Nick clapped!!!!!

This is an old photo of him clapping at around 15mos. It was the last photo I have of him doing this, and I know he has not clapped in at least a year. It was one of the skills that he lost before being diagnosed. Today, at Michaels' game he clapped and said "YEAH!" I was so shocked that I just stood there looking at him. He was watching the game,shouting "yeah" and "Michael!" After saying his "peace" he went back to his happy shoe-less self,but for that moment,he was cheering on his big brother with the other parents and siblings. He spent most of the game like this though:

No shoes,no socks and absolutely loving it! I did put them back on at one point(just so you all know) but within seconds they came off again and then I just thought what is the point?? He merely tolerates shoes/socks out of necessity. He has gotten better about keeping them on in public places,but we still have times where we see him plop down in an aisle and begin taking them off.

Pre-school is going well. (Hmmmm,wonder if they have the same shoe episodes that we have?) I cleaned off Michaels very first backpack(a Dr Seuss one that is red,blue,and yellow) that he used for daycare(it is a tiny one!) and wrote Nicholas Weger on the outside. His name is right next to Michaels' faded out one. Michael was glad to hand down his old backpack to his little brother and just smiled at Nick. Thursday was the first day that he took the bus. Mike said he cried while he was getting on in the morning-he told me he felt very bad about doing this and even shed a little tear himself as he put Nick on the bus. He got very worried when 11am came and there was no sign of the bus to drop Nick off at home. We made a frantic call to the school to find out what time we should expect Nick as it was now almost 11:30. I pictured him crying,and being terrified and not being able to say anything. I was on the phone with the transportation people and they were trying to find out where his bus was. I can only imagine what I sounded like to these people! They told me "She is on Birch St. now, you might want to go outside" We went outside,and sure enough,his bus was right down the street. She pulled up and opened her doors and there,in the front seat, was Nick. He was just sitting there enjoying himself,completely unaware of our plight! Friday went much better for all of us!

Michael is doing better in soccer. Since Mike also took on an older team of kids, he has been practicing with them as well. He has even scored on them and stole the ball from them a few times-and they are at least a foot taller than him! He told me he gets bored playing with his age group and likes to play with the big kids. Which should not come as a shock to me since he has been that way since he was like 3 years old. He has always liked hanging out with the bigger kids. The big kids run the full field(8 and younger run half the field)and Michael does a good job of keeping up with them. His skill has improved drastically from last year and I have to admit,he is one of the best on his team with regards to controlling the ball. His main problem is that he is not aggressive,and we are trying to work on that. In other news,he has another loose tooth!

Night Shift

I am adjusting to life as a vampire quicker than I thought I would. In fact, I think I really like this shift. I get off around 7 or 7:20 and have enough time to drive Nick to school. By the time I get home Mike is up and both boys are pretty much ready to go. This morning Michael was eating cereal at the counter,and the hunt was on for Nicks other shoe. Daddy had found one, and when I came in he was in the process of looking for #2. I found it in the playroom, and we got jackets on,sippy cup,a change of clothes, and we were off. I got a good word from Nicks teacher this morning. He feels safe enough to go to her when he gets uncomfortable. He holds her hand, and squeezes it when he feels the need to. Today he did not even cry when I left!!! At daycare I always had to leave him there screaming for me. I think he is going to do well in this school! It was good news to hear!!

I get home around 8:30 and then sleep until around 3pm. So, I am able to see the boys before they leave for school, and I tuck them in bed at night. As for work, we just all seem to work well together. Last night we were steadily busy until 5:30am. At that point, we were rather tired, and I just had the guys do a clean up, and get ready for day shift to come in. I am just hoping that we are allowed to continue with this shift schedule-it stinks when you get started on one shift,and then stop it after a few days. We are doing as much as we can do until we get too tired. Then it can become a question of safety, and we need to take a break for a while.

Mike and Michael are at soccer practice now. Mike has taken on coaching an additional team, and NO,I am not the Team Parent for both teams...I can barely keep up with our own team! Nicholas is here with me having fun playing with the blinds. Well, I am gonna get dinner finished and get the boys to bed. We are doing well this week.

Piano Man

We caught Nicholas playing this little piano tonight! He really likes this toy-it is one of the only toys that he plays with appropriately. Not totally surprising since he just loves music. Tonight while he was playing the piano, he did not mind daddy taking his hand and playing a little melody...usually he hates it when you try this and pulls his hand away. Daddy joined him and Nick looked right at him-not to the side,up,or down,but AT him. He would listen to the muffled notes through a blanket,take it off and then listen again. He put the piano to his ear and listened that way, then he would put it back down and copy with his voice what was played. He would also lay flat on the bed and play the keyes. He wanted to hear the music in every way that he could-and hear the way it sounded in different ways. He must have done this for at least 45min. I think one of our next gifts to him will be a little piano that he can sit at. He just seems to totally "get" music. He learns everything if you put it to song-he hums and sings these little diddies all the time. Who knows??


Here is a GREAT site to check out!!
http://www.autism-help.org/

Please check them out! It is a great site about living with autism!!

We had Michael's first game today. It was bad! They lost 7-0. We have quite a few first time players, so they need more practice. The team we played today was "stacked"-meaning they put all the best players on that one team. Knowing this,we don't feel so bad. Our kids are good,they just need more playing time together. The problem is that we normally only have about 5-6 of them show up for practices! I think that is upsetting to Mike as he knows they need more drills and more knowledge of positions,etc.,but he can only do so much when they fail to show up for practices. Here are some pics from the game today.

Big Changes on the way

Nicholas starts preschool on Monday! We had his IEP meeting on Tuesday, and he will be going to Evergreen Elementary School. He will go from 8am-10:30 am. They will teach him ways to communicate like signing and PECS, how to play with toys, and learn social things like taking turns. Two days a week, he will also get Speech therapy while at school. He seemed to like the classroom after he spent a few minutes adjusting. The school itself is very nice looking, and decorated in a Disney theme. We put it in his IEP that he will need transportation,but until we get a call from the school saying it is good to go for the bus,he will be driven to class. They said it could take two weeks for them to call us. I guess they have to get everything in order to be able to transport him. We are anxious to see what improvements this new chapter brings.

I am also starting a different shift on Monday. I will be working from 11pm-7am Sun-Thurs. I am not sure how this will affect my schedule as far as sleeping, but we will see. I will be home when the boys are getting ready for school, and here all day until after they go to bed, so maybe it will work out just fine.

Why ask for opinions????

When you don't want to hear them?? I am perplexed by this. About a year ago, I went to a bulletin board after doing some research on the internet regarding Nicholas. I laid it all out, what he was doing,what he was not, and asked for people's opinions--not just any person,but parents of kids with autism. They told me what in a sense I already knew. Based from their experience and what I posted,it sounded like Nick in fact had autism. They told me what I should do next, and offered support. I have even met with some of these ladies face to face. I went there,asking their opinions on my son, and was ready to face the cold, hard, truth.

Fast forward to a year later, and a similiar post from a mother shows up again. She is asking about her daughter,asking what we think. Her daughter has many delays, but she says that she meets the milestones "eventually". She sounded a lot like Nicholas. We offered our opinions, and said that it does sound like an autism spectrum disorder. A couple of people also told her that it sounded like she was in denial about her daughter--which in truth, it did. The mother ended up being very upset and got mad that our opinions suggested autism. My question is WHY did they even ask in the first place?? Obviously they were concerned,but mention something of a disorder,and they go crazy. I guess I just dont get it. By the time I went to that board, I had already had a sneaking suspicion that we were dealing with either ASD or some sort of sensory disorder. Maybe I was just never in that "denial" phase. I am glad I was not-because it would have delayed Nicholas getting the help he needs so much. Maybe we had learned from Michael's whole ordeal, that not knowing what is wrong is just more worrisome, and more stressful. I would rather know what is wrong,so that we can learn how to help our kids. Maybe I am just "wired" that way!

One of those days...

We are having a rough start here this morning. The boys were awake at 7am which is not all that unusual. Nick was fine through breakfast,eating like a champ. He actually ate one pop-tart. After that though, things have gone downhill. Nick is currently in his room having a meltdown. I dont even know what started all of this,but he is screaming. He is just in one of his funky moods where nothing goes right. All is quiet now, until the next time!

At our last appointment, the Dr. put in a referral to a nutritionist for help on his eating issues. Well, Mike got a call yesterday and they are full until next month. I also called the Clover Park school system yesterday to tell them we had not recieved a call from Evergreen Elementary to meet with Nick's teachers so we can discuss goals for him. As my luck would have it, that person was out of the office for the weekend and I had to leave a message. I just wish people would actually call when they are supposed to!

As for us, we are managing. Somedays Nick's autism is very noticeable-he just has those behaviors that are "classic", and those are some of the hard days with him. He has taken to licking himself when either frustrated or to calm himself-I cannot really tell just yet when or why he does this. It is just one of those things that has suddenly come about within the last couple of weeks. He has started to bite himself as well. Michael also bit himself quite a bit on his arms or hands. He would actually leave teeth imprints on himself! I think it is just one of those days where everything Nick does seems "pathological" versus normal three yr old behavior. Sometimes I have to take a moment and put aside his diagnosis and see his behavior as a typical three yr old. Those lines can be very grey at times, and you really wonder how much of his behavior is due to autism and how much is "normal" on any given day.

Michael is doing great at soccer! His skills along with his physical growth are really coming together. He is closing the height gap by leaps and bounds, and can now at least blend in with some 7yr olds on his team. His footwork with the ball is ahead of his peers I would say. He can weave himself past the bigger kids and one of his greatest things is his speed. He can really cover some ground very quickly when he wants to. He is doing well in school too. Aside from his antics this week, which I dont think he will do again anytime soon...he is moving right along.

Nothing much planned for today. I need to take Michael and get him some new cleats. He outgrew his ones from last season. He also needs bigger shin guards. Yesterday at practice he got kicked just below his old guards and it kind of put him out for a few minutes. He was a good sport about it though. He sat down for a few minutes, then "walked it off" and got right back on the field.

I am the Team Mom again this season. I learned quite a bit from last season and have my contacts now, so hopefully it will be less stressful! One can only hope right??

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!!

As you can now see, I have figured out how to do slideshows! The newest slides are from today. We had Nicks birthday party today, and from what I can tell he had a pretty good time. Only one of our friends ended up coming,but it was just enough really for Nick. Corey from across the street ended up coming over, so there was one more kid for Michael to play with.

Yesterday we were quite busy with shopping. We went to Wal-mart and bought all the party necessities. Treat bags,prizes,tablecloth,candle,ribbon, and also his presents. We got him a Spiderman that sings and dances, and a little rocking horse that makes noises too. After Wal-mart,we were off to Safeway to get the cake. We also picked up some chips and dip, and some sodas. Today was a mad house with setting up, and cleaning up the house before everyone showed up. I was not sure how Nick would act because he was pretty mad this morning-screaming,arching his back,head banging..etc. He has started that in earnest now. He falls to the floor,stiffens like a board, and just screams at the top of his lungs! Then, if he is still not satisfied, he finds a wall and BAM!

Tomorrow is his last day at the Birth to three center. It is kind of bittersweet..it is the ending of the first chapter and now we are beginning another one. But,Nick has outgrown the center in a way. He needs more. He will start pre-school later this month, and hopefully in a couple of months we will get a call from UW saying they can start ABA and speech. I am really looking forward to seeing what pre-school does for him. We are hoping it gets him talking more, and learning to deal with other people.

Another Evaluation report....

A couple of weeks ago we had another evaluation done on Nicholas to determine his eligibility for special ed. services. The evaluation itself was pretty short,only lasting about an hour,as compared to his other eval at the peds office which was 3 hours. It is not surprising to us that Nick has significant delays in communication, cognitive, and social development; so I am not in the least bit shocked...but part of me still is. To see everything written down on paper is just emotional sometimes. I am usually just pretty numb when going over the results; it takes time to sink in that this is life for us, and more importantly for HIM. I guess it just reminds me that even though Nick has made huge progress in the last year, we still have a long road ahead of us. His total language score was the age equivalent to a 10 month old. In auditory comprehension he scored at a 7 month level. His expressive language was a bit better because he uses a lot of echolalia-and that was at a 14 month old level. I just feel so lost sometimes. The world of special ed. seems so daunting-we have to develop an education plan for him with goals of what we would like him to accomplish. Simple things such as being able to function in classroom activities,playing with toys appropriately, requesting food items, and cleaning up. I know he will accomplish this and so much more,but it just seems overwhelming.

They are sending copies of this report to Evergreen Preschool, and we are supposed to get a call from his team of teachers next week. We will set up yet another meeting to develop his IEP. He will attend half-day preschool, and I suppose the other half we will have to coordinate with home therapies. He is now on the waiting list to receive ABA and speech therapies in our home from the University of Wa. We have another evaluation on the 8th of Feb. with Dr. Flake at Developmental Ped. I am going to see if we can get Nick in with a feeding specialist to do something about all his issues with eating. It never ends!

Weekend News....

This weekend I was officially another year older. Friday I had the day off of work, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I took Nick to therapy, and Michael to school. We came home from therapy around 11:30 am and basically just relaxed until it was time to pick up Michael. I picked him up from school, and then him and I headed to our new Wal-mart to spend my gift card. I went and bought picture frames(yes, that IS what I wanted) so that I could hang up all the pictures we had of the kids. I still need to get a couple more to hang up the ones of Taylor and Michael and some other family pictures,but I got a good start.

Saturday we just hung around the house and did mountains of laundry. I am not sure if some of you have seen the chore chart we made for Michael,but here it is:

The chart is a lifesaver for me!! I no longer have to "nag" him to do chores, I just ask "Have you done your chores today?" and Michael looks at the chart and does them!! Four loads of laundry goes by really quick with extra hands to help folding and putting away!! How did I ever live without my chart???

Now, if we could only get him to listen to me when I say "be home at _____"! Last night I got around to making a cake and I let Michael help for most of it. He was grounded for the last part for not listening, and told to go to bed early. He did not like that at all. In fact,both of them went to bed early because they were just being "pills".

Today was more relaxing than yesterday since most of the chores were already done as was the bulk of the laundry. I spent more this weekend than ever on food though. $186.00!!! The grocery bill just keeps creeping upwards as these boys grow upwards. Michael is in a size 1 shoe already, and Nick is not too far behind him. I also bought Nicholas a sticker board for his stickers. Since that is a big motivator for him I am going to start teaching him the alphabet with stickers. We have already done a couple of letters,and even items such as "apple" or "car" with the stickers. I am hoping it will work well for him!

Nick at his sticker board.


Both boys recieved haircuts last week!

He LOVES Michaels' swim goggles!!! :)

Another year older

I am another year older today. Wow. Big Whoop. I am not even counting anymore,it is getting too depressing and actually I would rather not even think about it. In my mind, I am still 20 years old and that is all that counts. I wont even get into what age my body actually is. I am forever trying to take that back since Things 1 and 2 happened. Things in that area have not progressed much.

Today was a good day. No, it was a GREAT day. I had the day off from work,and I was able to just do the mom thing. I took Michael to school at 8am,then came back home to get Nick ready for therapy. We arrived there about 5-10 minutes early and I started chatting with another mom who is new since I was last there. Her son,Tristan, is another "autie" and we hit it off right off the bat. I loved watching Tristan doing his own little "happy dance". His body movements are so similair to Nicks it just made me fall in love with the kid. I have grown very fond of these little flapper guys,and sometimes I think the world needs more of them.
We got to talking and comparing notes, and I asked her a few questions. Tristan as it turns out, is also a very picky eater and she told me that she has to put his food in a blender--which of course is similiar to our situation. She also has to put Tristan on a child leash due to the fact that he is a runner. She was saying she gets LOTS of stares from people, and I told her that we get them too. Especially at the grocery store. One lady made the comment "Isn't he too old for baby food?!" I dont go into detail with WHY we are buying babyfood for a 3yr old,all I say is "he has food issues". People have no idea of a certain parents situation,so why cant they just leave the comments and stares to themselves? I dont go around asking strangers in the store "why do you let your child eat that?". It is none of my business, so I stay out of it. I dont stare at your kid having a tantrum or make comments on your parenting skills, so dont do that to me!

It amazes me that in a couple of weeks my baby will be three years old. These are the days that I feel just a little sad for Nick. He does not get the immense joy of opening presents, or even understand the whys of getting them. I assume that he does like what we choose for him,based upon the amount of time he plays with the toy once it is out of the box; but it is hard to know what he TRULY likes. He has the same expression if given a Buzz Lightyear or a Spiderman. He has not the faintest idea of who these characters even are; much less have a favorite. He would be happy with a tv remote or a lightswitch. I think he would have a marvelous time if we just let him flick the switches all day long. But, regardless, he will always get a birthday party. I simply cannot choose to ignore it just because he could not care less. I would feel like the worst mother in the world. We are planning his party for Feb 11th, and am even thinking of getting a pinata....he just loves them so!

Retail therapy

Sam has come to Lakewood!!



Ok, so we finally all get out of the house around 3pm and took a family trip to our brand new Wal-Mart,only to find out it does not open until Monday!! We were feeling quite stupid and a little embarassed as we thought we were the only people to show up, but then there were others who drove up and were all set to go in the store, when I said "They don't open until Monday!" Apparently,the general public did not get this message. Michael was visibly upset and even started crying-he wanted so bad to spend his newly given allowance that he had worked all week for! Not ones to just go home-we opted to go to Target and give them some of our money. We went into the store and decided to not get a cart and plop Nicholas in;giving him zero chance to practice taking direction from us. To my amazement,Nicholas followed our commands like a good little soldier-trying to play with toys still in boxes,and basically just enjoying himself. He looked just like any other toddler in a toy store-running up to toys within his reach and exploring the lights and sounds that they made. Michael got some good practice at managing money,and staying within his budget. He learned the hard lesson that things can be expensive and you cannot always get everything you see. He learned to look at prices, and make the decision of whether to save money or buy something else. I was amazed that Nick was very tolerant and patient while Michael browsed up and down each aisle for about an hour. That is why I referred to this as "retail therapy"-both of them will need to learn this as a life skill. Nick was practicing how to act in public,follow directions,and move through a crowd of people without going into hysterics. Michael finally decided on a bag of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups,and we headed to the check-out. Michael was anxious as how to know how much money his item cost without having to speak to the cashier. We told him it would show up on the register,and not to worry,he would know. When it came time to hand over the money,he got a little nervous and I had to tell him what to put on the counter. I also told him to hold his hand out for his change,and he did that although I dont think he even looked at the cashier the whole time! We will need to practice up on these little social skills in the future-he has a habit of completely clamming up around even people he knows. Nick on the other hand had a great time following lines,and feeling the floor tiles. Ahhh,my odd little children!

Update!

Wow, I had not realized it had been so long since I last posted! Our lives are FINALLY getting back to normal after the last week. Michael went back to school just this Thursday after being out for a week due to snow and ice. Nick was also out of therapy until Thursday for the same reason. Now, we are finally getting back into a normal routine. But, that will also change abruptly when Nick starts preschool next month! I am a little anxious to see how that goes. We had his evaluation with the school system yesterday. We met with a school psychologist,speech therapist,occupational therapist, and a few others that I simply cannot remember at the moment. They will determine how much help he will need in school and we have another meeting with them on Feb 2nd to discuss their findings. The OT already said that his motor skills are on the far end of "normal",so he does not see Nick needing as much help in that area. Tam,our therapist at the center he is at now,provided a wonderful report on him which I will share with you all.





REINFORCERS: (*=highly preferred)
Toys: *Anything that SPINS!(Does she know Nick or what??!LOL!),toys that light up,squishy balls(he used to hate those),bubbles,ball toys.
Activities: *SWINGING!,play-dough,art/magna doodle,singing songs
Social: *yelling "hip-hip hooray" with the motions,* playing peek-a-boo,singing songs and leaving out words for him to fill in,making his feet stomp fast,wiggling his arms,deep squeezes down arms(he has recently started squeezing everyone's arm-HARD!,fingers and legs
Food: *fish crackers, *cookies

CURRENT PROGRAMS:

EYE CONTACT:
OBJECTIVE: to use eye contact in play by alternating his gaze between his ply partner and the materials he's using.
PROGRESS: Nicholas will now consistently use eye contact to make requests when preferred items/activities are withheld;however,he continues to work on alternating his gaze during activities due to his inability to draw himself away from the toy. I typically have to get VERY low on the ground to get access to his eye-gaze,then cover the toy until he looks up,then I allow him access to the toy again.

Imitating with Objects:
OBJECTIVE: to copy the actions of others when told "copy me" or "do this" in order to gain the skill of learning through observation of others
PROGRESS: Nicholas has mastered one "set" of imitation (block in cup,figurine jumping,stack blocks). The current set includes actions with a doll(feed bottle,brush teeth,brush hair,hug)which he continues to work on. This less "discrete" set seems to be more of a challenge,although he is making some steady progress.

Functional Play:
OBJECTIVE: to pick a toy,play with it appropriately for up to 3-5 minutes, and put it away independently
PROGRESS: Nicholas has greatly expanded his play skills since he began services. He initially would only pick up objects in an attempt to figure out how to make them spin. Now he is much more appropriate. He loves ball toys, is great with cause and effect toys,does a nice job with shape sorters and puzzles, and enjoys play dough and art quite a bit. He is becoming much more successful with pegs, beginning to put train tracks together independently, and is beginning to gain independence with pop-beads,gears,blocks,and more. He still needs support to stay on task in play and when cleaning up,but he has made very clear progress.

Picture Exchange Communication System:
OBJECTIVE: to exchange pictures with a communicative partner in order to express needs and wants.
PROGRESS: Nicholas is in Phase 1, exchanging with one picture on a page and doing very well. However, as his verbal imitation has improved,we have been focusing a bit more on using words.

Matching:
OBJECTIVE: to match based on a variety of criteria when asked to "match it" or "find the same"
NOTE: Nicholas has learned to match nesting objects and identical objects that do not match. He is now working on matching pictures which seems to be more challenging for him than objects. We are in the process of trying a new strategy (combining nesting objects and pictures on the table at the same time).

Verbal Imitation:
OBJECTIVE: to imitate mouth movements/vocalizations when asked to "copy me" or "do this"
NOTE: Nicholas is spontaneously imitating words with much greater frequency as time goes on,however,he is not yet imitating on request. Thus,we continue to work on consistent oral motor imitation(raspberry sound,clicking tongue,popping lips,blowing) when asked in an attempt to get more consistent responding,while still encouraging word imitation and praising it energetically. He began with filling in the blanks with "1,2,3..."go!",then filling in the blanks of songs,and is now imitating a wide variety of words throughout our time together and according to parent report. He will benefit greatly from continued work on this goal with a shift to language used spontaneously to request preferred items.

Following Receptive Directions:
OBJECTIVE: to follow a direction when asked
NOTE: Nicholas responds well to "put in", "high 5", and "give to me". This was his first "set" and when his attention is gained he responds very well. However, if he is distracted by a light, sound, or other interesting thing in the environment, it takes some redirection to get him engaged and responding again(usually some motor/sensory activity). He is fantastic at following the direction "1,2,3 give it to me"...he will stop anything and hand the toy over, which is very impressive. He continues to work on "stand up","come here",and "clean up/put away",but has made nice progress so far.

Receptive Identification of Objects:
Objective: to identify an object among 3 when asked "show me____","give me____","point to____" etc.
NOTE: this is a fairly new program for Nicholas,however,it appears to be challenging for him. The primary challenge is to get and maintain Nicholas' attention,which shifts quickly based on subtle interests in the environment. If he is clearly attending he does well and shows progress. We are in the process of moving back to only one object on the table, then we will do two objects, and then back up to discriminating from 3 objects on the table.

PROGRAMS ON HOLD:
Signing to request: Nicholas learned to sign "more" fairly quickly,but had great difficulty learning/using other additional signs,we had also observed that Nicholas is a very visual child. This is why we moved to PECS and of course we were always emphasizing verbal communication.

MASTERED PROGRAMS:
Attending at the table:
NOTE: When Nicholas began,he was scared to be in a new place and in a room with a new person to the point he could not function beyond his fear. He would back into Dad's lap and only with careful shaping did we get him to a point where he was comfortable with new people and places,then we worked on sitting in a chair,which he now does very well. In fact, he prefers table time more than anything,so we are spending quite a bit of time on the floor when appropriate to encourage flexibility(as in routines).

Calm Transitions:
As mentioned above,when he began Nicholas was very sensitive to new environments,toys,people,etc.. Once he bacame calm,he quickly became upset again if he had to move from one toy to the next,let alone from sitting to standing. Now, however,he explores and moves from one activity to the next with verbal directions just like a pro! He has made tremendous progress.

Tolerating New People:
Nicholas was vey upset by new people in his proximity when he began,but he now enjoys his time with his therapists,teacher,and peers quite a bit! Once he was comfortable in a one-on-one setting,he began playgroup and adjusted very nicely to being in a room full of peers,teachers,and parents. Again, he has come very far from where he began.

Strengths:
Nicholas is a smart little boy who pays close attention to detail. He now sits for adult led activities very well and his play skills have been coming along very nicely. He is also becoming much more socially tuned in to others,which has been a joy to be a part of. Nicholas has a delightful and highly contagious laugh and brightens up the room when he is excited. He also benefits from having parents who are very dedicated to learning strategies to carry over with Nicholas at home,and they are also wonderful at sharing information about strategies that they have found to promote Nicholas' growth.

Challenges and Recommended Supports:
Because Nicholas is very sensitive to his environment,it can be difficult at times to get and maintain his attention. One minute he will be very engaged and enthusiastic and the next he is looking off into space making some subtle observation that the rest of us can not always pick up on. When this happens I typically do motor activities to re-engage him(wiggle his arms,stomp his feet quickly on the ground,squeeze down his arms/legs) or I sing a song and leave off the endings of words. I will also sometimes re-engage him by doing a maintenance task(something I know he can do well) to establish behavioral momentum.

It has been a delightful experience to work with Nicholas and his family. He has made great progress since he began Bith-to-three and we are all very proud of him. I am excited to hear of his continued progress in the future.

Well, that is the entire report. Our plans for the day include a trip to our new WAL-MART! Yes, we are very thrilled!! It is about 10 minutes from our house and I just love having another shopping choice!

Hello from the frozen wasteland!!

That's sure what it felt like here the past couple of days! Tuesday night we had a round of snow,just a couple of inches,but they closed down schools nonetheless-so Michael got another snow day. By Wednesday evening that snow had melted,but we had more to come Wednesday night. Thursday I awoke to a blanket of snow on the ground once again, and Michael got to sleep in an extra two hours before going to school. By Thursday evening,the snow had stopped,but then the winds began to pick up. Temperatures fell to 15(no, I am not factoring in the winds-that was the REAL temp!)and the snow that had semi-melted,turned to ice. Today it got to freezing,so the ice is not going anywhere. Michael got his third snow day today,and we got out of work a little early. Nothing else new to report. Since the schools were closed today, we could not have Nicholas's IEP meeting that was scheduled for 11am. It has to be rescheduled for a later date. We are still giving Nick the Cod Liver Oil,and to be honest, I have noticed his speech is picking up! Today he climbed on the step-stool and began saying "Get down!" and "Nick NO!" He has also came up to daddy,led him by the hand to the fridge,and then said "Cup" or "Eat". He is not having any adverse reactions to the oil, so I figure it cannot hurt him. I give him 1/2 tsp. and I mix it with his cup of PediaSure. Sounds gross,but he seems to like it. I promised Michael I would take him to a movie this weekend so he can have some MOMMY time to himself. I already did the grocery shopping today,so I have THREE WHOLE DAYS to spend with my boys! I took some pictures of Nick tonight at dinner time. I thought this was hilarious when I saw what Nick had done with his goldfish!

He LINED them up! A typical "autie" trait...but funny anyways!




Hey,it happens to be FUN lining up my crackers, so what of it??!!

Transitions

It has been quite a week of upheaval, and it is only TUESDAY! I am back at work, Michael is back in school, and Nick is back in therapy. WHEW! I think I liked it better when I did not have to work! Nick's little life has been turned inside out and he is letting us know how he feels about the whole situation. He is on somewhat of a hunger strike. His therapists want us to try and get him to feed himself more often with a spoon-right now,that involves alot of screaming. Dont even think about getting him to feed himself anything other than yogurt-he refuses. Right now, he is barely eating at all. He wont take a nap during the day(Mike has tried without success) so by the time I get home,he is at breaking point. I think it is a combination of transitioning, and the terrible twos. He is trying to have some control over his life,and the only ways are naps and food. It is very frustrating-but that goes with any two year old. He is using more words! Today he came up to me and said "Up please". He is also saying more words in therapy...like today he said "Happy" and kept saying "Cup". He has also started to get on the computer! As you can see from the pictures above!

As for me, I am just trying to keep up with everything! Between work, studying for TSgt., and things at home, my life can get hectic very quick. I finally got all the laundry done, and even most of it is put away! We have a meeting with the school board on Friday to discuss what will happen with Nick next month. I have sent off the registration for him to get into the autism program at UW(University of WA). On my first day back at work I was given a whole bag full of presents for the boys. Apparently, someone in my squadron put their names on the "Angel Tree" in the BX, and they recieved about 6 more presents each! Part of me is very grateful that someone thought of us, but then I think there are other kids who could have used the toys more than them!

This weekend I need to buy a new calendar-we are at a loss without that thing! We are also implementing a chore chart. I simply cannot do everything around here, and Michael is old enough to help(he is also now BIG enough). I also might take Michael to a movie or something. I need to reconnect with him again so that he does not feel left out. We are constantly doing things with Nick and paying him attention, that Michael gets kind of lost in the shuffle sometimes. I dont like that it happens, but it just does. He is a great kid and deserves to have some one-on-one time. Here is a picture of him in Florida:

The wonders of Supplements

If you would have asked me a year ago if I would have considered introducing some supplements to Nick's diet I would have said No. Not the typical vitamin supplements you give to a kid who simply does not eat well, but supplements to supposedly help break down some walls from his autism. I am not looking for a miracle "cure", I know that he will always have autism-I believe it is something he was born with. When I think back to his babyhood,there was some instances that stood out. For example,he did not sit on his own until he started crawling. At one year old, you could ask Michael "Where's daddy?" and he would look for him. I remember asking Nick several times after he turned one, only to be met with a blank stare. I am only hoping for more connections to be made. We are aching to hear Nick's little voice. Sure, he says a few words here and there,and will sing songs..all we ask for is the possibility of a little more. I have read about Cod Liver Oil http://www.autismcoach.com/Cod_Liver_Oil.htm
and many of the other moms have tried it as well on their kids and have said they had improvement in speech. I ventured out into the rain,and bought an 8oz bottle of the Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil (Orange flavored) to try on Nick. Mike did not even protest to this-he is eager to see any improvements Nick can make,and I know he would go to the end of the earth if it meant his son would talk. I gave him a tiny bit after his dinner,and we shall see what happens. I am not going to go all out into chelation to remove heavy metals, or anything too wild like that. That is just not where I am at right now. I just want to hear my sons voice.

We are HOME!!!!

Finally!!! For those who did not hear about our little journey back to Washington,let me fill you in on what happened!

We left Deltona on Wednesday (1 week ago today) and headed up to Walterboro,S.C. to visit with Mike's sister and brother. We had a great time,and we went out to eat at Ryan's with Tina and all the girls.(Tina,her daughters Brittany, Kaylee,and Martika,and Martika's little girl,Amaya. Tina also brought along her boyfriend Mario.)We got to visit with Bobby and his family,and Michael finally got to meet the only two boy cousins he has...Bobby Jr. and Ryan. We stayed the night at Tina's,and left Thursday morning. That day,we drove to Tennessee before turning in for the night. We got up Friday and drove to Amarillo,Texas. In Amarillo,the crap litterally hit the fan. That whole region was stuck in a ice/snow storm,and I-40 Westbound was closed. Since we could not go any further,we tried to find a hotel room. No luck--every hotel we went to was full. They were predicting another storm to hit that night,and we were running out of options fast. We headed South on I-25,and came across a very small town called Tulia. By this time it was 4am,and we had been on the road for 20 hours. Fortunately,there was a hotel in this small town,and we pulled over. Since I-40 was closed for about 24hours, we decided to stay for two nights. Over the radio we had heard that all roads going west bound were closed. We got up Sunday morning,turned on the news and heard that I-40 was open now. We packed up the car and headed West to New Mexico. All was going fine as we crossed the boarder to New Mexico. We got about 30 miles from the boarder,and they closed I-40 again. We went back to Texas,and tried to head North to Colorado,but we were stopped again. All roads headed that way were closed. So,back in Texas we are,and getting more frustrated with each passing moment. We drove down to I-10 and crossed our fingers. As we approached the southern New Mexico boarder we grew anxious and held our breath. Well,all I can say is that we should have done it a LOT sooner! We had no problems,and spent New Years driving through Roswell! We did not see E.T.,but we did not care....we were glad to be out of Texas and to be moving forward in our journey! We pulled in last night around 7pm and spent most of the day today unpacking. We found out that our power had gone out for a couple of days while we were gone, so most of Michael's medicine went bad. I called Dr. McClellan today and he said that all I had to do was take the unused portion back to the pharmacy and they will be able to exchange them. He also said that all of Michael's labs came back just fine. We enjoyed our visit with everyone,I hope you all had a wonderful New Year and Christmas. I know we did!

Florida!!

We have been here for one week so far, and it has been great! The boys are having a good time visiting with Nana and Grandpa, and Nana and Grandpa are having a great time with them. Last Sunday we went to Daytona and saw my aunt Nancy and cousin Jennifer. We also saw her little boy, Braden. Braden is about 3 months old and is just the cutest little thing!! I am sure he was not so cute when he was screaming all the time though :) I am glad the medicine is working for him Jen! We also took the kids to the beach last Sunday so they could see the ocean. There is hardly any beach left after all the hurricanes. They have erroded the beaches pretty bad, and the water now comes up to the seawall during high tide. Not the beach that I remember of my childhood at all.

This week we drug Nick around to almost every single Wal-mart,K-mart,Toys R Us, and Target in central Florida. We have had a great time shopping for them!! In the evenings I have also been going with my mom to help her clean her office at work. She cleans it after everyone leaves so that she can get some extra $$$. The weather here has been wonderful. It has been near 80 almost every day. Well, I better go for now, my sister in law is coming over today for a visit.

Getting ready....

To go to Nana's house that is! We did some last minute preparations today such as shopping. I think I got enough pop-tarts,lemon aid, and all sorts of other munchies to sustain us every day at least until dinner time. We have Michael's Dr appt. tomorrow morning and then we should be leaving in the afternoon. We will keep you all in the loop as to where we are located every night. Cant wait to see everyone! Here are some pictures from this weekend. Mike's unit had their Christmas party on Sunday, and the boys got their picture taken with Santa. Michael had a great time in the jump castle, and Nick LOVED the pinata.


More pictures on the photo page.

Let it Snow....Let it Snow!

This was the view out the front door this morning! We had a light dusting of snow Friday,but it melted by noon. But,starting yesterday evening, it snowed most of the night, and temps today barely reached 27f. Michael had his first "snow day" of the school year today,and from what the weatherman is saying, he could have another one on Thursday. We are supposed to get more snow tomorrow night. They say around 2-6". We will see!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hope everyone had a great holiday! We had a nice day even though it was rainy and temps hovered around 40 degrees. Michael loved helping with the turkey. I invited Kristine over to have dinner with us,and everyone seemed to have a good time. I took some photos of the boys today and put them on the photo page. We are supposed to get some snow this weekend,so if it sticks during the day time, I will get some pictures of that as well. See you all next month!!