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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Nothing much going on here

There really isn't much going on here and I'm thankful for that!!! Logan has decided he loves school after all and has now gone back to really getting excited in the morning. He demands his diaper be changed and his clothes be put on a good 40 minutes before the bus is due to pick them up. Holy cow! I'm lovin' this new attitude in my little guy. I'd rather he be ready to go even if it's almost an hour early rather than have to fight to get him out the door.

Very little shredding going on this week (knock on wood!) I think he's feeling much better and is really happy with the way things have settled down. My arms are almost healed up except for the two scratches from yesterday. He wanted his chocolate cookies and when I told him we were waiting on them to come in..... I think you get the picture. LOL

We did have an episode of fit throwing on Saturday evening. He got a little over tired and wanted to go to bed and I wasn't quite ready to go. It didn't help that his ear was hurting just a bit either. So after a few kicks and punches thrown at me I was able to finally figure out what he needed and it was like I had a little angel sitting next to me. He snuggled right up to me and cuddled while I got him ready to hit the hay. He fell asleep within twenty minutes of going in his big boy bed. All-in-all these past couple of weeks have been a WHOLE LOT better for him and me.

I'm still working on getting them to go to bed and go to sleep at the same time. Most nights Logan falls out first. Ryan and I will head out to the living room and get the futon ready for him to fall asleep on. Most nights I can go to my own bed around midnight to two in the morning. Hey, it's better than not going at all because even with the pillowtop cover we throw on the futon, it's not the most comfortable bed for a big person. LOL

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Update - Ryan

Ryan's in the school system now and has been since his third birthday. He's probably only going to be in the ESE Program through next year. Since the school system can only deal with educational therapy his feeding issues are largely going unattended other than what we do with him at home.

The plan is to get back on the massaging of the teeth and mouth each time he eats. He drew blood a couple of times so I had to stop to let my fingers heal. We will also continue working with his fingers on things that he hates to touch. He has shown some great improvement at school with fingerpainting and coloring. We are trying to work with him with theraputty (we use silly putty as it's the same texture and cheaper) and beads. I also have a rice box that I have some beans and toys hidden. He hates the rice but he's getting better with it. He also has been requesting the moon sand lately so there are definite improvements.

With all the therapy he's had in the past two years, the boy will never get an Autism diagnosis which is fine with me! Early intervention is key with these kids! Ryan is living proof; if only we had known more with Logan. I can't beat myself/ourselves over the heads with the what if's but sometimes you still do go that route.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before and I'm too tired to go back tonight to see. LOL Ryan has never had any vaccinations at all. We firmly believe that is why he is so much more "there" than Logan. This was totally our choice and isn't for everyone. You have to review all the facts and come up with a decision that fits your individual child is all I can say.

Agency for Persons with Disabilities

Did you know that the wait list (at least here in Florida) did have a wait time of seven years???? WOW! I had no idea when I signed Logan up that it would be that long for everyone and we signed up two years ago. I spoke to a HSP Analyst yesterday to do an update questionnaire for Logan. They've recently switched to a tier system and there are no longer numbers given out. They used to give out numbers and as someone dropped off for whatever reason they next number was taken off the list and given services. They will no longer be doing this. The questionnaire serves to find out where people are and how they are doing currently. Apparently in seven years people move, die and have other life changing things happen to them. At least they are making an effort to clean up the current people and the ones that need services.

Since they no longer have numbers assigned, people will actually get services on a "need it" basis. I think this new way of doing things is a lot better. At least this way the ones who really need the services will get it instead of just the next number in line. What if someone becomes homeless and they've just been added to the list. Does that mean they don't get services until their number is up in seven or more years? Not with the new setup!!

I feel a lot better about this after speaking with this women. She was here at the house for about an hour. She interacted with Logan and he seemed to really take to her. She thought he was an outgoing little guy. I had to tell her that it was really that she just has something in her personality that he bonded with. She's going to get me some information that may help with Ryan's feeding issues since he doesn't qualify for anything from them as he doesn't have the diagnosis. She seemed very caring and concerned and was really helpful and informative.

Also, I know I've posted this before but it's that time of year again. If you are already on the list or are just getting on it, ask them if there is any money available for diapers. We were able to get some help with Logan's diapers and it looks like it will be covered for another year from the same "grant". Our counselor found enough money to cover two years last May so if your child is still in diapers NOW is the time to ask for help. It makes a difference; we have more money each month to get Logan his supplements/food or just get him any other things he needs.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Oh my goodness, it's been a while!

Life gets in the way at the best of times so you can imagine what it's like with us. I can't believe I haven't posted to this Autism blog since September! So much has gone on, where to begin....

Logan adjusted beautifully to the new class and teacher. He advanced leaps and bounds in speech and behavior that I never had to worry about him. Alas, it didn't last. His teacher had to retire unexpectedly two months ago due to health reasons and no interim teacher could be found. They put up with substitutes for a month before we finally had to go to the principal to find out what the heck was going on in the class.

No qualified ASD teacher is available for the rest of the year so they settled (finally!!) on one subsitute. Now, you would think that I'd be happy with that and I guess I am to a certain degree. The problem is that Logan doesn't seem to really care for this person. Ms. Nickie has had to be absent quite a bit herself because her children have been ill so it's been a double whammy for the little guy. It has gotten so bad that a few days he has absolutely REFUSED to go to school. He won't allow me to change his diaper and get him dressed in time to catch the bus and the boy LOVES the bus. I thought perhaps he'd let me drop him at school but that didn't work either time. We're taking it one day at a time anymore.

It doesn't help that he's been sick. The Friday before Spring Break he came down with strep throat. We had no idea because he couldn't communicate what was bothering him until Easter Sunday. He was on antibiotics that following week which I kick myself for because this past week he dealt with ear infections in both ears due to the meds. He missed all but one day this past week and that was fun. I took him to the doctor but they wanted to put him on a stronger antibiotic. I talked to the doctor about using Grapefruit Seed Extract instead of the antibiotics and he said he'd give me two days to get the temp down/gone before he would have antibiotics started. We've been following a regular schedule of putting the GSE in water and then putting a drop in each ear. We also have added one drop of it to his "milk" morning and night and he's now 100% better! (His little sister was starting to get it so we started to follow the same schedule with her and she's almost back to normal) Now, if they can just start sleeping through the night. Wait, make that got to sleep earlier and sleep through the night again. LOL

He was just playing with Ryan and it was wonderful to watch. They were chasing each other back and forth through the living room. Logan was sitting on the couch when Ryan went up to him. Logan reached out and gently put his arms around Ryan and then leaned in and kissed his nose! I tell ya' it brought tears to my eyes!! It's something that will I will always remember and cherish. Those moments are too few and far between so I have to stock them up and enjoy them when I can!