A Long-Overdue Update

Hello friends!

I'm sorry for the long hiatus, thanks for sticking with me. So...J WILL get his autism testing, sooner rather than later.  I'll be calling them back pretty quick to set it up.  Whichever way this turns out, we know it will be best for him.
He's been doing really well at school. He and A, a little girl who is very similar to him, have formed a real attachment. They hug as soon as they see each other, and they tend to play with each other rather than the other children. J isn't tantruming that often anymore, but when it does happen, M or B are finding ways to divert his focus, thusly ending the tantrum.  We've been going through a rather long list, trying to find if there's an underlying cause for his behavior. The last few days have been amazing and we're chalking it up to sleep - he's getting more of it.
I met with the Teacher of the Visually Impaired today. Her name is J.B.  She observed J all through class today, and has come to the same conclusion I have. J needs to remain in this school, even though we live out of area.  Daddy and I are thrilled about this. We've also talked about trying to move closer to J's school.
We're STILL waiting on the school level meeting...argh...
ST is over, there's no more available blocks before he ages out of the Centre. Hopefully, he'll be able to take part in at OT group that's being put together. It'll be him and one, maybe two other children.  He's still in OT and we see M on Friday.  We're working on improving his fine motor skills. He still has trouble holding a pencil and using scissors.
Potty training is OVER!  No accidents for almost two months!

As for K...she's doing very well.  Her ankles seem to have strengthened quite a bit (YAY) and she's starting to make more sounds.  We saw L from the Centre today, and she was pretty happy with K's progress. We're working on taking the soother away, hoping that will encourage her to use words.

If there's anything else you'd like to know, please ask!

Have a wonderful evening!

~Dee~

Hello Out There!

Wow, where has the time gone?  I'm sorry that it's been so long.  Life has been insane, what with catching a truly horrible flu, school stuff, and LIFE, haha.  I just wanted you all to know that I haven't forgotten this blog, and a huge update is coming soon!
~Dee~

Still Here

We're still here!  Life has been very busy, and we've had a few tough choices dumped in our laps. I'm working on a post to share what's been going on, just trying to get it all down the right way. Please be patient with me, it's coming!  I haven't forgotten this blog!
Have a great day!
~Dee~

Rough Days and Missed Meetings

Hi friends!

It's been a few days. Life has been a bit difficult. J has been spirited, to say the least. He's been back talking, disobedient...typical four year old. We're trying to be patient and hope that this stage passes quickly.  His therapist says that this might be encouraging, a cognitive leap. Trying to console our stressed selves with that fact is *not* an easy task.

We were supposed to have our family service plan meeting today. I got there...late. I had written it down, programmed it into my calendar, and my calendar CHANGED THE TIME. I almost cried. On top the the sheer "bad"ness of the last few days, this happened. It worked out, though. I got to talk to his OT and ST and we were able to come up with a plan of attack for the next few months. The center will be wrapping up J's care over the next few months, and that breaks my heart. They've been with him since he was a baby, and soon we'll close that door. At the same time, I'm excited. They have taught him so much, and taught me so much, and together we've helped J to come so far and overcome huge obstacles. They've given my child an amazing start to what I'm sure will be an amazing life.

Tomorrow, the woman who is helping to set up J's support for school, "A", will be meeting us at the school. We were supposed to see each other at the meeting, but that didn't exactly work out. We're going to start planning his school-level meeting. That'll be in a few months, and have as many of J's therapists and aides as we can manage to have there. I'm looking forward to seeing her, and getting the ball rolling.

The center is going to follow K for awhile longer, but there's no real concern. They just want to keep an eye on her and make sure she's progressing at a normal level. So far, she is. She's got a handful of words, and a world of diva attitude. Seeing the love that my babies have for each other, and the joy that they bring to Daddy and I, can make anything OK. We are truly blessed.

Have a wonderful night. Hoping tomorrow is a good day for everyone!

~Dee~

Q and A :)

Hi friends!  Hope you're well.

So, I realize that I've never really gone into detail about what's wrong with J's eyes. I have a hard time remembering everything that I'd like to say, and I always remember later, but don't like editing posts once they've been published.  So here's my solution!

Q and A!

Do you have a question?  Leave me a comment, and I'll answer you asap.

Thank you, and hope you're having a wonderful day!

~Dee~

Life and Progress

Hi friends!
This will just be a quick one, a little update about what's going on in the wonderful world of J.
He's learned the joy of play-acting, and his newest favorites are pretending to be a dinosaur "RAWR!  I'm a dinosaur!" and pretending to fly. He pretends to talk on the phone, pretends to feed his stuffed, pretends that he's driving. He loves to try to have K play pretend too, but I think she may be a bit young for that yet. They have fun, though, so I'm not going to stop them, haha.
He's been back-talking a lot, lately. It's really hard to not get upset, but I try to approach it calmly, letting him know that he has a right to his opinion, but that he doesn't need to be rude. This is a actually a huge step, therapy-wise. It's a whole new level of comprehension. I really think he's having a developmental leap. He's "getting" things that he never got before, asking complex questions and just acting older.

Quick K update, too. She has started using a word, in the right context. The word is "more," but it comes out "mo."  So super cute. She uses it all the time, whether she wants food, drink, or anything really. She is also asking to nurse, known as "na na's" around here. She just start saying "NA" and pulling at my shirt. I think she's going to start talking more, and soon. She seems so young for it, though!  She's not even eighteen months old! We're proud parents over here. Our babies are doing so well

I hope you're all having a great week!  See you soon :-)

~Dee~

Update and Easter

Hi friends!  I hope you're all enjoying the beautiful weather as much as we are. Easter has us busy. We went to a family barbecue, and the kids got to do an Easter egg Hunt. K was very confused, but she did have fun, and found a bunny all by herself!  J did awesome!  This is the first year that he's really understood, and he had a lot of fun. He found two bunnies, and a whole pile of chocolate. Afterwards, my sister divided everything up evenly. I love hunts like that. It's fun but still fair for everyone. Tomorrow we have another hunt, and dinner with hubby's mom. Steak, anyone?

J had Physical Therapy on Tuesday. His PT is great. She does tend to speak in a condescending way towards him, but I'm hoping that it's just because he is new to her and she hasn't had a chance to build a rapport with him. Time will tell.  He was everywhere, climbing and jumping and running. I think she was surprised that he was so fearless.  K followed him around the whole time, like a little shadow. They are so sweet together.

We got a call the other day. The special needs worker wants to come to J's preschool and observe him, to get an idea of his strengths and weaknesses. This seems like a great idea to me. They're really trying to get to know him as a person, to help him in the best way possible.  He's benefited so much from the help he's already gotten.

Oh, I forgot to mention...J has officially had no accidents for a month!  This is HUGE and we're super proud of him.

Well, that's all for now. Have a wonderful day!

~Dee~