Spending time with my son, (sons).

Yesterday I spent part of the day with Big Brother :) We walked along the water, talked about school, friends and (if he wanted too, K.C.) It was his special day and I thought it would be best to follow his lead. He skateboarded 2 miles and I walked behind him watching, talking. I watched him go up a big incline and go down fast, very fast, nearly gave me a heart attack.
We made our way to the sno cone stand and got two bubble gum flavored sno cones. After we walked back to our car (2 miles back) I asked him if he wanted to go to McDonald's, he agreed but looked like something was wrong. I asked him if he was "o.k." and he said, "yes." When we got to McDonald's, just as we were about to park, he said, "can we go get K.C.?" "It's not the same if he doesn't come too, you know how he loves the french fries!" I said, "super idea!" So as we headed back home to pick K.C. up and thanked my Mom for watching K.C. we headed back out to McDonald's. Big Brother was much, much, happier with K.C. sitting along side of him. I'm so proud of both my boys :)

Did I jinx myself?

Did I jinx myself in my last post when I said, "K.C.'s hair pulling and headbanging has become less?" This morning was horrible.

It all started as we were getting ready to leave the house to drop Big Brother off at school. Our morning routine is I drop Big Brother off and then we head to K.C.'s bus stop. K.C. did not want to leave the house, actually I should say he didn't want to turn his t.v. off. He always watches t.v. in the morning when I finish getting him dressed. I turned his t.v. off and that was all it took. He flew into hysterics. He ran back to the t.v. and switched it on, when he switched it on, there was a commercial he can't stand to hear that made he run to the closet and shut the door. When he heard the commercial end, he came out, but from that point on it all went downhill.

I managed to get him out to the car, wasn't easy since he was pulling the opposite direction and screaming his head off. Big Brother looked very frustrated and kept repeating, "I'm going to be late because of him!" Finally got them both into the car, K.C. kicking the back of my seat, Big Brother trying to reach over and put his hand over K.C.'s legs so I could actually drive, Big Brother somehow getting hit or kicked in the nose, nose stared bleeding on his WHITE school uniform top. I am trying to find a safe spot to pull over and try to regain control of K.C. just before I find a spot, Big Brother is so upset cause his uniform is dirty, nose hasn't stopped bleeding and he hits K.C. on the top of the head, HARD. Now K.C. is hitting himself in the head and is trying to pull his own hair out.

Found a safe spot to pull over and sit in the backseat with both boys, I have to hold K.C.'s hands because he is in full beat himself in the head mode. We all sat, listening to K.C. screeches and finally after about 15 minutes he calmed down. The backseat of my car looked like a murder scene. Big Brother whispers, "let's just go home Mom, I can't go to school like this and I am too upset." We did just that. I let Big Brother ride in the front seat with me praying I wouldn't get into an accident (passenger airbag) but figure if we kept driving like we were, we were probably going to get into an accident anyways. When we got home I called the schools and (it was too late, K.C.'s bus had already come and gone) to let them know the kids would be out today.

K.C. has been completely out of sorts today. He's been touching everything once as he walks by and looks very anxious. I just don't know what's wrong with him today, I feel like we are back to square 1. Just when you think things are getting better.
Thank God there is no school tomorrow!

McDonald's for lunch time.

K.C. and I walked to McDonald's today, the weather was really nice.
My little guy, who is not so little anymore (74 pounds and 49 inches tall, 4 feet 1 inch tall) he is one big 6 year old!
At McDonald's I ordered french fries for him and helped him choose his own drink. He is able to put his cup under the Sprite label and I press the button as he holds the cup. He loves Sprite!
He sat so very nicely in McDonald's with only 2 very loud outbursts. I call them outbursts because they seem to occur for know reason that I can see. He will suddenly make a very loud screech followed but another loud screech. A Mom and her son who were sitting across from us (I always try to pick a table away from people but they always seem to find us and sit near us.) I only pick tables away from people because I know K.C. has these outbursts. I try to put myself in his shoes. If I had outbursts I couldn't control I wouldn't want people staring at me either. When he did screech, the Mom and son stared, then the Mom stopped but the little boy kept staring. She noticed him staring and tapped his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Oh well.
The boys Daddy is in town and Big Brother and him Have been doing lots of stuff together. Their Daddy gave them both haircuts, I didn't like the haircut he gave K.C. because I have been trying to grow his hair out over his ears since the headbanging and hair pulling has been less and less.
Tonight we are going to have a bar b que and Big Brother asked if we could roast Marshmallows when the food is finished. This is an activity both boys enjoy. Big Brother will eat his but K.C. won't. He just likes being able to roast them. I have to be extra, extra, careful because he'll try reaching into the fire if we are not careful.
Last night we were able to go for a walk as well. Our neighbor who lives just across the way hung Christmas Lights out and K.C. loved looking at them. They were really pretty :)

Cousins birthday party/family.

On Sunday we celebrated Lynn Lynn's 6th birthday party. Lynn is the boys cousin. I brought K.C. and Big Brother along for the birthday party and he did great as long as we let him do his own thing. I did try to coax him into sitting through the happy birthday song. He sat through half of it before getting up and walking away. He didn't like being around so much noise and people. Big Brother spent most of his time with his 1 year old cousin and of course Lynn Lynn. K.C. spent his time walking around the perimeter of the Ramada we sat at. I watched him glance towards the big bouncer that the kids bounced in. I thought he might actually try to get inside and bounce but he didn't. The children tried calling him over to the bouncer but he was having a good time walking and watching them from a distance. He smiled nearly the whole time and I let him be. In the past I would have tried my best to get K.C. into that bouncer fearing he just wasn't going to have a good time unless he was doing what the other kids were doing. I did try twice to get him into the bouncer and then stopped. I figure if he wanted to bounce he would walk right in himself :) K.C. did have fun at the party, he didn't bounce with the other kids but you should have seen his face, he smiled nearly the entire time. Everyone is not the same, Big Brother loved bouncing with the kids, K.C. loved watching the kids bounce. My sister worried K.C. wasn't having a good time because he didn't want to be with the other kids. I know better these days, I would say he had just as much fun in his own K.C. way.

Beware...

I took the boys to the park early this morning to feed the ducks. It was very nice outside as it has cooled off. K.C. liked feeding the ducks :) After we went to the park, Big Brother asked if we could stop at the supermarket to get something to drink. We did just that. K.C. has been doing an excellent job in the stores these days. As we walked down the aisles, K.C. quickly spotted a very small video screen and ran to press the button. I guess it was used for advertising Ritz crackers for the holidays. This little screen played just like a television and I had the hardest time getting K.C. away from the darned thing! Just a head's up to all the Mom's and Dad's of Autistic children, BEWARE of these little screens in the stores during the holidays! K.C. pressed the button a bunch of times and just when you think the little screen has played itself out, it does start up again and again after about a minute. I'll have to watch for those when going to the store from now on :)

A Visit To The Chinese Cultural Centre

Today the boys and I and their Daddy went to visit friends at the Chinese Cultural Centre. The weather was beautiful today, about 85 degrees! I am so thankful it is finally cooling off, we can start to go on our walks along the water again.
K.C. and Big Brother both loved walking in the garden area at the centre. K.C. had a smile on his face as we walked and Big Brother asked his dad a million questions about China.
After we finished walking in the garden, we went inside to visit their Dads friends. Before we made our way inside, we had talked about K.C. and what our plan was going to be if he got antsy or stimmy. Once inside we all sat at a very large table and I watched K.C.'s face every few seconds to see if he was showing any signs of uneasiness. As soon as K.C.'s Dad's friends came over to the table to sit with us, (we were about to order food as we were in a restaurant) K.C. watched out of the corner of his eyes as our friends sat down. I can tell you my stomach was in knots for K.C., I was hoping nobody would touch him but as soon as I thought it, it happened. The gentleman that sat closest to K.C. said in a very loud voice, "hello boy, you are getting fat now, so lucky" and then patted him on the shoulders. I knew that was going to be the end of that. K.C. does NOT like to be touched unexpectedly period. Even is school doing hand over hand with him is tough his teacher says, he doesn't like to be touched. As soon as the gentleman touched him, K.C. let out a very loud yell and slid down in his seat to the floor. Big Brother and his Dad were talking non stop with their friends and it was strange to me because even though they had seen K.C. lose it, they were too preoccupied with talking and visiting. To be honest I was just thrilled that Big Brother was able to get out of the house with his Dad, talk with friends and just be happy.
I did try to re direct K.C. but it was too late. K.C. and I got up and did alot more walking in the garden and even walked across the street to buy two 7 ups. He did great! I know that K.C. would have been able to handle the restaurant as well had our friend not touched him. What should I have done I wondered as K.C. and I walked. Should I have immediately asked the man not to touch K.C. as soon as he sat with us? I think I should have, but I guess I just haven't the nerve to ask a friend "not to touch him."
All in all it was a very good day, K.C. is feeling better, Big Brother got to be with his Dad and talk with friends. K.C. and I spent alot of time together and he was happy. I learned something today, just because K.C. isn't doing what everyone else considers "fun" doesn't mean the day is lost. K.C. finds happiness in simple things, like walking with his Mommy and having a soda. I seen the smile on his face and realized that K.C. isn't always going to do what everyone else is doing but what makes him feel happy. That's all that matters in the world, as long as he's happy and healthy I am at total peace and so is he.

The Two "A" Words

There are two "A" words in our lives, Autism and Asthma. K.C. has been having breathing problems alot this month and yesterday was the worst day yet. Yesterday night is when it started, he was having a very hard time breathing so we (Big Brother and I) got his little breathing machine out and added the medicine. K.C. will not wear the 'Bubbles the fish mask' for more than a few seconds. The noise that the machine makes (it's a puttering noise) K.C. can't tolerate. The moment he hears it he takes off. I have to try my best to keep him seated at least for a few seconds. Well the next morning he was still not breathing well and I called the doctors. We left for the Dr.s office and was able to get in quickly. The doctor listened to him breath and K.C. tried his best to kick her away. You could actually hear him make a whistling Darth Vader type noise. The doctor said she wanted to give him a shot of Solumedrol to help him. The nurse came in and gave him the shot in his left leg in his thigh. He never cries when he gets a shot, I wonder if he even feels it. Well the shot worked! Thank God it worked.
So we have been dealing with Asthma and our major thing today is to get him to at least have the mask on for short periods of time. Big Brother has been helping me so much lately, I am so proud of this kiddo. I felt kinda guilty yesterday because I keep thinking I am asking too much from a 7 year old. He says he likes to help and wants to help and for the I am so grateful. Still I wonder if other 7 year olds do as much as Big Brother does. I mean having an Autistic brother is sometimes hard for Big Brother. I know alot of (most of my attention) goes to K.C. and trying to keep things even is very hard. Tomorrow I am going to ask my Mother to come and stay with K.C. so I can spend a few hours with Big Brother doing something he'd like to do. So many times when we do want to go out and do something Big Brother wants to do, we end up not being able to do it because K.C. can't handle certain situations. I do remind Big Brother how much K.C. has learned and how far he has come. He does the best he can and we love him very much. Big Brother loves his little brother very much and I know he'll always protect K.C. and of all the people who work with K.C. and even family members, Big Brother knows and understands K.C. best. Two very special little boys that I have and I wouldn't change them for anything, ever.