End of school year update

Last week was the last day of school for my kiddos.  It was a long year. One that I do not want to repeat.  This is the first year at these schools for both kids and while there have been good times, there have been issues as well.  We have been battling medical issues with both kids as well. 

Nick started middle school this year and his ADHD medication needed adjusted.  He really needs to learn coping mechanisms as school gets harder for him as well.  This is a big adjustment for us all, as we have to learn how to help him too.  We have been super lucky as his teachers really seem to want him to succeed.  He's super smart and that kind of makes the whole picture murky.  It gets really frustrating because we all know he can do the work...but he forgets to do it or turn it in, or he loses it.  His grades in no way reflect what he's actually capable of.  He doesn't see the point in much of the work...especially homework.  So, he just doesn't do it.  There is only so much I can do as he needs to grow in responsibility.  He's had some great success in choir and band.  For the spring concert, he got a solo and ROCKED IT!  He was fantastic!  He's doing well on his trumpet as well.  He's currently trying to figure out which he wants to continue in because they can't do both, apparently.  He would like to march with the band, but he loves singing.  I have left that decision up to him, so I don't know what he will decide.  He's turning into an awesome young man.  :-)

Wesley just finished up first grade and it's been a rollercoaster ride.  He started out great, but with lots of focus issues.  Now, because of his autism, evaluating him for other problems is fairly hard.  Because Nick has been diagnosed with ADHD, we have really been wondering about Wesley.  Is it ADHD or just another symptom of his autism?  Then throw in the suspected seizure that he had last April and I just want to throw my hands in the air.  I went to our general doctor, but she wasn't confident in dealing with the autism, so she sent us to a neurologist.  The first one that we went to see didn't think that he actually had a seizure in April...she fixated on one small thing that was said and disregarded anything else that was said.  So, luckily, I got her to send us to a different doctor to deal with the focus issues...this one's focus is on children with autism, so I was feeling better already.  She is a behavioral neuropsychologist...that's a mouthful!  Anyway, she was fairly certain that he DID actually have a seizure and was concerned that he was having absentee seizures that would cause the focus issues.  Finally, someone was listening to me!  Anyway, she set up us for a 24 hour video EEG.  I was terrified.  When we went to the hospital last April, it took 6 of us to hold him down to get the electrodes on his head for a 30 minute test...how were we going to get this done??  Just like any kid likes to prove mom wrong, that child sat right there and let the lady get him all hooked up!  Unreal!  I was dancing for joy!  Now, I just had to keep him occupied and happy for the next 24 hours!  Once he found the bed controls, he was a happy camper.  :-)  We went into this test thinking that we were going to be put on some kind of medication depending on the result...either seizure medication or ADHD meds.  Well, true to form, he had to be difficult and show one 1 second burst during the whole time.  This was not a seizure, but spoke to a tendency for seizures.  So, we were at an impasse.  Do we go ahead and start treatment for seizures that we don't know are happening or do more testing?  I opted for more testing.  We got to do a 3 day at-home EEG next.  The silly child...when we went to get him hooked up he cried because he wanted to go to the hospital.  Sigh.  He did really well again...except he throw up all over the place after everything was done.  I think we scarred the poor tech...he'd only been doing this for 6 months.  :-)  Results came back normal this time, so we were ready to start an ADHD medication. Then, of course, we had insurance issues getting it, so he started medication on the last full week of school.  Not overly helpful to see if it was going to help!  Oh well, whatcha gonna do?  It's never boring around my house! 

School was a trial, this was our first year there so they don't know him that well.  He did fairly well in the beginning, but around Christmas he stopped talking.  I still have no idea what that was about.  There was even talk about Selective Mutism.  I am fairly certain that is not the case.  He is very willful and will try different things to see how far he can push and they were letting him get away with it.  Once I finally got them to start correcting him, he started talking again.  And then the defiance come to the forefront.  He is such an independent child that he doesn't like to be told how and when to do stuff and he let them know about it too.  Well, at least he's talking again.  Here's to praying that next year is a better school year for him.

So, that's a pretty quick update of how our school year went.  I hope that yours went well and you have lots of great stuff planned for the summer!

Project Lifesaver and Proud Mom

This weekend of October 21st was beautiful, but to tell the truth, we would have done this even if it hadn't been.  We participated in the Operation Jacob Reunion 5K Run/2K Fun Walk.

Five years ago, Jacob Allen was 18 and liked to go hiking with his parents.  On this specific day, they were hiking at Dolly Sods and Jacob got a little ahead of his parents and disappeared around a turn.  This shouldn't have been a big deal, but Jacob has autism and is non-verbal.  He was lost for 4 days when temperatures were down to about 40 degrees overnight.  Hundreds of people came from hours away to help in the search and on the fourth day Jacob was found lying in a clearing a little dehydrated, but otherwise unharmed.

This all happened around that time that we were getting a little suspicious about autism in Wesley and we went to church with this family, so I was glued to every piece of info that came out and I prayed my heart out that Jacob would be found in time.  Shortly after Jacob was found, he got a Project Lifesaver bracelet put on, so that if this should ever happen again, he would only be lost for a matter of hours at the most.

It was about a year later when Wesley figured out how to unlock the door on his own, and having no fear, decided to explore on his own. So, because of all we learned because of Jacob, we placed him in the program.  A deputy came to our house each month in full uniform, so he would not be afraid if they should need to find him, and changed the battery for the bracelet that he wore at all times on his ankle.  This bracelet has a radio transmitter inside it that uses a unique frequency for each person that the deputies can track if they should ever get lost.  This is used on anyone with autism, down syndrome, Alzheimer's, and other brain disorders.

This program probably saved me a couple gray hairs!  I had his transmitter frequency memorized, but thankfully, never had to use it.  However, I do remember twice that he pulled a disappearing act and while franticly looking for him, I continuously recited this number just so I didn't forget it in my panic.  Wesley has since stopped wandering and has become more verbal, so he no longer wears a Project Lifesaver bracelet.  But we have several friends who still need the bracelet, and we weren't going to pass up a chance to support such an important program!  So...off we went!

And we beat Miss Deb too! 

 



Originally, our whole family was going to participate in the 2K Fun Walk, but Nicholas decided that he was going to run the 5K.  He ran his very first 5K to benefit a program that had been essential in our peace of mind for years.  I am very proud of him!  He was the absolute last person to finish the run...and he even turned down a ride so he could finish.  But he was determined to do it and he did! 

He was pretty knocked out afterward though!  :-)

TAG (Talented and Gifted) Tuesday

What's going on with Nicholas this week?  Well, Nicholas started the gifted program at school this year and it's called T.A.G. (Talented and Gifted.)  They have learned about owls and dissected owl pellets.  He's in love!  He's my science kid.  Anything to do with science or history and he's got to know everything there is to know about it.  He watches all kinds of science shows and the History channel on a daily basis.

He could be a comedian too.  From a very early age, he's loved to make people laugh.  I remember him being just a few months old when he did something that made me laugh, so he did it again!  I told Rich then that he was going to be a funny guy!  Just the other day we took him out to dinner because he did so well on a school test.  While there, we were talking about a dish being cold and sending it back...he asked what we thought about using a microscopic A-bomb to heat the dish.  When we discounted the idea due to radiation poisoning, he wanted to use an H-bomb.  When we didn't like that idea either, he asked if we could use an f-bomb instead.  I'm surprised the restaurant didn't kick us out for rolling on the floor laughing!

I wouldn't change this kid for anything in the world!

The DARK SIDE...

Nicholas has officially turned to the dark side.  He has a girlfriend.  The last day of school, he comes home with a huge grin on his face.
"So, how was your day?" I ask him.
"School or girl wise?"  Big grin still in place, impossibly getting bigger.
"Um, girl??" I spluttered.
"Yeah, I have a girlfriend." Like it was everyday stuff.

I found out about her at the talent show, she wanted him to sit with her...and he did, instead of down next to us.  First warning sign.

Apparently, this girl's name is Brittney...but Nick has a terrible time with names, so I am taking this with a grain of salt until I find out for sure.  He doesn't know her last name either, that would just be asking too much.  He is very into her too...he talks about her all the time and even spent precious arcade tickets to get her 2 bracelets...not just one, but TWO!  Wow!  He wanted to get two of each just in case they broke, but I talked him out of that one!  I'm not even sure this girl will remember him come August 23rd!  He didn't get a phone number or any way to keep in touch with her.

This is all hush hush too, I guess.  He wasn't supposed to tell anyone because she didn't want her little brother to find out because he would tell her parents.  I don't think we have to worry about them running off to get married and Nick is a good boy.  So, I am posting it to the entire internet.  He's not even sure of her name, so I think we will be alright.

So, it starts.  They grow up way too fast.  

Teeth!

Nicholas lost 5 teeth in the last 2 weeks! All the adult teeth are right there to come in, so the dentist decided not to fix the baby teeth and just pull them. The bottom ones were already loose and, as you can see, after they were pulled, they are already through! I was taking pictures at Laurel Caverns where Nicholas went for his 3rd grade field trip and he wanted me to take a picture of his new teeth. :-)