A Few Thoughts

Hi everyone!

Hope you're doing well. The weather's been gorgeous and sunny here.  J had OT today, and after that we went to the water park and met up with some friends.  We're very lucky that our water park is free, otherwise we could not afford to go!  The kids had a blast. K was afraid of the spraying water, but J loved it. He doesn't like pools, but he sure loves spraying water. My best friend was there with two of her kids, and they all played together.  Her daughter, K, who has the same name as my K, absolutely loves her, and chased her around the park the whole time.  J played with her son, K, and even walked with him on the way home.

There's not really anything new to report.  We had his school level meeting and preschool graduation on Monday. The meeting has given me a lot of hope. The school is very ready for J.  They've set up an aide, and had already been familiarizing him with the school, without my knowledge.  The referrals for ST and OT go out soon.  I have such a good feeling about things. There is so much support for J, it just takes my breath away.  He's excited as well,  he really misses preschool.  We ran into B at the water park today, and he was really excited.  We'll be going to the school park over the summer, so we may be able to drop by the daycare and see M and B again.

The assessment is soon, and I find that I'm not nearly as worried as I was. No matter the outcome, he's still the same amazing boy that he's always been. He may be emotional and easily agitated, but at the same time, he plays with his sister and makes her giggle, loves books and music, and has an insatiable curiosity about the world around him. No diagnosis can change that. He's J. He'll always be J. If we remember that, all will be well. All that will change is that he will be able to get the help that we weren't able to give him.

That's all I've got for now. Take care!

~Dee~

Our wait is OVER!

Hello readers!

We have a date!  After three years of waiting, J will receive his assessment for autism next Tuesday.  We're excited, scared, but grateful to finally get answers. It'll be the first time we go anywhere, for any length of time, without K :(. I'll keep you updated.

To be honest, I'm scared. Scared that my own lack of understanding about ASD will change how I view my child. Scared that I won't be strong when he needs me to be. I guess that I'm mostly scared that ill fail my baby. I love him, he's perfect in every way, but I'm still scared.

On another note, we heard from J's potential school.  He got in!  He's registered for the 2012-2013 school year!  I'm so happy. The school is amazing, and he likes it there. We have a meeting to flesh out some details, tomorrow morning. He'll be getting a TA, and an Individual Education Plan set in place.  The school system has evolved so much from when I was in school, especially when it comes to special-needs students. We're really excited to see what September brings.

I'm sorry for such a short post. With the nice weather, we've been outside a lot, and by the evening we're all tired. Thanks for reading!

~Dee~

End Of The Year Already?

Hello friends!

I hope you're all well.  Life has been very busy.  J graduates from preschool in just two short weeks!  Where has the year gone?  It seems like he just started.  He loves it there so much, and has made so many friends.  I hope that he'll get to see them over the summer. His preschool is doing something fun, a birthday party for all of the kids who's birthdays fall during the summer months.  Isn't that sweet?  That way all of the kids are celebrated.  They always do such fun things at school, I love it!  This Tuesday they're having toast and jam for snack. J will love that!  Anything to do with food...he sure does love to eat!

So, we still haven't gotten 100% confirmation as to which school he's going to, but they've gone ahead and set up the school-level meeting. It'll be at the school that we're hoping for, so fingers crossed!

I've been trying a new method of helping him to control his temper and come down from meltdowns. A friend of mine told me that if I speak in a low-pitched, quiet voice, in contrast to his high-pitched, loud meltdown voice, that it would help to ground him.  It's working really well!  He had the mother of all meltdowns at group the other day, even getting so mad as to hit "C", and I was able to talk him back down. He even apologized to C without being prompted, which is a good sign.  When he apologizes on bis own, we know that he means it.

We've decided to do preschool work each day over the summer. Writing, tracing shapes, reading, that sort of thing, just to keep him in practice. He's been fighting M at school when they have work time, so we hope that doing work at home might work better.

He's been talking so much, mostly "why" questions, he's so curious!  It's nice to have real conversations.

Here's a conversation with him:

"J, eat your cereal."
"I want milk on my Cheerios please!"
*I pour milk*
"Mommy, I spilled my milk.  I will clean it. This is soooooo yummy. Does K have cereal?  Does K love her cereal?"

And year ago the conversation would have gone something like this.

"J, would you like Cheerios or toast?"
*J grunts*
"J, would you like some milk?"
*J grunts*

You get the idea!  He's come so far in his speech!  We're pretty proud.  I never realized, until having a child with such a severe visual impairment, just how much the ability to see affected the ability to speak.  Knowing that, I see how far he's really come.  You rock, J!

He's going to his first birthday party without us today.  Due to certain crcumstances,  my best friend is taking him.  He's going to have a wonderful time!

Have a great day!

~Dee~

A Shameless Plug and a Very Happy Boy

Hi everyone!  Hope you're doing great.
So, today J and I attended the Variety Club Boat for Hope. Volunteers gave their time and use of their boats to ferry kids around our neighboring city's inner harbour.  There were "pirates" handing out "loot" to each of the kids, random skiffs bombarding us with water balloons, misting hoses, and other fun stuff!  J was soaked, and giggling hysterically almost the whole time, even when a few water balloons hit him head on.  He had so much fun, and by the time we got back to land, we were drenched.

After that, there was a free barbecue, with hot dogs, chips and drinks.  The "pirates" played music, helped the kids build wooden boats, and maintained a bouncy castle.  There was also popcorn and sno-cones.it was a really well put together event, and everyone had a blast.  We even got to meet up with a friend and her family, which was great!  By the time we met back up with Daddy's mom, J was done.  He hasn't stopped talking about it since we got home.  Thanks, Variety.  You've made one four-year-old boy very happy.
Have a great day!
~Dee~