Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, life sure has swept me off my feet lately, or at least kept ‘em moving. I have a LOT of activity going on, but so far am handling it pretty well! Although I still haven’t finished unpacking from the beach…

Last week Thomas started back at preschool. I had prepared his teacher for his anxiety, and warned her that sometimes he is genuinely scared, but sometimes just manipulative (he says, “I’m scared!” when he doesn’t get his way). I also warned her about his sensory issues, aversion to being dirty, how he won’t do finger paint, etc. I asked her to please CHALLENGE him to overcome his fears while also being sensitive. Tricky! As school approached he got increasingly anxious and told me, “Mommy, please don’t leave me all by myself at school!” I remained positive for him, even though my heart ached, and thankfully there were minimal tears at dropoff the first day. Later at pickup I braced myself, only to hear, “He was my star student!” The teacher said he listened (what? whose child is THAT?), he was the line leader (it was a TRAIN!), and he even did a HANDPRINT!! Last year he refused to do the handprint. I was thrilled! He has LOVED school every day since then, and when asked who his friends were at school he named 2 buddies AND his teacher.

Diagnosis Autism

Yesterday my two-year old was officially diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum.  I have suspected this for over a year, so in a way this changes nothing.  And everything.

My husband and I chose a specialist at a well-respected Children’s Rehabilitation Center.  The whole way there I was a big bundle of nerves.  At check in I found I had lost my voice, and felt myself choking up when they were asking me simple questions like, “Name?”  I found myself relaxing when we entered the amazing lobby.  A train table, fish tank, dollhouse, leggos, other assorted toys, an ART THERAPY table, and even a Music Therapy teacher playing guitar!  The center treats a wide variety of medical conditions, so some children had physical concerns, others were there for cognitive reasons.  I looked around the room at all the other children, my heart going out to them.  I wanted to scoop them all up into one big hug.  I have always cared a lot about special needs issues.  I felt such a kinship with the other parents, like we were all in this together, in our common crusade for our children.  Some sensed that kinship and returned my smiles, others didn’t make eye contact and seemed alone in their pain.  I prayed that one day they will be in place where they can feel comfortable reaching out for support… but maybe not to strangers.

The Time Has Finally Come

Tomorrow is the day we take our baby to see a Developmental Pediatrician for an official evaluation.  The waiting list was only, oh, four months long.  But we are seeing one of the top specialists in the state, thank you very much.  I just wish insurance could tell me whether or not this will be covered!

My son Percy, who turned 2 in May, has severe speech delays, some sensory integration difficulties, and displays signs of being on the Autism Spectrum.  We struggled as to whether or not to see a Developmental Pediatrician OR a Pediatric Neurologist.  We ended up with the DP because of the group he was in AND we could get a concurrent appointment with a Speech Pathologist.  We have to travel an hour to get there, arrive half an hour early, and will be there until approximately noon.  I am anxious as to how Percy will do in this environment, although I am anticipating it will be exceedingly kid-friendly.  But the last time we had to wait at a Doctor’s office it was meltdown central.  (OH, yeah, did I tell you I thought he might have broken his leg last week? Good times.)

“Your plan doesn’t cover that…”

Anybody else tearing their hair out trying to get insurance to pay for treatment of their child’s developmental delays?  What an incredibly frustrating and CONFUSING process!!!  If I hear one more time, “Your plan doesn’t cover that,”  I am going to SCREAM.  

Child Study Meeting

My head is spinning.  I just came back from a “Child Study Meeting” in order to begin the process of trying to receive preschool special education services for my two-year old son.  They did not actually study my child at this Child Study Meeting, they studied me.  BOY did they study me.  Now I know how the bug under the microscope feels.

First of all, I was under the impression that this would be a meeting for 3 people- me, my Early Intervention liaison, and the school’s special education representative.  I arrived and there were two extra women in the room- a speech therapist and a social worker(!).  THAT was unnerving.  Plus they began before my caseworker arrived so I knew no one.  Then after the meeting had already begun a man with a very strong presence (read: intimidating) came in and just started asking all kinds of questions.  I finally asked, “Who ARE you?”, because at first when he walked in I thought he was merely passing through but then he stuck around.  Turns out he was the psychologist.  Oh goody.  I would have had an easier time with all these people had I been emotionally prepared for that.  I thought it was to be a more informal information gathering session and then it would be passed on to the appropriate people.  I didn’t realize that I was going to have them present to immediately evaluate my words.

Occupational Therapy- Visits 1 & 2

I have come to realize something about Percy’s Occupational therapy visits… he is not the only one receiving therapy.  The appointments also are geared towards helping me find ways to help him.  You wouldn’t think that would be a problem, right?  Well, in order to help facilitate his improvement I am supposed to be more organized and structured.  Heaven help me.   

My Dream

5:30am, the house is silent, I am awake.  I just woke up from one of those bizarre, scary dreams, but I didn’t sit up straight with a pounding heart.  Instead I calmly opened my eyes and thought, “I can do this.”

Early Intervention

My son receives Occupational Therapy twice a month and Speech every week.   To rewind a bit, the process began with me making a phone call this past January to Early Intervention asking for my free evaluation provided by my local government.  Let me just tell you, it was SO hard to make that first phone call! 

April is Autism Awareness Month

I found out a little late in the game that April is Autism Awareness Month.  I am not sure how official it is…it may be a bunch of bloggers just got together and said, “HEY! Let’s proclaim Autism Awareness Month!” but that’s still good enough for me.  I do know April 2 was World Autism Awareness Day.  Missed that too.  But I DID buy a Autism Awareness sticker at Toys R Us for $1!  Anyway, I will be blogging as much as I can this month about my search for answers and our Early Intervention journey.  Please click on the widget on the right to find some wonderful blogs by others whose lives have been affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Going out in public with my sons

Sometimes I think it would be easier to just stay home.  Like forever.  I tried to take my boys to a model train expo at the aviation museum today.  What should have been fun turned into a journey down frustration lane.