Splat Goes Life.

It was about 10 years ago when the seeds of Autism (or something close) were implanted in my brain. I realized that Jack was different in some way. This coming September will mark 10 years since officially starting to find out (via actual tests) that there was in fact something wrong with my son. As the anniversary of his being diagnosed looms on the horizon (which would be next year), I'm flashing back to his last semester of preschool when we had to prepare for his transition to elementary school. There are plenty of parents who are anxious about the experience to begin with, for a typical child. I know I was with Savannah, but it's really amped up when your kid is "different"- handicapped, delayed, whatever. We want the best teachers, we want smooth sailing. But when your kid is really unpredictable day in and day out, you can only hope and pray that the teacher they end up with for the year is patient and understanding. I know all too well that teachers (as ...

The end of an era with my not-so-babyish "baby girl". 13 is almost here and it feels like a weight pressing down on me. Not sure how she feels about it. This summer, with what I think is the onset of puberty (well, emotions were popping up well before then, but this is when I started to see the stupid, petty behavior of 11-12 yr old girls), a real gem of a friendship was tarnished. It died a slow, painful death.. not sure if it can be resuscitated. The other girl's mom has been crushed, and I think I have been, too. Watching two beautiful kids with years of friendship pull apart, and almost violently so, has been nauseating to say the very least. Part of what makes me sad is that I'm so isolated from people, so socially inept myself, that I can't show my own child how to be a good friend. At least nowhere but online. I have no women that I hang out with. I can talk til I'm blue in the face about how to be a good friend, but being a good example is a chal...

Hard to believe how quickly time flies when you're having fun.. o.o Actually, Winter break has been pretty good, despite my "little treasure trove of happiness" having a "moment" at Grandma's house on Christmas Day, because he didn't get as many presents as usual to open. (He's 11, so it makes me a bit disgusted. On the other hand, he does usually have more physical presents than he gets gift cards, so I can be a tad understanding of why he might have been disappointed). "I only got 4 things to open!". Yes, but you just got 7+ things at home, plus a full Christmas stocking!! Ugh. He did get cash from his great-grandmother and an uncle, so combined, he was able to buy himself one particular gift he really wanted from Game Stop. Big sister got more than enough Monster High dolls. I thought for a moment we were done with dolls after this summer, but they were all drug back out pretty much as soon as a neighbor dumped a gigantic wooden d...

One thing very big with Jack's school, and with the school before, is that every day is a fresh start. A new day. Whatever happened yesterday is forgiven. Natural consequences, discipline, etc. should be meted out the same day and not held over. When they are, they lose their impact. This doesn't mean that past events are not talked about later on. Friday morning, I went in before school to have a meeting with the principal, Special Ed. director, Intervention Specialist, teacher, and mental health specialist. (Everyone's a "specialist" these days). The goal was (according to the principal) to make sure that everyone was on the same page about how to best serve Jack, and really, how to best dish out consequences and/or rewards for behavior. I didn't think we came to any real conclusions though, or decide to handle things any differently than we have been. The IS and the mental health specialist planned to meet with him later that morning to show him how ma...

It's been a while between updates, because sometimes, the thought of sitting down and rehashing things makes my face twitch. LOL Jack went back to the clinic in October, which was a tad later than what the Dr. had in mind, but that ultimately ended up being the earliest appointment I could get. His EKG was normal, but his blood work showed an elevation in liver enzymes, two low liver counts (he's anemic like his mother), higher cholesterol levels, and he also had higher-than-normal blood pressure when we went to the appointment. He also weighs 122 lbs, which really isn't very much less than what I weigh. All of this is due to his meds, because they cause him to eat. His diet isn't great because he is so picky about food (which is partly a sensory thing), and I'm now looking into meat-free versions of his favorite meat. Sigh. The Dr. did leave him at the same dose of medication he's been on since the end of 4th grade, because it seems like the school is bet...

Jack was approved for the Level One waiver by the county. Not because he is so high functioning, as we barely qualified for another couple of years of services, but because he's such a pain in the butt. (You think I jest.. but it was a list of every horrible, no-good thing he did in 3rd grade that got him re-qualified). One of the things the Level One waiver could potentially help Jack with is sensory equipment- things like a weighted blanket. Up to the day we got approval and filled out the required million forms, etc, all we had to do was get a therapist at school to fill out a request form for a certain item Jack could benefit from at home, and then wait for the county service coordinator to pass it on. The school OT feels Jack needs a weighted blanket. He gets a lot of use out of the one at school, and he seems to like it- that's pretty much what they're looking for. A reason to pay for it. So I got the required form from the OT, and then passed it along to the s...

A month has nearly come and gone, and for the most part, it's been a relatively good month. Jack has gotten a lot of kudos from his Intervention Specialist regarding his general attitude (which we've also seen an improvement in here at home). He has not had any real physical aggression (til this last Friday), and has even made an effort to restrain himself from acting out. He still argues about school work, and is missing several assignments (and never brings home everything he needs for homework, or studying for tests), but his teacher has been very motivating. So there have been some negatives, but nothing serious, and there have been a lot more in the way of good behaviors. Then Friday hit. That morning, Jack was anxious because he couldn't find his 2DS, which he had just bought with birthday money. He likes to take his game system to school with him, so that he has something to do on the bus. He is allowed to have it as far as his teacher is concerned, but can on...