Look out Lance Armstrong!

HALLELUJAH!

We made it through our first day of circle time!! Yahoo! Nate has been loving school---everything until circle time. BUT today was hopefully a turning point. His teacher moved him out of the actual "circle" to give him some space--and that seemed to do the trick. When I picked him up his teacher said that she finally saw how much he enjoyed music! I had been telling her this but everything she had seen so far contradicted that. Anyway, here's hoping Nate keeps up the good work and the tolerance for circle time as they slowly start inching him back to the circle to participate.




The walk is just around the corner!! They send out a weekly newsletter and this little clip was in there on Toni Braxton...


The stars are aligned
Toni Braxton at rehearsal with her ‘show of support’ for autism.
Un-break My Heart, Grammy Award winner Toni Braxton is now appearing on the television show Dancing with the Stars.
Toni has a son with autism. During rehearsal segments, you will see her wearing her blue puzzle piece in support of Autism Speaks.
There was also an inspiring story written by a mom here in Columbus that I have met a few times at events...
Take a minute to read her story if you can.. http://www.walknowforautism.org/atf/cf/%7B2135C84C-B005-4BDB-9C86-789CDB482CBD%7D/MICROSOFT%20WORD%20-%20MY%20LIFE%20WITH%20CADEN.PDF
She has been traveling on this road a lot longer than I have--and it is so heartbreaking to hear the reality of this journey for her family.

Let there be LIGHT!

Whew! We have power again! What a crazy windstorm we had on Sunday. The power went out and it took a few days to get it back. It was quite interesting bathing the kiddos by flashlight. Fortunately, we are early risers and we hit the sack pretty much when the sun goes down so it wasn't THAT bad. We still had hot water the whole time--THAT would have thrown us for a loop if we didn't. We did have one big adventure though. Nate had breathing problems on Sunday night...he was wheezing horribly and couldn't catch his breath---normally we nebulize him to get it under control..but with no power that posed a bit of a problem. Aaron headed to Walmart in the middle of the night (they were open and had power) and bought a power inverter to hook to the cigarette lighter in the car. We hauled Nate out of bed and took him to the car to give him a breathing treatment and the inverter blew- the nebulizer was too powerful. AHHH! Needless to say we had a SLEEPLESS night- but didn't need to call 911. We were able to make it to a friend's house in the am that had power and he is doing better now.

I have included a picture of poor Neve's arm. We were doing puzzles in the playroom with the kids and Neve got too close to what Nate was doing and he took a big ol' chomp out of her. Bad Nate. Poor Neve. I try to tell myself that all siblings do this and Nate is no exception. lol. Is it wrong that I was happy that he at least acknowledged she was there? ;)

2 weeks down!

After today we will have made it through 2 full weeks of school!! That means no allergy attacks resulting in pickups! Yahoo! Nate is doing better and better in some areas, while others remain a challenge. Citcle time and music time are just way too much for him. He just shuts down and loses his mind. We are introducing these activities at home as well and hopefully the familiarity will help...I hope. He enjoys going to school though--it is so great to see him get out of the car, put his backpack on and get excited about going in the school. he washes his hands like a champ and LOVES his schedule board.
Biomedically we are chugging along. I think we have 2 more "new" supplements to start for this round..and then we will retest. I believe we are up to about 35 doses of supplements he takes every single day. I am amazed we keep it straight so well. I guess we have just gotten into a routine that works for us.
Nate has started back up at Little Gym and is doing great. This may be the last semester for him though. He is the biggest kid in his class by far as we needed to keep him in the parent-child class. The 3 yr old and up classes are kids only--and I don't think it is fair to disrupt the class by having Nate attend with an adult. Bummer. I will take the next few months to try and scout out a good fit perhaps in a special needs program.

here is some news that involves Nate's biomed doctor.....
http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/09/american-medica.html

THE WORD

We dreamed about what color hair and eyes Nate would have, what sports he would play, and what he would become when he grew up. No one dreams of Autism.

Autism affects every minute of our lives- how we sleep. what we eat, and how we spend our money. Birthdays and holidays are bittersweet. Vacations are nonexistent. There are NO days off. We have grown thicker skins yet are more compassionate, become advocates but more earth-friendly, and become every physician's nightmare while taking charge of our own heath care.

I started 2008 thinking I desperately needed to *find* more parents that we could "connect" with. Parents of Autistic children that knew EXACTLY what we were going through. Well I have met a lot. I have met quite a few right here in North Columbus. I was so excited. ---Let's just say I think I was barking up the wrong tree. I have met moms that could care less about sharing educational info. I have found moms that are such HUGE advocates for inclusion of children with disabilities that they seem to care less if that is really what is best for the individual child. I have met moms that are SO CONSUMED by Autism that they can't see out. They don't return calls. They don't show up for parties. They are so MISERABLE to be around or talk to that I think I found what I was looking for. I needed a wake up call.

I can't say for sure if Autism has pushed these moms over the edge, never to return. It is possible. Perhaps they were miserable people before all of this. It is hard to tell. I think it takes more than having an Autistic child in common to find that support system I am looking for. First of all, I laugh. Aaron and I laugh all day long--at ourselves, at others, at Neve, and yes, at Nate. We were sarcastic people before Autism and we still can see the humor in life. I hope that never changes.

I realized that I HAD a great group of mom friends that I have had since the day I moved to Ohio--and I just needed to turn back to them. I think I started pushing away since it is so hard to *explain* Nate. I also didn't think they understood all of this. ...and you know what? I know they don't get all of it--but my really close Friend here in Columbus said something to me that really changed my views- she said that she knows she is lucky . She knows that it could have been her baby. That her daughter just got lucky. Her daughter AND son were lucky. It was a simple statement- but I needed to hear it. I guess it just felt good for someone to realize that I did everything "right" and somehow I just got a raw deal-and Nate's number was up.

I ended up finding moms that DO understand Autism. -and it just so happens they are not moms of Autistic children. They are moms that want to learn more about it- and help in any way they can. They understand that I can't do certain things-and they KEEP ASKING and trying to include us. I am forever grateful we have such great friends here in Columbus--I guess I have had them all along. I just had my Autism Mom nose so far up I couldn't see them anymore...

To say that Aaron and I are different people than we were a year ago when our son was diagnosed is a vast understatement. We are undoubtedly more stressed and certainly financially poorer, but more importantly I believe we are better people. We are more open-minded, thoughtful, and unpretentious. Every we delight in the beauty and happiness of our own children and SHARE the joy and accomplishments of our friends' children. Every day we gain strength from Nate, whose love and hugs are the reason we get up every day and do it all over again.

What is Autism to us? Autism is a WORD. It is a word that has opened up the door to educational services that can help our son. It is a WORD that can one day help others understand that we are dealing with an uphill battle everyday of our lives and to maybe cut us some slack. I don't have time for people that are so wrapped up In the WORD that they can't see out. They are offended by calling our children "autistic"- saying that it is a label and does not define who they are as children. Of course it doesn't. I just find that an ignorant argument. It is just a WORD. ..and quite frankly I don't have time to sit around and worry about it.

I am off to ride bikes with my beautiful, bright, funny, loving, athletic, darling, graceful, ornery, nice, naughty, sad, frustrated, charming, happy, excited, & AUTISTIC son, Nate. :)