Magnetix / Ignorance

K.C. has been playing with his magnet set quite a bit this week. I have managed to keep his little hands busy and have done lots of lotion rubs on his arms and it's working! He isn't pinching himself as much and I am very happy about that and sure that K.C. is too. Thank you guys for all the great ideas regarding the pinching :)
We took my Mother grocery shopping with us today. She sometimes goes with us and my brother stays home with my Dad. I think she likes getting out of the house for a bit during the day. She lives near ASU so we went shopping at a grocery store that was only 15 minutes from the university. K.C. held my Mom's hand as we walked in the store. I really believe he likes to see my Mom but he just can't show it yet.
Inside the store it seemed most of the shoppers we college students. As we walked near the eggs K.C. stopped and stared up at the ceiling. I put my hand on his back and gave him a little push to keep him walking. He would not budge. My Mom said, "just give him a few minutes, there's no hurry." So we did just that, we talked and I held the eggs in my hand as I talked to my Mom, I thought maybe people walking by would think we were just talking about the eggs while we let K.C. be. After a few minutes I put my hand on his back and said "walk." He walked but then he started moving his fingers quickly and staring at them. This kid can make his fingers move fast! He was walking and flicking. He wasn't watching where he was going at all. Just watching the fingers. I held onto the back of his shirt and guided him and his fingers to the checkout. As we waited K.C. was good. He continued to play with his fingers and then it happened. I heard someone laughing. Then I heard someone say, "your so mean!" A young man was laughing at my baby, the young lady was telling him how "mean he was to be laughing at that little boy." My mother turned around gave them a dirty look. The young girl wasn't really laughing at K.C. it was the guy who was.
We just ignored them but it really got me thinking. I have been thinking about it all day long. K.C. is doing an awesome of job of going to the store and I am so proud of him. I really think he stims to keep himself calm. He is learning to cope all on his own in his own way. I will be damned if I try to stop him because it "looks weird or people think it's not appropriate." Then I wondered why is it that K.C. has to change? Why can't people learn to accept him for who he is? They are the ones who need to change, not my 6 year old boy. He isn't hurting anyone and he shouldn't be laughed at by adults. Shame on them.

Chinese Store and Pinching

The Boys and their Daddy and I went to visit the Chinese store today. We bought bean sprouts, noodles, (alcohol, their Dad not me) Shrimp crackers and a few other things. K.C. did very well in the store, it was quite crowded and noisy but he made it through fine. He likes to look around so much so he runs into people if I am not holding his hand and weaving our way through people. Today as we stopped to look at Tofu, another man was standing near us reading a package and K.C. ran his hands along the back of his shirt. I have to watch and remember that he loves to feel things. The man just smiled at him. Most people are understanding and will smile.

K.C. loves to open the doors in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. He'll open every single one of the doors if I let him. I try to hurry through that part of the store, get what I need and move on.

Yesterday evening K.C. started pinching and pinching. He pinched his arms so much it looks as though the blood under the skin has come to the top. I don't know why he is doing this. He doesn't look angry when he does but looks very determined to pinch and pinch. I distracted him as much as I could yesterday from pinching. We even got out of the house and took at trip to a thrift store. K.C. picked out a little bag of action figures and we brought those home and it kept his hands busy for awhile. This morning the pinching started again :( He doesn't look upset at all. I don't know why he's pinching but hope he forgets about it soon. I am trying not to bring too much attention to the pinching cause I know he'll just do it more.

Last night we got some rain! I was able to open the door and let the boys watch it rain. Gosh I miss seeing it rain, I would love to see a good thunderstorm!

School and stuff.

Everything is going well these days. We are in the 30 Th consecutive day of triple digit weather here in AZ.

K.C. had a check up at the doctors office yesterday and he now weighs 74 pounds! The doctor was not happy about that and asked me to give him only one snack when he gets home from school and to be sure it's healthy. Oy vey!
I really believe that it's the heat doing it. I mean we can hardly get out to do anything because of the heat he gets very little exercise. In the Winter he'll lose the weight. He also had to get a second Chicken Pox shot. The Doctor said the kiddos need two now. I can hardly keep up with the shots he does have! He got the shot and was very grumpy the rest of the day. This morning he was fine, smiling and ready for school! In Motor Lab he walked on a treadmill for 6 minutes! He also lay on his stomach and allowed the teacher to push him on a platform swing. He did an obstacle course as well. He's also working on letter and number recognition, hand over hand handwriting and numbers on a white board. He's comes off the bus happy each day. I wrote the teacher an introduction letter that told the most important things about K.C. Since he's not talking I thought it would be a good idea to write a letter so they can help him better. She said it was the first "Introduction" letter she had ever got and was very happy to get it. That made me feel relieved :)
College Boy has been hanging out with Big Brother teaching him to long board. Big Brother loves long boarding and I think College Boy loves it just as much. Tonight College Boy is coming by to pick Big Brother up to go to a skateboard shop. Big Brother is totally happy about it. Dad isn't happy with the skateboarding, he thinks he "should be studying." I believe you have to be a kid as well. Your only a kiddo once! Big Brother still studies quite a bit and it's really just this year that he's been like a regular kiddo. Playing outside and getting dirty.
We are looking forward to cooler temps, pray for cooler weather.

The above pictures, K.C. in College Boys room listening to his IPOD and Big Brother Boarding and College Boy boarding.

Answer to a question.

In my last post "Anonymous" left a comment or two that said, "Anonymous said...

Here's my question---why are you publicizing all of this on your blog?

My answer...

A Blog is like journal, for me, it's the easiest way to publish my thoughts and to connect with other Parents who have children with Autism. I really believe that having other Parents to connect to, has been a huge support for me. I can only pray I have helped another Parent by sharing K.C.'s journey through his Autism. Sharing ideas with each other makes this journey a little bit easier.

What I do not understand is why you always use "anonymous" to comment? Why are you always attacking us Parents?

No matter, no more anonymous comments on this blog.

Anonymous said, "You are a thief."

I say... I am a mother doing everything I possibly can to help my son with Autism.

To NOT help my son would make me a true thief.

K.C. is doing great at his new school!

Yesterday was K.C.'s first day at his new school! I dropped Big Brother off at his school then drove to my Parents house (which is very close to Big Brother's School) and we waited outside for the school bus. K.C. looked very nervous cause he was rocking back and forth from foot to foot, but, when the bus came around the corner he smiled! The driver is an older gentleman and he put K.C.'s harness on him and buckled him into his seat. I am so very proud of how well K.C. did with the transition! The day before he started school (this is his second day) he looked at the pictures of his new classroom alot. When he got on the bus he had the picture of his new classroom with his new teacher standing outside the door in his hand. When K.C. got on the bus I followed in my car. I didn't tell anyone I would be following so that I could see how it went coming off the bus. K.C. was the last one being picked up on the route so the bus headed straight for the school. I parked so that K.C. could not see my car but I could still see the bus. I seen the teacher and aides waiting outside for the students and watched them get off one by one. K.C. was last to get off (probably because of the harness) and when he did come off the bus he hesitated and tried to get back on the bus. I know he must have been a little confused. The teacher took his hand and got down to his eye level and was talking to him. I could see she was smiling at him and off they kids went to class. There are 8 children in his room. His teacher called me twice during the school day to let me know, "he is doing WONDERFUL!" I am so relieved and so proud of him. The note his teacher sent home said he ate chicken nuggets, wouldn't touch the veggies, drank apple juice. He went to APE, Motor Lab and Speech Therapy. They also sent home some of his papers he did at school. He is working on tracing straight lines with hand over hand. There is so much more but I wanted to give you guys an idea of what his day was like. I am thankful that my Parents let me use their address. K.C. and Big Brother have a room at my Parents house. It's a room they share if there is a guest. K.C. has some of his stuff in the room and Big Brother has lots of his stuff there. If the school wanted to come visit they are more than welcome to. When K.C. attended preschool, his preschool teacher said they only make home visits for children in preschool. K.C. is now in 1st grade and is in school til 3:30. My Parents have lived in the city K.C. goes to school at for years. They are taxpayers and have a son (my brother) with Autism. We live at my Parents retirement home (was supposed to be their retirement home) but K.C., Big Brother and I live here and their Daddy when he's in town. I gave a timeline of 6 months because if we did move and find a house of our own, we would have to work something out with my Parents and not leave them hanging.
I did what's best for K.C. He is deserves the best, "all children with Autism deserve the very best" as a good friend wrote. I agree. I love this little boy with all my heart and would do anything to see that he is happy. Even if it means using my Parents address.
Thank you to all my friends who have been so supportive. We love you guys dearly and you mean alot to us. Thank you :)

I found a program for K.C.

Today I found an Autism class for K.C.! He begins tomorrow! I had to use my Mom's address so that he could attend the program, but, it will be so much better than the other option.
The children in this Autism class are all non verbal like K.C. and the teacher is big on Academics and learning to use the Augmentative Device and Signs. It's an ABA type class which is great for K.C. cause that's how he's learned so far, using ABA. The program director says the teacher next door to K.C.'s Autism class has 29 years of experience with Autistic kids and that K.C.'s new teacher did all of her learning under the teacher with 29 years.
I feel some guilt not telling the truth about my address :( In fact it's bothered me alot. I really feel in my heart I had no other options for K.C. and felt he'd be in danger at the other program. I am considering moving closer to the school for K.C. but will have to wait at least 6 months before I can make it happen. Besides I need to see how he responds to the program. I feel so much better knowing he'll be safe and that he'll definitely be learning! Wish us luck tomorrow!

Bump In The Road

Big Brother is doing well :) Sore, but well. K.C. did not do so well yesterday with his Daddy. His Daddy watched him while I was with Big Brother at the hospital. I got a call from his Daddy only after two hours of him watching K.C. He said they were looking at books and everything was going fine. After K.C. looks at books he'll put them back EXACTLY PERFECT, he makes sure they are next to each other exactly even with each other. His Daddy isn't with K.C. very much and I should have warned him but I was so preoccupied with Big Brother I forgot to. K.C. started turning the pages of the books really hard because instead of K.C. putting the books back his Daddy was taking the books from him and trying to show him pictures in the book. On the last book K.C. ripped the pages and his Daddy took the books away. This made him even more mad because K.C. knows they get put away "just right." His Daddy said he was crying, when the tears ran down his face he was punching himself in the face and pulling his lips hard. This time I couldn't get home to help :( I had to stay with Big Brother. I told his Daddy to just watch him carefully but not to say a word to him. He'll never calm down if someone is talking to him. I told him to stay near and watch him for headbanging and just keep him safe so he doesn't hurt himself. Well I called back and this had to be the angriest K.C.'s been in a a long time :( He cried for at least 2 hours and was exhausted. He finally fell asleep. I called my Mom to come up to the hospital to stay with Big Brother so I could get home. When I did finally get home K.C. was awake and he was still very angry. He looked so sad and his eyes were swollen and red. I went straight to him and hugged him and he started crying all over again. I should have left him alone but he looked so sad. He cried for another 30 minutes and we just sat quietly most of the night. When we got to bed I lay there thinking all of this happened because of my failure to communicate the "book situation" with his Daddy. I should have told him he's very particular about the books. K.C. did wake up today o.k. but looked spent. Big Brother is home and very glad to be. His tonsils and adenoids are gone now.
About an hour ago I called K.C.'s "sensory based program." I introduced myself to the teacher on the phone and asked when I could come and let K.C. see the classroom cause school starts Tuesday. The original sensory based program fell through because the other teacher had moved out of state. The new teacher said she had NOT made any plans for the parents to come down with the kids and assumed she would be meeting them (the kids) on Tuesday for the first time. When she said that I asked her how was she supposed to recognize him and if K.C. didn't see the classroom and if I couldn't take pictures for his PECS book we would hit a serious bump in the road. It's not like I can just throw him on the bus and say, "you are going back to school today, see you at 3:30!" He has to see the room and have the picture in his hand or he'll be very confused! She agreed and said she would been in the class today after noon time as she had meetings. K.C. and I went to the school (which is in a very poor area) and walked (seemed like a 1/2 mile) to the very back of the school, out on the a field that had a trailer type deal where his class is supposed to be. The damn trailer was out so far I wondered why the school put the handicapped kids so far away from the school? It was like they were kept a dirty little secret and left as far away from the "regular kids" as possible. When we got to the room we knocked and walked in. No teacher was there so I thought we should leave but then I thought this is the perfect opportunity to snoop around! K.C. looked around and I did too. If this is the "sensory based program" it is the Pitts :( It was just a room, with paint peeling off the walls and some chairs and big tables. This room looked very poor. It did not look inviting for any kid and lacked many things, the biggest this is the sensory stuff! We waited for the teacher and I sat there totally depressed at the sight of the room and lack of things the kids should have in the room. I knew in my heart this is NOT where my son is going to go to school. K.C. may seem to not be aware of things but to put him in that program, in that area, I would say heck yeah he's going to notice! He doesn't live that way and he's not going to be put in that situation. The teacher finally came and I explained we didn't wait outside due to the heat. She said it was fine. I introduced K.C. to her and she said, "you'll have to tell me all about him because I don't have any information on any of the kids yet." I thought, "oh shit." I asked her if she had his IEP and she replied, "I haven't received any of the kids IEPS yet." I said, "but school starts Tuesday and it's Friday." The teacher said, "I was going to print them off the sped web before I left for the day." I could not believe it. I didn't bother telling her about K.C. and took his hand and thanked her for her time. We got the hell out of there. Came home and called the director of special Ed. and asked for a different program for K.C. and explained what I saw at the school. The director said, "there are NO OTHER PROGRAMS." I am in total shock :( I phoned my Mom and asked her if I could use her address for K.C. and send him to another school in a different city that has a really good Autism program. She agreed and now I have got to move fast before Tuesday comes. Do you guys think I am doing the right things? I really have no other options for K.C. My previous plans for him have feel through. I cannot afford to have both boys in private schools at this time. Big Brother's in very expensive :(

Tomorrow is the big day!

August 9Th is tonsil removal day for Big Brother! Please keep him in your thoughts :) K.C. will be staying at home with his Daddy :) Today K.C. didn't want anyone around him. How do I know this? Because he kept shoving Big Brother and I out of his area. He'd push us into another room and scream and cover his ears. Extra sensitive today. We kept our distance from him and gave him space. I guess everyone has those days. Just don't want to be around anyone and want peace and quiet.
Wish us luck tomorrow everybody:) Thank you:)
P.S. Happy Birthday to Melissa's son Conor! Happy Birthday!

New Skateboarding Pics Of Jayce

He is really catching on to this Long Board very quickly! He's having so much fun doing it. K.C. didn't want to come outside with us this time, so he stayed inside with C.B. He's been watching Flushed Away and really likes it :)

Two Little Boys Playing Outside.

K.C. and Big Brother played outside today TOGETHER! Together everyone! Big Brother has a Long Board he's been practicing on and he loves it! K.C. loves to sit on it and have someone push him. They were playing together today just like regular little kiddos! I still need to get Big Brother a new helmet though, the one he has is a bit big. He has the biggest head! I had two very dirty kiddos today that headed straight for the bath after they came inside. I have never seen K.C. get this dirty from playing outside before, usually he just wanders around while we walk with him. I really feel like this is a super good sign! K.C. is letting us into his world, he WANTED to play today!

All Is Well :)

All is well. We have been hoping for more rain since we are now in "monsoon season." It has rained here only once (a really good rain, not just sprinkles.)
K.C. is doing well, he's been happy this week and I am very thankful. He's been doing his ABA sessions as best as he can, now wanting and keeping his eyes on his "break" card. He'll grab it quickly and has been wanting to whirl around in circles at break time. He'll spin and spin as if he needs to do it, he has to do it. He looks more focused after "he's spun." I know it's a stim but we have figured out very quickly and so has K.C. that stimming is something he can earn at "Break" and has really learned to have better control over himself during a session. To see where K.C. is now, compared to when we first began ABA is amazing.
Big Brother is having his tonsils removed on August 9Th. Our friends Melissa and Conor will be celebrating their little guys birthday on that day. We will be thinking of you guys :) Big Brother got a pet mouse of all things. We went to Petco and he seen the little critters and wanted one. It totally surprised me because he is totally obsessed with not getting "germs" or "diseases." I got the mouse straight away thinking it could be a turning point for Big Brother but he has lost all interest in the mouse fearing "germs" again. K.C. isn't interested in the mouse at all. Even the day we brought it home he looked at it once and has never stopped to look again. He'll glance at it but that's about it. I guess I will be taking care of the little critter or find someone who wants the cage and critter, a good home. Why do I get myself into these situations?
I have joined a Chavurah Group at the Synagogue. I love making things and to be honest I don't like to be with alot of people. Most of these women I know are from my parents and they are older. So I will be knitting with them once a week and listening to what has happened in their lives. I know I will like this group and listening most of all.
Lora and Griffin and Donetta, we are doing well. We hope you all are well and happy these days :)