Autism Dads

Father's Day is tomorrow. I wanted to point out a few things that separate Autism dads from the pack, and in my eyes, makes these men the Worlds Greatest. How did I get so lucky to marry such a great guy?
Here's just some of the things that my husband does:

You get down in the floor and play with your kid the only way you know how to.
It is okay if he doesn't look you in the eye.
Instead of t-ball on the weekends, it's walking side by side during hippotherapy.
So what if he is scooting around in your 200 dollar new dress shoes? He's imitating!
You jump for joy when he talks to you or greets you at the door.
"UP" means a workout where your child is the deadweight, and you do this till you can't anymore.
You buy and set up the biggest trampoline that can fit in the yard so you can jump with him too.
You don't hide his diagnosis
You walk with him and FOR him.
Bathroom time is now community time, and you don't care if he stares you down while you go.
Sometimes he feeds you food, although sometimes I wonder where he found that cracker at...
You reach out to help other families like ours by spreading knowledge we have learned along the way
The stares in public don't seem to embarrass you any longer.
It amazes you every time our son uses a spoon to eat, and he is 4.
You work long, late hours to allow me to stay at home to work on therapy.
Weekend Activities are planned around our sons and their interests/ability
You have spent hundreds of hours reading online and in books about autism.
You are man enough to admit your biggest fears
You are a rock when I need you the most
You are involved in every aspect of your sons life.
 He is not an embarrassment, mistake, or punishment. He is a gift, and you treat him so.

It's been a while

Blogging has helped me immensely. I haven't been on to write a new blog in nearly 6 months, but I need to be better at committing time to this. Blogging helps me vent, and let go of things. It is great for my own mental health as well.

On that note, I have been in a huge funk lately. Everything has been building up, and I have talked with the hubby that maybe it is time to seek a professional's guidance. I have been chronically and seriously depressed. I am at the point now where even if I won a mega millions jackpot, I might smile for a few, but then complain about all of the problems the money could bring. Rather than gripe about my problems in here, I am going to spend the rest of this blog speaking of the amazing accomplishments and things that have happened lately.... And save the misery for the doctor.
So in 6 months time, Cameron has explored and eaten a few more foods, he has said a TON more... Some of what he repeats is a little embarrassing, but what toddler/preschooler hasn't said something a bit embarrassing?

Casey has had a verbal explosion, and his favorite words lately are "NO", " PLEASE", and "THANK YOU". Guess who is copying? Yup. A big win in my book. echolalia or not, he is understanding that he can speak and express his feelings. He will say " Casey stop it" anytime he is mad or doesnt want something. I guess he has heard me say that phrase a lot... afterall, Casey is a typical 2 year old getting into EVERYTHING in sight. I just thought i had my house babyproofed u til he came along!

Another great moment.... Potty training. Both boys are soooo close. Cameron worked all year on potty training at school. The last few weeks of school, he was going with almost no accidents during the school day. He would come home, and I wasn't rigid enough with the potty schedule, so he didn't do so well here BUT now, if I tell him "go potty", he goes to his bathroom, lifts the seat, takes his pants off, and scoots onto the seat and pees about 80 percent of the time. Casey sees Cameron getting serious praise for the potty skills, and has said " pee pee potty", so I stick the toilet ring on, and take off his pants and diaper, plop him on, and about 50 percent of the time, he actually pees. I am hoping to have one, if not both boys daytime trained by the start of school.
This summer, I will be Cameron's teacher for a parents day out program. I feel like he will get more out of inclusion in a regular program with guidance from someone who really knows how to handle him. Since most of the teachers that run the summer program are younger and college aged, the director and I felt it would be best for me to be in his room, rather than teach somewhere else and run the risk of Cameron melting down and flipping out on his teachers. At least of it is me, I know how to handle it.
Cameron had an outstanding teacher, aides and therapists in this past year. He grew so much, that they named him most improved student in his classroom.  He also grew so much in this past year. I let his hair grow out, and boy o boy, the curls!!
I also attended the autism conference for the region. I saw a few other parents out there, but it was mainly administrators, general Ed teachers, special education teachers, and therapists. I heard Temple  Grandin's mother speak, ( here is a wiki link incase you have no clue who she  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin ) I learned a few techniques that I could try with Cameron in a few other seminars.
I thought I would leave you with a picture. Look how much he has physically changed. Next blog,  might include some video so you can see for yourself how far he has come developmentally. It has been a moving and powerful year.

Holidays are over... Sorta

For most people, the holidays came to an end yesterday. The new year is here, and life is getting back into the swing of things. For our household, "normal" will not return for a few more days.

Good people still exist

In this world, we see things that can harden so many people's hearts. We also see so much that shows us that those who give without regret do exist. For instance the hot topic of the week was about a New York policeman going into a shoe store and purchasing a pair of boots for a homeless barefooted man. The officer proceeded to place these boots on this man's feet.

Children Come First

The holidays are just around the corner, and my least favorite season is coming upon us.... winter. I am more of a summer gal myself. Lately, I have been in a bit of a funk, and I don't really know what to do to get out of it. I am trying desperately to find some daily happiness or a bright spot.I am surrounded and reminded of theses positive things constantly, but maybe some vitamin D is in order!  It has just been a lot harder to do, although, I will say that I really do have a lot to be thankful for. With that said, I think maybe I will write a few things out, just off the top of my head.

Show me the money

I am beginning to really understand how our income is becoming a factor in Cameron's future. It certainly stinks to be lower/middle class with a child on the spectrum. Every good parent wants to give their child the most they can, but when that "gift" is a chance at independence, it tugs on every heart string you have. We are about to embark on yet another attempt at potty training. This will be our 4th major attempt, and hopefully,the last. Back when my husband and I originally met with Cameron's teacher, they simply told us not to even worry about until they began training him in school. His teacher then told me that 9 out of 10 kids that they had the past year were potty trained by the time they were ready to move up to the next class. That was nice to hear, but I had at least 3 failed attempts under my belt and had read how hard it is to get children on the spectrum trained by other parents.

2 steps forward, 1 step back

Cameron got his first "report card" of sorts this past week. They updated information on his IEP as far as skills mastery, and things seem to be trucking along. For now, a lot of focus is on pre academic needs. Some of this stuff may not be mastered until he is a lot older, but again, I am just amazed at what he has been able to do. He is making more noise in class, and they say he frequently says "stop it". LOL. That is pretty fitting.