A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

This is what happened to my lap top while I was at Wal-Mart

Please help me to find the humor in this?! Calgon, I am BEGGING you to take me away. Far, far, far away.

Genetic Testing?

The neurologist called yesterday afternoon to give us the results of his EEG. He does not have seizures, but she did go on to say that he certainly does "shake quite a bit". She thought that we should have some genetic testing done-but that we could wait until after the holidays. She said the new test they have out cost like $1400.00
We have not done any of this type of testing yet on Nick because I questioned whether or not it would really matter? It would not change the way he is, so why bother? I used to think that, anyway. Now, I am rethinking that decision. We need to know more. I don't know what the tests will reveal, but if it could possibly help him more, then we are all for it. I want to know why he can do things so easily one week, then the next week he can barely do them at all. Two weeks ago, he could not identify any of the items that we had been working on for so long. Today, he identified those items, plus a couple more. It is the same sort of dance all year. He will have a good run of it for a few weeks, then, suddenly,it will be gone for a couple weeks and we have to gain these skills back. It is a frustrating process. We know that he knows these things, but he has trouble breaking through his stims. You have to physically hold his hands still, and hold his body to stop it-and then you can see him "come back". I wish we could get those under control so he can focus better.

It is too soon whether or not I can honestly say that the clay baths are helping. I do know that he has been quite irritable since the last bath Wednesday night; but he has also been more connected. We will see if he continues this, or starts regressing in a couple of weeks. I know it does something because I put my hand in the tub to swish the water around for a few minutes, and about an hour later I felt queesy and very tired(which were listed as side effects).

Well, I need to get Nick off to bed, and make Michael something to eat. Good night fellow bloggers!

Lots Happening Last Week

Boy was it a busy week! Thursday I went and did my work out in the morning since the afternoon would be busy. We did a spin session on a stationary bike, and do those ever kick your butt! After that, I went and did a review with my fitness manager for the end of the month.

Then, it was time to get a little housework in before Nick got home from school. Not very much happened with that, but it sounded good didn't it? At 12:30 we had an appointment for his EEG, and we are running late as always. I did not want him to go on an empty stomach, so I insisted on feeding him before we leave. And if any of you know Nick, you know it takes FOREVER for him to chew anything. I mean, he chews noodles like 45 times! We get to Ft. Lewis, and what do ya know? I get pulled over for a random vehicle inspection. Why today? Thank goodness they said Nick could stay in the car while they checked it out. We get done with that, drive to the hospital, find a parking spot(a miracle in itself) and check in. A few minutes late. They hook the leads to Nick's head, and we are under way with the test. He was pretty good during the test, due to the fact that I had also gone out that morning and bought him some little toys to keep him busy. We are now waiting on the results from the neurologist.

Friday was spent working on Nick's halloween costume, along with therapy. Here are a few pictures from Halloween!


Nick going trick-or-treating

Enjoying his costume!

Making the costume. Four strands of battery operated Christmas lights.

The whole family got involved.

We are keeping the costume for next year, and might add some things to it. Everyone commented on it! They all that it was very neat, and the kids who saw him were going "OOOOOOHHH WOW! That is COOL!"

Snapshot Sunday

Taken yesterday after our "family run". All the boys went with me to do some interval training at the track. Michael and I each did about 90 sit-ups and push-ups, as well as running 2 miles of intervals. Nick, followed behind us with Daddy and did about 3/4 of a mile himself! Maybe he will be a track and field type of guy?!

From Babyfood To Roast Beef

This time last year it was impossible to get Nick to eat ANY table food. He would not even let you get near him with anything that he deemed "No Go"; which was basically everything. I was at the end of my rope, and since doctors could not give us any advice, I turned to our speech therapist.

Nick never explored anything with his mouth as a baby. Turns out that this is a necessary milestone when it comes to eating. He was also opposed to messing around with food with his hands; which is also a necessary evil when it comes to eating. At the same time babies are making a mess with their food, they are developing their mouth for the task of chewing. Also, Nick did not give two craps for what we were eating. In other words, along with not developing the skills needed for chewing things with texture, he also did not care that he was eating different food than we were. ALL these things combined,plus his autism-made it very difficult for us to introduce new foods. We spent the early part of this year with just ONE piece of cereal. After weeks of "playing" with it,he finally put it in his mouth and ate it! In my mind, we had just climbed Mt. Everest.

It seems impossible to think that less than a year later, babyfood is a thing of the past. Nick's faves are now things like waffles,pancakes, hot-dogs, Mac-n-cheese, and fruit cups. Last night he ate roast beef-and enjoyed it. We still face lots of issues regarding food-it takes him forever to chew anything; and new foods can be a challenge to get him to try, but he DOES it. YAY Nicholas! Way to go my sweet "bubby".

Baby Steps....

That is the name of the game for Nick. We take baby steps towards progress. Big goals are broken down into numerous smaller goals. A few months ago, we had to lead him by the hand in order for him to go find his cup so I could fill it. We would lead him to it, bend him over, and with hand-over-hand prompting he would pick it up and we would lead him by the hand to the kitchen counter. That was a few months ago. It takes painstaking repetition and sometimes he would fuss about doing it, but the payoff came this week. He told me he wanted milk, I told him to go get his cup. He went into the livingroom(I am still in the kitchen) and came back with cup in hand and said "Look!" I don't think I could have had a bigger smile on my face. My boy brought me his cup. On his own. It was glorious. He did so many new things in the last few days. He now will do the hand movements to "Twinkle, twinkle,little star", and other songs, and he asked his first question yesterday! He asked "Where's daddy?" after Mike had walked out of the bedroom. My jaw hit the floor, and we immediately started playing "Where's daddy?" and went to find him. I get so excited when we can see measurable improvement. Cognitively he is maturing, and it is like a lightbulb has been turned on. I gave him a bath yesterday and he saw his reflection in the drain. He looked at it intently and then said "HI Nicholas!" We could never really be sure if he recognized himself in things like mirrors,etc. But now I know he does, and to me, that is a huge step cognitively. It was a great week,and we are hoping to see even more progress next week!

A Costume for Nick

Sorry I have not posted in so long! Life has just been going along pretty quietly here. Nick's headbanging resurfaced for a short time, but he lost interest in it rather quickly this time, either that or Michael just has not pissed him off too badly!LOL! We have an appointment with the Neurology clinic tomorrow, and honestly, I am not sure what I am going to tell them. I have not noticed any major jerks lately, but he did have some smaller ones during therapy last week. Not sure if his therapist noticed or not, but I did. When things like this happen and then seemingly go away-I start to wonder if I am just a neurotic mother. I know there may be nothing we could do about them, but I guess I just need confirmation of sorts that I am not losing my mind. And, I want to know what is possibly going on with my little boy!

Fall has definitely arrived. The trees are quickly turning bright reds,yellows, and browns and losing their leaves. We are getting ready for Halloween. Michael is going to be a ninja again, and Nick, well, we are making him a rather unique costume this year. I tried to find a costume for him, but nothing jumped out at me. He is not interested in super heroes, or other characters. Sure we could dress him up in some costume that we would deem "acceptable or appropriate". But, what would HE want? We had to think. When your child's objects of affection are things like microwaves,ceiling fans, and light switches, you have to be creative. The idea quickly came to light...literally. Nick loves colorful lights. Why not dress him in something we KNOW he would love! So, I went out with a different costume in mind. I found a black hooded costume robe that is his size, some multi-colored battery operated decorative lights in the Christmas section, and some fabric glue to glue them on. We also thought we could attach things like pinwheels, and other small toys that Nick likes. Now, that would be a costume that says Nick all over it! Maybe next year we can find a way to hook up his own light switch to his lights! I will post pictures when I get it all done.

Walking with Nicholas

It was a brilliant fall day outside today, so Nick and I took a walk down to the playground. He was so happy to get out of the house that he was flapping and running the whole way! He loved watching his shadow on the pavement and I loved watching him become so animated. His whole body was enjoying the moment, and I managed to catch some good pictures.






This was seriously one happy child! Hands were flailing and the air at the park was filled with Nick's happy bantering. It was a lovely afternoon!

More Outrage....

It is sad that in today's world, people still find a way to blame autism on the parents. According to this guy, if you just tell Nick to stop acting like an "idiot" then everything would be fine. That Autism today is like Asthma years ago...everyone has it so they can get more money. HUH?? More money??? Is that what he thinks we get??!! What is even worse, is that this guy broadcast this show all over the country. I can't even think of the words to type how I feel right now. I feel like he might as well have called Nick an "idiot" or "moron" right to his face. People who know nothing about autism should keep their mouths shut. We have enough to deal with without people secretly "blaming" our "bad" parenting. These kids are NOT "idiots". Why he would even say this about children in the first place?

This just makes it that much harder for the public to see past the myths of autism. Here is the article that I am talking about:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200807170005?f=h_top

On the July 16 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket." Savage went on to say, "I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' " Savage concluded, "[I]f I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, 'Don't behave like a fool.' The worst thing he said -- 'Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry.' That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That's why we have the politicians we have."

Savage also stated: "[W]hy was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], 'When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], "I don't know, the dust got me." ' See, everyone had asthma from the minority community."

Talk Radio Network, which syndicates The Savage Nation, claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.

From the July 16 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Now, you want me to tell you my opinion on autism, since I'm not talking about autism? A fraud, a racket. For a long while, we were hearing that every minority child had asthma. Why did they sudden -- why was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], "When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], 'I don't know, the dust got me.' " See, everyone had asthma from the minority community. That was number one.

Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is.

What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, "Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot."

Autism -- everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, "Don't behave like a fool." The worst thing he said -- "Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry." That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That's why we have the politicians we have.



Mr. Savage should have listened to his father.

Here is the LINK to sign a petition to FIRE Mr. Savage

The Dread of Soccer Season.......

It is soccer season again, and I find myself having mixed emotions. I love watching Michael play and practice, but it can be a painful reminder of how our lives are so much different. When you see a child younger than yours who is able to play a simple card game with his mom, or one who tries in vain to interact with Nick...but instead he walks away still spinning the blades from a long lost toy helicopter, completely ignoring all attempts to get his attention. Do their parents even realize what they have? Do they take for granted that they hear "Mom" a hundred times a day? Or that their child can tell them a story, or even tell on their brother/sister? Do they realize how I long to hear those things from Nick? That just even pointing to his nose takes weeks of repetition and numerous rewards. Don't get me wrong, I realize that we could have it so much worse, but it pains us to see how far behind our little man is.

"Nick is nearly five, but he babbles like a 15 month old" I said to Mike today. "But he IS babbling." he replied positively. That seems to be how things are with us. When I get down in one of my moods, he points out the positive things. I do the same when he gets down. Thank goodness we never seem to have these episodes at the same time..LOL!

Nick has a way of making me laugh at all the right times. Just as I finished typing this post, Nick grabbed Michael's juice box and finished it off! The best thing was HE DRANK FROM A STRAW and did not spill a drop!! Nick, you made mommy laugh tonight. Thank you sweet boy!

Chaos Returns....

Yep, I am back home again that's for sure. Chaos is just a normal part of my life. It started at 6:30 a.m. This is what time the little men in my life get up to get ready for school. It is a flurry of getting boys dressed, fed, teeth brushed, shoes and for now, light jackets on and backpacks ready. They were all shined up today with matching jackets from New Zealand, and their red backpacks. The bus arrived at just after 7am and I walked with them to meet the bus driver. It has been a different driver each year; and I am already missing the one we had last year. He was an older,grandfatherly like gentleman who always greeted us with a warm smile and a jolly "Good morning Nicholas!! How are you today??!" Maybe our new driver will eventually do that, but we are still getting to know each other. Michael sits with Nick in the morning,which they both really seem to like. There is a mountain of school paperwork that I need to fill out...eventually. Don't have the energy to do it right now. We had therapy at UW today and Nick did awesome! He pointed to his nose, clapped, bounced, and did puzzles. He must be learning songs in school again-he came home humming "Ole My Darling Clementine". He has a wonderful memory for music. He has become very animated over the last few months. He makes eye contact, loves looking at faces, and seems to be coming into his own. That is my little man. Right now he is enjoying throwing a Spongebob ball up in the air(a suitable replacement for his love of dropping things) and happily chattering away as it hits the floor. And yes, we are letting him throw small balls in the house-it is much better than him throwing remotes, telephones, batteries, and anything else he can get to...all for the simple pleasure of the sound it makes as it hits whatever is in it's path. It also has the plus of being something that looks like normal play! A few seconds ago he did manage to get a hold of the phone and hide it in the kitchen cabinet-Oy Vey!

Home Sweet Home

Just wanted to let you all know that I made it home this evening. I missed my little "bubby", and of course my big boys too. The first thing Nick did when he saw me was try to take my hat off, and put his hands on my face. He smiled with his whole body. I said hi to him, and he said hi right back. We got home and handed out the souvenirs. I had originally bought two stuffed animals for Michael since he likes them so much, but Nick took an immediate liking to the stuffed Kiwi bird so I now suppose that is his. Sometimes you just don't know what he likes until you try. He carried that around all evening. When you push on it's side it makes a sound like the Kiwi (the bird of New Zealand in case you were wondering). Nick would set it down and bang on it to get it to make noise. We even caught him imitating the birds noises. That ought to be a real hoot at school...I can just imagine him tweetering and clucking all around the place!LOL! Good thing his teachers have a sense of humor! Even with all the misgivings about therapies and the school district, I have to say that I really love his teachers. They always focus on the things he CAN do, and they really see his personality. My little man. When I talk to Mrs. R, his head teacher, she raves about Nick and how far he has come since starting the program. He thrives on lively, bubbly, spirited people who don't just see the diagnosis he has. Afterall, he is a little boy first and foremost. More people need to focus on the PERSON, not the AUTISM.

Almost home!!

Tomorrow I will be getting back home to my three wonderful boys! I got to talk to each of them today and it was so good to hear all their voices! I even had a conversation with Nick..bless his little heart. He was coached by daddy on what to say. It went something like this:

(with dad in the background telling Nick to say "Hi mommy")
Nick: Hi Mommy
Me: Hi Nicholas!
Nick: Hi Nicholas!
Me: How are you?
(Mike in the background: say I am Fine)
Nick then proceeds to speak some happy little jargon that I cannot understand; but find adorable anyway. He is using his happy voice, and whatever he is telling me is exciting to him.
Me: Really??! WOW! I Love you!
Nick: I sorry
Me: What are you sorry about Nick?
He makes a disgruntled sound, and this I know is the end of our conversation. I tell him I love him, and he says Bye Bye.

Goodbye sweet boys! I will see you tomorrow!!

Feeling a bit defeated today..

You ever have one of those days?? I am having one today. All last week Nick had been doing great with his labeling of "car,spoon,cup,and ball". He got them right every time. Anyway, we went to therapy today and I told her all the wonderful things he had done since last session. Do ya think he did them this session?? NO WAY! He was fine the first few minutes, then, sometime during the alphabet puzzle, he just lost it. He had a hard time even completing the shape sorter; which is normally very easy for him. After that, he wanted nothing to do with anything and proceeded to lay on the trampoline and cry and stim. We could not even touch him. I felt so helpless because I could not soothe my own son. I had no idea of why he was acting that way either. He was fine in the waiting room!

After that ordeal, I came home to find my hubby standing outside reading a flier that had come in the mail. It was from the DDD advertising all of their "great" programs for children & adults with disabilities. Hubby proceeded to call them. Basically, from what we were told, that Nick is on another freaking waiting list-that he just got on it in June-they only take 100 kids per YEAR-and the ones who are deemed "emergencies" automatically go ahead of him. Somedays I just don't get it. WHY is it so hard to get help?? Time for me to get back into school so I can become part of the solution to this problem. I ended up taking the summer off. My original intent was to just take one semester off, but since I am going away for two weeks on the 30th, I am waiting until I get back to enroll.

Yes, you read that right. I am going out of town for two weeks. I leave on Saturday. Leaving all the guys at home by themselves is daunting to say the least. I have full faith that Mike can handle things though. For me, it will be two weeks of not thinking about autism. Although it is work related, I am going to try and relax somewhat. I might end up taking the lap top with me, so that I can e-mail and post pictures. NOt sure though. If I don't get on again before I leave, I wish everyone a safe Labor day and I will see you all in Sept!

Just a few minutes.....

I just got back from my run and I am savoring the last few minutes I can of absolute piece and quiet. Just a few more minutes is all I need to mentally prepare myself for the day. My "To-Do" list is always present, it never seems to get any smaller. Trying not to think and just BE right now.

More Random Thoughts...

I have been thinking about changing the name of the blog. I just feel like it has grown away from being just a "day in our life". I have reached a point of total acceptance of autism. I don't like some parts of it, but I accept it none-the-less. For the first year and a half or so I devoted any amount of spare time I could to researching treatments and supplements on the internet. This became my passion-it more or less took over my life. Now, we are at a place with Nick that we are comfortable with. For right now. You see, with autism, things seem to change on you just when you think you have everything figured out. Phases come and go just like with any other kid. Now, we are getting into the "I'm being naughty and I know it" phase. Nick loves to twirl things in his hands, and then crash them to the floor. He crashes everything to the floor nowadays..which can make for deafening noise in the kitchen. He especially likes how things go crash in there. But, with each passing phase, I find myself missing some of the things he used to do. I simply loved his Happy Dance. He stopped doing it quite some time ago, and I catch myself watching videos of this "long lost" stim with a huge smile on my face. I LOVE the stim he does now though. It is so endearing and unique to Nicholas. He comes right up to my face and puts his hands on my cheeks. There is nothing better than this "hug" from Nick.

Monday was a good day. I went to PT in the morning, and the boys decided to sleep in until around 9am. I went in when I heard the first stirrings of activity, and was greeted at the door with an exuberent Nicholas. He had been busy arranging the room as he saw fit, which included taking all his diapers out and lining them up on the floor in the middle of the room. He also had moved the air hockey table and his small dresser. He greeted me with "Close the window pwease". Yes, Nicholas, the window will stay closed because it is going to rain today. "It's gonna RAINNNN!" Yes, my lovely boy, it sure is. Sometimes, a little rain is just what we need.

Letting my thoughts out...

Today at work, the guys and I were sharing stories from our childhoods. Stories that included siblings and the trouble, and fun times had with them. Then it hit me almost like a ton of bricks...Michael likely won't have such stories of him and Nicholas. They have a relationship of course, they are still brothers. However; theirs is a drastically different relationship than most. I found myself getting extremely sad by this fact, and just for once, wished that we had a third child. I did not wish for Nick to be something he is not, but instead, a third child. Maybe that one would have been "normal", and then Michael could share stories with his co-workers? He mentioned in passing this week that he wished Nick was not autistic. He loves his brother immensly, but dealing with Nick and his "issues" can be very hard, even for us.

I know that Nick is only four years old now, and that a lot can change in the next 14or so years. We have to face some hard realities. Nick may never be able to live by himself, may never speak much better than he does now, may never do a lot of things. I don't think about this every day of course, otherwise it could be very depressing, but every now again these thoughts creep into my mind. These are the "what if's?" we face. Michael is patient, loving, caring, and has put up with more than his share some days. He has been dragged to numerous therapy sessions, had to leave events because they were too noisy for Nick, put up with Nick rearranging the bedroom in the middle of the night, and he has done it all without question. He is such a trooper. Some days I just wish he did not have to be.

Another hurdle overcome as a family!

We have been slowly getting used to our life without Maggi. A week after she passed, we received a card from the vet's office that had a lock of her fur and her paw print. A lovely reminder of a wonderful friend. I found myself getting choked up again as I once again touched her fur; which was wrapped in a little pink bow and taped to the card. We have missed seeing her in the back yard, but I know she is in a better place.

I have been trying to contact the doctor so that Nick can get another eval. His twitching movements have not gone away. One day last week when I was feeding him I saw his eyes start to flutter from side to side. He certainly was not moving them on his own in that manner and you could not get his attention during this time. When I did call the Dr; I got the receptionist who told me that a spot would not be available until Sept. I told her that he has been having these twitching episodes, and she then took a message for the Dr to call me. Other than these episodes, he is doing beautifully. He has become fascinated with the letters of the alphabet. He will spend countless hours lining them up, carrying them, standing at the fridge and saying what they are. During therapy Tuesday he persisted in grouping them on the mini trampoline and admiring them. He knows them all on sight, and even will say their sounds. He is simply mesmerized by them, and will protest if anyone tries to thwart his "organization".

Last weekend a neighbor told me about a drive in movie theater in Auburn. I looked it up online, and was excited about finally being able to see a movie with the whole family! Since Nick cannot tolerate the noise level in a regular theater, we have not been able to see a movie with all four of us. It was worth a shot, and MUCH cheaper than the theater we normally go to. We also got to see two movies for the price of one!! SCORE!! We piled in the Jeep, and the four of us spent a night at a drive-in. It was a great experience and it was nice to see a movie with my hubby! The boys ended up falling asleep during the first movie; afterall, it did not start until after 9pm, and our boys are on bedtime schedules. Their little bodies could just not make it past 10pm! We will find a way to have as normal life as can be with autism. It will not stop any of us!

Goodbye Maggi...

We will miss you!

Maggi earned her wings and went to heaven on July 25th at 2pm. She had come down with a uterine infection and was not able to eat or drink anything because she would just throw it up. We took her to the vet, and they said her kidneys were failing, she was severely dehydrated, and she would need emergency surgery to remove her uterus. She was so unstable, that they could not guarantee she would live through the procedure, and even if she did, she would likely have lasting kidney damage. Her body was in shock and her breathing was very difficult. We let her go gracefully to play with the angels. We kissed her and petted her all the way to heaven and told her how much we loved her. Nick has a way of saying poignant things at the right times, and this was no exception. Before Maggi took her last breath, Nick came over and put both his hands on her back/tummy. He did not play in her fur like he always did; but placed his hands on her and said "Belly" three times. He then went to lay on the little couch and said "Time to go night night". He just has a way about him that I have never seen before.

What Now??!

Yes, I know, I have neglected you; my blogger friends-but, I swear there is a good reason. Last Sunday, as I was preparing dinner, Nicholas was laying in his favorite spot underneath the fan. I looked at him and then I noticed something was strange. His head was shaking, and not in his normal way either..but it seemed like little jerks and then it was gone. Monday came and the head issue was long forgotten. He had a diaper with some diarrhea in it first thing in the morning-but again, nothing serious, as it was the only one he had. We are in therapy when the twitches and jerks come back. This time, they affect his whole body. They last maybe a second or so, but they kept coming. He did that like 10 times during the session. It was so bad that his therapist stopped the session a few minutes early and was very concerned about this new development. I got home and told Mike about the twitches. He had not seen them, so at the time, he did not think too much of it. That evening, when I was napping, Mike noticed that Nick's legs were twitching. At first he thought Nick was "dancing" on the floor, but then he realized that the rest of him was completely still. (Which, if you have seen Nick, you know that this is very unusual movement for him). I called his Dr the very next day, and was told to record every time this happens and all the details leading up to it, and what happens during it. She wants to see him sometime in August, but will see him sooner if he gets worse. He went most of the week without another episode, but had another on Saturday night as I was getting him dressed for bed. He was leaning on the bed, and again, his whole body jerked. I am hoping that the Dr will put in a referral for neurology and we can "see" what is going on. If she does not automatically put one in, I will request it. They are jerky, and come on too suddenly to be "normal". I think in the back of our heads we KNOW what these are, I just don't want them to get any worse. He is doing beautifully otherwise. He is using words, making requests, and trying to really connect with people. He has made some huge leaps in a rather short time. He is starting to not like having dirty diapers, and came to me a few days ago saying "Nicholas, diaper". Yesterday he was whining because he thought he had "Poo-Poo" in his diaper and he does not like that. Maybe he will be potty trained by five??!!