It was up to him, but I wasn’t about to make him a special meal or allow him to eat P B & J three times a day. I would just make sure that I made a Daniel “approved” meal at least once every day or two. We took this approach for everything. I make it, I expect them to eat it. If they eat their dinner and then are hungry later, I can let them have a snack. But if they refuse dinner, then that’s all they get to the next morning. This rule is the hardest to enforce for David. David has no rationale. There is no getting through to him like in an NT child. When he gets it into his mind that he is entitled to something, he will not let it drop. He’ll scream until his nose bleeds if he gets into enough of a snit.

Henry’s jag is a new experience for me. I suppose I’m going to have to find all my papers that the OT gave me when we were beginning to explore Daniel’s eating difficulties. I also want to buy the book Just Take A Bite. According to the reviews on Amazon, it seems like just what I need. It even includes eating exercises.