Fall is here...

You know how I can tell? Not from the thousands of red,brown, and yellow leaves that have taken over our neighborhood; oh no. I can tell from the cold viruses that have taken up residence in our house. We have gone through 3/4 of a bottle of Children's Tylenol. Nick gets green goop everywhere. He gets the concept of blowing his nose, just not when there is a tissue in front of it. You can imagine what we end up with. It's not a pretty sight. Michael has made it through this week and I am glad to report that he has been headache free. Nick's nose is as red as a firetruck, and the area around his mouth and chin are raw from his constant rubbing. At least he is eating still.

Moving on to better news. We got a call from Maxim a couple of days ago. They are the company that provide us with all of Nick's services. Including respite care. For those who are not familiar with respite care, it is a system that provides parents of disabled children qualified people to watch their special needs children while the parents can go out and get a break. Our respite provider called this week offering us a chance to go out Saturday!! Holy Sh*T I am so excited!!! To go out with hubby to a movie and possibly even dinner! Do such things even exist anymore?? Going to cut this post short for now. Have to get Nick ready for school and run some errands myself.

I'm Home!!

Ok, so I finally got home last Tuesday afternoon from New Zealand. I had Wednesday off so that I could adjust back to the time difference(afterall, we were 20 hours ahead in New Zealand)and be with the boys. It has been a crazy week at work. I was working 12 hours through the weekend, and coming home just drained. Today is the first day that I have had off, so I thought I would update on Nick.

He is continuing to make huge progress with his ABA home programs. He has mastered gross motor imitation. Which was and still is, thrilling to see. It is exciting to witness him copy everything we do. Mike will pat his head, Nick pats his head, I wave, Nick waves, etc. It is spontaneous imitation-with no prompts, and appearing very natural. He can now answer some questions. For example, if I point to a shoe and say "What's that?" he can answer "Shoe". The same with car,nose,mouth,eyes,ears,hair,etc. He is grasping the whole Touch Math program seemingly easily.It seems like he can come out of his world easier now and join in ours when the time comes. We have much less "hand over hand" instruction, and he is often better at following directions than Michael LOL! The potty is a work in progress still, but we will get there. He likes to help with the laundry. So much so; that last week he took a closet full of clothes and dunked them in the toilet and sink. He has a thing for water and loves to play with the faucets. Bathtime however is still somewhat tricky. I can't tell if it is the louder noise of the running water, or the process itself that scares him. Maybe some others who read this can help shed some light? He used to love bathtime!

Another thing now is that his school is requiring him to get updated on his shots. I honestly cannot remember the last time he got a shot. I think his last one was right around two years old. I know it seems silly, but I am conflicted. I think I will get him his shots, but not all at once. That would be quite an assault on him. He needs DTP, Hep B, HiB, MMR,Polio, and Varicella. We will see what the day brings. Right now Nick is dressed and waiting for the school bus. He has helped me with the laundry this morning, and had two waffles for breakfast. He is my little "Bubby".

Almost Home....

I have been away on another 3 week trip for work; and am due to be home this Sunday. I have kept in touch with the guys back home via Skype, and it has been wonderful. Not as great as being there, but wonderful to say the least. I got to hear Nick hummm contently, sing a little song, and jump like a Mexican Jumping Bean in front of the tv. On one day I even got to talk to Tracy-one of his therapists who was there to work with Nick. The whole time I was talking to her, Nick was using her as a jungle gym. Don't let him fool you--he knows exactly what he is doing and when we are talking about him--he flashes that "knowing" glance, or looks right into your eyes and gives a huge grin. This time, as we were talking, Nick was standing against the door looking right at Tracy as she talked to me. One of these days, Nick will tell us what is in that grand mind of his.

You would think I relish being away from the whole world of autism. But, I miss it. I miss seeing the new things Nick has learned. I miss reading about his days in therapy, but most of all, I miss HIM. I miss my baby boy's smiles, humms, the occasional word, and his laughter. I miss seeing Michael and knowing how his day went, what homework he is doing, and all those other little things. I know this was not a long trip, but I hated leaving again so soon after I got home from Turkey. I miss you Michael and Nick!!! I miss you all terribly!! Mom will be home soon! Be good boys for Daddy!

Another week down....

Hey we made it through another week!! It is another typical Monday here in the Weger household. Yesterday I decided to venture into unknown territory. I have been thinking about this for a few weeks now, but decided to go for it yesterday. I have been slowly trying to reduce the amount of chemicals we use in our household. Our steam mop works wonders, and our floor gets clean without using harsh chemicals. We also save $$ by not buying floor cleaner. Now I am wanting to go even further and try to make our own laundry detergent. It is really very simple. All you need is some soap(any kind you like really), something to shave the soap into small pieces (like a cheese grater), Borax, water, and washing soda. 1 bar of soap can make 5 GALLONS of detergent! Later on, as we go through all of our store bought cleaners, I am just going to make my own instead of buying more.

So, Sunday I took both the boys with me on my quest to find all the ingredients. It ended up being a fiasco (really? That is Normal for us) because we had to go to multiple stores. The first was the BX. A certain aroma was emanating from a certain 5yr olds backside and apparently it smelled so bad that he himself was gagging. At first I thought "great, another phase of something he is doing to stim himself". Then I thought maybe something in the store was setting him off...because he did not do this in the car. And to be honest, he can smell up his room, and all it will be is gas. I thought this could be one of those times. Not so. I caught a good whif as I lifted him into the car after going to Target. We came home and promptly changed him.

Today, after everyone was at school, I went and found some Washing Soda by Arm & Hammer and went about detergent making. It was not hard at all. We grated some Irish Spring soap(it can be any type, we just had that lying around), and put that into 4 cups boiling water. I stirred in the little soap pieces until they were melted. In a 10 Gallon Rubbermaid Container, I mixed in 3 gallons of warm tap water, 1 cup of Washing Soda, and 1/2 cup of Borax. I stirred it around until it was all mixed together. Then I added our soap solution from the stove. You have to let it sit for 24 hours, then stir and use. We have it sitting in the container with the top on off to the side of our dining room. So far, it is still smelling like Irish Spring and it is starting to get a little more solid. If this goes well, we just made 3 GALLONS of detergent for an extremely low price! And as our store bought cleaners run out, we will be making all of those ourselves as well.

Cost of Having Autism...

This is a breakdown of our insurance bill for Nick from August 3rd-August 13th. That is ten days of therapy:

8/3: Consult with BCBA(Head tutor) $250.00
8/3: Tutor for 3 hours $150.00
8/3: Tutor for 2.5 hours $125.00
8/4: Tutor for 3 hours $150.00
8/4: Tutor for 2 hours $100.00
8/5: Tutor for 2.5 hours $125.00
8/5: Tutor for 2.5 hours $125.00
8/6: Tutor for 3 hours $150.00
8/6: Tutor for 2 hours $100.00
8/7: Tutor for 2.5 hours $125.00 (So far, we are up to $1,400.00)
8/10: Rehabilitative Services(another word for Tutor) $262.50
8/11: Rehabilitative Services $225.00
8/12: Rehabilitative Services $100.00
8/13: Rehabilitative Services $250.00 (that is another $837.50 for those four days)
That is a grand total of.........
$2,237.50 FOR TEN DAYS OF THERAPY Most insurances DO NOT cover AUTISM, so this is what would have to be paid by the FAMILIES. THIS is what it takes to raise a child with Autism.

Our New Routine....

School has been going for almost a week now, and both Michael and Nick are settling in to the routine. This morning I have a few minutes of peace before I wake up little man again. I say again because he was already up earlier; around 6:30. He was playing in the curtains hung on the window by Michael's bed. I told him frankly to get back to HIS bed and go Night Night. Michael wanted me to drive him to school today, and for some reason he was already up as well. And dressed. In the same clothes as he wore yesterday. I told him to go change clothes, and that he cannot wear the same stuff again. He looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Of course I was. Mommy is not speaking "Male", which unfortunately is the predominate language in our house. I come from planet "Female" and there we change clothes every day without thinking about it. Apparently, those from "Male" have to be reminded. They also have to be reminded to brush their teeth. After he got ready I went ahead and did some dishes and I took Michael to school. There he gets a free breakfast. Great. Another meal that I don't have to feed him. Saves on our cereal budget.

Little Man loves riding the school bus. He is getting to be such a big boy. He gets on the bus by himself, all I do is fasten him in. Yesterday he was so excited he could not contain himself. We were waiting outside for the bus and he was a stimmy mess. These were happy stims though. Lots of humming,flapping, hand twirling, and doing a modified happy dance on the lawn. I am so happy that he is in the right school now. They know how to handle him. It is a smaller class, so I know he is getting what he needs. Makes me mad though to think that we lost an entire year due to the stupid move that people who don't even know Nick made for him.

We had another meeting with all of Nick's home tutors yesterday as well. They are adding more programs as he is mastering the old ones pretty quickly. Diane told me that they just started on identifying numbers like 13,14,and 15, and that Nick was already able to ID them! We are now going to start him on the Touch Math as Ana now has all the materials, and also work on spelling some simple words and learning to recognize those words have meaning. He will also have a tutor come in the mornings to help him with basic skills like dressing himself and going through his morning routine. It helps to add in new stuff to keep him from getting bored. It is hard to describe how much he actually likes this. When his tutors first started coming here, he would run and hide in his room. They would have to carry him to his "work room". Yesterday, he went in there ahead of Diane and was ready to do stuff. Ms Tracy not only got a "hi Twacy", but a hug as well. He gets cheeky with them and now goes into their goody bags to see what they brought. For Nick, these are all the more people to play and interact with. He is progressing much faster than I ever thought he would. The daily sessions of ABA are much more helpful than just once a week. Nick is already doing more stuff now than he was at UW.

Back to School..

Today is the last day of summer vacation. It is back to school tomorrow morning for both our boys. We went and met with Nick's teacher this afternoon and he got to meet some of his other classmates. One of Nick's old speech teachers came in at the end and she was happy to see Nicholas again! To find people like her is a blessing. She was disheartened as we informed her of what happened the past school year. His teacher is really nice, although I am a little scared at the idea of Nick having "homework". They will be learning to write, numbers, shapes, and all the other things in kindergarten. Except that this will be more at their own pace and the program is tailored to SN(Special Needs) kids. Nick's therapists will also be working on the same material. There seemed to be a good mixture of kids, and he was not the lowest functioning one there. I can't help but get depressed when all the other kids are higher functioning, and then there is Nick-staring out of the window.

As far as preparing him for tomorrow... I have told him that he will ride on the school bus tomorrow and go to school. "Bus tomorrow" he replied. We took him with us to meet his teacher and play with all the new toys. Kindergarten. It does not seem like he is five years old. This is just a reminder that time is passing by. It seemed that as long as he was in 'pre-school' everything was ok. So, he still is not potty trained...he is just in pre-school. Now, he is in SCHOOL. By the end of kindergarten; Michael was able to read. We just hope Nick will be able to write his name by the end of the year. Things are different. Somedays it is almost like hearing his diagnosis all over again. The uncertainty of it all is almost too much to bear. Give up? No. Never. One day at a time. One small step at a time. One word at a time.

The Blanket

This blanket has been in our family for nearly 25 years. It was made by my grandmother for my brother in 1985. My brother then passed it on to Michael when he was born in 1999. Michael LOVED this blanket, and it has accompanied him on many trips to visit relatives(this blanket is WELL traveled!). He referred to it as "deedee". Well, "deedee" was passed on to Nicholas when Michael did not need it anymore. "Deedee" is still going strong. My grandmother would be surprised that a simple blanket she made in 1985 for my brother, is now providing comfort for her great-grandsons that she never got to meet. Nick does not sleep with this blanket very often, but on this particular night, he was needing comfort from a gentle and loving soul while he slept. Maybe it is her way of "knowing" them. I do know that our boys know her from those hand sewn stitches that made that blanket.

Can Nicholas "See" Numbers??

We are learning more and more of what Nick may actually know. It is astounding to say the least. Yesterday we were playing with one of his new placemats. It has colorful shapes on it, and I was asking him what shapes there were. I was flipping the mat over to the other side when he blurted out "eight". So, I counted the shapes on there. Sure enough, there are EIGHT of them. Yet, when I took his finger to count them individually, he had some trouble. Mike thinks it could be coincidental, but then again, this is a kid who is already saying phrases in Spanish and Chinese. Every day we are discovering some sort of hidden talent or knowledge he has. Today he told his tutor that "W is for Wagon!" I had never heard him say the word Wagon before. That is the funny thing about autism. Sometimes stuff just flows out without any effort,other times he can't get his words out for anything.