Appreciate the Small Stuff!: Sharing My Experiences

Appreciate the Small Stuff!: Sharing My Experiences:      Parents and grandparents of children on the Autism Spectrum are use to the sight in the picture above. Not the cast, but the Legos. ...

Sharing My Experiences

     Parents and grandparents of children on the Autism Spectrum are use to the sight in the picture above. Not the cast, but the Legos.

     Today, I met a grandmother of a possible Autistic child while taking my boys for speech.   He was diagnosed as Autistic by a pediatrian, not a doctor who specializes in the Autism Spectrum.  After a while, she decided to change doctors, and the new doctor suggest take the child for brain seizures. She is hoping that her grandson has brain seizures, not the Autism, so that they can medicate and have a "normal" kid.

     She asked my opinion on the matter because she was so lost. I shared my experiences with doctors, specialists, labeling, and such.  I told her about how she needs allow herself to grieve over the loss of the grandchild she dreamed of, and the for life that she dreamed for him.  That would allow her to cope with what was in the future.  Many parents and grandparents don't realize that grieving over their ideas give such release.  We miss something very real to us, but we gain so much more after we let go of our "dream".

    God has something very big planned.  He allows us to participate in His glory.  I have no idea what is planned for my babies or me.  I have 4 kids, and 3 are classified as special needs.  2 of them are on the Spectrum and 1 is hard of hearing.  I often ask God how He could possibly trust me so much.  I know He doesn't make mistakes.  And my babies are absolutely perfect the way they are made, and I wouldn't change them.......so that means He must have more faith in me than I have in myself.

     It's hard.  I've been driving to therapy for 9 years!!!!  A majority of the time, I drive that twice a week.  Not to mention, it's expensive and exhausting.  Parenting is hard enough without trying to interact with children who communicate so differently.

    Still, I wouldn't trade, fix, or do without any of them.  As Psalms 139:14 states, they are "perfectly and wonderfully made" by a Creator that has big plans for us all to bring Him glory.  He has selflessly allowed us to play a special part in His creation. He gently guides us in becoming beautiful souls that make Him smile as we plod this path that He specially designed.  I trust that in His infinite wisdom; He prepares us for the time that we are caught up with Him.  Until then, I hide myself in His arms, holding on, and refusing to let go.  I can only begin to understand Psalm 17:8, "Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings."

  As, I typed this, Daniel and Hannah brought me an early Mother's Day gift.  They made a flower out of paper and a pipe cleaner.  Daniel wrote "love is superior" and he rubbed deodorant on the paper.  He said the smell pleases him.  I know why instinctively.  It is soft and noninvasive.  Such sweet spirits.



      

Appreciate the Small Stuff!: Thinking Back

Appreciate the Small Stuff!: Thinking Back: DISNEY We love to go to Disney.....and to go often. Why? Why in the world would we go to the same place all the time? See the same shows? R...

Thinking Back

DISNEY
We love to go to Disney.....and to go often. Why? Why in the world would we go to the same place all the time? See the same shows? Ride the same rides?

Planning is easy. And (if you know how to do it right) once you get there, you can park your car and not drive until you are leaving.  Also, the kids know exactly what to expect.  Everyone can relax.  It's AWESOME!!!!

Gabriel is drawing with chalk at Downtown Disney.  They had artist everywhere.  The main focus was on chalk art, similar to in Mary Poppins.

 The kids and their grandpa.  The in-laws LOVE Disney as much as the kids do.  This is at the campgrounds.

 Wayne and I don't have many pictures together.  So I took one while we were giving the kids a snack in the Land.

Shhhhh! He doesn't know that I'm posting this one.  Epcot is by far Wayne's favorite.  He likes to take me into Norway.  Wayne's parents use to "shop" for him a girl in Norway.  They figured girls are tall, fair skinned, and blond.  What more could he want???  Well, I'm tall, fair skinned, and blond, but no Nordic heritage.  I guess he likes to show them that Americans can grow anything they can (and taller).  He keeps me laughing.

Appreciate the Small Stuff!: HE MADE IT!!!!!

Appreciate the Small Stuff!: HE MADE IT!!!!!: Today was AWESOME!!!!!! But I'm going to tell some back story first. At 18 months, Daniel went from a vocabulary of 75 words to not talkin...

HE MADE IT!!!!!

Today was AWESOME!!!!!! But I'm going to tell some back story first.

At 18 months, Daniel went from a vocabulary of 75 words to not talking at all.  (Give me a break, I was a first time mom.  I wrote down every word he said.)  At three, he still wasn't speaking much, uncomfortable/unconcerned with people, had night terrors, anxiety, but could read.  He was the weirdest but most beautiful boy ever.  He started language therapy with the school district with the ruling of "language delay".  At 5, we were told by a psychologist that he was mentally handicapped while Daniel sat in the room reading "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling (and not the Disney version). We wrote that guy off as a kook, and had him retested.  He was given the diagnoses of "Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism" at 6.  Since then, we have homeschooled, had language therapy, gone to conferences, and read books trying to find ways to helping him.

And then today, we went to our private therapist to have testing done so we could restart private therapy.  AND HE TESTED NORMAL!!!! He has never been in a normal range in the pragmatic, listening, and social language.  But now at 10, he made it!!! He has had a lot of set backs this year.  Anxiety has gotten awful, so we started on medication.  Meds have help tremendously.  This was after we tried everything else first; gluten free, sugar free, carbohydrate specific diet, exercise, and counseling.  I was torn apart by the decision to medicate, but we tried everything else. 

Anyway, he has made such improvements.  We are ecstatic with how well he is doing.  He is in a 7th grade science book, 6th grade math, vocabulary, and social studies book.  Not bad for a "mentally handicapped" kid.  (That Psychologist puts the "o" in "psycho") 

We are encouraged that since we made it to this point with Daniel; we will make it with Gabriel, who was diagnosed last month with Asperger's.  Thanks for the prayers and please continue.