Autism from the beginning

A plan...

2009-06-10T10:08:00.002-04:00

Recently I had a parent contact me about good daycare for special needs children. I've been so lucky in that when I was working my boss allowed me to work from home part time so that I could drop and pick up the children at school. When it got to the point that I couldn't give my normal 110% to work and my children, I gave my notice and became a full time stay-at-home-mom. I do remember before going part time at home, contacting a few daycares in our area. We had just moved to this town and I didn't know very many people so I got the good old yellow pages out and started my search. To say I was discouraged would be an understatement. None of the local facilities could handle a special needs child because the extra care that would be needed. It's not like it was a lot of extra care mind you as Logan was only three at the time and still in diapers. The only things I was worried about were keeping an extra careful eye on him as he ran whenever he saw an open door and to make sure he ate only what I sent with him.

I have contacted another parent in our area and have asked for some help finding a good daycare for this parent for her child. She's a single parent and doesn't have the luxury of staying home with her child during the summer. She needs some help with this and I've made it my goal to try to help her to make the transision as smooth as I can. I remember how it was after we got Logan's diagnosis and if I can help someone through that rough period than I will. I've helped her out with the GF/CF diet as much as I can. Do you rememeber that movie Pay It Forward? I had one parent help me out a little by sending different GF/CF food for Logan to try so we wouldn't have to spend big money only to find out he didn't like it. I did and will continue to do the same for other parents. It's a great feeling knowing that you are helping someone else through one of the toughest times after a diagnosis.

Now about my plan, I want to get information about daycares (home or bigger) that can take children with disabilities. I'm working on finding them in our county but would love input from everyone else out there that have information regarding their areas. I can put together a list in my sidebar or a link to take anyone directly to the daycare sites. Anything I can organize to help other parents would be great. So, if you have a suggestion for a good special needs/disability daycare in your area drop me an e-mail or a comment so I can start the list.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop in and read my posts. I really appreciate it! Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Nothing much going on here

2009-05-19T11:00:00.002-04:00

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

Update - Ryan

2009-05-06T21:46:00.000-04:00

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

2009-05-06T11:02:00.003-04:00

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.

Oh my goodness, it's been a while!

2009-05-03T21:28:00.002-04:00

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!

More timely update

2008-09-06T12:35:00.002-04:00

I'm trying to stay more on top of this blog so I can let everyone know how Logan and Ryan are doing. If I can update weekly I will be a happy camper but no promises!!

Logan has now been switched to the class and teacher that I had originally wanted and I'm so thankful! He's got a great teacher in Ms. Clark and a great aide in Ms. Nicki. Ms. Clark attended the IEP meeting last May and I was SOOOOOO impressed with her. To say I was disappointed when he didn't get her is putting it mildly. She incorporates speech therapy into the class work as she has a background in speech. She has been working with Autistic children for a long time and knows how to deal with behavior issues while still getting them to work. I did try to see how things would go with the new teacher and aides but as you read in my previous post things just weren't working. I had been thinking that if the one aide would stay around that he could deal with that class but then I saw things start to deteriorate and knew I had to do something.

My Tuesday was spent taking them to speech at the hospital and then to school. I wasn't impressed with what I saw when dropping him off so I made an effort to get back there before his lunch so I could observe un-noticed. Well, you know what they say about plans...... I made it to school ten minutes into his lunch time so I headed to the cafeteria. I observed for a few minutes there un-noticed and I can say no further eval was needed. I did, however, make a point to hang around until after they'd been back in the classroom for at least 20 minutes. I observed them in the classroom for another 20 minutes and headed to the office. I debated on making this a face-to-face meeting with the principal or just talking to him on the phone. He rarely takes a phone call but will call back a few hours later. He sure takes a lot of meetings!!

I stopped in the office and surprise, he was in a meeting so I stuck around for 20 minutes waiting to see him. After explaining what I saw with Logan's regression and having to explain why he can't tell me what the problem is, we got down to the nitty gritty. I wanted him moved to another teacher who could put her foot down and make him do the work that he's very capable of doing. After another few minutes listening to his excuses (we're moving the child who is hitting/scratching/biting to that classroom so you aren't fixing the problem by moving Logan too) why it wasn't a good move (in his opinion) Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have a strong teacher (strong leadership skills) then won't that cut out the discipline problems with the scratching, biting and hitting??? I got him to agree to talk to the teachers and let me know by the end of the week. I left the school that day feeling like I'd accomplished nothing and felt like I had let Logan down yet again. I just knew the battle had just begun. That it would be a long and painful one but, in the end Logan's issues would win over the class count or whatever it was he (the principal) was using to be against the switch.

The next day I received a call from a dear friend who informed me that Logan wasn't with his regular class and was with the other teacher/aide. That person said he looked happier than they had seen him so far this year and the aide was working with him as she should be. What a great weight lifted from my shoulders! They are sending little daily logs of how his attitude was for that day, how he worked and a few other notes so I know how his progress is each day. The other teacher didn't do this unless I wrote a note asking for specifics and even then I might not get an answer. I'm not trying to knock this other teacher. I got the feeling that she has experience with general education but doesn't have much experience (hands on) with the spectrum children. She has lots of great ideas "on paper" but getting them to actually transition over to hands on work in the classroom needs a lot of work. Logan doesn't have the time for this transition to work itself out. He has regressed before and it took quite a while to get him back to where he was improving again. He doesn't have the time for practice with a new teacher. (I was assured at the end of last school year that all new teachers for these new Autism classes would be experienced with the spectrum and all that entails. It's pretty clear to me that isn't exactly how things turned out. Things that make you go HMMMMMM......)

For the past three days Logan has been very happy in the morning while getting ready for school. (Yes, he's still tired but he's no longer nasty and fighting me when I'm trying to get him dressed) He's happier when he gets home and he's actually asking for what he wants (i.e. I want juice, please, thank you.) He's not scratching or hitting and he's giving lots of kisses without being asked. Maybe the short period of regression is already fixed, if not, it should be a short time before he's back to where he was this summer. Phew, what a week!

Another long period between posts

2008-08-31T11:00:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the delay between posts but summer is always busy with all the kids home and all the therapies.

Ryan update - we have him scheduled for his transition evaluation on September 19th. Hopefully we will find out then whether or not the psychologist feels the need to give him the autism diagnosis. If she does, it doesn't necessarily mean he will be eligible to get therapy through the school system. If he does get the diagnosis and is eligible, I've already let the principal know that I want Logan's teacher from last year and his aide as well. That class was a wonderful haven for Logan and I know Ryan will be in very VERY good hands there. So much has changed in the past year about the eligibility requirements that I'll just have to find it all out then.

Logan update - well, school isn't going so well right now. I know it's not just the new class, new teacher and new aide. He doesn't want to get up and get going in the mornings. He's never been like this before. Some days are a lot worse then others so I'm just thankful to have a lull whenever I can get it. He's not requesting with words now and he's back into the scratching and screaming again. Now, over the summer he did a little bit of that but not like now. I've been really making him request and he will if I make him but if I don't push he just throws his bowl, plate or cup at me. Something isn't quite right so I'm going to make a surprise visit to the school to see what is going on in class this coming week.

When the principal had originally told me who the teacher and aide were at the end of last school year I said no to the aide. I was assured both had experience with Autism and all that entails. We did reach an agreement that if I wasn't happy by the third week of school that I could get a new aide. Due to the tropical storm the first week of school was a wash as they only went the Monday and Tuesday. Last week was the first full week and I can tell there is something wrong. When I went to his IEP meeting last May the teacher that was involved in the meeting really impressed me. They did tell me at that time that they were having to hire two new teachers as all the Autistic children would be moved to this school and Logan may not get her. I'm not impressed with the regression that Logan is showing so the only option is for me to go and sneak a peak to see what's happening. I plan to do that and if I see something that makes me unhappy I will be heading directly to the principal's office to make the change.

Oops! Forgot to mention....

2008-06-09T10:55:00.002-04:00

I almost forgot to mention that we were able to get some help with Logan's diapers and wipes this year. I had to fill out paperwork last year to get him on the list for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. Of course, the list is huge and with budget cuts I'm not sure if he'll ever get help with the speech and occupational therapies but I got the information and was able to get him on the list. I've heard some horror stories about how long the list is and how long it takes to get approved; not to mention all the new cuts in the budget.

When I spoke to his case worker last year she said to call her again this year around the end of May beginning of June to see about help with diapers and wipes. I did call and thankfully they did have a little money so we were approved for some help for him! Yeah, we will be getting diapers and wipes delivered to the house monthly until the money is gone. I told her I was thankfull for any help we could get for him. It's going to be nice having that little bit of extra money that we spend on Logan's diapers each week and wipes. We will put it towards all of Ryan's baby food and formula. Every little bit helps so if you know of someone who needs help tell them to check out the Agency for Persons with Disabilities website. You have to have a definite diagnosis and I'm not sure which they are able to help with but if you type in the name of the agency you can find it for your state. I will try to get the site for Florida up on the sidebar for anyone who needs it. Just take a look around and then give them a call. They were really good about giving me a call back anytime I called with questions. Everyone I dealt with was very nice and always seemed ready to help.

Wow, it's been awhile!

2008-06-09T10:28:00.004-04:00

I didn't realize how long it's been since I updated this blog but it's been kind of busy so I will try to update as much as I can with the one post.

Let's see, we knew in April that Logan wouldn't attend summer school this year because his aide couldn't work and the other aide wasn't able to get her notice in on time. I can't say I blame either one; poor things need a break from all the kids and work they do. They work so hard and are underpaid so they need their summer break even more than the rest!

We found out right after Logan's IEP that his aide, Ann wouldn't be going up to kindergarten with him next year. It was very sad but I totally understand where she's coming from. When you find the right work environment and it really clicks you hate to walk away from it. It's very rare that you can work with people you actually like and respect (as people let alone fellow employees) so you can't walk away from that easily. Logan did need to break away before he became too attached so again, I understand all the thinking behind the decision but I do admit it's hard for Mommy to let go. I had to put in my choice for his new aide for next year and I had two very qualified people to give names for so I'm happy as long as I get one of those two.

Logan did act up the last couple of weeks of school; smacking, scratching and just being very vocal and upset about things. He's calmed somewhat in the few days since school let out and it helped that Ann and Charlie came over to babysit this weekend. He was standing at the door looking out the window watching for them to arrive. I believe he'd been standing there for about 20 minutes by the time they got here. He was so happy to see Ann especially. He kept smiling and saying her name over and over. He loves them both but usually will gravitate toward Charlie because he doesn't get to see him as much. All the kids love them so we've adopted them as part of the family. It sure doesn't hurt that they like to watch the kids for us so we can have a night out once in a while!!

Logan will be in one of the three Autistic kindergarten classes next year. I believe I heard this correctly, they are moving all the kids to the school he is going to so they are having to add two more classes. I was able to meet the teacher who will be in charge and hopefully Logan will be in her classroom. She seems to really know her stuff and is really into working on speech in their daily routine. I've seen her at the school for a couple of years just didn't know who she was and I've noticed she is really good with the kids. She was the one to bring the kids out to the parents at the end of the day and always took a minute or two to discuss how they were that day. Each child seemed really relaxed and seemed to really like her too so that's a plus. Now, if he can just be in her class, right?!?!?!?!!!

Ryan is improving; just not too fast with the food issues. We were going along really well and had to stop because of the stomach bug that went around. I was having to sit with Logan for a week while he fought that stupid bug so I didn't want my hands anywhere near Ryan. I know I was being overly paranoid but I just didn't want to even think about it. I washed my hands everytime I went near Logan. My hands were raw, cracked and bleeding by the time his bug was half way gone and continued to stay that way for about a week later. I think I did a ton of laundry that week not to mention all the scrubbing and cleaning. Thankfully, the only thing the other kids got from that bug was the diarrhea but that was enough believe you me!! I never want to have another bug like that come in this house ever again!!!

Ryan is talking more; too much sometimes as he tends to say everything that everyone around him is saying. It's now I need a baabaa or I need Nanas or I need to snuggle. I've been working on I want with him and Logan and will continue to do so this summer. I was supposed to get a book that the speech therapist at school at been working with Logan on but that never materialized so now I have to just go with the notes I made at the IEP. I should do fine with my notes and what we already do but it sure would have been easier if I'd remember to nudge the speech therapist for the book before school let out. Another I'm not happy with myself moment but I will survive. He's getting better with his dexterity in his fingers; we've been working on putting some cute little bears on a shoelace. I found that at Staples thanks to his OT; she told me to check there and sure enough I found a pack. We worked on that yesterday with him for a little while and then Katie tried her hand at it. She loves to do whatever he does and vice versa. We noticed that they both would get the bears on the lace facing the same way. I would try to hand the bears to them facing backwards or upside down but they both would catch that and put them on the same way everytime.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed all the information about Autism really popping up lately? More commercials, more advertising at professional sports and then of course the not-so-lovely reports that come out about

Another OT Update

2008-04-17T09:05:00.002-04:00

We've had some improvement with Ryan's eating due to the massage. He will now eat applesauce without any bananas. He did really well after the previous blog; I just had to hide the applesauce so he thought he was getting bananas. As it was Spring Break for the older kids, they were all home with me last week. On Saturday I was a little more distracted and didn't see his gag until all of the food came back up. We did do a little backtracking because of that but we are almost back to all applesauce again.

The trick with Ryan is to hide the stuff he doesn't like and distract him somehow while feeding him. Last week I was able to get the other kids to help me distract him and we had a good week (until Saturday's mishap) but this week it's a little harder with no extra distractions. At one point last night, I had him in front of the televison and I was singing songs with him so we were able to get quite a lot in him. He has gotten better with letting me massage his palate and teeth. He doesn't bite down as hard so my finger isn't nearly as sore as it was.

I'm having issues with the brushing. It's not that I don't feel comfortable doing it; it's I can't seem to get it on a set schedule with him and I'm getting very upset with myself. He seems to like it and I'm getting used to the pressure needed to give now if I could just remember to give it to him as needed. Tuesdays we have to get up and get Logan to therapy then take him and Marie to school. By the time we get home we've been away for almost 2 hours if not more. Wednesday we went to meet Daddy for lunch and of course that threw off the schedule. I really need to figure out the Tuesday schedule and not go anywhere until I'm totally used to getting this done for him. Once that happens I think I can go do whatever and still be aware of the brushing schedule enough to give it while we are out. I feel like I'm making this harder than it should be and I'm getting very upset. Okay, I'm going to go take a deep breath and try this again. Wish me luck on getting this schedule added in to our already fun filled days!!

New twist to therapy

2008-04-09T08:06:00.002-04:00

Okay, last week I told you about (or it may have been the week before) the new thing we are adding to Ryan's occupational therapy. Well, we started it on Monday and he did pretty well. She showed me how to massage his palate then put a little pressure on his bottom teeth. I don't remember her doing the upper front teeth just the bottom front. I will have to make sure when she comes back next week. I fed him his bananas with a dip into his applesauce. He gagged once or twice but if she distracted him while I spooned it into his mouth he was fine. I did try to use the nubby/textured utensil but that didn't get very far so I just used the spoon. The main goal is to get him to eat so I thought it best to go with the spoon until he can relax a little better.

Yesterday I did this on my own so it was kind of hard to figure out how to distract him. He fought me a little on the massage but then he totally surprised me. I was able to dip the bananas into the applesauce with NO GAGGING after that very first bite! The boy ate two "tubs" (plastic rectangle shaped jars of food) of bananas and one complete tub of applesauce. WOW! Today it's time to see if I can get him to take a whole spoonfull of applesauce or pears with no banana chaser. Even if he takes a bite or two and I have to go back to dipping it will have been a major breakthrough for him.

Yeah Ryan!!!

Ryan - Update

2008-03-31T21:49:00.002-04:00

Ryan was supposed to have his Occupational Therapy today but he napped through it instead. If he does decide to take a nap before she gets here, I can normally get him awake enough when she walks in the door to be able to start therapy with minimal fuss. He had a strange weekend where he refused to nap at all on Friday and Saturday and last night's nap lasted about 45 minutes but then he was up until after midnight. To top that off I got him up early this morning so I could go help out a friend. By the time we got back home he was ready for more to eat and wanted to go go go!

It was a good therapy session in that we were able to sit and discuss what she had learned at a workshop last week. It's going to be hard work but we are going to start the brush therapy with him and I will have to do it every 1 1/2 to 2 hours during the day until he shows signs that he is wanting to try new things. I'm all for it; brushing helps Logan stop grinding his teeth and they do the brushing at school with him. She also learned a new technique or therapy where you massage the inside of the mouth before a meal, 1/2 way through the meal and after the meal. It helped her child this weekend so she's going to bring me up to date on how he did this week and show me how to perform it as well. I'm so excited about both of these new things for Ryan. I'm hoping that one if not both will help him break through the eating issues he has been having. Please keep your fingers and toes crossed and say an extra prayer for us that these work. Every little bit helps!

Marie - ADHD

2008-03-14T08:53:00.005-04:00

I have heard that ADHD is on the Autism spectrum which explains why Marie is ADHD. We realized there was a problem with her when I was pregnant with Logan. On Valentines Day she and a friend at daycare had gotten into a bag (big bag!) of candy and ate their way through half the bag. That night she was mindless, kicking and screaming and just uncontrollable. Now I know that much sugar would tend to make most kids hyper but this was way beyond hyper. That very night Curtis and I agreed to pull her off the candy and other sweet foods. He did some research on the internet and found an article about the food dye Red40. Once we read that and looked through our pantry we were shocked! Most of what we had for her to eat had that dye in it. We had to get rid of the Fruit Loops as they had just added the red back in which of course was the Red40. No more of the yogurt we had purchased for her and that she loved. Heck, even some potato chips have that dye in them and they have no red color. Tell me why it would need to be an additive if the food isn't colored red???

We have been watching her diet since that time. She will get stuff at school by trading with other kids. We've talked to her about that and what happens when she gets the dyes. (We have added Yellow #5 to the list as well) At nine years old, she is old enough to know not to get into things she isn't supposed to have. Each day I ask her to not take anything from anyone because you never know what is in it. She would say but it's not red why can't I have it so I'd show her stuff that wasn't red that clearly had these dyes in it. Thankfully, this year her teacher really knows about the dyes and can relate to her issues with them. She has the same issues herself so it's a nice change and a relief to have some backup at school.

The other day she ate something that she described like a cinnamon roll. Obviously it had some dye in it that she has issues with because she had a really bad time on the bus ride home. She wouldn't listen or do anything the aide asked her to do. She was so nasty that she had to sit next to the aide for the entire ride home. When she got off the bus she was in tears and when I talked to her about her behavior she screamed and stomped her feet just like a two year old. After much screaming and temper tantrum throwing, she was able to calm down enough for me to discuss the problem with her. I find the best way to handle it after the initial meltdown is to calm her down and tell her why she can't have foods I don't send to school for her. She will insist that she didn't get into anything and I have to go through the reasons that I know she did:

1. Not listening
2. Not doing what she is told
3. Screaming at the top of her lungs
4. Throwing things and stomping her feet
5. Telling me she hates me
6. Crying uncontrollably

I know that's not the Marie I know and love because she is the most lovable child. She wants twenty hugs when she gets home and kisses too. She wants to tell me all about her day at school at least fifteen times and will then add things that she forgot to tell me the first time. She always tells me she loves me at least five to six times in an hour. So for her to tell me she hates me that's a sure sign that she got into something. Once she calms down and sees that she can't lie about it she will finally tell me what she ate. I have to go through it again with her about how things don't always have to be red in order for her not to be able to tolerate it. It will take hours for the effects of these dyes to go away.

Case in point; I let her play and snack on some crackers for about an hour and then we sat down to write a letter of apology to the bus aide. I had to spell words that she learned in first grade and constantly repeat myself. She would lose track of where she was in the writing and then have to ask me the third or fourth time what I said. It was very frustrating for both of us but we both held our cool and got through it. She then proceeded to drink a ton of water to try to flush out the nasty dyes out of her system. That night was a wasted homework night so it's a good thing it was FCAT testing! They are being nice enough not to give the kids homework during the testing so that was her saving grace that night.

It has taken a long time for us to get to this point where I know how to react to her getting into things. For some reason it took me a long time to recognize the signs but thankfully I have finally "seen the light" and can react the right way. I feel so much better when things calm down and we can talk rationally without any yelling. It's a good feeling to finally have some control of something when it comes to her ADHD. We choose to not get medication and handle her ADHD naturally. It's definitely a much harder way to deal with it but it's the right way for our family.

Ryan

2008-03-04T14:19:00.002-05:00

Tuesdays are usually Logan's speech therapy days. After dropping Logan and Marie off at school we had to rush home to meet Ryan's physical therapist for his therapy. He didn't do to well today and I think I know the reason why. Today instead of letting them out to run and raise all kinds of heck, I took them for a stroll through and around the hospital trying to get my exercise. It was good exercise for Marie and me but not a good thing for Ryan or Katie. By the time we got home and it was therapy time for him, he was wanting to run run run! Katie was doing the same thing but in circles. Not a good therapy session for him today so next week, we will drop Logan at his speech therapy and we will head back to the waiting area and let them run wild! Not too sure that the other patients families appreciate it but the kids really love to run around and play with Marie so I'm going to ignore the nasty looks I get.

Ryan's OT gave us a 2 lb. weight that she made with rice or something like that to put in a fanny pack for him. This will work like the weighted vests that I see advertised but cost a good deal more. Now all I have to do is find the fanny pack that I know is in this house somewhere! He was very calm and sat for her last session so I know this will help with his physcial and speech therapies. My next project is to tear up my room/closet until I find the fanny pack. It's a little irritating because I know I had it for a Sea World visit sometime in November so it really couldn't have gotten shoved down in somewhere that far.... could it?!?!

The finger paints we bought last week were a huge success with Katie yesterday. She needed something fun to do and it worked out perfectly for her. I taped down a couple of card stock sheets for her and let her use both hands until she had created a masterpiece. I will be putting that one on the wall once I get a few more pieces of artwork from the others. Once I have them on the wall, I will take pictures to post on the blog. She had such a good time and didn't want to finish even though the paint I set out for her was completely gone. I figured the best way to deal with painting time is to set out a nice size blob of each paint and let them play in it until it's gone off the holder. Once that happens, it's time for cleanup and then drying of the artwork. (Marie was a little jealous that she couldn't do artwork last night but she had too much homework!)

Logan

2008-02-26T12:28:00.003-05:00

Logan has been progressing some lately. When he gets really upset, I lightly brush my hand down his cheek and say, "What baby, what is it?" The other day he said, "What baby?" while he took his own and and brushed it down his cheek. He laughed up a storm when I smiled at him and said it after he did. A little later he was upset because he was in time out for smacking his baby brother and as he cried he was doing the hand brush and saying the "What baby?" It almost broke my heart to see it but I stood firm and made him sit in the corner until he said "sorry!" and came to his brother and said it while signing it too. He then proceeded to give Ryan a big kiss. Ryan stopped crying and smiled as soon as he got the kiss from his big brother. (Love to see stuff like this between them!)

On the way into Speech this morning, as the automatic doors opened, Logan said "open!" We have to go through two sets of doors to get into the hospital and he said it both times while helping me push the double stroller with his brother and sister in it. I get him to help me push the stroller or he wants to be carried and that he's getting to big to do anymore. Ms. Cheryl has been working with him for a while now as she normally meets us at the van and will take him inside. Each time they walk up to the doors she says "Open!" and tries to get him to but this is the first time I could make out what he was saying. Repetition or "practice makes perfect" really does work!!!

Update on the Flex Spending; they will not be able to help us with Ryan's formula at all. The only thing the would do is pay the difference between the normal formula and a special formula. Since he isn't on a special formula just the Toddler Next Step then we won't be getting help with that. It does look like they will be paying for their diapers though which is a big help. Better some than nothing at all so I'm happy with the outcome!

New Link

2008-02-15T10:37:00.003-05:00

I just added a new link to Natural Laws. They have a very interesting article regarding Autism and heavy metals that every parent should read. Please take a few minutes and read this article just so you have some very useful information.

We didn't know about the vaccinations before Logan; after he was diagnosed with Autism we didn't allow him or any of our other children to have them. It is a choice we made that wasn't hard for us but for those parents that haven't dealt with the Autism Spectrum, it's information that you probably wouldn't get. I'm not telling you to not get your child vaccinated, I'm just saying be totally informed before you make that decision.

As always, thanks for stopping by to read, have a great day.

Another update

2008-02-06T08:56:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I've had two sick children and now I've got the creeping crud that Logan decided to share with Mommy. He does love to share with me especially any type of bug. That tells me that he loves me enough to share all the good and nasty stuff. I'm just thankful that he's feeling better and is back to normal. The other night I wasn't moving quick enough to get him something to eat and drink so he ran up to me, pulled on my hand and screamed "NOWWWWW" at the top of his voice. As he did this he had a very angelic smile on his face thinking that would make the screaming and pulling okay. (It did of course but I didn't let him know that!)

Ryan is now set up with the early intervention therapies finally! He has been with speech for about a month now. Monday he had his first visit with his occupational therapist for his evaluation. Today he has his physcal therapist coming to do the evaluation so we can get a set schedule for these. They had some employee changes and schedule changes at the hospital and we were to begin our new schedule this week so I had to call on Sunday to let the O.T. know we wouldn't be coming and then on Monday called back to let them know about the P.T. They have a good S.T. at the hospital and she was going to work with Ryan for O.T. until they had a replacement as she has another job. I would have loved to have her work with Ryan but I have to go with the E.I. as my insurance only covers so many visits. She's a sweet lady and said that when he turns three we can start seeing him again. You got that right! Once the school system takes over I will be in the same boat as I am with Logan. Ryan will need the outside therapy because their is no guarentee that he will get what he's supposed to at school.

I do have to give the school board credit; they did finally get a good speech therapist in Logan's school. I really shouldn't put it like that; it's more like they finally got the other ladies some help so they aren't so stretched out and stressed out. This newer therapist has seen Logan more than the two previous (granted we did up his ST on his IEP this year but....) It could also be that she's very young and still into everything must go by the book. I don't care what it is as long as he's getting what is on his IEP and he's progressing. He still has very very far to go; he will say thank you one day and not use it again for weeks. He's still not potty trained but I'm working with our Flexible Spending company to get his diapers approved. Once that happens those won't come out of our weekly grocery budget. That will be a big help as we buy two packs of diapers every week or so. One for home and one for school not to mention the wipes etc.

We are also hoping that the Flex Spend company will approve Ryan's Next Step formula since he has to have it in order to thrive physically. Due to his feeding issues, we have to give him something with all the nutrients or we back slide and I really can't imagine having that happen. They said all we needed was a doctors note with a diagnosis and explanation. Since Logan has been diagnosed as Autistic that one is a done deal. Ryan can't have a formal diagnosis until he hits 30 months so I have the evaluation from the early interevention psychologist that states he has characteristics of an autistic spectrum disorder. Keep fingers and toes crossed that will be enough to let them approve it. We spend between $40 and $60 per week on his formula alone. Some weeks it's more if we can find a sale we buy a couple extra cans to keep on hand. Never fail it will be a non pay week and we will get low on formula. If we can get it approved by Flex Spend then that won't be an issue any more.

Great News!

2008-01-11T09:10:00.001-05:00

Well, we were able to finally get to the neurologist for Ryan's 2nd MRI follow up visit yesterday. The day started out very rushed and irritating but when we were finally on I95 I took a deep breath said a little prayer to help us get through the day. We got to Orlando in time to stop for a cup of coffee for me as I don't like to have any before the drive or we will have to stop 20 times for potty breaks. (Okay, it's not like I have the time to make it before we are running out the door either but....)

We made it to Dr. Kojic's office right on time and only had to wait for about 15 minutes to get in to see her. The kids enjoyed the time playing with all the fun toys in the waiting room and I enjoyed that time drinking (okay, savoring) my coffee. I also didn't get a migraine and I believe it's because I was able to get a cup of coffee early and that the visit went so well. (and the traffic wasn't half bad; only one wreck on the way so traffic was only slowed down for about 10 minutes)

The really great news is that the neurologist was so happy with the improvement she saw in Ryan since our last visit. It's been about three months since she saw him last. He's been saying so many more words and not throwing up every time he gags on something. We discussed the neurosurgen's idea of another MRI in about six months and she's agreeing with us that if there are no changes we don't need to do it. She did recommend that we go back to see the neurosurgen in six months for a follow up but other than that we are done for another year!!

She says at this time she can't even give us a diagnosis of PDD. This is such great news!! She said looking back over the past six months that if she had to diagnose him at the beginning it wouldn't have been such good news. She thinks that by the time he's five and the services go away that he will be mainstreamed into regular classes with no problems. What a great day it was for us!!!

Something to think about

2007-12-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

I received this in an e-mail and thought others could appreciate it as much as I do.

A Walk in My Shoes

C. Waeltermann, 2007

Twas the Night Before Christmas

And all through the house

The creatures were stirring

Yes, even the mouse

We tried melatonin

And gave a hot bath

But the holiday jitters

They always distract

The children were finally

All nestled in bed

When nightmares of terror

Ran through my OWN head

Did I get the right gift

The right color

And style

Would there be a tantrum

Or even, maybe, a smile?

Our relatives come

But they don’t understand

The pleasure he gets

Just from flapping his hands.

“He needs discipline,” they say

“Just a well-needed smack,

You must learn to parent..”

And on goes the attack

We smile and nod

Because we know deep inside

The argument is moot

Let them all take a side

We know what it’s like

To live with the spectrum

The struggles and triumphs

Achievements, regressions….

But what they don’t know

And what they don’t see

Is t! he joy that we feel

Over simplicity

He said “hello”

He ate something green!

He told his first lie!

He did not cause a scene!

He peed on the potty

Who cares if he’s ten

,He stopped saying the same thing

Again and again!

Others don’t realize

Just how we can cope

How we bravely we hang on

At the end of our rope

But what they don’t see

Is the joy we can’t hide

When our children with autism

Make the tiniest stride

We may look at others

Without the problems we face

With jealousy, hatred

Or even distaste,

But what they don’t know

Nor sometimes do we

Is that children with autism

Bring simplicity.

We don’t get excited

Over expensive things

We jump for joy

With the progress work brings

Children with autism

Try hard every day

That they make us proud

More than words can say.

They work even harder

Than you or I

To achieve something small

To reach a star in the sky

So to those who don’t get it

Or can’t get a clue

Take a walk in my shoes

And I’ll assure you…

That even 10 minutes

Into the walk

You’ll look at me

With the respect, even shock.

You will realize

What it is I go through

And the next time you judge

I can assure you

That you won’t say a thing

You’ll be quiet and learn,

Like the years that I did

When the tables were turned.

Christmas

2007-12-26T18:23:00.000-05:00

Christmas was fun at our house. Logan still really wasn't that into opening any gifts. He'd stick his finger in and pull a piece of wrapping paper off and then expect someone else to do the rest. He did enjoy everyone elses gifts as usual. He enjoyed playing with Ryan's toys or taking Katie's stuffed Tigger. He'd sneak the Tigger and run to the playroom with it so he could chew on his tail. He was a good boy on Christmas Eve; he slept through the night in his bed in his room with NO MOMMY OR DADDY with him. IT was wonderful as I'd stayed up until after midnight helping Santa wrap gifts. I started around 8:15 or so and with a few Ryan interruptions the rest of the time was spent on the floor wrapping up everything,

Logan was really excited to see what Santa had brought but then kind of got bored. I am not sure what his favorite toy was; either Ryan's talking Eeyore or the Santa Clause that we had out as a decoration. He'd run up to the decorations and say "Santa!" so we finally gave up and handed it to him. He was very content to sit in his chair pressing the button and listening to Santa talk for quite a while. Ryan didn't seem to care about unwrapping his gifts either. He did sit up and notice the Elmo guitar and the Elmo Garage. He loved the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that Karen and Alex "bought" for them (Curtis went to WM with the gift cards they gave us and purchased it for them). I have a little video on the family site that shows Katie and Ryan pressing the button and just cracking up. They did that for at least 30 minutes last night before getting bored and wandering off to play.

I'm hoping that by next year both boys will be more into the Santa and unwrapping the presents fun. Katie started off very neat; handing each piece of paper she'd pulled off but by the end of the presents she was ripping it off and tossing it all over. What a sight to see!!!

Beginning of the holiday break

2007-12-21T18:29:00.000-05:00

Today was the last day of school for two weeks so it has been a little hectic around here for a day or so. First, Logan isn't doing any better with sleeping through the night. In fact, he's regressed big time. The other night I sat in his room for 40 + minutes trying to get him to calm down and go back to sleep. The lights were off and I was just trying to talk to him quietly and stay calm while trying to talk him into getting back into his bed. He was having nothing to do with that idea so we moved out to the playroom couch. He was so upset and mad that it took him another hour before he would settle and go to sleep. Last night I was wrapping presents for the kids in his class so when he came out crying around 10:00 I just let him lay down on the couch and didn't fight him at all.

Ryan is still teething and the two teething tablets that I gave him right before bedtime didn't seem to last as long. The good news was he did sleep until 2:30 this morning but then he screamed so loud and long that when we were finally getting settled back into bed at 3:30 Logan came into the bedroom. I had Ryan between me and Curtis and Logan with his head on my butt at the other end of the bed. He couldn't get comfortable (yeah go figure right?!) so he was moving and making noise which made Ryan stay awake longer. I finally gave up and took Logan back out to the couch. I think he was a little mad so at one point he was either punching or kicking my foot. It was soooo sore this morning but I didn't budge too much while he was doing it, I guess I was too dead tired.

Today's party at school went off without a hitch. I was able to get Marie's cards and breakfast food into her backpack so she could take it to school with her. Her class had a nice Christmas breakfast where Logan's class had a lunch. The thought of having to go up to the school twice wasn't very appealing so I'm glad everything fit in her backpack. She wanted to bring a game so I was trying to put batteries in it when it was time to get ready for the bus so we had to run to the bus in order not to miss it. Thankfully they have a nice bus driver and she could see we were trying to get out the door and waited a little longer for us.

At lunch time, I ran to McDonald's for some fries as an extra special treat for Logan. Their fries are just about the only thing he can eat out. He doesn't get to eat out like the other kids, their class was having pizza so I thought he deserved a special treat too. I, of course, had to get Katie a bag of fries then back into the traffic to head to school with the food and gifts. I saw the class on the playground when I pulled in and Logan was so funny. He saw me wave at him and he turned his back on me as if to say, "I'm not going home with you this early so just go away!"

Once we dropped everything off the two little ones and I headed back home to try to get some cleaning and laundry done for the day. I was able to get some cute pics of Katie and Ryan playing and some of the other kids once they got home. Hopefully they will continue to get along as nicely through the entire holiday break!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Sleeping Update

2007-12-17T14:57:00.000-05:00

Hopefully I won't jinx myself again. This past couple of weeks (closer to a month) have been pretty exhausting when it comes to the kids (boys) sleeping through the night. Logan and his sleeping in his own bed issues and lately Ryan and his teething issues. We've been taking shifts getting up with them. Curtis will get up with them when he doesn't have to get up in the morning to work and I get up with them the rest of the time. This past weekend I finally had a few brain cells come back to life. I had Curtis pick up an inflatable twin size mattress at Target. It was cheap, less than $20.00. He had the first night watch. I blew it up, put some sheets and a comforter on it and placed it in Logan's room. Curtis dealt with him getting up a couple of times but once he realized Daddy was in the room with him he got back into bed and slept.

At 3:30 Sunday morning Logan had enough and wanted a movie on or to go out to the couch in the playroom. I think they finally gave the movie up as a lost cause around 4:30 or so and moved into the playroom. Ryan woke up around 5:30 fussy and as I had a pretty good night sleep I got up with him. Last night it was my turn on the inflatable mattress. Logan woke up around 11;00 and when he heard me say "it's okay, Mommy's here" he went back to the bed and fell asleep. Since there is no clock or light in there it gets pretty dark. That mattress isn't made for adult usage and isn't very comfortable. I was awake early thinking I really need to used the bathroom but I'm afraid to get up and wake him. I finally had to move and when I passed through the kitchen I looked at the time. It was 6:15 a.m. he made it all the way through the night while waking up only one time!!!

Logan had a nice bubble bath last night and then I put some nice warm jammies as it was supposed to only be 35 degrees through the night. I'm not sure if it was the bubble bath (with Lavender and Chamomile) or the cooler night but either way he slept right through with only one hiccup. Tonight he's going to have another bubble bath, no sugar after 5:00 p.m. and hopefully with the lows in the 40's we can have another almost full night sleep!!

Another Update

2007-12-10T17:09:00.001-05:00

Well, I must have jinxed myself last week when I posted about Logan sleeping through the night by Christmas. He has gone back to sleeping in his bed for only a few short hours and then coming in with us. Last night I was able to lay down with him for a little while and get him to sleep but then he came in our room a short time later. When I couldn't get comfortable with him any longer I went out to the couch thinking he was following me. No, he didn't but about 20 minutes later here comes Daddy carrying my little man and saying, "he was calling for his Mommy". He proceeded to kick me and steal my blanket. Once he was comfortable he promptly fell back to sleep. (Once he was asleep I was so dead tired that I just went to sleep right there on the couch. No point in getting up so he can follow me a little while later as it was almost time to get up anyways!)

Ryan had his CS MRI last Thursday and I had not heard any results from the doctor so I called today. It seems they mailed me the results today but she went ahead and told me that it came back normal. YEAH!! We still have to go to the follow up visit with her and the visit with the neurosurgen this Thursday and then we should be done for the next six months with them.

Ryan did have a great morning at the occupational therapist. He had been having a "block" where eating anything at their office was concerned. He had vomited there a couple of weeks ago and refused to eat anything for them after that. Today started out like it had been but half way through therapy he decided he would eat for them. He played with some rice cakes and even put a cheese-it in his mouth and touched his tongue with it. Of course, it promptly came back out and flew at the therapist but hey that is some major improvement for the little guy! Way to go Ms. Corie!

Ryan also had his first visit with the early intervention speech therapist on Saturday morning. She spent about an hour with us observing him and getting "a feel" for what he needs to be working on. She is Logan's first speech therapist from a couple of years ago so it was nice to see her. Ryan did surprise me in that he didn't run away from her. He seemed to accept her and would give her things she requested but never stuck around too close to her for long. That is another improvement for the little guy too. (I think that is because he was at home and a lot more comfortable in his normal home atmosphere.)

Logan; sleeping update and other updates

2007-12-04T17:33:00.001-05:00

Last night was a great night for sleeping. Logan stayed in his bed in his bedroom a couple hours longer than he has been. He came running in to our bedroom around 2:15 this morning and once I had him settled on the couch he went to sleep within the hour. I was able to go back to bed until 7:00 this morning. I believe at the rate he is going, maybe, just MAYBE he will be sleeping in his bed through the night by Christmas. I think that is what I'm going to ask Santa for this year.

Thursday is the day; Ryan's CS MRI is scheduled for 10:00 in Orlando. I believe that I will head out at the same time as I did for his first MRI so I don't have to deal with the traffic. Since we have to be there at 9:00 that puts us right in the middle of the morning rush. I can't stand to drive in Orlando during the off peak hours so I know I really don't want to drive it during morning (or evening for that matter!) rush hour traffic. Curtis has said he will drive him but I don't know if I can handle that. It's not like we will get the results right then and there anyway but still...... If I have to sit at home with Katie while he takes him over there I think I will be a basket case anyways. I might as well drive him so I can take my mind off the MRI while dealing with the drive and everything else. Not to mention that we will have to either wake him at 4:00 to give him a bottle or make his 10:00 (p.m. from previous night) bottle it until after MRI. Not too sure that he will be in any mood to put up with no bottle so I think waking him is the best bet.

Another reason I may as well drive him is I need to get the receipts from the copay for the MRI's. I used the flex. spending debit card and GOD forbid I don't get a copy of those receipts to them. They can tell that it's at a hospital quite a ways away from where we live and that it's not for something from the gift shop. Copays for MRI's aren't cheap but I will get the copies so I can mail them in and be done with that. I have to give the Flex. Spending people credit; they did finally add our normal therapy copays as a reoccuring expense so I don't have to mail in each of those receipts. If they had not done this we would not be considering using this again for next year.

Sleeping

2007-11-30T10:29:00.000-05:00

When we moved here in early 2005 Logan was still sleeping in a crib. We bought him a race car bed and put it in his room for him so he could get out of the crib. It never worked out for him. He likes to rock or bounce himself most nights so he took over our couch. We ended up moving the couch into the playroom so he could get comfortable and sleep without us waking him. For the past couple of weeks he's decided he wants to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy in the wee hours of the morning.

He had been coming in around 4:00 or 5:00 so that wasn't a big deal. A couple of times it was earlier so I'd grab him up and go lay down on the couch with him until he (or I) fell asleep. I decided that it was time to try again with the toddler bed. For the past two days I have been cleaning out and setting up the boys room. We had made it into a storage room since he wouldn't use it and Ryan is still in with us. We put a television in there as Logan likes to watch a movie while slowing down and going to sleep each night. The room was ready by the time they got home from school yesterday and the look on his face was so worth all the work and sore muscles. He was grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down. I let him play in there for a little while then made everyone go play out in the playroom until it was time to settle for the night.

I put his movie on for him, got him to climb into his bed with his favorite blankeys and his favorite stuffed animal. He fell asleep pretty quickly with minimal fuss. I was so thrilled and so tired from all the work that we went to bed around 10:00. At 11:00 the door to my bedroom flies open and in comes my little dynamo. He jumped into bed with us so I grabbed him up and head out to the couch. I had planned on laying down on the floor next to his bed if this happened but I was just too tired and sore to do it. We lay down on the couch and he was out within an hour. I was able to sneak back to bed and sleep for about 4 more hours before he came back into the bedroom. We got back up and followed the same routine again. I was able to get another 25 to 30 minutes after he fell asleep again.

I'm happy with his falling asleep with very little fuss but now need to work on keeping him in there for longer periods and making myself take him back into that room when he does get back up. Anyone have any suggestions?

Information

2007-11-27T15:23:00.000-05:00

I recently received some interesting information regarding feeding issues similar to Ryan's. It seems that another parent from one of my groups is going through the same thing with her child. They supplement with Liquid Zinc and have had good results; their child is trying new foods again. I am looking into finding some for Ryan to try; don't want to purchase anything bigger than a sample as you never know what flavor he will accept. I had heard that Kirkman Labs has it but it's raspberry and that isn't a flavor we've tried with Ryan. I know whatever we get it will have to be added to his formula or his bananas. Hopefully we can find something with very little taste or minimal taste. I also found it on Autism Coach but I believe they recommend that you mix it with a citrus juice and that's out for Ryan. I'm going to be trying some banana/apple juice with him this week to see if he will tolerate it. We've not had much luck with him drinking anything other than the Next Step formula.

On Thanksgiving I tried to get Logan to try some turkey. I have to give him credit, he did let me put a small piece in his mouth but then he just spit it right back at me. He did the same thing with the mashed potatoes. His teacher was able to get him to try some new GF/CF pretzels that another parent brought in to class. I think I may have to send new foods to school with him as she seems to have better luck getting him to try new things. I have been trying to get him to eat the waffles we bought but he's only eaten a few and then refuses the rest for me. If I send it to school in his lunch box for his morning snack he eats it with no fussing. Hmmmm I wonder what that is all about.

Early Intervention Update

2007-11-21T10:15:00.000-05:00

I finally spoke to Ryan's E.I. case worker on Monday. It appears that their speech and occupational therapists in our area have a waiting list. Here I thought the reason they weren't getting back with us was because it was taking a long time for the local hospital to get signed up to be a provider. She originally said that we would be looking at February before he could have speech and not sure when the O.T. would have an opening. She contacted another provider in the area and they do have an opening for speech and should be contacting me sometime this week or next. She did say once we get him on this other provider's schedule we will bug them for his O.T.

I don't expect to hear from them this week as it's Thanksgiving so I'm hoping to hear from the early next week. This particular provider dealt with Logan before he turned three so I know they are reliable. As long as we can get our feet in the door; we can bug them for the O.T. and I think they will find us a therapist pretty quickly. I can't afford to pay the hospital their full charge and the insurance should be running out soon. (only 20 visist per year; what a crock that is for the kids who really need it. I think the insurance companies need to revise their plans to meet the ever increasing need for our children)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

GF/CF Diet

2007-11-16T11:12:00.001-05:00

With four children it's hard to keep Logan out of the food he can't have. He's the only one on the GF/CF diet at this point. Once we get Ryan out of the stage he is in now with his foods, he may end up on the diet too. I have to keep the others away from Logan or he will snatch at their food. He's pretty fast for a five year old.

Most of the time I have Katie over on the kitchen side blocked by a baby gate so she can eat her meals. I hate to do that because she ends up sitting in the highchair and at almost three years old that isn't working. We have recently begun to have her eat at the little desk we have in the living room. (My First LeapPad desk) It gets a little messy but it's better for her to sit down there then to continue in the highchair especially as Ryan is now in need of it. I had been putting Ryan in Logan's booster seat (with it's own laptop tray) but that is hard because it has to be strapped into a chair or on the floor. Meal time at our house goes in shifts, it's just easier that way for me. Marie can eat at the table with Logan because she is old enough to keep him away from her food. They get to eat first, I then will grab Katie and Ryan on the kitchen side and have them eat. After all four have been fed, it's time for Mommy and Daddy to eat. Most days, I make a meal for me, Daddy and Marie so that she gets her veggies. I have to admit though, even with me not working I will sometimes give her special treat of soup and a sandwhich just so I can have some down time when I eat. I guess that makes me a bad Mommy.

Whatever....

2007-11-14T09:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, big surprise here, but no word yet again from Early Intervention. It's funny; they wanted my husband and I to go to a dinner they were putting on to talk about their program. How we were in it with Logan and now will be again with Ryan. We couldn't get the time to do that and now I'm not too sure it was a good thing. I could have let everyone know how the wheels of this place have ground down to a complete halt this time. I have no idea what is going on but I'm SOOOO not impressed with them this go around. I will be placing a call to them yet again today to find out the status. If I hear back from them before Thanksgiving it will be a miracle. Thank GOD we have insurance that covers 20 visits of therapy (each) per year but that is almost up. The good thing about that is the year is almost over and we get to start again January 1st. (But what happens between now and then when the insurance doesn't cover it???)

Logan has been doing pretty well lately (other than the vomit cough he has) He's been attempting to say more words. Hello, Bye Bye, medicine (WOW!) and he now knows his numbers and letters. Cheryl had him picking out different numbers and letters from a scrambled jumble and he was spot on! YEAH Logan!! She is now going to start working with entire words for him. I passed that information on to his teacher at school and they are going to do the same thing.

Oh, one more thing, which is totally AWESOME. I think I may have mentioned this in a previous post but it's just so GREAT, I have to say it again. He is now coming up to me, points towards his butt and says "diaper!" when he has a b.m. I really believe we are close (super close) to him becoming ready to be potty trained. He says "pee pee potty" when I mention it's time to see if he's ready to start going "pee pee in the potty like a big boy". It would be so wonderful to have only two children in diapers instead of three. If I could get his almost 3 year old sister to join him then I would only have one in diapers and could use all the money we save from that for his therapy!!

Logan

2007-11-13T14:52:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting weekend. Logan has had a little head/chest cold for a few days. I've noticed that he won't cough up the excess phlegm. It's almost like he can't until it's about to gag him. At that point, he vomits up what has been sitting in his stomach. He did this to me Saturday and again yesterday morning. Once he gets the nasty chunks out of his stomach, he's fine and wants to eat and drink. I'm going to ask the doctor what this is all about. He hasn't had to use his Nebulizer in a few years and am wondering if we should be using it with him.

Latest Update

2007-11-09T17:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, I thank you all for crossing your fingers and toes for me. I have scheduled his visit with the neurosurgen for the same day as the follow up with the neurologist. We will go in the morning to see Dr. Gegg and then the first visit after lunch we will see Dr. Kojic. It should be an interesting day. I will get the oldest ones off to school and have an hour to get ready for the road trip. Curtis will be keeping Katie so I can get all the information with minimal interruptions at the two doctors visits.

Glad we only have to make two trips to Orlando for doctors visits in December instead of three. It looks like this month there are NO trips scheduled; at least not yet anyway. It worked so well last time I asked so..... Keep your fingers and toes crossed that we don't have any visits to Orlando this month! Thank you!!!!

Update - Neurosurgen

2007-11-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

I called the Neurosurgen's office yesterday to make an appointment per the neurologist. Of course, they said they had to have the records from the neurologist before they can make an appointment for a new patient. I had to explain that I had deliberately waited almost 2 weeks as to give them plenty of time to get the paperwork. After sitting on hold for 10 minutes she came back on the line to say they did have Ryan's file.

She wanted to know why we were sent to them (hello! the file is in front of you!) so I had to explain that I had a 'script from Dr. Kojic and I can't read her handwriting. She decided to read the file and then to call me back with a date for his appointment. I explained about the CS MRI and when it would be so she was thinking they could schedule for the same day. Since Ryan's last MRI lasted a little over 3 hours (From the time they took him in to the time he woke up and I could take him home) I am not too sure that will work. He's scheduled for 11:00 which would put his wake up time (give or take an hour) around 2:00. I have to get back on I-4 and head further into town to get to the neurosurgen's office so that would put his appointment at/around 3:00 or 4:00 depending on how close they want to take it. Once they see him and we get to get back on the road it will put us in rush hour traffic in Orlando on a Thursday night. I hate driving at night and I REALLY HATE driving in Orlando. I hope they decide to see us the following Thursday. (Keep your fingers and toes crossed!)

Cervical Spine MRI

2007-10-30T17:03:00.001-04:00

Okay; I have the CS MRI scheduled but couldn't get a Thursday until December so I rescheduled the follow up with the neurologist for the following week. I still need to get the neurosurgen scheduled but I have to wait for the neurologist's office to send over the paperwork to them before they will schedule. Considering they hadn't sent his records to the genetic physician until the day we had our initial consultation, I'm not too sure when we will be getting in to see them.

I hope to have everything done (as far as the Orlando trips) by mid December so we can get back to "normal". I'm still waiting on Early Intervention to get with the program and get Ryan scheduled with their therapists. I did receive a voice mail from them last week that they were working on it. It sure would be nice to get this taken care of as they come to the house. (unless the local hospital finally got their stuff together and are now on their list of providers) I almost hope that they haven't so they will come to the house. It is a lot of running around and by the end of the week I'm exhausted. I love Ms. Cheryl and wish she would stay on for Ryan's therapy but...... We shall see how things go and I will post any response I receive from them.

Genetic Testing

2007-10-25T21:01:00.000-04:00

Good news! Ryan's doctor that did the consultation for his genetic testing doesn't feel that he needs any further testing. She asked a lot of questions, went over all the medical documents from his MRI, EEG and the neurologist. She also did an examination and watched him play for a little while. She said that unless his feeding issues aren't taken care of with his therapy or anything else manifests itself that we don't need to contact them.

I was sooooo relieved to hear that. She also looked at his MRI and explained why the neurologist wants the cervical spine MRI done. It seems that they couldn't really see his neck area and that there was a question about it. She said it could just be the way he was laying during the test but they want to do this other MRI to make sure there isn't an issue. That was also a relief for me too.

Other than the stupidity with me leaving the lights on and killing the car battery, the day was good!

MRI Take Two!

2007-10-23T15:44:00.000-04:00

Ok - I thought we were done other than the Genetic testing but that's what I get for thinking. We received the results from last Thursday's MRI for Ryan yesterday. It seems there is some sort of abnormality in the neck area. At least that is the area I believe the neurologist was talking about; she was using medical terminology and to be honest, once I heard abnormality I froze. The neurologist called me herself to give me the news. Seems we have to keep Ryan away from the chiropractor and contact sports. Ok, I did laugh when she said that but she did say that there are parents who take very young toddlers to the chiro. As far as contact sports are concerned..... sometimes Logan gets a little rough as does the other kids so I'm wondering if that type of play would fall under that heading. ;)

I'm still waiting on them to call me back regarding the other MRI (cervical spine MRI) and the follow up appointment with a neurosurgen. I have to double check this info as I said before my brain froze once I heard abnormality and cervical spine MRI. Not much else registered other than those two things. I will be calling them first thing tomorrow if I don't hear back from them to schedule this next test today. The good thing is that this other MRI can be done at the same hospital as the last one. I loved the people who did the test so I'm sure (at least I HOPE and PRAY) the same people will be doing this one. Please GOD give us someone with a good beside manner!!

Therapy and more trips

2007-10-22T09:01:00.001-04:00

We had a good morning with all three therapies for Ryan. Ms. Corey was able to get him to eat a few bites of apples and plums with no bananas! She was also able to get him to eat two cheerios (hidden in the bananas of course) and a few licks on a lollipop. I have to be about the only mother who is THRILLED when told the baby licked a lollipop.

His gag reflex is still really close to the front of his tongue. She is working on it with him and so am I. The more we can get him to tolerate the better off he will be. They did get a piece of cellery in his mouth with a little bit of gagging. He didn't vomit at all this morning so it was a great session! He did great with Ms. Christime but he was tired and wanted to be done a little early so he kept telling her Bye Bye and giving kisses.

Ms. Cheryl was in with both the PT and the OT and he absolutely adores her. He wouldn't give her a kiss but he always lets her carry him to the car and put him in his car seat. He also lets her carry him in from the car too. I think Ms. Cheryl is always going to be the boys favorite therapist because they've known her a little longer and because she is just a super person. She loves them as much as they love her. We are very lucky!!

Well, we get to make another trip to Orlando on Thursday. Ryan is scheduled for his Genetic Testing so we have to be there around 12:45 to finish filling out paperwork. I'm not sure how long this will take and if it is the first of many visits or can they do it all in one appointment. I will be doing some more research this afternoon on this so hopefully I can let you all know soon. I had forgotten about this and made a parent/teacher conference with Logan's teacher for that afternoon. I'm not sure if I can make it back in time so will have to call them to check how long they expect the appointment to take and then make my decision on whether to reschedule p/t or not.

MRI Time

2007-10-19T09:15:00.000-04:00

Well it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had to get up at the crack of dawn (it was for me at least as I've become accustomed to sleeping in until 6:45 during the week) at 5:00 a.m. I was somewhat awake since 4:00 a.m. worrying about the day and the drive. Ryan was a little cranky but was able to fall asleep during the long 90 minute drive. We were lucky it wasn't longer; just as we got into Orlando the traffic started backing up but we were able to get where we were going with minimal sitting time.

I had pre-registered over the phone with the hospital but they always seem to mess things up. I went directly to the MRI/CT waiting area and was told since Ryan needed blood work that I needed to go up to that area and get the tubes. Ryan and I went up there and were told we needed to go to registration. I tried to explain to them that we'd already gone through all that but was told quite rudely if I do say, that I still needed to go to registration to bring them the paperwork. I went for another walk to registration and was told by that woman that I didn't need to be there but she was very nice and helpful and called everyone back. She told them, in no uncertain terms, that I didn't need to do anything but get the tubes. She gave me the person's name that she spoke to and said deal only with her and she will take care of you quickly.

On the way to registration I saw the most beautiful site; a coffee shop!! I didn't have coffee before leaving the house because I knew I would have to have too many potty breaks on the road. I stopped and grabbed a LARGE coffee and headed back to the lab. (They had sent me on a wild goose chase so they could wait on me now) I don't know how I made it all the way without my "brain food". I think my brain was able to deal with the drive but not anything once we got to the hospital. While looking for the lab I got off on the wrong floor; could see the numbers weren't what I needed but couldn't wrap my brain around that fact. I had to ask someone where it was located. I have to give her credit; she didn't laugh, didn't even crack a smile when I stupidly said "oh this isn't the third floor?" while looking at the suite numbers all of which began with the number two.

Once we had the tubes safely to the MRI area, we were able to sit and relax. Ryan didn't want me to have too much coffee. I believe he knew how nervous I was and acted up because of it. He didn't want to sit in the stroller or walk around; just wanted Mommy to hold him. Each time I would lean down for my coffee, he'd start throwing a fit. He was really good with all the attention once they got us back into the MRI room. He even went to the anesthesiologist with no fuss. This from the little guy who cries with ALL new people. Everyone from that point forward was fantastic. They knew that I had gone through this with Logan before but it didn't make it any easier going through it again with Ryan. Once we were in the waiting room for the recovery area; the anesthesiologist paid me a personal visit to let me know things went very smoothly and that Ryan was fine. He said, "You can relax now Mom, he'll be out soon" and patted my shoulder. Good bedside manner or the personal touch means a lot to me. It's very surprising in this day and age how many healthcare professionals have no clue about it. I guess they need to have a class on the obvious since not many seem to have the common sense to take a few extra seconds/minutes to put patients or parents at ease.

It took him longer to wake up than I thought it should based on how long it took Logan. It seemed liked it did to me at any rate. Finally they came to get me so I could go see him. He was in the arms of an older nurse and seemed quite content to stay there. When I first walked in he looked at me but didn't do or say anything. It took a few minutes but then he finally decided he'd come to me. The nurse was very tickled that he wanted her to hold him. We got our discharge instructions and were off to meet Daddy and Katie. Daddy had to get the two older kids off to school by 8:00 and then jump in the car and head our way to meet us with Katie. Once we caught up with each other it was through a drive through for an early lunch and then to gas up the vehicles. Daddy had to be in Orlando for work so I grabbed Ms. Katie and the three of us headed home while Daddy headed to work.

Between the drive and the stress of the waiting I was pretty exhausted when we got home and it was only 1:00 p.m. Biketoberfest traffic in our area made it harder than usual for the drive home. Now we wait to hear the results for the MRI which we should get today or Monday.

Food

2007-10-13T12:13:00.001-04:00

I found a nice recipe for Peanut Butter cookies or so I thought. I think they are great but the kids don't like them too much. They are for anyone on the GF/CF Diet and anyone with Celiac disease.

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I use Smart Balance Omega Natural PB)
1 cup sugar (I use XyloSweet)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the egg and add other ingredients and beat until mixed. Shape level tablespoon worth into balls. Take a small fork with a little bit of sugar and press each way on ball. Bake at 350 degrees for 16 to 18 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

I found this recipe on http://www.missroben.com/ and tweaked it to fit the boys needs. She also has a sugar cookie recipe along with the frosting that I will try out in a couple of weeks. I will let you know how it goes and post my converted recipe if they taste good.

EEG

2007-10-06T09:55:00.001-04:00

Well the EEG went a lot better than expected in some ways. He threw a major fit when it was time to put the "things" on his head. Once the girl had them all on and had wrapped his head up he settled down somewhat but was still very upset with me. I was able to make him a bottle and he fell asleep in my arms. What a difference from Logan; who never did fall asleep for them. Ryan's test was done so fast that we were in the office a total of 45 minutes, if that. Logan was in there a lot longer and I had to hold him down so I'm very thankful Ryan's went a lot smoother.

We received the results pretty quickly. Monday in the mail we got the good news; all normal. Now we get to look forward to the MRI in a couple of weeks. He's starting to get a little cold so I'm hoping it's completely gone by the time he has his appointment. I'd hate to have to reschedule because they are so booked up it may be around Christmas before they have another available time.

I didn't get to speak to the neurologist during the EEG and to be totally honest I was distracted with all that I had to do with Ryan. His eating hasn't changed but I spoke to his occupational therapist regarding his aversion to the peaches. She said that perhaps he has an allergy to them. Since he ate about half the jar she doesn't think he has an aversion to them but perhaps they don't agree with him and that is why he vomited them back up. I normally mix the bananas with his other fruit and then add either rice or oatmeal cereal. I did this with apples and apricots the other day and he ate the entire mixture. I think I need to attempt this with the peaches once to see if perhaps it was the fact that he just needed another taste added. Wish me luck with this one!

Eating Issues

2007-09-26T21:32:00.000-04:00

I thought we had made a slight breakthrough today. I gave Ryan some bananas with apricots and he ate the entire jar with no gags or anything. I pushed my luck a little later with some bananas, oatmeal and peaches. He made a few faces and acted like he wanted to push the spoon away but would open his mouth for the bite. I'd say we were half way through that jar and he started burping and it all came back up. The bottle, the food from earlier and everything he had just injested.

I should have known not to continue giving it to him but I was so happy about the earlier breakthrough that I pushed it just a little too far. It's hard to tell exactly when he is "saying I've had enough because I don't like it or I've had enough because I want to play". I feel like he needs to eat more but this issue he has with smell, taste and feel just doesn't allow him to try new things.

Logan was never like this when he was this age. He wanted to eat bread, any bread at all and he would eat anything with gluten in it and dairy. He also never gagged and only vomited when he had a stomach virus/bug. These two are so totally different in this area that I have to start all over again. I'm having to research a total different area with him regarding feeding issues. I've started reading the Autism Sourcebook and I'm hoping that I will find something in there that is similar to this. If not it's back to the drawing board.

We go to the neurologist tomorrow to get the EEG done and I'm going to mention it to her again and see if she can recommend any reading/research on this issue. I can't remember how long it took us to get the results when Logan had his EEG. I just remember that it was very stressful on us as I had to hold him the entire time and sing any songs that he liked over and over to keep him quiet enough for the test. I'm hoping that it won't be so hard with Ryan but somehow I don't think I will be getting what I want there.

Update

2007-09-24T13:52:00.000-04:00

Sorry that it has been so long since I last posted; we have been very busy with the kids starting back at school and Ryan's therapy and tests schedules. Ryan went to Early Intervention this past Friday and was seen by the Psychologist. She won't be testing him for Autism until he turns 30 months but she did give us some unwanted results. She saw characteristics of an Autistic disorder; repetitive motor mannerisms and play, selective interest in attention, inconsistent response to his name, and perseverative vocalizations.

We will be continuing with his occupational, physical and speech therapy. Ryan has issues with food. He can't stand certain smells, tastes and textures which makes meal time pure hell. I contacted his pediatrician in June when I first saw that he had issues. At that time, 16 months, he wasn't crawling normally, not attempting to walk and wasn't saying much of anything. At that time, I was a little concerned with food but I thought he was just a little picky about what he liked to eat. Boy was I wrong. I was filling out some paperwork for his big brother and came across the Early Intervention checklist. I picked it up and was mentally going through where Ryan was compared to Logan and stopped. I realized that although he was much more advanced in some areas than Logan was at that age, there were other issues.

Since starting the therapy at our local hospital, I've noticed a great improvement in Ryan. He is walking by himself. He no longer does the snake crawl. He didn't crawl normally until after he first attempted to pull himself along our couch. He was walking on his knees at first; seems his balance was better that way. He has since become more confident and now walks pretty well. He mimics lots of words. His favorite is Elmo and Barney or "Barbie" as he says. He sees a baseball game and immediately says "AFLAC"; gotta love that stupid AFLAC duck!

I think it will be easier for me to continue updating with Ryan until we can get to a stage where Logan is currently. Since he's going through it now, it will bring all the things we had to do with Logan back to me so I can note where/what we did and where we can improve things with Ryan.

School and Therapy

2007-08-21T19:29:00.000-04:00

At meet the teacher for Logan's first year with the school system, we learned that we needed to have an IEP meeting before he could be allowed in the classroom. IEP or Individual Education Plan is where the school system and the parents sit down to discuss what the child needs. It gives the teacher and therapists an educational plan for what is expected to be taught to the child during that school year.

I had no idea what the IEP was or what to expect but Logan's teacher was very helpful and told me who to contact and what they would need. We were able to get the IEP scheduled for the next day (which for the beginning of a school year was pretty miraculous). We sat down with his teacher, the occupational therapist, speech therapist and the staffing specialist to discuss what we all expected for the year. I have since learned that as the parent I have a lot of say so in what is allowed with my child. For this first meeting, I was totally lost and confused and just went along with whatever they said.

Logan is a runner and with no communication that qualified him to have a one-on-one aide. This was a great relief for us; his classroom was in the same wing with the older children. I had visions of him darting away from the teacher and getting lost in this huge school. This has been the best thing for Logan. Not only does she help him with all of his school work but she (and his teacher) work his speech and occupational therapy lessons with him through out the day.

Autistic children don't know how to interact in a social situation so group therapy really doesn't do all that much for them as far as I'm concerned. The schools do not get enough money to hire enough therapists to be able to provide one-on-one therapy for all the children. They do the best they can with the funds that they have. In our community there is a parent group that is working hard to fix this situation. In the meantime, we have had Logan with an outside speech therapist for over a year now.

The first year of school, we had taken him to see his neurologist in November. She was encouraged with his improvements. The last six to eight weeks of school, he wasn't able to get his speech for whatever reason. (I'm not sure what happened with the school therapist) When we took him to see the neurologist, she noticed the lack of improvement. She actually saw some regression regarding his speech. At that point, she stated that if he wasn't talking by the time he was five or six; he wouldn't be talking at all. That pushed me over the edge; talk about a wake up call! I did some research and discovered that our insurance covers 20 visists per year for speech therapy so we took advantage of it.

We immediately contacted a friend that gave us a name for a local speech therapist. We signed up with her and have been taking him there ever since for one session per week. There has been no regression since we have started taking him to the outside therapist. We are in no way out of the woods regarding him speaking but I believe that he will be speaking someday.

Logan - Therapy and School

2007-08-14T13:15:00.001-04:00

After Logan was diagnosed, the EIP group decided how much therapy was needed. He went to two 30 minute sessions per week of both occupational and speech therapy until he turned three. After three years of age the local school system became responsible for his therapy. Since Logan's birthday is in July, we continued with our regular therapy until a couple of weeks after school started to guarantee that he wouldn't go without therapy. When the school year starts up the schools have to get all the paperwork and therapy sessions scheduled and it sometimes takes a good four to six weeks before therapy begins.

Thankfully, I was still working at that time and was able to afford the therapy sessions. I also had a very understanding boss. I would spend my lunch hour (around 2:15 each day as I had to pick up my oldest child and deliver her to the daycare where Logan was registered) driving to the school, daycare and then to therapy. After therapy I would head back to pick up the eldest child and head home to make up the hour or so that I had missed twice a week. I would have to get in to work as early as I could after dropping the oldest child at school so that I wouldn't have to work too much extra each night. I did this from the very first therapy session until we stopped a month after school started. What a crazy couple of months that was!

Stages of Growth Chart - what to look for

2007-08-11T21:45:00.000-04:00

Just about every hospital or doctor's office will have some form of Stages of Grown chart. It gives you a list of things that a baby/infant should be doing at certain ages. For example:

19 months to 2 years
Walks well alone with some falling.
Runs and climbs some.
Makes mark with crayon on paper or table.
Sometimes uses spoon to feed self.
Actively helps to dress and/or undress self.
Knows and responds to own name.
Uses more than ten words and understands more than he/she uses.
Follows a direction like "Go get the ball" or "Pick up your toy".
Plays by self, begins own play.

Logan wasn't feeding himself using any utensils, wouldn't respond to his own name (wouldn't look at you when you called his name), no talking anymore and couldn't seem to follow any directions because he wasn't listening or so I thought.

If any of this sounds familiar contact your family physician or local Early Intervention Program in your area to let them know your concerns. It's pretty easy to find an EIP near you by simply typing in Early Intervention Program with the name of your state in a search engine. (Yahoo) See my Other Websites or Blogs of Interest for Florida and Texas Early Intervention Program websites.

Logan - 18 months of age

2007-08-11T21:27:00.001-04:00

We begin our story with Logan at 18 months of age. When I think back to it now, I realize he wasn't talking as much my daughter did at that age. He was saying Mommy, Daddy and trying to mimic some other words. He received his MMR and a flu shot and we didn't think anything of it. At that time, we didn't know the possible dangers of Thermerasol that was used in vaccines to prolong their shelf life. To be totally honest, I can't blame Logan's Autism totally on that. I believe, that my husband and I have something in our genes that lay dormant in Logan until those shots. Once that happened, Logan's Autism had help coming to the surface.

We didn't notice anything until right before he was 21 months old and only that he didn't seem to be talking like we thought a child his age should. Since we had a girl who was almost 6 and a non stop talker, the doctor's excuse that he wasn't getting a chance to talk sounded about right to us. We mentioned it to several different doctors over the next 8 months before our daycare person approached us. She had recently been to a class on toddlers and what to expect and had seen something in Logan. It concerned her enough to mention it to a doctor she knew. He said the "flipping" Logan did with anything he could get into his hands could possibly be a symptom of autism.

Our daycare person was nervous approaching us about this but felt it was something we should be made aware of. She was so wonderful - she handled it with kid gloves; said to just tell the doctor that someone mentioned autism and that we wanted him to rule it out. I thank GOD for Ms. Gail for that. It was a very scary time for me, as right out of high school I had worked in the local school system and had seen severely autistic children. I was reminded of the movie Rain Man and it was terrifying to think that my baby could be just like him. It took us about 3 months from that date to the day we got the diagnosis that Logan was autistic. His diagnosis was severely autistic in speech and moderate for behavior.