We are Home....

We had a wonderful time visiting with our close friends in Spokane! We left our house around 2pm on Friday afternoon, and arrived in Spokane around 7pm that night. Michael and his friend N started playing right away! It was like they had never been apart. We talked for a little while and then went out to eat at Taco Bell. We basically took over the joint with the eight of us. We checked in to our hotel around 11pm and got settled. I had hoped to put a little distance between me, and our world of autism. I was trying to put it in the very back of my mind for just a few days. Well, it looked good for us on the first night there; except for some minor crying at the hotel that night upon check-in.

Saturday was completely different. It started off in the morning when I had to shower in the dark. Why you ask?? Because when I turned on the bathroom light it also turned the fan on. Nick screamed like no tomorrow. He was completely out of sorts for most of the day. One day maybe we will realize that one of the hallmark symptoms of autism is the need for routine??!! It took Nick a little while to get into the swing of things, and in the meantime he was Mr Grouchy. Nick totally loved playing peek-a-boo with their daughter. It was simply the cutest and sweetest thing. I told her she could babysit Nick any time. Saturday evening we all took the kids out for ice-cream at Maggie-Moo's. We all had some absolute splendor! I suggest Cake Batter with Cookie Dough :) Michael had a huge chocolate shake with whipped cream, and Mike had some Butter Pecan with Cotton Candy. After everyone was high on sugar; we went to the skating rink to let the kids skate. Michael had an absolute wonderful time!! Nick had a great time playing with the steering wheels on the video games-it was fine until he started getting a bit irritated with the noise. Thankfully, by that time the kids had skated enough and we turned in for the night.

Sunday was just a day of hanging out. Michael had spent the night Sat. and we celebrated their little girl's 10th birthday. We watched "Blades of Glory"(funny movie I might add!) and had some pizza and cake. We were very sad to leave on Monday. We had such a great time. (You're not getting rid of us yet guys!!Next year!)

This week the agenda is Back to School! I met Michael's teacher today. His new classroom is right across the hall from his old one. He starts 3rd grade tomorrow at 8am sharp! Wish Daddy luck :)

Have a Great Weekend!

We are spending the weekend with our friends in Spokane. We plan to leave this afternoon, and we already have reservations at a hotel. Some much needed time away. Hope everyone has a great weekend! See you next week...

Ups and Downs....

It has been a while since my last update! Do not fear, we are all doing just fine; just very busy! Summer is coming to a close, and I have two growing boys who outgrew their clothes!! Last weekend I decided to plunge head first in their wardrobes and get rid of stuff that was too small. I admit to getting a little teary eyed as I dug through Nick's dresser. He is my "baby" and it was hard throwing out some of those cute little short sets. Who said he could grow??? I filled up two garbage bags and headed down to the recycle center to drop them off.

After that, Michael was in desperate need of some new clothes for school. Otherwise he might just start the first day in undies! I packed Nick up and we went shopping. Sunday we made another trip to Wal-Mart and then the Commissary. For the first time, Nick did not tolerate the commissary. There were a lot more people than usual, the PA system kept going off, and the noise level was more than he could bear. He was covering his ears and screaming by the third aisle. I decided to abort my trip and take him home. I left my cart, and carried him out of the store. I went back after dropping him off with daddy; but I did miss my little Bubby.

Michael started soccer on Monday. Our practices are on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30pm. He is doing pretty good. He is not too much shorter than the other kids now. Nick of course was happy to just run in circles and feel the grass. A couple of kids around his age tried to get his attention, but he just clicked his tongue and walked off leaving them rather confused. They don't know what to make of him yet. I get a little sad for a few minutes, but it tends to pass quicker now than it used to. We are proud of all he has accomplished so far, and for things he will accomplish in the future. He is such a gentle soul, and an absolutely delightful little boy.

Last night as I was putting the boys to bed, Nick grabbed Michaels hand and put it on his belly. He then looked right at Michael and said "Tickle" with a smile on his face. Today, we went to our Wing Picnic and the boys had fun watching the Soap Box Derby. We are all pretty tired, so I will end this update for now. We are all enjoying the last few days of summer with them before school starts again!

A Very Stimmy Two Days.....

UGH! This is sometimes the worst part of dealing with Nick. Dealing with his stims. The past two days have really frazzled my brain. The constant sounds of the remotes being twirled against the walls, clicking his tongue endlessly, constantly wanting to turn the light on the ceiling fan on/off/and on again, twirling toys, spinning them on the coffee table, twirling his hands in front of his face, toe-walking, lining things up vertically. I think I said all the things he has been doing in earnest the past two days. I know why he has been this way. Michael has had soccer camp the past two days and Nick has been around more people than I am sure he cares to. It is a disruption in his schedule, and we pay the price with his constant stimming. Yesterday was awful. He was trying to stand up part of the portable A/C vertically on the bunk bed. It was not working right and he was screaming. I went into the room thinking something surely awful had happened to him(that's how loud his screaming was) only to find him getting irate and waving the part around(the long piece that goes in the window-hard plastic) and I immediately knew where this was going! Sure enough, he had that wild look in his eyes(the I'M OUT OF CONTROL look) and before I knew it, that object was ejected into the air-and landed right on my foot! Holy SH*T that hurt!! I managed to keep my composure and for that I am thankful. I grabbed it, and put it up someplace very high where little man cannot reach. Needless to say, the top of my foot has a decent size bruise. Today has been physically less painful,but mentally exhausting as I keep removing things from the house(the baby gate is outside-one day of standing it up and knocking it down 500 times will do that!)or Nick's reach.

Sunday we went out to eat at a place called Shari's. Nick was having a good day and was happily munching on some french fries. I was amazed he was eating these because they were bigger fries and they had the skins still on. He was quite verbal, and happily jumping on the seat. We were happy to have this smidgeon of time where Nick is doing what every other kid his age does. So maybe we were not totally ready to tell him to "Stop it!". Well, the man in the booth next to ours was seemingly annoyed with Nick's jumping and peering over the makeshift wall. He stood up and said to us "Can you PLEASE make him STOP that until after I eat??!" My mouth said "Yes Sir. We will try." But my head was screaming "Are you kidding me??!! This is the most NORMAL thing he has done ALL DAY...I am not ready for him to STOP. You have no idea what it takes for him to do things like this!!" Regular people will just never understand. We need places just for autie kids and their parents. A place where they won't be judged or told to "STOP IT!"

What's This?

We have been working on this for about 2 weeks now. We showed him the flashcard, got him to point, asked "What's This?" hundreds of times...and he echoed hundreds of times. Not today. I got the card out, Nick sat in the chair, pointed, and asked "What's this?" all by himself! He finished the deck of flash cards, and we started a second time with the video camera ON! What you see here is the result...If he can ask a question, he can learn anything.

The Window....

The object of Nicks' fascination....in which everything must be vertical....

Progress at last!

Nick has made great strides ahead this week! He is now matching pictures with great accuracy-and he has only been doing this for a few days!! We also work with him on labeling. We have started with animals, and that seems to be going well. Mike is getting in on our little sessions as he was amazed with Nick's voice actually speaking! We play the "What's This?" game. I hold up a card with an animal on it and ask "What's this?" Nick points to the card and echoes the question. I then say the name of the animal and he will then say it. Today we threw in a flip-book with different pictures in it-and went through the whole book with him.

Today he also ate a WHOLE jar of Del Monte Stage 3 Chicken soup dinner!!! He actually CHEWED the little bits of noodles and veggies! I was amazed!!

Last night Mike went to go check on the boys before heading to bed. He went into the room and saw that Nick was not in his bed. He found him sitting on Michael's bed looking out the window. Mike asked him "Nick; what are you doing?" Nick looked right at him and softly said "window" and then looked back. Mike was so stunned that he came and immediately told me the story. It was like we had won the lottery. Tears of pride welled up for my little guy. Today, Mike asked Nick if he wanted to be lifted up--and Nick responded with a simple "No". We have never been so overjoyed to hear "No" in our lives =) We are loving every minute of this!

This is NOT how I pictured my Life.....

As I sat at the table last night eating dinner, I was able to steal a few minutes to reflect on our lives in the last 10 years. I have to say "Our" lives because I am sure this is not what Mike pictured either.

When I dreamed of what my family would be like when I was little, I always dreamed of two happy, playful, energetic boys. They would be tall, dark haired, brown eyes, would do perfect in school, and life would just be wonderful. Apparently, I left too much to be determined by the man upstairs.

When Michael was born, part of my dream had come true. There he was, all pink and full of baby chubbyness, all ten fingers, ten toes, what more could we want? After only one year, Michael had gone from being in the 50% tiles, to being in the 5th for growth. We spent the next 5 years going to a endocrineologist, having bone scans, taking measurements, trying to figure out what was going on. In between visits was a nightmare of trying to get him to eat and put on weight. People would ask "Why is he so small?" and all we could do was just shrug our shoulders. After 5 years, we finally had an answer. Growth Hormone Deficiency. He was put on treatment, and we were relieved that it was something "fixable". Our lives were back on track.

By this time Nick had been born, and he was growing just fine. He was 50-60% since the day he was born, and has not looked back. From day one he was completely different from Michael. Compared to Michael, Nick just seemed like a blob. By one year, I had a little voice in the back of my head that something just did not seem "right". Nick was lagging behind it seemed. He liked to spin wheels, but then again babies will all find stuff like that. He entered daycare at around 14mos and things just got worse. He walked late, was not responding to his name despite his hearing being normal, ate nothing but bread and applesauce, refused to sit with the other kids at meal times, and was often playing by himself in a corner somewhere. At two years old, he was diagnosed with autism. Another detour. This one is a big one. Daily life can be a struggle. Finding services for him has been an even bigger struggle. His behaviors can be devastating. He has put two holes in our walls from head banging, and many more dents.


He needs intensive speech, occupational, physical, and behavior therapies just to get him to a functional level. We don't care about college, we just want FUNCTIONAL. His senses overload him, he cannot break through his wall to talk, he struggles with texture issues, all the things that we take for granted are such hard work for him. Yet, the sweet moments are extra rewarding. When he says "Cow" while looking at a bird, or gets gutsy enough to climb UP a slide, do I say anything? Hell NO! It takes so much for him to do these things, and he is so proud of himself when he does them. All of this, and yet I would not trade it for anything. Maybe the man upstairs knew what he was doing afterall.

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Mommy and Me time!

Monday was a nice day outside, so I took the boys to the zoo for some fun. Michael had a great time, and as far as I could tell, Nick seemed to like it as well. He was not too interested in the animals, but he seemed to really like the fish in the aquarium. Some areas just were not his faves though. The whale show was difficult for him. With all the people crowded around us he started to lose it. Michael got to see the show, but Nick was happier strapped in his stroller in back of the crowds. We had a couple of meltdowns-but they were easily controlled, so it turned out pretty nice.

I applied for SSI for Nick. We find out Aug 3 if we will get it. This would mean extra money for his therapies, or other supplies he needs. I also got the referral from our insurance to cover $2500 month for ABA therapy, as well as going to the University of Wa. He is still on the list for Speech and Oral motor therapies.

Friday we had our first appt. at U.W. It was basically a "get-to-know-you" session. She asked me a lot of questions regarding Nick, and then proceeded to work with him a little bit. He did pretty good with matching objects, and puzzles. As well as asking for more crackers. She told me to write down every time he bangs his head or hits himself so that we can figure out what is causing him to do that, and we can teach him a more appropriate behavior. Since Friday, we have already used up one sheet of paper that she gave us. We still have 5 more days to go!

Today, I worked with Nick a bit on labeling animals. We used flash cards that had what the animal felt like on them. I held up the card and asked "what is this?" and then moved his hand over the patch of fur, or material, and said the name of the animal on the card. He then repeated the name after I said it, and he was rewarded with playing with a toy for a minute. We repeated this drill twice-and went through all the flash cards. I am now searching to find him a therapist this next week of my vacation. I would do it in a heart-beat if I did not have to work. I know Mike would do it if he had to, but he is not the kind of person to just sit at a table or in a room for the day. He would much rather have Nick out and about in the real-world...which is good too. He would do it if we can't find someone, but I think it would just be easier to have someone else here.

A Day at the Mall

Seeing is Believing!! Here is the PROOF that Nick is back to eating french fries!!


And yes, I was the overzealous mom taking pictures of her kids eating french fries. You would too if every piece of table food was a struggle for your little guy. I am so proud of Nick for this seemingly small victory. We would serve up french fries everyday if it would not harden our arteries!

Today we again went to the play area in the mall. Nick learned to climb through the little tunnel, and ALMOST went down the little slide by himself. The steps are a little small and steep, so he ended up backing down at the last minute. Michael was right behind him to make sure he did not fall-what a lovely big brother. We did have a couple of instances where Nick hit another kid-and I was quick to tell him NO! and we went up to the little boy and apologized. I showed Nick that we be "nice" to other kids by taking his hand and patting the boy GENTLY on the arm. After a few minutes of letting Nick play on the seat with me, I took him over to one of the other climbing things(it was a little pig) and he practiced climbing on that for a little bit.

Monday we have a trip to the zoo planned, and the rest of the week will be devoted to checking into SSI, and scouting around for a private therapist. Thursday we have our first appt. with UW. Wish us luck!!

Silly Talk...Silly Dance....Silly BOY!

Nick engages in these things almost on a daily basis; and you know what?? I LOVE it! Sure Nick says non-sense words that nobody understands; but when he is saying them he is usually HAPPY! Yesterday Nick and Michael went on a banter of "eeeeellloww" back and forth. Nick has quite a few words that we just don't understand. He says them clearly(and loudly I might add). Some of them are: "Aya", "Dee-nee-nee","eeellow", and a humming sound. The humming is almost like he is imitating a machine of some sort. It is very precise, and is usually accompanied by some sort of action from Nick; i.e. moving his arm up and down. We have been trying to think of what this might be, and the only thing we could think of is the sound of the garbage truck that comes every week.

Even though they are more than likely just some vocal stimming that kids with ASD will do, it is still a way to connect with him and it can be fun at times to hear his little diddies throughout the house.

One Small Step at a Time

We are doing our own form of Physical Therapy here at home now. Since Nick is out of school, he does not get that stimulation he needs for his muscles to get stronger. So, now, I have it written down on our calendar(which is like our Bible) that every weekend we will go to the park, and I also want him to get used to being around a group of kids; so we also are taking him to the Tacoma Mall play area. I was kind of skeptical of the play area at first because the last time we were there all he wanted to do was run away! But, I thought it was worth a shot. I am so glad we went! He loved it! He liked the little slide they had and the play house they put up. The play area was completely redone since the last time we went, so it was a totally new experience. Nick loved all the different shoes as well--he went up to one lady, bent down, and touched her shiny black shoes. Then he saw some sandals that caught his eye-so he picked one up and started to twirl it. I calmly went over to him and re-directed him to the slide. He enjoyed his time in the play area. Michael helped him out too by showing him how to slide and how to go under the tunnel.

After about an hour or so, we left and had lunch in the food court. I put one french fry on Nick's stroller, and then watched as he slowly inspected every inch of it. He touched it, twirled it, smelled it, put it to his lips, and licked it. After a few minutes, the UNTHINKABLE happened.....HE ATE IT!!! He has not eaten a french fry in about 6 mos, and you would have thought I won the lottery with how much praise I gave him!! He not only ate that fry, but he finished off the rest of them as well--even the ones that had corners and dark spots!! My amazing little guy--he tries so hard! Things don't come easy for him, and the sounds from all the people were sometimes too much as he covered his ears quite a bit, but he managed to overcome it and eat french fries with us!! I am over the moon!

What a way to raise awareness!!!

Check out this amazing skate team's website and blog!! They are Rolling for Autism They are SKATING up the East Coast to help raise money and awareness about autism!! Way to go!!

WALK NOW

I have already registered for the Cure Autism Now walk in Seattle. We have until October for the fundraising, and we have our goal set at $500. Visit Nick's Site to donate to this wonderful cause!! Help kids like Nicholas get the treatment they need and to possibly find a cure for autism!

Firework Fun!

Our fourth of July was great! We spent the day outside, and my original plan was to get the boys ready and take them out to the Freedom Festival to have a little fun. Somewhere between getting a shower, doing a little housework, and talking with the neighbors things went a little awry. Michael and T were having a great time playing outside in the sprinklers, and we were all out in the carport talking, and watching the kids play. Their plans were to go to the festival, have a little bar-b-que there and possibly meet up with us and watch fireworks. Our plans were very similiar. Then, our hubbys started washing the cars. Mike started on my car first, then E got the idea to wash their truck. I was going to give Nick a bath and then head out. Then, E slipped while washing his truck and cut his eye pretty bad. It was bleeding rather profusely, so we offered to watch T (their oldest) while they took their younger son with them to the ER. E got all stitched up and was back home in a little over 2 hours. We all ended up grilling out with our grill and it turned out to be a good evening. Nick was not too keen on all the people coming in and out of the house-so he hid in his bedroom until they all left.

All 8 of us watched the fireworks display at Ft Lewis, and Nick had a wonderful time. He kept wanting to get closer to the action, so maybe next year we will watch them from the stadium. All in all; we had a great holiday. Here are some photos:


Nick waiting patiently for the show to start...


Mesmerized by all the lights in the sky...


Michael...enjoying the warmer weather!

Happy 4th of JULY!!!

Autism 101

Autism is a spectrum of disorders ranging from severe autism, to Asperger's Syndrome (sometimes referred to as High Functioning Autism). The spectrum contains such disorders as PDD-NOS,Childhood Disintigrative Disorder, and Fragile X Syndrome. Autism is not discriminating. It affects children of all races and genders. It is most common for a child to develop normally up to about 16mos and then begin to regress, losing skills that had once been mastered. The core of the disorder lies within the social deficits. Some of the signs to watch out for are:

Reduction or absence of eye contact, facial expressions, and/or body language

Inability to form friendships within a peer group
Unwillingness or inability to share enjoyment or accomplishments with others(in a young child, never brings you toys..never points to things of interest)
Inability to relate and share emotions on a social level

There is also a communication deficit. Now; those with Asperger's Syndrome often do speak within a normal time frame and often are ahead of peers with regards to being able to speak. The difference lies in HOW they talk. Some of the communication signs are:
Reduction, absence, or loss of expressive (spoken) language Nick lost his only word "Ma-Ma" by the time he was two; and was completely silent.
No attempt to replace language with another method of communication
Inability to converse with another person even if speech is present
Repetitive use of words, or echolalia
To see an example of echolalia click here
Absence of imaginitive play typical to a specific age group
Although, kids with ASD(Autism Spectrum Disorder) often love to play games such as "peek-a-boo", and "chase"; which can lead one into believing they could not be autistic. These games are loved because they are predictable, and there is not much change in these games. They become comfortable.

The last area is one that is very characteristic of individuals on the spectrum. It is the patterns of behavior or interests.
The patterns of behavior in a child with ASD are very distinctive and are a indicator of where the child falls on the spectrum.

Intense preoccupation with a particular activity
Compulsive engagement in routines that serve no practical purpose
Repetitive movements such as flapping, spinning, and/or body movements
Here you can see Nick flapping
Intense preoccupation with parts of a whole-for example, the spinning wheels on a toy car rather than the whole car.

In this picture, you can see Nick spinning the wheel on his toy.

All disorders on the ASD spectrum do show some degree of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Nicholas flicks light switches off and on. This may seem trivial in our home, but when you think that nearly every public place has light switches, you can see where this can be a problem. Nick has a complete melt down when he cannot do this in public, which leads him to get aggressive at times. Yesterday while getting my car registration renewed, I had to restrain him in his stroller after he slapped me in the face, and was hitting Michael during one of his tantrums. It all stemmed from not being allowed to flick the switch that was on the wall.

Nick also has a degree of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID)
Most kids on the autism spectrum have some degree of SID, but not all kids who have SID are autistic. Nick has been very sensitive to textures since he was an infant. This affects mainly what he eats. Nick used to eat things such as pasta, breads, and cereals as a young toddler. By the time he was diagnosed at 2yrs old, he had stopped eating all those things. He cannot tolerate the textures of most tablefoods and is limited to eating babyfoods, or dry crackers. If something changes in his environment, or his routine-it can be very difficult to get him to eat even that. It is not that he does not WANT to eat-just that his senses will not allow it. We have an appt. Tuesday to get him into therapy for this particular problem.
Another example of Nicks' battle with SID comes in the form of being sensitive to loud sounds. Nick hates the vacuum cleaner. He screams bloody murder the whole time I am using it. He also cannot stand drills,or public restrooms. We are learning everyday about new noises that set him off. He completely lost control when we inflated a plastic pool with an air source.

As you can imagine; Autism effects every part of his existence. Yes, he looks "normal" on the outside and that can be one of the toughest things about this disorder. There is no distinct appearance like having Down's Syndrome or a physical handicap like cerebral palsy. When we are out in public, Nick looks just like any other child. People see him when he is having a meltdown and automatically judge us as parents. We cannot "control" our son, he is too old to eat those things, why is he behaving like that? We have gotten all those comments. If they can't SEE something wrong with your child, it MUST be YOU. "You baby him too much", "Just take away the food and he will eat when he gets hungry"...all have been said by people who have no idea of life in our shoes. I am hoping this post helps to educate those who have no idea of what autism is-and it's effect on the families who deal with this everyday in their children.

University of Washington

I got a call today from UW explaining the types of programs we can pursue with Nick. The first program was one in which we hire a private therapist to work with him at home, and at UW.
The second type of program is a parent training program. Each week, the parents and child make the trip to UW to develop goals and teaching strategies for a home based therapy program.

We have decided to go with the first option. Nick needs more expertise in this area than we can give him. Plus, this therapist would work with him 1 on 1. We can then incorporate what the therapist does into our daily routines. The UW staff is starting the paper-trail to get him in, and we should be hearing more about that soon.

For the last two days, I have been trying to make an appointment with the feeding clinic at Madigan. They are all booked up-so they keep telling me to try again in a few days to see if they have any openings. I will be calling his Dr on Monday to get referals for the home therapies. I am hoping to have this started within the next few weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Yesterday I took Nick to the regular pediatrician(how LONG has it been since we saw a REGULAR Dr??) because he still was not eating. This was going on the third day and I just wanted to make sure nothing serious was wrong. We had him tested for strep throat, and they looked in his ears to make sure everything was ok. Everything came back normal, and Nick was proving me to be quite the liar. He was just a little chatterbox the whole time, and charming the pants off everyone who saw him. He has started eating again as of tonight, and we hope this latest set-back will be a thing of the past shortly.

To those who pray, please say a short prayer for Isaiah (http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=bcus1143871&tid=6552) He is going on his 11th day of not eating and nobody knows why. I can't imagine the stress this is putting on his family. These kids get into their little *funks* and they cannot tell us what is wrong. It can just be so worrisome at times.

An old battle revisited.....

This is NOT a battle I enjoyed either. The FOOD battle. I remember many nights of sheer frustration as I watched Michael barely eat enough to live on. He was not growing, not gaining any weight, not eating. We thought surely we must be doing it all wrong! We were under immense pressure to get our child to simply eat. I was so happy when Nick had a hearty appetite and was chugging down 30+ oz of formula along with 3 jars of food at a time. Where has that gone?? Those were such happy days before his issues with food were not even on the horizon yet. Everyone commented on his hearty appetite...trouble though,was just around the corner.

We are battling with food again. Nick has seemingly gone on an all food strike. He eats nothing but Goldfish. He went from a big eater as a baby, to a skin-and-bones live on air toddler. Top that off with his issues already with food textures, and you get a whole lot of frustration. Is it too much to ask for a "normal" kid?? One that does not put holes or dents in our walls from head-banging?? It is so hard to not know what your child wants. He can't tell us what he wants and that just kills me. I love him immensly, but just for once I would like our lives to be "normal".

Under the weather....

Nick has been a bit under the weather this week-and it is slowly passing around to the rest of us. Just the typical cold like symptoms. Nick is simply miserable which makes it hard on everyone. He was doing so good last week with his eating, and then this happens. He barely wants to eat anything-unless it is dessert. He is more irritable, and more prone to head banging. Good news is that he has used more words spontaneously.It is like a catch 22. He is sick and awful feeling, but making progress??? I don't think we will ever figure this whole thing out. Frustration is around every corner it seems. I am not afforded the luxury of being sick....as soon as I could yesterday I broke open one some Zicam, and that has seemed to help me with my cold, but it does nothing for my patience in dealing with a sick 3 yr old.

To make things worse, I had to put the car in the shop yesterday after lunch. On the way back to the shop, I suddenly heard a thumping like noise coming from the back. At first I thought it was a flat tire, so when I parked the car, I walked around to see. No flat. Great. That means it is something else now. I took it to Firestone to have them fix the "thumping" noise and to give it an oil change. Well, they just called a little while ago and said they would need to run a diagnostics on it to see why the "check engine" light was coming on. Does everything in my house get a "Diagnosis"??? It seems that is the common term when talking about our family. The "thumping"noise turned out to be a screw that got stuck in my tire(has been a common problem with us too-before Christmas we had about three incidents with nails in our tires), and some sort of gasket needed replacing. I also went ahead with a 30K mile tune-up while it is there. All in all, we are looking at $900. When it rains...it pours!