Monday, April 29, 2013

Words Hurt

Words can be powerful.  Good, bad, funny, silly, mean; whatever, if they are used properly, even unknowingly, they can be stronger than muscle.  This I have known for a while.  Not just from being a mom of a kid that doesn't fit into the "normal" mold, but from just living life.  If someone makes a snide comment about you, life moves on.  When someone makes a snide comment about your partner, you get a little more upset but you brush it off.  You make a comment about my kid, its harder to get over, and if it happens to be the one with autism, yeah its that much harder. 




Today we had to take the baby to an ears, nose and throat (ent) doctor to see if he would need to have tubes put into his ears.  My husband and my aspie went along to support the baby and to hear what the doctor had to say.  It is at this point normal ends.

You see here is a little dirty secret that I can't remember if I have ever shared before.  My aspie still uses a bottle.  Yes, he is four.  Yes, I know it can hurt his teeth.  Yes, I know that there are probably a million other reasons why he shouldn't do it, but there are a few reasons we still let him use it.  One, it something that soothes him down during times of anxiety or meltdowns.  Nothing else works, but with this he can calm down by himself.  Another reason is if he does not get it during one of these times, he rubs his thumb nail into his palm so hard that he causes himself to bleed.  Although he will still do it when he has a bottle, it does lighter so that no bleeding occurs.  Yet another reason is because he has a tendency to bite, actually its a bad tendency.  Sometimes for no reason he bites and if other things do not take away that urge, he gets the bottle.  So there you have it, our life with a bottle.  Oh, and yes the baby (2 year old) still gets one too.  Monkey see monkey do.  My husband and I have settled into the fact that our sons will need braces and oh well.  Its better than plastic surgery for bite scars and injuries. 

Today then, when we went to the ent, my aspie had a bottle.  It was a new place with strange people but I wanted him to go to get used to new things thrown into our days.  Its our new goal for this summer.  Exposure and try new things.  When the doctor came in to see the baby, he didn't take two steps into the room and he said.  "How old are you?" to my aspie.  My aspie surprising answered back "4."  I was happily surprised my aspie talked to him, but then I heard the words, "Aren't you too old for that bottle?"  I saw my hubbies face turn instantly angry and I said calmly because it honestly happens all the time to us at the store that is not Walmart, "My son has Asperger's syndrome.  This helps."  Usually I say my son has autism but today with a doctor I figured he knew what the diagnosis of Asperger's entails.  He had the same face that most people get after you say that.  That foot in mouth face with a stuttering of words that come afterwards.  The rest of the appointment went on just fine with the news that on Thursday our little man will get tubes in. 

When we got to the car, my husband was upset with the doctor for what he said to our oldest.  His reasoning is that our aspie already has social issues.  Making him feel even more unusual or different or odd is not the goal, and it coming from someone in the medical field who most likely sees odd things everyday should know to hold his tongue, especially to a little kid.  And honestly I get that.  And if I think about it too much I get upset.  Do I not think about it, no, I still do but in an odd sort of way.  I have that Let'em Look tude.

We are a society that judges.  Its the truth.  See a person with a million tattoos, you look twice, or even stare uncontrollably.  See someone in a wheelchair, you look.  See someone with pink hair, ya look, I know you do.  See someone with enough jewelry on to be a Mr T impersonator you look.  Why?  It's not the norm.  The standard norm in today's society is that they get rid of the bottle at 1 year because that's what's right for kids that fit that cookie cutter mold.  Mine does not, so people stare and make comments.  With all this craze about bullying, you would think that people would be more aware to not say things but they are not.  How is bullying different from judging others?  It's not.  It's the same.  A grown man pointed out my son's differences today in a snide comment way.  Judging/bullying.  But I think.... do it.  I will be there to ensure my son knows that he is amazing. If you tear him down, I will build him back up and make him a better man for doing so.  I will ensure that he knows that he doesn't need other peoples approval to have self-confidence.  He just needs to love himself.  That's my ideal anyway.  Here's why I think that.

I see kids everyday that deal with so many issues and struggles, far more severe than drinking a bottle or being socially awkward.  Some that I know will not be on this earth to see there 16, 18, 21st birthday, and you know what...those are the kids that have the most confidence.  They let people stare, and don't care and you know why?  It's because they know what other people think is the small stuff.  That their tough life has taught them to let the small stuff like that roll off their backs and to concentrate on the good positive in life.  To live your life how you see ifit to live it and if other people don't approve or don't like it, too bad. 

Do I worry if my kids fit the "norm."  Oh yeah!  I do many times, especially before my aspie's diagnosis.  But then I started hearing other mom's dirty secrets of letting their kids sleep with them, of their ten year old still sleeping with a blankie ,of letting their kids not bathe for three to four days in a row and I think to myself, oh yeah no one is the "norm."  We have the what we tell others and what we actually do.  What we tell people fits and what we do might not.  So here's my advice.  Do what you can to be the best possible parent for your specific situation.  And if you see something different, go ahead and look, because hell if I can stop you.  And if you see the house of crazies coming your way....have some Silk milk ready to pour into my aspie's bottle....and maybe some margaritas for mine.  :)

**Jerry Update.  I posted on Bipolar, Asperger's and Margaritas Facebook page that Jerry the hamster had a accident and broke his leg.  He is still doing okay and is eating and drinking well today.  We are hoping he pulls through.  Aspie is very concerned and being a good nurse to his beloved patient!***

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Put me in coach!!!!


Our view of the Pittsburgh Pirate's Ballgame!
My son has taken a recent interest in baseball, mainly because Charlie Brown plays baseball and he has become a HUGE Charlie Brown fan as of late.  Coincidently, my grandfather bought my aspie a ball glove and ball for his Christmas that he has now been using so he can be like Charlie Brown.  So when I saw that the Pittsburgh Pirates were sponsoring an Autism Day with proceeds for the day's game benefiting Autism Speaks, I decided it was time to take our son to his first professional sports game. 


As we drove to the field, which is about an hour away, we could tell that our aspie was getting nervous for the day's big event.  He began to talk to himself quietly in the back seat.  Every once in a while I could hear what he was saying and of course he was scripting a quote from the Charlie Brown All-Stars cartoon, where they play baseball and lose.  As we got closer to the ball field, he started to quote louder and more often, which was a sign that he was very nervous; but he never cried, nor had a meltdown so we knew he was excited as much as he was nervous.  When we finally arrived and parked, we hopped out of the car to an excited crowd of people ready to root on the Pirates.  Seeing that our aspie was pretty afraid of the people, my husband hoisted him on top of his shoulders and away we went.  As we were approaching the stadium my hubbie kept asking our son if he was cold because he could feel him shivering, and it wasn't until the third questioning that he finally whispered that he was scared of all these people.  After some reassurance, he got down and was able to walk through security.  Luckily that day, children received a "rally towel" which became sort of a security blanket for my aspie, and his glove that he wore to catch fly balls became a mask.  So, with towel in hand and glove over his face we made our way to our seats. 

There is nothing like walking through a dark tunnel to see the emergence of the luscious green field, the thousands of seats of fans, the beautiful buildings of Pittsburgh in the background.  It's breathtaking.  My aspie was even taken back at the sight.  He had a look of amazement in his big beautiful brown eyes that quickly turned to fear when he realized the amount of people around him.  It wasn't until we were seated, he had put on his headphones to block out noise, and he was munching on nachos that he finally started to relax.  Out of no where though, he flew out of his seat,and said "when do I go down there and play...they need me!"  We at first laughed and tried to explain to him that we were only going to watch this game.  He insisted that he had to be on Charlie Brown's team and they were depending on him, or at least that's what I think he was saying because it was mainly in quotes from the cartoon. Once we convinced him that the players were Daddy's age and size and they would be too rough on a "big boy," he settled into the game and really started to enjoy it. 

We had such a wonderful, enjoyable time.  We had no major breakdowns or meltdowns.  We had no awkward moments or incidents, we just had a great time.  Pappy, hubs, aspie and I were pretty much smiling the entire time.....almost anyway.  It was me, that for a moment shed some tears.  For sitting next to me was a teenager, I would guess 18 or 19, who had autism.  When he was ushered to his seat earlier I had seen that he was wearing a puzzle piece pin with an I Have Autism inscription on it.  He sat near me leaving a seat in-between us in the beginning, but some new people had arrived forcing him to take the seat next to me.  I had things on the seat not expecting anyone to sit there and didn't realize he was moving into the seat until he had already sat down on the stuff.  His father helped me get the stuff and we all rearranged our belongings.  I could tell him sitting next to me was making him nervous because he kept fidgeting.  I also kept noticing him looking at my son, with his headphones on standing, sitting, standing, sitting and quoting Charlie Brown lines.  Me, sitting in between my four year old an this teenager made me feel like I was sitting between the present and the future. 

It was apparent that baseball was this kid's "thing."  He would repeat each players names when they were up to bat and would make calls before the umpire.  He would try to cheer when appropriate but it came out in a sort of yell.  He loved the beat of the music to cheer the team on, and he completed the statistics in his head before the scoreboard could do it.  I so badly wanted to talk to him to make him feel at ease to sit next to me, but didn't want to upset him.  Finally in between the fourth and fifth innings I made my move.  "It seems like you know a lot about baseball.  I bet you watch a lot of games."  He smiled really big and said, "Yes, I watch every game I can."  "Oh wow, that's great!" I said.  "Do you come to a lot of games?"  This answer took him awhile because he got so nervous to talk, even though he was smiling.  "No, I only come to the Autism Day games," he responded.  "Oh, well that's great!" I said, then I noticed him looking at my son again.  "My son has autism too" I said as I pointed to his pin on his jacket.  He smiled.  We sat there for a second and I looked over to see a tear come down his cheek.  "This is his first game and I'm glad I got to sit next to you so I can learn more about the game," I said.   And that was all.  That was all I could muster before I started crying the quiet tears that you wipe away.  After that, he stopped fidgeting and I went back to focusing on my aspie and answering all of his many questions about the game. 

As we left the game, with the Pirates scoring a win, a "rally" towel, a t-shirt that my aspie caught, and full bellies, I left with a sense that it wouldn't be our last time to the stadium since my aspie stated that the game "was awesome."  And I also left with the feeling that my son's future is unknown and I am sure there will be times when he gets nervous and anxious, but if he just tries and pushes through the fears of going to a game, of talking to a stranger sitting next to him or even just to walk through a crowd of people that there are "awesome" things that can result.  That the fear is only inside and the outside has a world of amazing things that I don't want him to miss out on. I couldn't be prouder of my son that day for facing his fears, and of a complete stranger who I know faced his fears by talking to me and who showed that he understood what my son was going through with his tear.  I think that boy is one of those strangers in life that you never forget and wonder about forever.  What a great day for a ballgame! 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

What the hell...

What the hell has been going on these last few days.  This week seems to be so backwards, upside down, and crazy and I just don't understand it.  Is there a full moon?  Did someone put an extra dose of crazy in the public water?  Are the celestial bodies miss-aligned?  I have to wonder because not only is the world going crazy but our kids are too!  I swear to you something is going on....

To start my aspie has had a few rough days.  And when I say rough, I mean the not sleeping, not eating, hitting what ever would come close enough to let him, biting, screaming "I had enough" so many times that it was like nails on a chalkboard, and crying kind of days.  Luckily, these days have become few and far between, and he seems to go in and out of it quicker than pre-therapy days, but the days he is feeling like are hard on all of us.  (It's crazy because he seems to be okay at school and at therapy, but the minute he comes home or even on the way home it starts.)  I had a feeling it was coming because my husband went away of a short fishing trip.  This little change in my aspie's life is huge to him.  The whole time he was gone, he honestly didn't seem like it affected him, yet when my husband came home....holy hell.  Life was a mess for a few days. I thought well, here we go the after math from his trip, but then I get to therapy on Monday and every kid in there was going insane!  They were all crying, hitting, screaming, not doing what they were suppose to, and every parent/caretaker and therapist had that oh my gosh what is going on look on their face.  I don't think anyone else noticed that other people's kids doing the same thing because they were all concentrating on their own.  I walked out of there thinking, I swear something is going on.  Not two minutes later, I get Tweets about the Boston bombing, and my heart sank.  What in the world???  The world is going nuts!

On top of it, I can see my husband struggling the forces within him too.  He will not say it, but I can tell in how he is walking, talking and acting. It's like watching Luke Skywalker fighting the forces between good and evil.  (And I am sure this is not the correct way to say that to all you Star Wars people out there, but you know what I mean.)  All I can say is walk towards the white good force honey, but if the dark takes over...go fishing. 

The baby, the BABY is not even his normal self.  I say that especially now that he is currently in a diaper only, holding raw Ramen noodles in each hand (because it is the only thing he will not throw across the room), using his heels to spin on his butt around and around and around in a circle.  Does that seem normal to you?  It doesn't to me since this is the first time he ever done it.  He has been so mean lately, and honestly hasn't stopped pooping since Monday!  Not diarrhea, just poop.  From where its coming, I have not a clue because the little shit hasn't eaten well since Monday either.  I think the world's evil might very well be getting cleanse through my baby's bottom.  Who knows...

Even my car can feel and decided to not to allow me to unlock the doors and to not allow my drivers side window to go up nor down; therefore, not allowing me to go through Starbucks and get a Earl Gray Tea Latte without looking ghetto by getting my order through the ole' open the door and grab method. Yup, even my car.

And so I declare enough.....ENOUGH!  If you are a mean, heartless, negative, jerkoff that would like to hurt innocent people, say mean comments, or put judgment on everyone else please STOP.  You are throwing off the good karma of the world and I am suffering for it.  If you are the type of person who wakes up mad in the morning and make us all suffer for it, go back to bed.  Again, the negative energy you are putting out there is hitting me smack dab in the face.  Please stop.  If you are a witch that has mother earth in the clutch of her hands and is squeezing the good juices out.  We get it...you are all powerful and please return us to the good=bad scenario.  And if this could all be done before the weekend....I would really appreciate because I want to have a nice one with my family...who's with me!!!!?????

***I know I am not the only one with a crazy week and although I am ranting here yet again, I understand that I at least have my loved ones to hold and hug.  My heart goes out to everyone in the many places that have lost loved ones in recent events, both US and worldwide.***

Sunday, April 14, 2013

This is how Jerry Rolls

Here is how Jerry (the hamster) has been rolling lately.  My aspie wakes up, jumps from his bed and checks on Jerry.  He then gives him a yogurt treat, whether Jerry is up or not, then takes him downstairs to play trains, cage and all.  If he has to go to the bathroom, Jerry goes.  If he goes into the kitchen for a drink, Jerry goes.  If the dogs get to close to Jerry, our aspie screams, "Stay back you miscreant!"  (From the Ice Age movie.)  When we go anywhere in the car, to school, therapy, or the grandparents, Jerry goes cage and all.  And when it's time for bed, Jerry is taken to his bedroom and place on the desk where he can be seen at any moment during the middle of the night if my aspie wakes up.  And, thanks to the wonderful teachers at my aspies pre-school, Jerry even got to go to school for show-and-tell last Thursday.  He was so excited he could hardly stand it!  His teacher said he gave her hugs all day thanking her for letting him bring Jerry!  On the way home he stated that Jerry liked going to school and like his new friends but didn't like it when all his friends surrounded him, just like him. 

Now normally I would be oh so happy with how amazingly attentive my son it being to this hamster.  I would be describing how this little critter is the first thing that my son has shown really emotional attachment to besides of course trains.  I would be bragging about how my aspie will get dressed without a fight if I say Jerry can come with us.    But instead though, I am going to tell you how the Jerry situation has sent me straight to the cabinet to take another anti-anxiety pill. Why? Because Jerry is knocking on death's door literally every minute of every day.  Poor Jerry is living in the house of hell, if you are a three inch long hamster.  With three dogs, two cats, a two foot terror baby and an over attentive aspie, this thing sees horror around every corner. 

If you look through the eyes of a hamster this is what you would see:

  1. My aspie's hand inside your cage re-arranging your food bowl, treats, alfalfa carrot, fluffing your wood chips, etc.  You actually do not get a great rest, because my aspie would be too concerned that your housing arrangements are not just right.
  2. Charlie the dog staring at you, just waiting for the opportunity to snap and finally have you in his mouth.  (Charlie looks at Jerry drooling as if he is a big fat juicy steak, in a the modern day Tom in Jerry style comedy.)
  3. You would be constantly moving.  (Since Jerry goes everywhere with my son, his caged is constantly being moved, slid, and spun so that he will be in my aspie sight at all times.)
  4. You will see and ride in the car.  I am not sure if hamster get car sick, but I sure hope not, because he goes in the car when we go in the car, if we are not going to the store, since we would not leave him unattended.  But, if mommy hits the brakes a little to hard, Jerry goes flying through his cage, since there is no hamster size seat belt.  My aspie has requested one, but we have not found one as of yet.....and never will.
  5. Cats looking into your cage when your cage has been sitting still long enough.  (My cats do hunt mice, and since he is just an over sized mouse, if given the chance, I fear Jerry will become a trophy that I will find next to their food bowl in the morning...)
  6. The baby.  Enough said. 
  7. My aspie screaming into your cage because you must have not heard him when the first 52 times he called your name.
  8. The tub.  (My aspie one night thought that Jerry needed to take a tubbie with him and the baby.  Of course I was in there to stop the catastrophe from unfolding, but it took lots of convincing to not toss the cage into the bathtub with him.)  
  9. My husband trying to pick you up at my aspie's request.  Now, my hubbie loves Jerry like the rest of us, but if Jerry unexpectedly bites him I am not sure that my husband instant reaction wouldn't be to throw him across the room.  It's not that my husband would do it in anger but more reaction.  This is the man that punches out in his sleep if I try to roll him over when he is snoring too loud.  This is the man that went running line backer style through the house when I woke him up telling him that our dog was sick, but to him it sounded like I said ninja's were breaking in.  Let's just say, his reaction is to fight, not flight...and Jerry wouldn't stand a chance. 
  10. The ball.  This is how Jerry has been rolling as of late.  We got him a ball so that he could roll around the house and get a little more exercise.  This has become my aspie's favorite thing for Jerry.  This way, Jerry can "follow" him and he can carry him a little more easily than in the cage.  Of course I only let Jerry be in the ball for 15-30 minutes at a time, but my son is constantly at his cage with the ball trying for him to climb in because "he likes it." 
And there you have it...Jerry's life with us in a nut shell.  My son loves Jerry more than anything else right now, and he has been in our life for over a week now, which is better than the fish...:(  I am sure that Jerry will live a long a healthy life with us here in the house of crazies.  But if something should happen, I have lots of pictures of him, and I am sure the hubs will visit ever pet show this side of the Mississippi to get a new "Jerry." 

Monday, April 8, 2013

Awww...My sweet darling

After my bunny Lulu died a few years back, I swore that I would NEVER have another small animal in a cage.  I just hated the idea of a small animal that I couldn't let run free in my home due to having larger cats and dogs that might harm it.  Needless to say that I said NEVER prior to having kids.  I said NEVER prior to my four year olds big beautiful brown eyes looking at me as he pleaded his case in that oh so cute monotone voice.  I said NEVER before I realized I was a sucker who just told her son yes to getting a hamster.  So, I was hating myself yesterday as we were driving home from the local pet store for saying NEVER. 

It all started because I needed cat food and decided it was time to take my aspie to a new store.  This weekend, we set off to go to the pet store, never dreaming that he would see anything in there that he liked.  When we went in, he saw fish in the aquariums.  "FISH" he exclaimed and went running in the direction of the fish section.  "Oh wow, look at these fish, mommy," he said pointing to the feeder fish.  There are so many fish, he said in his low tone.  He went running back and forth looking at the fish.  Of course when the little girl in the section asked if he needed anything, he looked down at the floor and hid behind his Daddy, but he didn't run away from us, so score one for the aspie.  He spent the rest of the time in this section as I went and got the cat food and some toys for the dogs.  When I arrived back to tell them I was done, I got the I want one look from my aspie.  I looked at his dad and we had one of those conversations via exchange of looks that parents have when they don't want to talk in front of the kids, and in a matter of minutes we had a five gallon aquarium and some fish in our cart.  Our aspie kept wanting to hold them for the rest of the trip until finally we got home and got them in his aquarium.  He could barely fall asleep that night due to his excitement, and as soon as his eyes popped open the next morning he sprang out of bed and checked on his fish.  "MOMMMMM they are floating!!!"  Those are words by the way which are not the best to hear when you are in a dead sleep.  After being confused for the first five minutes, I finally remembered our fish adventure the day prior and hopped out of bed to see what he was talking about.  Yup, he was right, all the fish were dead and floating on the top of the water.  My aspie was so upset.  "I killed them!"  he said crying.  "No honey, they must have been sick fish and something happened."  After Daddy checked them out and agreed to the time of death, we told our sad son that we would get ready and go get more fish.  After some convincing off we went back to the pet store for some more fish. 

Are you confused as to how then we ended up with a hamster?  Yeah, me too!  When we went in we went straight to the fish section where he and the hubs went through looking at more fish.  I walked the baby around to entertain him and ended up looking at the hamsters and guinea pigs which were moving and made the baby happy.  Aspie and Daddy found us in that section when aspie spotted this fawn hamster who was running in the wheel.  "Oh, isn't he the cutest!  Awwww, he such a sweet darling!"  My husband looked at me, picked up the baby, said its your call and walked out the door leaving me to deal with the aspie and his sweet darling. 

My son started talking in this high pitch tone that I have never heard him produce before.  "Well hey there lil' cutie. Aren't you precious.  You look like Jerry."  These were the things he was saying in this high pitch tone.  I was getting mad because I could feel myself cracking under the pressure of my 4 year old.  No, I kept thinking to myself.  No hamsters, I will end up taking care of the hamster.  "Mom, isn't he cute! Doesn't he look just like Jerry (from Tom and Jerry)? I think we should take him home and I can be his daddy and I can feed him and I can play with him and I could..........five minutes later of repeating......to finally, Mom, can I keep him?"  And then it happened.  The words floated out my mouth so effortlessly even though I was screaming NOOOOO on the inside.  "Yes, sure honey, you can take him home."  And there you have it.  How we got Jerry the hamster. 

There is so much more to tell you about Jerry that I am going to publish part II to the Jerry saga!  Stay tuned!!!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Noggin

Our baby needs a helmet.  Not because of the flying things in our home that I have written about before, but because he literally is the clumsiest child I know.  He hits his head constantly.  Sometimes it's his fault, sometimes its his brother's fault, sometimes its the puppy that knocks him over, and sometimes its some act of God that occurs that causes him to bump his noggin.

For instance tonight, I was trying to write another post when I had to stop five times to kiss the head of my baby.  I kid you not.  I stopped so many times that I couldn't even keep my train of thought and abandoned all hope for it.  He bumps his head so often that I now know by the type of cry and the actions afterwards how serious the matter is.  For instance, if he sits down, rubs his head and lets out a dying cat like cry, its only a minor bump and something will distract his pain momentarily.  No active kiss of reassurance from mommy needed.  If there is crying, with tears, active heading rubbing and the walking towards the kitchen for an ice cube, I know that a kiss is needed and we probably have a lump on our hands.  If however, a silent cry begins with no rubbing, its probably a massive bump, immediate attention is needed, with lots of mommy kisses and a bag of ice instead of one cube.  Yes, we have our system fully worked out. 

I shouldn't blame all of his bumps on his clumsiness because living with his older brother the baby has had sort of a thrown into the fire kind of up bringing.  Our aspie has no sense of being easy or gentle with his brother.  He is full on tackle, hit, punch, scratch, pinch, bite, and attack with his baby brother.  And although we try so hard to correct our aspie and try to stop situations before they happen, we are not perfect and there are times that the baby takes some hard hits. By the time our baby hit 14 months or so, he was walking really well and when his older brother would run towards him he would immediately sit down on the floor to avoid a bear hug tackle that was his brother's favorite way to "play" with him.  By 16 months, the baby was able to pick up the pace and move out of the way of his brother and come yelling for mommy if he touched a train that was not aspie approved, and by 18 months, he was starting to just try to out run him.

We knew that there would be a time though that baby would stand up to aspie and even maybe instigate it, and that day has come.  A few nights ago, my aspie was getting his nightly cuddle in the recliner with his daddy and the baby was playing at my feet.  The baby saw an opportunity that he must have been waiting for for a long time, he stopped playing ran over and hit his older brother on the head with his train as hard as he could.  Of course, our aspie yelled out and after dad calmed him down they went back to cuddling.  Baby thought that once was not enough so he went back over to hit his older brother again.  Ever hear the phase, do it once shame on you, do it twice, shame on me?  Well, older brother was ready, and hit him on the head with is cup the moment baby came over for the attack.  Train went flying, cup went flying, baby went into silent scream and a pack of ice was needed.  The whole time though hubs and I couldn't stop laughing.  Call it twisted humor if you will but it was one of the funniest things we had seen from the two of them in a while. 

Over the last couple of months we have really seen our Aspie and baby connect and bond.  They love each other so much and its so special to watch, but that doesn't mean that they will never stop getting into it.  And of course, baby is clumsy, brother is older, bigger, and for now a little wiser and therefore bumps on the coconut will be a plenty.  All I can do for now is keep the ice on hand and the kisses flowing.   

***Update!!!  Today in the mail we got two huge letters.  One stating that our son was approved for medical assistance (FINALLY!) and the other from Highmark stated that they re-evaluated our son's case and approved his therapy coverage for the next 24 treatments!!!  Thank you to everyone who helped us with suggestions and recommendations and for passing our story along!  It truly helped our son obtain the therapy and treatments he so needs!!  Thanks again!****

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

BLUE!!!


The month of April is Autism Awareness Month!  Today, April 2nd, is light is up blue day to bring autism awareness to light around the world! Please show your support for autism by wearing blue, posting a pic on your social media page or lighting your house blue.  Believe it or not, many people still do not know what autism is or how it affects those who have it.  The other day someone asked my husband if autism was like having asthma.  Many people have at least heard of the word autism, but still do not understand that it is a syndrome that someone will have for the rest of their lives. 

Even those who deal with autism everyday are still confused; much like us.  What causes it?  Why does our child have it?  What therapies should we do?  What organizations should we support?  With so many questions and so many unanswered problems it is nice to have one day to put it all aside and just stand up and say, I know someone who has autism and I care.  I am autism aware, and for today that is all we need to do.  To stand united and say, light it up blue for autism today!

For more fun ways to light it up blue go to my Facebook page by clicking here!




My aspie also wanted me to post these two pics of his favorite BLUE trains.  Think Thomas and Gordon being blue is a coincidence....I think not!!!