Spring 2013 Update

Hello everyone!
It's that time of year again... My annual update on my son's progress with his autism. However, I'm only going to do a very quick update on things instead of a detailed update like I have done in the past. You see, I've also been including a quick update once in a while on my other blog, "Word Processor, Romance, Cats, Kids and Creed" and anyone who reads that blog on a regular or semi regular basis will see how far Son has progressed over the last year.
Things have changed in some ways, others not so much. He's in grade 2 now, still working ahead in math and still having problems with his comprehension.
That said, he's doing great despite some difficulties. 
Grade 1 ended at the end of June last year, and we said good bye to his teacher's assistant... He had her for two years in a row and we figured he would have a new TA in his class this coming year...
Summer came along, and as always, Son was bored stiff until he adapted to being home with his crazy, aspiring author mother... After a week or so, he did get used to being home all of the time and we did our best to get him out of the house for something fun, like bowling or even a trip to the beach.
Our annual family get together was at my aunt's house again this year and those who hadn't seen him since the year before marveled at how much he had grown and his abilities in math. I don't think my mother was too surprised how easily he picked math up... It was one of my best subjects in school after all as well as my brother's. Son chattered away at everyone, watched TV with my great aunts and made everyone laugh on several occasions while he chased my then youngest niece around the back yard.
September rolled around and we took Son into the school to introduce him to his Grade 2 teacher and to show him his new classroom... While we were there, we met his teachers' assistants... He has TWO of them this year, one for the morning and one for the afternoon.... But what is the best part of all is that his TA from Primary and Grade 1 was assigned to be with him in the mornings! I was so excited I almost jumped up and down! It puts my mind at ease knowing she is with him again this year... She hasn't been just at TA to his class, she's been his FRIEND and that's what he needs more than anything.
Things are going pretty good for the most part. We have our good days and bad days just like any other family, and Son is growing and learning just like any other child in his peer group. He's become VERY focused on time because time means Schedule in his mind and he does love to stick to a schedule! That's okay, he keeps me on my toes and there is never a dull moment here.
He's also been coming up with some REALLY goofy stuff on his own this last year too... I said one day that my brain "wasn't working" because I had been writing all day (I finished my first full length manuscript in October of 2012 and am now working on its sequel!) and he asked me if my brain was "broken" because of that. *laughs* Silly child! Nowadays when I say I feel scatterbrained because of the writing, that child immediately asks me if my brain needs to be fixed. KIDS!
Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this latest entry in our journey... Don't forget to wear BLUE today in honor of Autism Awareness Day... Light the entire world blue everyone, to show your support and to increase Autism Awareness!
Blessings!
~Valerie-June~     

Spring 2012 Update...

Autism Update March 2012

Another year has gone by… And so many changes have happened again!

April and May of 2011 saw my son improving daily with his social skills, fine motor skills, etc. He’s now able to print somewhat clearly on his own and the pressure he puts on his pencil or pen seems to be improving too. He’s writing a lot neater than he had been in the months before last spring and has a lot more control over where the pencil goes.

June of 2011 saw him graduate from grade primary into grade one and although we were sorry to say good bye to his primary teacher, we found out that she will be working at the school as a teacher for all of the classes in the school for something called PATHS.

June also saw a sad day for us… June 1, 2011, we lost our beloved Siamese cat, Angel, to unknown circumstances… I’m not going into more detail, I don’t want to upset anyone! She is buried out behind our forsythia bushes. Lil Etoile asks where she is from time to time and my response is that she’s living with Nanny again. He’s accepting that and I hope the times he asks for her get further and further between!

Summer went by so quickly this last year. Once again, my aunt hosted the now yearly family get together at her place, and a good part of my family from Lunenburg County and the Valley were there again. My brother and his wife were unable to make it though, they live in Cape Breton (part of NS) and are over 8 hours away by car. We had a great time even though they couldn’t make it. I didn’t take my son into the pool this year, last year was too upsetting for him, so we just let him zoom around my aunt and uncle’s yard and house, playing with his various cousins of all ages, talking to his aunts, uncles and grandmother (my mom) and having a great time.

My baby niece was there and was being passed from family member to family member, much to her disgust. She was 9 months old at the get together and my son didn’t show any signs of jealousy when I was holding her or talking to her. He kept looking at her and calling her “his baby”, which made all of us adults laugh.

The day after the family get together, there was a memorial exhibition for my late great uncle Howard W. Shankle, who is a well known woodlands artist in this area. I didn’t take my son with me for it because I knew he would get antsy, etc but I went and had a great time seeing people I knew from years past and catching up with everyone. There was also a lecture held that night and I attended that as well.

September 2011 saw Lil Etoile starting Grade 1, with a new teacher, a new classroom, some new classmates but with something the same… Last year’s PSA for his class was going to be the PSA for his class again this year! I was so happy to find out because Mrs. O was awesome with my son last year and she knows him, his likes/dislikes, his behaviors, what causes a meltdown for him, etc., plus she adores my son and he adores her, which is always a bonus in my mind!

He’s doing great in Grade 1… In fact, his first report card of the year came home in November and his grades were all As and Bs!!! November also saw me attend my first Parent Teacher meeting… Before that, I didn’t have to attend them because I was attending transitional meetings every couple of months with his teachers, the principal, etc anyway. It was different but everyone gave me glowing reports on how well he was doing and so much more!

November saw another tragedy happen for us, pet wise. November 30, 2011, I got up as usual on a school morning and noticed the dog, Sargent, was not well at all. He could not get up at all and… I’m not going to go into details here because I don’t want to upset anyone! We did get him to the vet’s and he peacefully left us around 8:30 that morning. I had warned Lil Etoile that the dog may not be there when he gets home from school and I was right. He was very upset because he and the dog were very close, they played together a lot during the 21 months that Sargent was living here.

Christmas came and went quietly again this year. Lil Etoile made out like a bandit again, getting a lot of cool stuff he likes, notably a couple of remote control cars, a foam bowling set from Santa and a mini air hockey table game from Hubby and I. We did the same thing we did last year, we spent the day at our house then went to my mother in law’s house in the evening, where we met up with my two brothers in law and the middle brother’s girlfriend. Lil Etoile had a blast and was very happy to be with Daddy’s family, he loves it at Nanny’s house!

January saw Lil Etoile go back to school again and he was very happy to be back with his teachers, classmates and friends. From what I understand, all of the students in the elementary end of the school know him and like him… He’s one popular young man and I hope this continues!

I had a meeting with his teachers after school went back into session in January. Apparently Lil Etoile had been having meltdowns more and more frequently and was sassing his teachers. We discussed this matter and realized he was bored at school, the school work his classmates were getting was not challenging enough for him so we decided that it would be okay if he could work ahead on things like spelling and math. He still has problems with comprehension but we are working on that and slowly, his comprehension skills are starting to catch up.

February saw our one cat, Noelle, getting an operation. The first day she went in to have the area checked out by the vet and to set up the operation date, Lil Etoile was VERY upset at school. He cried, he would not do any of his work and he just would not listen to his teachers. I had my suspicions to what was wrong with him and I asked him if he was upset about Noelle. He responded with “yes” and I told him she would be coming home again, she was not that sick and was just going in to the vets’ to make sure she was okay. He was still quite upset that day until Hubby brought Noelle home again… The instant he saw her blinking out of the cat carrier at him and purring at him, he relaxed and calmed down. She had a bandage wrapped around her to prevent her from scratching the infected site open with her back paws but other than that, she was zooming around the house as she normally does, demanding food and lots of cuddles the instant she was let loose from the carrier.

I think what had happened is that Lil Etoile connected “vet” with “pet not coming home again” and thought Noelle was going to leave us for good like Birdie, Angel and Sargent had in the last year and a half. Thankfully, this time he was shown that pets DO come home from the vets and Noelle was fine.

She had the operation about a week later and although Lil Etoile was upset that day in school, it wasn’t as bad as it was the first time she went. Ten days later, she had the stitches out and it was late enough in the day for us to take Lil Etoile with us to show him that GOOD things do happen in a veterinarian’s office. He was wonderful, chatting with some of the “parents” of some of the patients there, charmed Dr. Meaghan (Noelle’s vet) like he charms everyone else, and even helped me and Hubby with Noelle. Everything went wonderfully and she came home, happy and healthy as a 16 year old cat can be. I’m just glad he saw that pets DO come home from the vet most of the time and the vet is the pet doctor, like our family doctor takes care of us humans.

March saw another round of report cards coming home and once again, Lil Etoile had all As and Bs. There was also something different this time around… Instead of a regular parent-teacher meeting like the school would normally have, it was set up so the student could show the parent exactly what they were doing in school and how far they’ve become. Of course, Lil Etoile was overly excited and couldn’t wait to show us what he could do with Math, reading, and everything else. He showed us how he did basic math on the smartboard, played a speedy math game with his father, showed off his now very much improved writing skills, showed off how he was doing grade 2 and 3 math (!!!) and how he had finished grade 2 spelling and was now being given grade 3 spelling exercises!! *BLINK!*

***Right now, I’d like to take the time to blow a nice, big, fat RASPBERRY at the “early childhood educator” that said those nasty things about my son in the summer of 2007…. I’d say more but this blog is a “family show” after all and that person knows exactly what I think of their so called “diagnosis”. (Get a life and focus on your own children instead of shoving your nose into my life, ya twit!!)…***

Moving on…

It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by so quickly with so many things changing… Some for the better, some for the good. In most cases, it’s been for the good for my son. The amount of meltdowns he has had has decreased exponentially in frequency and in how long they last, and he’s more able to communicate if he’s upset, tired or happy these days. I look back at the last five years and can’t believe how far he’s come… It’s hard to believe that the little almost non verbal little guy of years past is now a very verbal, happy, and an almost run of the mill not quite 8 year old boy. He enjoys sports like basketball and bowling, likes to play video games on his game consoles and my computer, has so many friends at school and is loved by all who know him.

I can’t put into words how proud I am of my precious son… He has come light years but our journey isn’t finished yet. We still have many, many miles to go but we will take things one step, one hour, one day and one year at a time.

I’d like to thank all of my family, loved ones, my son’s teachers/PSA and helpers past and present, and all of our dear friends out there—both locally and online… For your support, your kind words, your love, prayers, everything! We couldn’t have made it this far without you! Love to all of you!

~Veridian~