Denial

A good day today, very hot day but good. Big Brother is home again, huge relief! Since it has been so hot we decided to walk the mall (Fiesta Mall Jaye) it is supposed to be up to 114 degrees here this week. As soon as you step outside the sun almost immediately starts to burn your skin. It's horrible it really is. It's bad enough that we literally have to run from the car to the mall before we bake. When we did get inside K.C. pulled me along, he remembers or route and makes sure we stay on it. We do pretty much the same stuff, look at the same stuff, go to the food court etc. Man was I in huge denial today. It was such a good trip to the mall, I nearly forgot about Autism. Forgot about Autism! We headed to the food court, Big Brother wanted to eat at Sbarros. K.C. pulled in the other direction (where he knew fries were) Oh how I should have listened! Instead, since Big Brother had just gotten home, we did what Big Brother wanted this time around. We ALL ate at Sbarros. I know K.C. can't have dairy, I know this yet I was in total denial today. Trying to reason in my mind, "he just wants pizza like every other kid!" "I''m going to let him have the darn pizza!" And so I did. He liked it, he ate half of it, man life was good! He didn't get sick so far. We walked downstairs (no elevators for K.C., when he goes down on the elevator he gasps like he loses his breath and falls to the ground) as soon as we reached Sears the barfing began. Cashier at Sears looked towards us and I asked her to have someone clean it up. I couldn't have cleaned it up if I wanted to because I had nothing with me. I just wanted to get him outside as quickly as possible because I knew the bathroom was further than outside was. Poor kid vomited three more times before we got home. Denial on my part. No more fairy tale thinking for me. No more dairy for poor K.C. I just wanted it to be a regular day for everyone. Wanted K.C. to eat whatever he wanted. Boy was I wrong!

Lunch at School

I have been taking K.C. to the elementary school in our neighborhood every day. I am trying to get him used to eating in the cafeteria with all the noise and commotion. We leave our house around 11:00 a.m. and try to beat the Summer schoolers before their classes let out at 11:30 a.m. K.C. is doing a good job of waiting in line to get his lunch, he needs help the entire time. His ABA therapist made him a "lunchtime" schedule going through each of the steps so that he'll know what to expect when we are there. Since going to the cafeteria with K.C. and getting lunch, I didn't realize how many steps there are in the whole process. Some take going to lunch for granted and never think twice about it but with an Autistic kiddo each and every step has to be made into a plan, we definitely think twice about it and sometimes more. Picking up his "drink" (choosing) then carrying drink to get "tray" and seeing the choices for lunch and making a choice, all the while remembering he has to hang on to, "drink and tray." K.C. couldn't do both so I let him hold "drink" and I carried "tray." He became preoccupied with the kids shirt in front of us and kept trying to "sniff" the kids shirt again an again, all the while I am trying to keep him focused on lunch. When I did redirect him he let out two sharp screams that scared the little girl behind us. Today corn dogs, applesauce, french fries and frozen fruit slushy type thing was what K.C. thought he'd want. We sat down and "Sit up" then I put his lunch in front of him. He has seen me open his apple juice a lot but his little hands can't get the darn thing opened. They are tough to open. Little by little the children started filtering in to the cafeteria and K.C. watched closely. 4 little girls sat near us and K.C. kept trying to touch her clothes and poke her back. I redirected him and apologized to the little girl (she didn't seem to mind at all but still..). He did eat half of his corn dog and when it appeared he was finished I helped him carry his tray and empty it into certain bins because this is a recycling school. No meltdowns and a pretty happy kiddo today, we'll keep going as much as possible each and every day.
K.C. will be in 1 st grade in August. I am wondering if I should pack his lunch? He has allergies to dairy and I am wondering if his new teacher will make sure he has nothing dairy if he does eat at school. I am worried he'll be made fun of at lunch time too. My sister says even if he does get made fun of he won't understand it. I know I should stop panicking over this but I am really worried.

Interesting News about Autism

Wed Jun 27, 9:11 AM ET



CHICAGO (AFP) - US researchers have reversed the symptoms of mental retardation and autism in mice by inhibiting an enzyme that affects the connections between brain cells, researchers said Wednesday.

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In a series of experiments on mice, the MIT investigators showed that they could undo the brain damage seen in a condition called Fragile X syndrome by inhibiting a key brain chemical called PAK.

In humans, Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading cause of mental retardation and the most common genetic cause of autism -- the complex and devastating developmental disorder that is now being diagnosed in increasing numbers of children.

The study raises the intriguing possibility that the brain damage seen in children with the condition can be rolled back and identifies a specific target for potential drug therapies.

"It opens up a new avenue for drug research to treat this condition," said Susumu Tonegawa, a neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and lead author of the paper.

MIT researchers began by creating a batch of mice that had been genetically modified to have Fragile X, a condition in which the neurons of the brain are structurally abnormal and functionally impaired compared to regular nerve cells.

These transgenic mice had many of the behavioral problems seen in kids with the condition: hyperactivity, attention deficits, repetitive behaviors and poor social skills.

The investigators then cross-bred these mice with another batch of mice that had been genetically modified to inhibit the activity of the PAK (p21-activated kinase) enzyme which is instrumental in shaping the formation of neuronal connections in the brain.

The researchers knew that when PAK was inactivated, the mice developed neurons that had short, fat dendritic spines, with a higher-than-usual capacity for relaying the electrical impulses that pass between brain cells.

In other words, the shape and function of the dendritic spines in the PAK mice was just the reverse of those seen in the brain cells of the mice with Fragile X syndrome.

The researchers gambled that the two abnormalities would cancel each other out, and that's exactly what the experiment showed.

The cross-bred mice had been genetically engineered so that the inactivation of the PAK enzyme began two weeks into the mouse's life cycle, which in human terms would be several years after birth.

Tests and autopsies showed that the PAK-blocking action restored electrical communication between neurons in the brains of the double mutant mice, correcting their behavioral abnormalities in the process.

"This is very exciting because it suggests that PAK inhibitors could be used for therapeutic purposes to reverse already established mental impairments in fragile X children," said Eric Klann, a professor at New York University's Center for Neural Science.

The study was conducted by Tonegawa and a postdoctoral student at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and appears in this week's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
I wonder if this means that a child must have Fragile X before they could be helped? What about the children who have Autism without Fragile X?

6 years old, 4 feet tall

I measured K.C. last night very quickly as he was standing against the wall. With a quick pencil mark on the wall just above his head, he is exactly 4 feet tall. This little guy is growing up so quickly, like a little weed.
I took K.C. swimming last night minus Big Brother who is in San Mateo CA. this week, all week with his dad. K.C. had a blast all by himself, kicking his feet and drinking the water (I am doing my best to get him to stop this.) It's been triple digits here all week!
K.C. woke up very early last night, 3 a.m. in fact and hasn't been back to sleep yet and shows no signs of being tired. He laughed hysterically most of all the time he was up last night. I have no idea what he was laughing at but one thing for sure, thank God he wasn't crying! I must have been very tired last night because his laughter started to creep me out after awhile last night. He was just staring off into space, laughing and laughing.
He was one happy kiddo!

New Sign! Hooray for K.C.!

(this photo is a few months old)
For the past couple of weeks we have been working very hard at getting K.C. to learn a new sign, "yes." Yesterday it paid off! K.C.'s ABA therapist was about to leave when K.C. took off running into the kitchen to climb on top of the kitchen table. K.C.'s daddy has been picking him up and wrapping his arms around his dad's neck and giving him piggy back rides. I have been doing it too but only, and I mean only if K.C. makes an effort to sign, "yes" after I say, "do you want a ride?" When I ask him this, I take his index finger, bend down just a bit to indicate, "yes." Sort of like you would do when kids are playing "where is thumbkin? Well, back to what I was saying, his ABA therapist went into the kitchen and asked K.C., "do you want a ride?" We both waited and watched his hands intently, there it came, he did, he used all of his fingers on his left hand moved them up and down and off he went for a ride upstairs and downstairs! K.C.'s therapist thought it would be easier for him to sign "yes" in that manner. We realize it isn't exactly the proper sign for "yes" but heck we'll take it! I had no idea K.C. understood yes or no because he has never nodded yes or no or said yes or no. We will be teaching him, "no" down the road. Can you all imagine how much easier K.C.'s life will be if we can teach him to sign "yes" and "no?" There is so much going on in his head and secretly I have been dying to ask him hundreds of questions. I don't know how much he understands of what we say but it's coming little by little. The first question I want to ask him is, "K.C. do you love Mama?" When he signs "yes" it will be the very best day of my life ever cause I will know K.C. isn't so much in his own world and that he does love his Mama just can't show it yet. That will be the best day ever. Pray for it everyone!

Treading Water

I took the boys swimming today, for the very first time K.C. is treading water with his feet! He is actually using his feet to get his body from one place to another! I was so surprised I had to look twice. His little feet were doing their jobs! Our next swim day I will be taking the vest off and watching very carefully to how he responds. He's really learning fast!

Successful Trip To The Mall! So Excited For My Little Boy!

K.C. had a trip to the mall today and did great! He sat so nicely in the food court to eat his fries and walked through the mall like a little gentleman. This is the first successful trip to the mall! I am so proud of him!

Fast Food

K.C. has had the sickies for a few days. Today he is much better. He has been laying on the couch a lot the past three days. He would drink, but not eat. I've been trying to get him to eat soup or eat anything for that matter but nope, nothing doing. Last night he did get up and drink some more Gatorade (only the blue Gatorade, God forbid you place another colour before him). Since he was walking around some, I grabbed his shoes and put them on his feet and called Big Brother from his room to make a quick trip with us to Taco Bell. This Taco Bell is unique because it has a Pizza Hut inside as well. Kind of a two in one. I got a Taco Salad from the Taco Bell menu (minus the meat, beans instead of meat) and Big Brother got a Tostada and two side orders of nacho cheese. K.C. looked at the drive thru menu, I asked Big Brother what he thought K.C. was looking at. Big Brother got right next to K.C.'s head and looked, Big Brother trying to figure out where K.C.'s eyes were going. Big Brother said, "I think he's looking at the bread sticks from the Pizza Hut Menu or he could be looking at the Pizza." That made it easy because he can't have pizza due to allergies. We do buy K.C. "special pizza" we make at home. So I ordered two orders of bread sticks with Marinara. When we got home Big Brother made a beeline for the sink to wash his hands (still obsessing over germs). I rinsed K.C.'s under the water and we all sat down to take the fast food out of the containers. I kept the food away from K.C.'s hands (I never know how he'll respond to new food because sometimes he throws it) I gave Big Brother his food and he took it up to his room to watch a movie. I have been letting him take food into his room as long as he's careful because of the last head bonking food throwing incident. I took the bread sticks out and watched K.C.'s expression. He made a grunt when he seen the bread stick but as soon as I took the Marinara sauce out he grabbed for it like wild animal. I took the lid off and gave it to him straight away taking one bread stick and dipping it in to show him how it worked. He picked up the little container and stuck his tongue out licking the sauce. He liked it! I gave him a spoon that he wouldn't use, so I just let him eat it his way. He has been sick, heck I was just glad he was eating. Big Brother came downstairs and saw K.C. licking the little container and said, "ewwww it's germ infested for sure, he's eating like a savage!" Big Brother is something else, I can NEVER predict what he's going to say next. His comment did make me think, if I continue to let him eat like that when we do eat in public I am sure we will get alot of rude looks. We will work on it. Today we are staying indoors because of the heat. It's nearly 110 degrees today and tomorrow will be the same. If we do go out in the summer it always very early in the day or in the evening. Hope you are all doing well and staying cool from the summers heat :)

101 posts! How far K.C. Has Come.

This is post 101. I want to thank everyone who reads about K.C. and Big Brother. We enjoy reading about your special kiddos and I really feel we are all connected. I know I have said this before but I really wish we were all neighbours! I hope to meet (Lora and Griffin) http://griffinblaise.blogspot.com in the near future and enjoy speaking to them on the phone. Griffin is an amazing little fella, cute as ever and very articulate!
I have been taking the boys to the park in the evenings sometimes as late as 9 p.m. Due to the very warm weather (o.k. it's hot) K.C. has come a very long ways! Last Summer his motor skills were so far behind he could hardly climb onto the wobbly bridge! You should see him now! He is learning to climb, sometimes follows Big Brother around the park and enjoys the fact that there is no one at the park but him and Big Brother. To be completely honest I too like the fact that we are the only ones! K.C. seems to be communicating alot better since he's learned to tap a picture twice to show "yes." He taps once for "no."
He's been waking up alot at night. I am always hiding, shoes, forks, chairs, food etc. anything he can find to line up. I let him "line up" during the daytime for very short periods of time. It's like he MUST line up and has to do. Watch out, don't mess his lines up or your in for the biggest shit fit you've ever seen. His lines are pretty, the are very precise, long and for K.C. maybe it's artwork. His teacher says its from, "lack of imagination" but I don't believe that for a second. Alot of imagination goes in his lines, I can see it and so does K.C.
Big Brother has asked that he be home schooled in August. He has been having some issues with older children who he attends classes with calling him, "nerd and geek." Some children have even called him, "brown boy." Can you believe this? I won't go into details about his school situation because I am considering a private Jewish school for him in August. I did mention this to Big Brother and his response was, "oh God no Mom, not that!" I laughed, not at Big Brother, just his response. As a little kid my Parents sent my to a private Jewish school and once I said the same EXACT thing that Big Brother had just said. It was tough, very tough but I wouldn't change a thing, it's made me the person I am today. When I first found out I was pregnant with K.C. I wanted the same things for him as well. Being pregnant with K.C. I knew all to well that there was a "Chance, hence the name of my boy, "Chance." I prayed to God he wouldn't be like my brother Adam. At about 6 months old I knew, my Parents knew, Chance was Autistic. He never babbled, looked at us, just wanted to be left alone. Chance was a mirror imagine of my brother in so many ways.
Today he is doing very well. He's learning, he's in school and he's growing up so fast it's unbelievable! I know K.C. has a very long road ahead of him, I often wonder what he'll be doing when he's an adult. It scares me alot. We will help him every step of the way, if he is with us for the rest of his life that is the way it is. I want him to have the best life as possible, happy and healthy.

K.C. and Big Brother Swimming With Relatives!

K.C. and Big Brother had alot of company swimming today! The best part of all, K.C. did great as long as nobody looked him directly in the eye. I watched him carefully and noticed straight away when someone is near him he'll stick around alot longer if no one is looking him straight in the eyes. I asked his swimmer buddies to not look him in the eye to see what happens. Sure enough, he was more at ease and seemed happier. Big Brother had a blast with College Boy but didn't really play with the other kiddos. I think he was afraid someone was going to try to take him into the deep end.
I am kinda at a stand still with K.C.'s swimming. He has no fear of the water and I want to teach him to swim. Should I take off the vest? How do I go about teaching him to swim? Without the vest he'll walk right off into the deep end. Does anyone know which steps I should take in teaching him to swim? I'm wondering if he'll teach himself? I guess I had better do some reading into teaching Autistic kids to swim.

Busy Weekend!

The boys and I had a busy weekend! I took them to visit there great grandma, K.C. loves visiting her and is always all smiles when he's there. He runs to her front door and Big Brother knocks, when she opens the door she always gives them great big hugs, K.C. is a tough one to hug though. He will be all smiles when he sees her but will blow right past her as if shes not there. When we get inside my grandma will ask him for "kiss and hug" and he'll let her. It's the cutest thing cause he'll leave his head hanging down a little low cause he knows she wants a kiss. It was a great visit. It used to be that K.C. could only handle a very short stay at her house but now he stays for up to an hour long!
Big Brother is a total Spiderman addict! He wears the Venom costume every chance he gets. He has the red costume (the good Spiderman) and the black costume (not so nice Spiderman). He tries his best to get K.C. to put on the red costume, he wants to play Spiderman with K.C. badly! He keeps trying to put the mask over K.C.'s head. At one point K.C. kept the mask on for about 2 minutes and Big Brother was thrilled!
We went swimming this evening at our house, K.C. loves the water, I mean totally loves it! He kicks his feet, he knows he is able to float, best of all, he looks so relaxed in the water. He has no fears of water, I honestly believe he will be a swimmer quickly, I believe he learn all on his own. I always keep a safety jacket on him in the water cause he'll walk straight to the deep end and get in. It's kinda scary cause he hasn't an ounce of fear. When he's in the water he spends alot of time with his eyes closed and twirling around. He loves doing this in the water:) He'll be a swimmer soon!

What A Morning!

What a morning, the first day of the boys summer vacation started out with a bang! Big Brother starts summer school on June 1st, K.C. is doing ABA through the summer. Why can't today be June 1st?
K.C. woke up at 2:30 a.m. and right now it is 9:50 a.m. here in Arizona. It's already 86 degrees but the temperature in our house feels like hell. I tried my best to make K.C.'s night wakenings as boring as possible hoping he would go back to sleep, nothing doing! I was up all night long with him and dozed off for about 45 minutes to wake up to crayon marks all over the walls, computer screen, printer, it was everywhere. I yell, "K.C. you write walls, bad boy!" He doesn't even look in my direction, that gets me angrier, I rush over to take the crayon away only to walk on lines and lines of little cars so perfectly lined up, now destroyed from my stupid feet. He notices that immediately and screeches as if someone is trying to kill him. I ignore it. I try to ignore it, it's hard. Now Big Brother is standing at the top of the stairs saying, "what did he de-stroy now?" I tell him to go back to his room and wait there. When K.C. is in destructo, head banging about to happen mode, I try to keep Big Brother distanced from him. I know it upsets him and I don't want him to be upset. So, K.C. is still screaming, rolling on the floor, no head banging yet, that a plus! I pickup the cars and then go get cleaning stuff for the walls. Why did I not listen to the guy from Ace Hardware when he told me to get the paint with scotch guard? I'll tell you why, cause I am a cheap skate. I try to save for rainy days as best as I can. As I am cleaning the walls (and look it's actually coming off!) K.C. quites down all by himself, woo hoo! I am still cleaning and stop because I hear something break. Go into the kitchen and 3 eggs broke on the floor but the worst part is K.C. got some on his toes and is back to flipping out again. I hurry to get a cloth to get the egg off his skin as he's screaming like it's burning a hole through his skin. Got the egg off, after 20 minutes he's quieting down. I clean up the kitchen mess and then head back to clean the walls. Good news. the walls cleaned up with some good scrubbing and the walls look normal again. Big Brother hears the quiet and comes down stairs. He looks at me and says, "this morning sucks, Autism sucks too." I have never heard him talk like that before. I don't know if I should hug him because he's clearly stressed from K.C. or have him turn around and go straight to his room for talking like that. I think of how I am feeling at that very moment and ask him to come down stairs, (he's still standing at the top) I don't know if I should have said this or not but I did. I said to him, "honey I know this is a yucky morning, I feel yucky, you feel upset, I'm sorry." Then I said, "you know you shouldn't talk like that right?" He says, "yea I know Mom but look at him, he doesn't even give a care." I said nothing to that response because in all honesty it does look like K.C. "doesn't even give a care." Big Brother then says, "when is Dad coming home?" I tell him, "around 2 p.m." Big Brother says he's hungry and we go into the kitchen together. He says he would like to eat oatmeal, I say, "no eggs?" I say it only as a joke to get a smile out of him and he says, "you got to be kidding me!" K.C. comes into the kitchen and hangs around (this probably meaning he's hungry.") I get pictures and lay down two choices, "noodles" or "dry cinnamon life cereal." He lives off these food currently and even though I have added different choices to the line up when he sees the new add ons he rips then off and throws them. He taps the cereal once. He taps the noodles twice. Noodles it is! The boys have been eating together fairly well these days, so, I set them down next to each other to eat. As soon as I turn my back K.C. sends his noodles flying and for good measure grabs Big Brother's bowl and throws it too. Chaos erupts. Big Brother is so mad he bonks K.C. right on the top of the head and says, "idiot!" I usher Big Brother out of the kitchen before he hits K.C. again (he is usually very good to his brother and never hits him) K.C. looks as though he's going to have a head banging fit so I grab him and hold him in my lap. I immediately watch out for his head because he will throw it back straight into my face if I'm not watching. He cries for a good 15 to 20 minutes and then starts to settle down. When it's quiet Big Brother emerges again with Legos in a box (one of his most prized possessions) and gives it to K.C. and says, "I'm sorry I hit you (crying) you can have my Legos." All my frustrations melt away. ..

Shavuot

This evening Big Brother and I went to Synagogue to celebrate giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Torah. We listened to the 10 commandments being read and I watched Big Brother's mouth drop open as it was read. Earlier, Big Brother's Daddy watched K.C. as we went to my Parents house for "Tikkun l'el Shavuot." Big Brother listened as my Father read Jewish Texts, my brother Adam listened as well, in his own way :)

"I am the Lord your God, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery"


"You shall have no other gods but me"


"You shall not take the name of your Lord in vain"


"You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy"


"Honor your father and mother"


"You shall not murder"


"You shall not commit adultery"


"You shall not steal"


"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"


"You shall not covet your neighbor's goods. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his bull, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."


Moses went up the mountain and returned with the Tablets that contained the Ten Commandments.

Autism or Mercury Poisoning?

(K.C. with his Macaw Device at school. His teacher sent these home for his PECS photos over the Summer.)
On our way to catch the school bus this morning K.C. loves to help take the mail out of the box. Today in the mail I got some test results of the DMSA Treatment study from Jaunary 2006. K.C. had blood draws, many blood draws and was supposed to move on to the Chelation study but I stopped short of moving forward because I feared for his safety. What I got in the mail today was his blood draw results. Two of his tests came back as "abnormal." K.C. has Mercury in his system, it's at abnormal levels, it says Mercury I g A AB - 20 This one says abnormal levels. The other test is RBC TOTAL GLUTATHIONE 423 MicroM. There are papers explaining what Mercury and Glutathione are, they came with his results but they are very hard to understand. I am really worried and confused about it. I do not know where K.C. would have gotten Mercury from, where ever he got it, it can't be good right? I am racking my brain trying to figure it out, I keep wondering if he's just Mercury poisoned or Autistic if that makes any sense. We are going to see the Pediatrician to talk about his results. It's all very confusing.

Swimming With The Boys

I took the boys swimming over the weekend. I think that I have finally found something K.C. is totally comfortable with, SWIMMING! He loved it! He got in the pool slowly but once he was in, he floated around, laughed, drank the water (I tried my best to keep him from doing that) and looked relaxed! K.C. has a different type of walk. Everyone we know always says, "he walks around like a little old man." His OT says he has hyptonia that is why he has a floppy look to him. Yesterday he toe walked all around the pool, but guess what? As soon as he got in the water, his shoulders fell and he looked relaxed and not so tense. You could see his shoulders just fall. I haven't seen him look like that in a very long time! I really believe he could learn to swim very quickly! Maybe even before Big Brother! It was so different yesterday, Big Brother wanted to do what K.C. did without fear! What a change, Big Brother wanted to learn from K.C. I think K.C.'s has no fear of the water and Big Brother does so that makes a huge difference. I went out to the store yesterday and bought more sunscreen. It's been 100 degrees here everyday. Next week it's supposed to be 108. Guess we will be doing what all of the children in Arizona do to keep cool, swim! (I don't know why but Blogger turned my comments off, figures!) Hopefully they will be turned on in the next post, sorry about that.)

Spiderman/SpiderBoy/SchoolDay

I took Big Brother to see Spiderman for the second time yesterday. If you haven't seen it yet, it is really, really good!

I want to be able to take K.C. as well. I can't get him to wear ear plugs to block out some of the noise from the movie. I think the loud noise is what overwhelms him. I have tried taking him before and he was o.k. waiting until the previews started and the very loud sound started. He covered his ears and howled in pain. Have you guys been able to go to the movies and how did you get past the loudness? I think K.C. would really like to see a Disney movie but at this point he's terrified. Any ideas?

I just put the little guy on the school bus. School is out for the Summer here on May 24 Th. I have Big Brother in a Summer program but haven't yet decided where or if K.C. will go. I think the Summer will be perfect for two sessions of ABA per day.

The weather here has been so hot. 106 a couple of days ago. When I do take K.C. out to wait for the bus it's at the very last minute because of the heat. He just plops right down on the hot sidewalk. I tried to get him to sit on his backpack but he just won't do it. I so need to move! I am so sick of these very hot temps. It will most likely be this way until November! I want to see snow!

Happy Mother's Day!

These are some photos from our trip. The Boys and a relative had a great time playing in the Colorado River. The water was just 61 degrees! K.C. spent alot of time taking rocks out of the water and lining them up. He did this for about two hours. He was happy so it was all good. In the first picture K.C. had picked up a rock a threw it. The rock hit Big Brother of all people right in the back of the head. He didn't cry as K.C.'s didn't throw it too hard. I noticed when K.C. does throw a rock his head hangs down and then he throws. I don't know why? Even on the elevator in the hotel he bent over with his head hanging down when the elevator moved and took great big breaths. I am going to ask his OT on Tuesday. We ate at a restaurant three times, I was terrified K.C. was going to have a melt down the whole time but he did well and I kept his reinforcers right at hand the whole time. He also kept his little dvd player with him at all times. The volume was low and it didn't bother anyone. He flapped his hands alot and did his eeeee's, people looked but I looked right back at them and smiled and they looked away. The waitress came over to us and said, "what are we watching?" She was a really nice, older lady. She then said, "is it a bird movie little guy, I saw you flapping your arms like a little bird?" Before the trip I had told myself I wasn't going mention the A word. I wasn't going to do any explaining. I had only said, "he's happy and a little shy." It worked! I hope this doesn't sound mean or selfish, but I get tired of explaining to people when we are in public why K.C. does what K.C. does. Most of the time when I do say, "he's Autistic" they immediately say, "oh I'm sorry." I know I shouldn't think this either and God knows I have never said it out loud, but I want to say, "screw you, does he look like he's dying, does he look sick, this kid is happy, healthy and quirky, your sorry, for what?" Yes it is hard raising an Autistic child but so is raising an NT child at times. Big Brother can be a pain in the butt kid at times as well. The other reason I don't want people to say, "oh I'm sorry" is because of K.C. Yes he seems to not understand, yes he's non verbal, but who knows how much he understands! The last thin I want is for K.C. to think he's a tragedy!
I ordered K.C. a big plate of what I thought he might eat. I asked for a child's menu cause I knew it would have photos of food. We have been working very hard in ABA with requesting and it's finally working! K.C. pointed to each food and the tapped the catfish photo twice! I knew that was what he wanted! At home he has been tapping food items I show him very well. Only food though or drinks. We are working on requesting other items besides food and drinks. This is huge for K.C. and his anxiety has dropped alot. It's working! His ABA therapist is a genius and he really enjoys working with her. I am amazed at this lady, totally amazed! Most of all I am so so proud of both my Boys!

Headbanging/Communication

K.C.'s teacher has been working with him on his communication device. We just got it 4 days ago, it is called a Macaw device. His teacher says that when the new school year begins, I can request it be sent home with K.C.! I am so excited for K.C.! Just thinking about all the possibilities that this device can have for K.C. thrills me! His teacher says she believes he will learn to use it in time! Last week the school nurse phoned me and said that K.C.'s teacher was having a very hard time keeping him awake and that he was very, very sleepy. I immediately thought seizure. He always gets very quiet and has these very long staring spells just before a seizure. I told the nurse that and she said, I should come pick him up. I did just that. The change in routine threw K.C. off big time. He screamed and kicked the back of my seat all the way home. I thought I was going to lose my mind. It is very hard to drive with a child kicking the back of your seat and any words you have for him doesn't go through only makes it worse. I was silent until we got home. K.C. was still going strong and as soon as I unhooked him from his seat he slid out of the car like jelly straight to the ground and head banged twice before I could blink an eye. He hasn't head banged in awhile and I had even thought we might be over that mountain but no, not yet. I have seen K.C. head bang many times but I can tell you that each time he does head bang I get the same feeling. Stomach is in knots, scared to death he's going to seriously hurt his head and the after K.C. has head banged there is always a "letting it go" period where he's very limp like and crying. This is the hardest part for me because I just want to cry and cry because he has hurt himself that way and because K.C.'s cry sounds different that the regular cries. An after headbanging cry sounds hurt, sad, very sad, almost as if K.C. is trying to communicate "I'm sorry." I will never get used to seeing that ever.

Quick Note, Fellow Autism Mom's Video

A fellow Autism Mommy that lives in same state as I, has made her own Autism Video. I cried and cried when I watched it. It is very touching, if you have a chance please watch the video, it will really, really hit home. Thanks :) Here is the link and small note she attached, ""Hi everyone, I made a video about autism & my son for the Five for Fighting "What Kind of World Do You Want?" Each time the video is viewed and the ad at the end gets clicked, 49 cents goes to Autism Speaks.Here's the link:http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/252777Thanks for checking it out!Kim G. ""

What We Have Been Up To These Days.

We have been incredibly busy these days. K.C. and Big Brother are doing fine. K.C.'s school is having a curriculum night on Thursday and the boys Dad and I are going to check it out. K.C. has been a handful this week. He's been putting everything in his mouth, he's destroyed 7 of his DVDs from biting. I got bit as well a few nights ago. K.C. walked right into the bathroom where I was and bit me on my side. He's been happy though just very chewy. Big Brother and I went to Atomic Comics to look at Manga. On Saturday Marvels Spiderman will be at the comic book store. I will get pictures and post them here. I am going to go ahead of Big Brother to wait in line at the comic book store and as I get closer to seeing Spiderman I'll call the boys Daddy to bring Big Brother to wait with me. He's really excited! Next week we are finally going on vacation! I need this vacation badly!! I am so looking forward to it! I hope K.C. can handle the drive, I am going to bring all the things he likes along. We will be gone for just three days. Well time for me to go get some candles out, there is a dust storm headed our way and my lights go out easily.