Can Nicholas "See" Numbers??

We are learning more and more of what Nick may actually know. It is astounding to say the least. Yesterday we were playing with one of his new placemats. It has colorful shapes on it, and I was asking him what shapes there were. I was flipping the mat over to the other side when he blurted out "eight". So, I counted the shapes on there. Sure enough, there are EIGHT of them. Yet, when I took his finger to count them individually, he had some trouble. Mike thinks it could be coincidental, but then again, this is a kid who is already saying phrases in Spanish and Chinese. Every day we are discovering some sort of hidden talent or knowledge he has. Today he told his tutor that "W is for Wagon!" I had never heard him say the word Wagon before. That is the funny thing about autism. Sometimes stuff just flows out without any effort,other times he can't get his words out for anything.

School supplies, cleaning, redecorating..Oh my!!

You know we have been busy when I do not update the blog for over a week!!LOL! We have been busy with doing a little end-of-summer cleaning. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate in closets. Last weekend our project was to clean out our bedroom closets. They desperately needed it. I must say, it felt good to get rid of all that "extra" stuff, and now be able to actually see what is in the closets..LOL! We also did a little redecorating around the house. The boys got new bedding and a curtain for their room, and we put curtains in our room, the living room, and the kitchen. For their bedding, Nick picked out SpongeBob. In other words, he looked at the package and let out a huge giggle at SpongeBobs face! Michael went with the camouflage motif.

Also on tap for last weekend was getting school supplies. I feel that we basically gave my paycheck to Wal-Mart with all the $$$ we spent in there. It was insane, but all for a good cause.

Nicholas is progressing very well in his therapy! I can't believe all the stuff he can identify now! Last week he brought us a picture book and identified every picture-with a point! We were freaking amazed!! We have been waiting YEARS for a simple "cat!, duck!, car!" and last Wednesday we got it! He can also name shirt, pants, Jingles, shoes, among others.

I am very tired, so I think I will cut this post short. Just wanted to give an update. More to follow later.

Touch Math....

We spoke with Nick's tutors yesterday and discussed adding some new programs. He is doing well with recognizing letters and numbers, identifying clothing, and is also engaging in more social behaviors. We have found out that Nick likes to be challenged. His tutors will be doing letters with him and then all of a sudden switch to numbers. He doesn't get them right every time, but he recognizes that those are numbers and not letters. In the interest of teaching him that numbers have meaning, and also to keep him from getting bored, we discussed adding a relatively new program called Touch Math. You can go to their website HERE and check them out. It is pretty neat and we are excited to start it with Nick.

Today was a good day for him. His fave tutor came to see him. I think he has a little crush on "Tefanie". He likes to run his hand over her long blonde hair and just loves to say her name over and over. It is really quite cute. He likes all of them, but she seems to be his favorite. He always says her name very softly. Right now he is having a blast blowing raspberries,silly talking, and gathering all his flashcards together.

Escape Artist

This week was just plain crazy. It all started on Tuesday evening when I came home around 7pm. I pulled up the driveway and found a shoe propped in the front door. I came in and immediately asked Mike where Nick was. He said that he was in our bedroom with Michael. I said "Well, there is a shoe outside" and Mike answered "We were outside for a little bit today". He made his way back to the bedroom and I heard those dreaded words "Michael, where's Nicholas?!" and then "I don't know." We immediately began our search through the house. Bedrooms...Nope. Bathrooms....Nope. Livingroom & Kitchen....Nope. Backyard....Nope. No Nicholas. Now panic sets in. Where is he??!!Our only clue brings us back to the shoe propped in the doorway; he is somewhere out front. Wandering the neighborhood. He sees no danger in that; he just wants to be outside. Michael goes outside while I am still trying to fathom where Nick could be by now, and I hear the glorious words "There he is!" Nick was wandering around across the street in some other peoples yard. In just a diaper and t-shirt of course. And surely baffling the two ladies talking just a few feet from him. With Nick now safely home, our minds wander to all of the horrendous outcomes that could have happened. The main one being hit by a car. Nick has become very stealthy in escaping. He opens the door slowly, props it open with a shoe, and then closes it slowly. When I leave the house in the morning, I put up a baby gate in the hallway, so he only has his room and our room to go into. Nick has also tried to climb out his window. Yesterday our neighbor saw him getting his leg out his window and told her hubby (she was in her car, getting ready to leave) to tell Mike that Nick was escaping. Last night she came to me and expressed her concerns over otherwise well meaning people who don't know his condition, calling the cops. She knows we do everything we can, and that you can't possibly watch him every second. But she was afraid of CPS getting involved if that happened. It is becoming more difficult as he gets older and is more curious about things. Nick was never this adventurous before. We put the gate at the front door to prevent him from going out, but have not found a deterrent for his window yet. Fortunately he prefers to take the easy way out, so the door is preferred method.

He is also going through another hoarding phase. He will hoard food in his mouth for hours. Chewing it so much that it is nearly liquified. We are really baffled by this. It is very frustrating and takes an hour or more just to get a few bites in. Just one of those things that is very difficult to understand. Needless to say, our week has been challenging. We are finding out more and more of what Nick can do; and it is amazing to say the least. He apparently is learning spanish from his toys and even some chinese from TV. No kidding he has said words in both languages. One time at the store a chinese woman turned and said "He knows Chinese??!!" If she understood him, then apparently he can speak a little of it. My jaw hit the floor. He is also understanding some basic math. Iam talking very basic here, but shocking finding out what he really does know. He had four plastic toys strung together, he grabbed another one attached it, and said "Five!" It truly is amazing that with all his difficulties, he can pick up some of the hardest things easily. If there is a pattern to it, Nick will get it almost instantly. It definitely explains his love of letters, numbers, music, and there is even a pattern in foreign languages-and they have an added bonus of being sing-song like. He is even amazing his therapists. Of course I have to give them credit for his progress as well. He is constantly getting pulled from stimming and retreating while they are here. His tutors have done wonders. He has learned more this summer and made more progress in a few weeks than he did in his whole last year at school.

In other news, we are considering buying a house here while the market is so low. We have a few houses in mind and we are going to look at them today. In fact, I need to go so I can get myself and the boys ready. Have a great day everyone!!

E is for EVERGREEN!

We found out today that Nick will be going back to Evergreen Elementary School for kindergarten next year! I was so happy that I did my own Happy Dance!! He was much happier at Evergreen and they knew him so well. He will be in afternoon kindergarten this year. My mind is at ease right now knowing that he will be getting exactly what he needs and will not be completely separated from the other kids in the school. He can go out to play, and they will likely only have a few kids in the class, it should also be easier for him to have his aide in the classroom with him. I wish Michael could go there, but he only has one more year until middle school anyway unless we decide to hold him back for grades.

Nicholas did pretty good today in his afternoon therapy. The 1st session was a little difficult, but the screaming has definitely slowed down a bit. He is breezing through his programs and showing everyone just how smart he really is.

The oldest boys are watching a movie tonight-so right now the house is just kinda quiet with me and Nick here. Nick has had dinner already, and I am going to relax and watch tv tonight.

Potty Training

This week we kinda just sprung it on Nick that he is DONE with diapers during the day. I went out and bought a whole bunch of those training underwear at Target; not Pull-Ups, those are just like another diaper and I want to be rid of diapers during the daytime; but actual underwear with a little more padding in the front for accidents. I put those on him after his morning diaper change, and we are going to the potty all day. I have to remind him every so often, and so far, we have only had about three true accidents. Most of those were my fault as I did not remind him for a while. But today was his first day wearing actual shorts over his undies. We went for a walk, and talked with the neighbors for a while. I told him "Nick it's time to go potty, let's go." And he gets right up, heads to the bathroom, turns on the light, takes his pants down(sometimes I have to remind him) and sits his little bony bum on the toilet. Sometimes he pees, sometimes not, but we are getting there. He is ready. He understands what we say to him, and he likes the feel of the undies vs. the diaper. He still wears a diaper at night for obvious reasons, but I don't care so much about that right now.

Tomorrow is my first day back at work and I am already dreading it. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my boys. They are both so very wonderful in their own ways. Sure, they have their moments, but for the most part they are good boys. Wish Mike luck tomorrow morning when Nick realizes I am not here. He is going to need it.

It's Official....

My kids are weird. Michael is actually HOPING to have bloodwork done tomorrow at his growth checkup. When I asked him WHY? he said he wanted to see what his hormone levels are right now. Ok, me thinks he has been privvy to too many medical discussions..LOL! He explains it quite matter of factly to any new person he meets. He has even gotten injections right in front of his friends like it is no big deal. To him, it really is not a big deal. It has just been a part of his life for the past four years now. I am amazed at how "routine" things in his life have become.

I am actually shocked that I got an appointment so soon. Normally when I call them, Dr. M is so booked up that it takes a month or more to get in. That is what I was expecting, but in my mind I was thinking how nice it would be if we got in tomorrow. A few seconds later, I was asked "Is tomorrow ok?". My jaw dropped! "YES! Tomorrow IS GREAT!" Not sure how long it will take. We might have to do another bone-age X-ray "I LOVE X-rays" Michael told me, and they might need to draw blood. I know for a fact that we will need to renew his meds-and that could take a while. Dr M is always happy to see Michael and see how well he is doing. He has been seeing him since he was 18mos old. I trust him more than any other Dr-and Michael has seen him more than his primary Dr(whom I can't even tell you the name of-cause we always see Dr M!)

Nick is also having a good day today with Stephanie. I hear lots of "YAYS" and "GOOD JOBS!" I also hear Nick laughing. He has gone quite a while without a break now-which is wonderful. We changed up his program yesterday to incorporate more items at a time so he won't get bored. It seems to be working! We have Stephanie until 3pm, an hour break in which he gets lunch, and then Tracy comes from 4pm-7pm. A packed day for Nick-but it is doing him a world of good. He stays connected with us for most of the day, and that is necessary. He is getting a tremendous amount of help and it is making a difference. Why is it that the kids who need help so much have a hard time getting it?? Why is there such a huge amount of "red tape" that has to be gone through before we can get ONE aide for him in class? Why is it such a fight?? It is not just us who have to fight. EVERY parent who has a child with autism must put up an enormous fight for services. What about when that autistic child becomes an Adult? Eventually, Nick will grow up. He will still most likely need help. We HOPE that he doesn't; but he likely will need some sort of help. I can only hope that the future brings more services for autistic adults-as they are the forgotten ones right now.

Before Kids...

It was much easier to keep track of things. Let me explain a little bit. We have a little monster who shall remain nameless; who likes to swipe items from all over the house in which to toss up to the ceiling fan. That usually throws the item behind the TV..which is sort of a "No Mans Land". No one goes behind there. You could go back there and discover items that you have not seen in months. For example, hubby was looking for his sandals a few minutes ago. Nick was in his chair eating yogurt and just laughing. He was not saying a word. Mike went all over the house looking for his shoes. One of my questions actually was "Did you check the toilet?" Yes, that happens when you have a child who likes to flush things. His answer was "He has not thrown anything in the toilet for a while now."

As the search continued, "After all, I JUST saw them earlier today! Where could they have gone...MISTER?!", Nick continued to laugh as he ate his yogurt. After checking the entire house, Mike moved the TV. There we found Michael's shirt, one of my CROCS, Mike's sandals, his hat, and a pillow. Today we also found one of Nick's pajama shirts in the trash. Sometimes when he cleans up, he really cleans up! We have found socks, dish towels, pants, and several pairs of shoes behind that TV. Little Mister is quick, and takes full advantage if you are busy and not watching him every second. Don't let his autism fool you. Somedays I am convinced it is just a farse and he has duped all of us!!

We Are Home

It is nice to go on vacation, but it is also nice to come back home. After the last week of being in the trailer, the boys were glad to have their space back! And I believe they were very happy to get out of the car. Brothers are not always nice, and these two sure had their share of smacking and annoying each other. To be fair they really do egg each other on. NO and STOP have become very clear words in Nick's vocabulary-and very loud ones.

What we learned is that if we are going to live in an RV and travel when I retire, then we are going to need a bigger RV. One where we can all have some space to ourselves. Someone was always underfoot in the trailer. Although I do love it as much as I complain about it. We had some very good days and nights in that little camper. But it was nice not to be woken up by a coke bottle being hurled in your direction this morning.

The first thing Nicholas did when he stepped in the door was go and get his favorite toys from his room. He drug out his keyboard and his little CD player. He also did a little hop/skipping dance as he had space to move and walk around. Today I have to do some laundry, and get some items from the grocery store. I also have to start thinking about school shopping for both boys. The summer is passing by quickly and these lazy days are about over. I love the extra time with Michael. Last night we were curled up on the bed watching TV after 10pm. Maybe today I will also go and get a little pool to play in since it is pretty warm out. Or, maybe we can schedule a trip to the movies or to the zoo this week. Those are always nice times. Anywho, I promise to load up some new pics once I get the new laptop all set up.

Better Days!!

Mommy got a NEW lap top for one!! YAY! It is a HP TouchSmart PC with a built in web cam. It has all the bells and whistles. Out with "Old Bessy", and in with new junior. It will be much easier to lug this one around the globe-and it has all of it's keys!! Another huge bonus. Some of you might remember THIS POST. In which case, no further words need to be spoken or written..LOL.
This week Nick got over his fear/anxiety over getting in the pool! He had a great time and for once he only had a tantrum when we had to LEAVE. We only recieved one ignorant comment. When one lady found out he was autistic, she commented that he looked like everyone else did. Not sure what she expected him to look like; but maybe we changed her views just slightly. Maybe she will now think twice about commenting to the parents whose child is having a meltdown in a store, or tends to just barge in after someone opens the door after we knock. Yes, he looks just like any other kid on the outside-that is why you can never judge based on appearence. Anyway, Michael made some friends here and so did I. We will be sad to leave them tomorrow, but it will be nice to get home again. I will upload some new pics when we get home and get settled in again. Lord knows that is going to be disrupting enough.

More Changes=More Meltdowns

These days the slightest change can send Nick into a full blown meltdown. If a toy is moved, if me or Mike step out of the room(I cannot even go to the bathroom), or even just out of the car-he completely loses it. We are talking total shutdown,screaming,screeching,clawing,drop to the floor, and our personal favorites;smacking and throwing. This also happens every time he gets a bath. He has become afraid of most things that deal with water. He also hates trucks, big RV's, and busses. Yesterday Mike was outside lowering our awning on the trailer and Nick was outside with him. I was in the trailer doing something and suddenly Mike comes in and shouts "You need to go get Nick right now." "Where is he?" I asked. "He took off that way when a big truck came by". Just then I heard Nick screaming at the top of his lungs about two camp sites over. I called after him, and he did respond by making his way back to the trailer. He slowly began to calm down as time went on and regained his composure further by a nice long sit around the campfire.

It just totally sucks. He has made so much progress, but no one sees that outside of the people that know him. Everyone else sees the kid who screams in the pool, screams in the bath tub, hits himself and shouts when upset, or worse; hits an unknowing passer by. He knows our "turf" at home and is familiar with all the places we go-so he rarely gets this bad. But in an unfamiliar store, he lets loose and looks like that "typical bratty child" that everyone says needs a good spanking. The heart break comes in waves. It is difficult to see kids his age and younger speaking circles around Nick, trying to engage him, or staring at him because he is acting strange. His actual diagnosis we can handle. Just the fall out from it really sucks. I don't know if it will be better a year or two from now, I certainly hope so. The vacation really has gone well considering all of this. It is just that it becomes so blatantly obvious that we still have so much work ahead of us, and that Nick is so far behind. Will he ever catch up? Or even go as far as to be able to work through his autism? There are just still too many questions concerning his overall development that we just don't know.

What We've Been up to.....

Relaxing

Swimming




Going Horseback Riding

Eating Ice Cream

Visiting a Petting Zoo

Only A Few Meltdowns...

We spent much of the day outside today. Going on nice long walks throughout the park trails and we even made it down to the river. Earlier this morning we went to the pool and that is where Nick had his first meltdown. He is wary of the water-so he screamed every time we got him in the pool. At one point he was actually doing pretty good holding on to daddy; then he got splashed on by another kid and that was the end of it. All other attempts to get him in the water were met with screaming. Nick did have a bit of fun just playing on the steps in the shallow end-so it was not a total wash out. Michael and I had fun playing games under water. We came back around noon and had lunch and a nap. Apparently Nick did not like mommy taking a nap and Mike said there were a few objects hurled in my direction. We got up and then went into Leavenworth to do some sightseeing. Since it was hot out, we splurged and had some ice cream. Mike had White Chocolate, Michael had Lemon, and I had Triple Chocolate Birthday Cake. All of them were oh so good. I might go for the White Chocolate if we go there again. Nick of course wanted none of it. Oh well-he was with us and that is all that matters. He had fun playing with the little colored ice cream spoons that they gave him. We walked around letting Nick decide which shops to go in. The only one that was picked out for him was the shop full of Christmas trees and decorations. The trees were all decorated and lit up-so he absolutely loved it. Lots of flapping in that store..LOL! I am hoping that Nick really likes these little trips. I know the changes are rough for him-which could be the reason for some of his meltdowns; but I hope that he has fun. It seems like he does. Just walking around with him doing his "silly talk" makes us smile because we KNOW then that he is having fun. I am just wondering what memories he will have from these experiences. And if he will ever be able to share them with us. I do think time to be just a kid is beneficial for him. Just as it is for Michael. We have no set schedules out here. No place we have to be. We have just done whatever came to mind. Come to think of it, Nick has coped wonderfully with all the changes. What we think of as relaxing with no schedule, Nick is anxious because he cannot predict what happens next. Even with all that, I am hoping that he is having a good time.

We went for a long walk tonight. It is peaceful. You can hear the river flowing below us, and the crackling of camp fires. I love the smell of the burning wood. Watching the embers float up in the sky as the fire crackles. Watching my boys get mesmerized by the flames. It is just so much darned fun! I just bathed Nick(he was dirty as anything with all the running around and climbing we did) and put him down in his bunk. He is once again PASSED OUT. I am enjoying these days-they won't last long at all!

VACATION!!!

We are enjoying a whole week with no appointments or therapies and getting some much needed relaxation!

The boys love the camper and for them this is the ultimate summer vacation. We are spending 5 days at a KOA campground and the boys have just loved it. Last night we made a fire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows. We sat around the campfire and told some funny stories that we remembered, and just had a good time. Nick liked the fire and looked so cute sitting in his little lawn chair watching it. We took a nice long walk and listened to Nick jabbering and laughing the whole way. They both had fun on the nice big playground, and for once, Nick looked like any other kid out there. He did not perseverate on the spinny wheel like he used to. He slid down slides, and a major accomplishment was when he climbed up the rungs all by himself! Each time he ran by us he had a big ole grin on his face. He was having a ball. He had such a good time that when it was time for bed, he passed out in 5 minutes!! That has NEVER happened!! This morning we all spent some time in the pool and did a little basking in the sun. Will have some pictures up soon. Today we plan on getting in a little tourist action(Bavarian town we have never visited before), and maybe another campfire. They also have plenty of stuff to do here at the KOA for the kids-so we might check that out as well. Have a great day everyone!!

Loving Every Bit of This....

I am sitting here at the dinner table watching Mike chase Nick around the house. Nick is laughing and screeching with glee as daddy chases him, grabs him, and hugs him. Nick is blowing off some steam after 6 hours of ABA. He is making much faster progress with the increase in hours. He is also starting to pull a bit of mischief with his therapists. When Ana wanted him to draw on the paper, he took the crayon and slyly chucked it under the table-all the while looking at her and smiling. We have just enough time for dinner, bed, and we do it all over again tomorrow. It has taken a little time to get used to having a house full of people 5 days a week. At first I had no idea of what I was supposed to do while they worked with Nick. I have sat in a couple of times to help and to see how things were going, and talked with each of them when Nick had a "Break". Now I have gotten to like having them here. I talked with all of them yesterday (we had all 3 over at once for a sort of pow-wow) regarding potty training. We discussed adding some more things to work on since he was finishing his other programs pretty quickly now. Today he had a good day. He is working on letter sounds, basic writing skills, requesting what he wants, counting, and ABC's. We are going to add some self help skills such as dressing himself and brushing his teeth. Dinner time is now pretty much stim filled-as he is overloaded from 5-6 hours of working. It is sometimes difficult to hear him lash out while working-but I know it is going to be good for him, and he is only doing it because he is being kept from retreating into his world for the time being. It is so rewarding when I hear him count and speak up for something, or being able to follow directions and making more social eye contact. That is when I know it is working!

Today was also a milestone for Michael. I took him down to get his very own ID card. He also cashed his first check using his new ID card. I am loving every single day of being home with them. A few days ago Michael and I went to see the movie Ice Age 3-D. We also want to see the new Transformers movie. We are planning to go camping next week up near Leavenworth. Should be fun for the boys to get away for a little bit. I am looking forward to it as well.

Busy Saturday....

I heard through one of Nick's therapists on Friday that there was an autism walk yesterday. She said that they would have a booth there, jump castles, and some free small toys for the kids. Sounded like some fun could be had. I asked Michael if he wanted to go, and he said yes. I was looking forward to getting in some much needed bonding time with both of them.

Everything was going along great. We got up at 7:45 and both boys devoured two waffles each. We got dressed and did all the necessary primping. We were out the door and on our way to get some gas and some snacks/drinks during our walk. I should have known the following would happen. I stopped the car, turned it off, and got out of my seatbelt. Nick quickly did the same, and I had to tell him to stay in the car. This did not go over well. Then Michael told him NO for some reason, and screaming chaos ensued. I told Nick it was ok, and that he could get out when we went to the store. He seemed a bit happier in the store. Feeling good about myself for handling that, I was lulled into a false sense of greatness.

We found our way to the Walk and got everyone and everything out of the car. This was the first year I did not bring a stroller for Nick. I figured he is big enough to walk; and his feet drag on the ground in strollers anyway. Here is what absolutely DID NOT happen, as my *perfect* child is most certainly NOT capable of this.
Nick surely DID NOT have a meltdown of epic proportions upon trying to register. He most certainly DID NOT throw himself to the ground and scream bloody murder. And of course he DID NOT continue his meltdown all the way back to the car. Me being the *perfect* parent that I am, positively DID NOT take him to Fred Meyer in search of any stroller I could find. Upon our quest through the aisles, I DID NOT *bribe* him into calming down by handing him a stretchy,squishy toy for him to twirl. I also DID NOT happen to find the only store I have ever known that had NO strollers. We also DID NOT buy that over-priced emergency stimmy toy before we left. Of course not. After all, those parenting "experts" would agree that is not the thing to do.

By the time we got back to the Walk, people were already walking, so we just joined in at the back. It was a nice walk through all sorts of trails. Nick was having such a great time humming, running, stomping, and singing "Dewy,Dewy,Dock!" the whole way. He loved waving his hands through the bushes as we walked, and at one point nearly became part of the shrubbery as he stomped and pranced his way down the trails. He seems the happiest surrounded by nature.

Busy Schedule

Here is what Nick's therapy schedule looks like for this month:
Today: Ms Tracy 4pm-7pm
Fridays: Ms Tracy 12pm-2:30pm, Ms Diane 4pm-7pm
Mondays: Ms Stephanie 12pm-3pm, Ms Diane 4pm-7pm
Tuesdays: Ms Stephanie 12pm-3pm, Ms Tracy 4pm-7pm
Wednesdays: Ms Tracy 12pm-2:30pm, Ms Stephanie 3:30pm-6pm
Thursdays: Ms Stephanie 12pm-3pm, Ms Tracy 4pm-7pm

Give or take a few hours; that is around 30 hours per week! Since I have been home; I have been able to see how he has progressed. He is following directions!! His receptive language has skyrocketed. He responds to his name, imitates me, and actually smiled at me when I walked into his room this morning! He can do a lot for himself now-he gets in and out of the car by himself, goes to myself and daddy to say goodbye (before I left we had to physically walk with him to do this; not any more) He is just getting more functional every day. These are the moments that we have struggled to get. He is following directions so easily now, that you can almost forget that this was such a struggle. He may be a few years behind his peers, but hopefully we can narrow the gap as time goes on.

Home Sweet Home!

I am finally sending an update from HOME!! Gotta go now. Have lots to do today before Nick's therapist comes.

Jack Black scores BIG with me!!

Almost home....

The reason for such few updates my blogger friends; is that I have been deployed overseas for the last few months. I have been getting updates regarding Nick and Michael through telephone calls, and, while it is great to talk to them, it is not the same as being there. That being said, Nick and I did talk on the phone for about 20 minutes a few days ago! Most of it was in Nick's own language, but the boy had something to tell his mama! We also spent a long time copying each other's noises. Pure joy. I Love my little guys and cannot wait to get home to them again!! Soon. Very soon my loves.