Oops! Forgot to mention....

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!)