New Territory

We are entering new territory.  Drew is going to his first sleepover on Friday night.  All the boys in his class were invited to one of the boys house for "EPIC NIGHT"  He is to bring his sleeping bag, swim suit and nerf gun.  A new Nerf gun has been purchased with extra ammo.  He has been excited about this for several weeks.

I, on the other hand, have been pretty nervous.  First concern - there is one boy that Drew doesn't always get along with and he gets on Drew's nerves.  I worry that as the evening wears on and as Drew gets tired,  that the boy will push Drew's buttons and he won't be able to control himself and will get angry.  I also worry that as he gets tired the tics will get worse and it will cause issues. The kids have never really said anything but things are tame and as excitement and tired creep in the increase.

Don't get me wrong I am thrilled he is being included and is having the experiences that all boys his age should have.  I did have a long talk with him tonight about several things.  I told him no matter what this boy did, Drew had to hold  his temper and walk away.  I also talked to him about the after effects of a sleep over. Being tired and grouchy and increased tics are two big ones.  I wanted him to know what too expect.  He did have some hesitation after we talked but I told him that we WANTED him to go and have a most awesome time but to know there could be some extra tics on Saturday.  

He has been practicing with the new Nerf gun.  I will talk to the mom tomorrow and give her a heads up. It feels a little strange because I usually let Drew control who he tells and how.  Also trying to figure out how to handle evening meds.  They make him sleepy  and he will crash about 20 minutes after taking them.  Not ideal for an EPIC NIGHT!.If he doesn't get them at all he won't sleep. ARG!!!! 

I am sure i am over thinking all of this but that is what comes with entering into new Territory.

Transition

A month ago I posted this update.  I hadn't heard anything and was worried that this was going to be yet another debacle with this school district. I started leaving messages with the superintendent and the advocate.     The superintendent called tonight and after apologizing profusely for letting the ball drop, he started talking about the next 3 weeks.

The principal at the school Drew will be going to was just promoted.  That threw a monkey wrench in things.  We all want the principal who will be at the school to be involved in this transition.  The current principal will be over 10 schools, including the one Drew will be attending. The VP may be promoted to principal so she would be another possibility to oversee the the transition.  The third option presented to wait till the principal is named in the next couple weeks.  NOT AN OPTION.  There are only 5 weeks of school left and I will be gone one of those weeks.  (rough life having to go to WDW for training)

I did feel good that he wanted the new school totally educated about TS. He has done his research and now understands that there are probably many in the district who have this that they are not aware of.  If 1 in 1000 suffer from some form of TS than Drew is not alone. He did admit they don't have an educational program in place for teachers let alone kids to understand TS. Everyone knows ADHD, Autism  and so many other challenges.  But very few understand TS.

The superintendent was going to send out emails tonight to all team members and by Thursday have a plan in place to meet with the current principal of the new school, VP and new principal( if one has been named) Then the psychologist and IEP case manager from the new school will go observe Drew and meet with the team at his current school. Then, Drew will visit the new school a couple times to meet teachers and kids.  After all of that we will have a HUGE meeting with the team from both schools to finalize the IEP (again).  there will also be education for the staff at the new school of all of the parts of TS.  All of this before May 11. I am tired just typing it, let alone living it. At some point there will also be education for the students. I am assuming that will be next school year.

The rough part will be telling Drew.  He has had so much change in the last year and has just begun to settle in. The superintendent has assured me they have done this many times and most kids settle in well.  I have been rehearsing all of the positives for Drew so when we tell him, we can excite him about the change.

In other new - Drew got his CPAP today.  Anxious to see how he feels in a couple days after getting good sleep.

Mother nature is still menopausal.  We got  9 inches of snow yesterday and 4 more coming tomorrow night.  At least it got above freezing today to get rid of most of what was received yesterday.

Drew got a freestanding basketball hoop this past weekend. A neighbor decided to get rid of theirs since their daughters no longer used it.  Great purchase for 30.00.

another piece of the puzzle

Sleep has always been an issue for Drew. I should say waking up has been a problem for Drew.  I have always said he loves his sleep.  He is impossible to wake up.  We suspected sleep issues for a long time.  I have heard him stop breathing (apnea) when we have shared a hotel room.  I had mentioned it to doctors in the past.  But no one ever did anything to see what the issue was.

UNTIL we moved here and got hooked up with the children's hospital.

A week ago Drew and I traveled to Broomfield for a night.  It was not a pleasure trip but me found some fun.  Drew had a sleep study scheduled at the satellite Children's Hospital.

First we stopped for dinner.  We went to Gunther Toody's for dinner.  Drew was in heaven.  they had monitors with old Popeye cartoons on.  He didn't say much while he was drinking his root beer float

Then off to the hospital. After getting Drew hooked up to all the machines and ready for bed our night started.  Drew barely stayed awake while they were getting things hooked up so he was out cold.

I wish I had been so lucky.I could not sleep.  The "bed" for the parents is not a bed it is a slab with a pillow.

About midnight the respiratory therapist came in and told me that Drew had yet to go in to REM sleep.  He had been asleep three and half hours. That was the first clue as to the explanation of the sleep problems with Drew.  He also said that there had been some dips in his oxygen saturation. 

The RT came in at 3 and said Drew FINALLY had gone in to REM sleep and he could finally put a CPAP mask on him.  He immediately went into REM sleep.  They woke him up at 6.  The RT told me it took about 2  - 3 weeks for the results to be scored.

On the way home (after a Starbucks stop) I asked how he felt. He said he felt a little more awake than usual.

I was surprised when the sleep doc called Thursday.  Yes Drew has sleep apnea.  The numbers were astounding.  I am not publishing them.  We now know why Drew is IMPOSSIBLE to wake up in the morning.  

Tuesday afternoon Drew will be fitted for his CPAP.  We are hoping for improvement in Drew's sleep.

Stay tuned for an update once we see what happens

talking about having Tourettes

First let me say HAPPY EASTER!!!

Second, sorry I have been MIA.  I took Hubs to the ER last Sunday and he had to have emergency surgery Monday morning.   He then developed a complication that set him back a couple days.  I am happy to report he came home yesterday and is slowly recovering.  Not exactly the spring break I was planning.

For Drew twitching has been something he has done for as long as he can remember.  First it was a shoulder shrug, then a hop step and over time they have developed.  One tic he as is that he holds is breath for a couple seconds.  That one bugs me.  I worry. His vocal tics come and go depending on stress.  We are seeing improvement since the Botox treatment.  That treats the simple tic of the head turn.

He has a couple complex tics.  The most recent is he puts his hand in front of his eyes and turns his head..

He gets so frustrated.  Tonight he was having snack and his body jerked and he spilled milk all over him and the table.  He immediately started to apologize saying " I am sorry.  It is my Tourette's"  I sat down and told him he NEVER EVER EVER had to apologize to me or anyone else for something he could not control.  I told him it is part of who he is just like his brown hair and brown eyes.  He told me he wished he had a sign he could carry saying he had TS.  He always feels like he needs to say he is sorry.

We started talking about how to explain it to people.  To educate them and how he could use humor.  It is a hard concept for a 10 year old to grasp.  I told him the best explanation to give is the one he gave the first time he met his rock climbing instructor.  "Hi my name is Drew, I have Tourette's, I twitch"

Works for me.  I have a couple of  my own. Some were swiped from other TS parents

Tic and the whole world tics with you...or at least stops and watches for a while.
A tic, a shout, that is what it's all about.
Sometimes I feel like a tic. Sometimes I don't.
And my favorite.  I made it up and hope it will make the parent Tshirt
Ticcing....It ain't just for clocks anymore!

With something like TS...Humor is the best education.  I hope I can help Drew to understand that.

Outcome of meeting with district

I have been putting this post off.  Not sure why because it is good news.  Maybe just so much to type?  Hesitant things would fall through?  I don't know but here we go.

Since moving to Colorado it has been one fight after another with the school.  The administration refused to get educated on Tourettte Syndrome.  Since the admin would not educate, the staff could not get educated nor could the students.  Every day it was a fight.  Drew was in a self contained classroom in California - not because of a behavior issue but because it was a good structured environment   He thrived.  His teacher in California was the most amazing woman who saw the potential in Drew.

Since Drew's IEP from CA was for a self contained class room the district decided he needed to be placed with kids who had bipolar, ODD and other behavior issues.  Not the best place for a kid who needed a quiet structured classroom. I couldn't even get him mainstreamed per his IEP.

In January I really started pushing for what he needed.  In small bits and pieces they started allowing him mainstream time.  The problem we were running into was that the kids in the Special Ed class were making fun of Drew and hitting him.  Problem was no one was telling me.  I would hear about it from Drew and then have to find out what was going on.  I started pointing out that Drew had no issue with the Gen Ed kids and the SPED kids had marked him as a target.

The special ed teacher watched some videos from TSA and went to the principal and told her Drew was in the wrong placement.  Didn't help.  The Gen Ed teacher went to the principal and told her Drew was in the wrong placement.  Didn't help.  It also didn't help that since the admin didn't understand TS or that anxiety  OCD and ADD are co-morbid.  They had labeled Drew a behavior problem.  I was also labeled a problem parent.

We had finally had enough - after 5 IEP meetings in 3 months and more time in the principal's office than any mom should spend  we decided to get an advocate.  She got the ball rolling and the next thing I knew we had a meeting with the principal, the advocate and the superintendent of special ed! I was so focused on that meeting, it consumed me night and day.  I was armed with TS information, IEP information.  I was a walking talking TS IEP encyclopedia. Oh yea, did I mention the letter from the Pediatric Neurologist who treats Drew's TS?

All of a sudden the admin starts changing their tune.  Scott and I arrived for the meeting.  We start talking about TS and how it affects Drew.  I very quietly hand the letter to the advocate who reads it and hands it to the superintendent he reads it.  The superintendent then says he thinks now that everyone has had time to get to know Drew we all agree he is in teh wrong place.  WHAT???? that was out of left field.  He also tells us he as a background in Autism and understands the similarities.  WHAT?????  After hearing everything he concurs that Drew is in the wrong class.  WHAT??????????????????????? We were being heard for the first time in months.

The next thing we know it is being discussed about how to handle Drew's math issues - only thing that is not on grade level.  Also discussing how to handle the social emotional piece since we refuse to let the psychologist for the SPED class get near Drew (another post for another day).  Then we start talking about next year and what school Drew will be going to.  Colorado has school choice. Meaning we can petion for what school Drew attends.  He could continue at his present school through 6th grade but there was no guarantee that he would be allowed to go to the JR. High with his friends at his current school.  Changes are he would have to transfer back to his home jr. high.  Our other option is to up root him one more time and put him back at his home school for 5th and 6th grade so he can transition with those students to Jr. high and have friends before that transition. I think the principal was relived when Scott and i started leaning towards moving him back to his home school. We have now made the decision to move him to his home school in the fall.  The superintendent is setting up a meeting for the new principal, me and the superintendent to start the ball rolling.  The superintendent is also ensuring that the staff will be educated in TS before Drew starts and that staff from the new school will be making visits to the current school to get to know Drew over the next couple months.

The best part?  Drew spent today in the General Ed class for the whole day and loved every minute of it.

All it took was a whole lot of FAITH TRUST AND lots of people who love that little guy and know what is best for him.  a dash of pixie dust didn't hurt either.

 

I will fight for you every day of my life.

We have had a lot of problems with Drew's school and district in the past few days.  Hell I take that back, since we moved to Colorado it has been a giant nightmare. I had another fight with them yesterday about bullying and placement for Drew (a topic for a later time) Tonight made it all worth while.

Drew:  Mom you look exhausted.

Me:  I am.

Drew:  The school?

Me: yea.  but will keep fighting for you  and for what is right everyday of my life. Because that is what I do.

Drew:  I know, that is why I love you

New Treatment for Drew

Drew has a very severe neck twitch.  It causes pain.  He has given himself whiplash several times and pulled muscles in his neck.  When we saw the neurologist at Children's in January, she gave us a new option beyond medication.  Today, Drew underwent botox injections in his neck.

Drew was a bit apprehensive.  We did find out the hard way that he is allergic to the adhesive used to hold the numbing patches in place.  That was the worst part for Drew.  But the cream did what it was supposed to.  The injections were administered without pain - all but the last one.

We were advised that the injections would not take effect today, tomorrow, or even the next day.  But hopefully by the end of the week we will see some improvement.  In two weeks we will see maximum effect.  If it works then Drew should have relief for up to three months.

We know there can be side effects and we explained them to Drew.  He decided it was worth it to at least try this.

This is just one treatment. We know not all treatments work for all patients.  All we can do at this point is wait and watch and hope there is some relief for Drew.

THE FACE OF TOURETTE'S

THIS IS THE FACE OF TOURETTE'S

THIS IS WHAT TOURETTE'S CAN DO

 

 

New Direction

Over the past year I have found my blog has lacked direction.  I have written about many things family, friends, new job, moving.  I have had very little motivation to write.  Granted it has been a hectic few months. I think I have found my direction.

If you have read many of my posts you know my youngest son suffers from Tourette Syndrome. My husband and I adopted Drew at birth.  He had a rough start and we knew from the beginning there would be challenges.  My dad often commented that though he did not know why the Cosmos lined up and some force brought Drew to me for a reason.

I have often wondered why Drew came to us.  I thought several years ago it was to be a fighter for what Drew needed.  I was right to a point.  I am Drew's mom, fighter, advocate  number one to give him love.  I am his safe place.  The one place he knows no matter what he can be who he is and let his feelings known.

I have searched for websites and blogs chronicling other mom's struggles with Tourette Syndrome, an syndrome that gets little recognition and funding for a cure or research. It is a very misunderstood neuro biological condition that is often portrayed incorrectly on TV.  When someone says Tourette's Syndrome, the first image is of someone who cusses and can't control it.  That is a small part of Tourette. It is called Coprolalia and only about 10% of those who suffer with Tourette have this condition.

Drew has a severe case of Tourette Syndrome. He tics all the time.  Even in his sleep. We are fortunate to have moved to Colorado where the Children's hospital is making progress in managing the symptoms of this disorder.

Facts about Tourette Syndrome

It affects more boys than girls
1 in 1000 have this condition
There is no cure.
It is a spectrum disorder.
OCD, Anxeity, and ADHD are co-morbid conditions. (Drew has all 3)
No two cases of Tourette are the same.

I have decided to use my blog to educate about Tourette as well as a place to vent and share our struggles, and day to day triumphs of Tourette.  My hope is that I can inspire or help just one mom.  I also hope to build a network for other parents to find a place to learn and help each other.

I recommend if  you want more information to check out Tourette Syndrome Association.

I welcome  you to our new journey.

medical stuffs

Everyone who reads my blog knows about Drew and his Tourettes.  It has been a source of frustration for  him.  We had a great doctor in San Francisco who Drew loved.  Moving to Colorado meant a new doctor and building new trust.  Not something easy for Drew.

Drew and I met with Dr. C on Monday.  First thing we learned she trained under Drew's doc in San Francisco!!! As much as I liked the doc in SF I like Dr. C for other reasons.  She is younger and has embraced new techniques that might help Drew.  Week after next Drew will be getting a small amount of botox injected into  the back of his neck.  The hope and theory is that it will relax the muscles and decrease the neck tics. Drew was not too happy about the thought of shots but when asked which would be worse Tourettes or injections every 3 months that could stop the tics.  He decided the injections would not be so bad. We are also adding Magnesium to his diet as this been showing signs of helping decrease tics as well.

Dr. C also suspects from what Drew is describing that he may be having seizures again.  So next week we will be doing a sleep deprived EEG.  If that doesn't show anything than he will be admitted for several days to the epilepsy unit for observation.

He is also being evaluated for his sleep.  It has been proven that kids with Tourettes don't sleep well because their bodies don't shut down and they tic in their sleep..  This leads to an increase in behavior issues as well as decreased learning. Drew wakes up exhausted every morning no matter what time he goes to bed.

We are currently waiting for blood work to come back.  Drew has lost 10% of his body weight in the last 17 days.  That has me and everyone else pretty worried.

It appears that Drew also has ADD but we knew that.  he can't be put on meds for it because they will aggravate the tourettes.  He now carries a water bottle at all times because dehydration can increase tics.

Next week Drew will be giving a presentation to his class about having Tourette's.  They will watch this video and then do a Q&A about the condition.  I will be with him but this is his to talk about.

right now all I can do is have

Faith Trust and Pixie Dust.

Cathy

Spur of the moment

It was a spur of the moment decision. A chance to make a memory and I jumped on it. We had been hearing for days about the space shuttle Endeavor heading to LA to become part of museum. But first it was going to grace the northern California sky. It was to fly over the capitol at 930 this morning. I was literally getting Drew out the door to head to school when the enormity of the event overtook me. I sent Scott a message that we were headed down town. Called Drew's teacher and told her he would be late. So we loaded up. We got downtown about 815 and heard on the radio that the shuttle had just left Edwards AFB and was headed toward us. I managed to find some 1 hour parking and hoped I would not have a ticket when we got back. There were people scattered around the back of the capitol and Drew and I took up spots. I chatted and Drew ran off to check out the turtles and fish in a nearby pond with other kids.

Here is Drew waiting. about 915 people started coming out of office buildings and waiting. One lady was talking to her husband who was on a near by roof top. 930 We heard the shuttle was flying over Stockton 937 it was over Highway 99 in Elk Grove HERE IT COMES!!!! I was so focused on making sure Drew saw it I forgot to take pictures. OOPS. We saw it momentarily before it disappeared behind the other side of the Capitol. WHAT A GYP! Would it come back? The crowd starting disperrsing. We waited. And were rewarded. The pilot flew back over our side. It was huge - but I was shocked at how small it was. Once again I forgot to snap a picture. I was in awe of this incredible machine that had orbited the Earth 4671 times, went on 25 missions, traveled almost 123,000,000 miles, spent 296 days, 3 hours, 34 minutes, 2 seconds in space, and docked with the International Space Station 12 times and MIR once.

This is what we saw the first time it passed by  Pictures courtesy of KCRA.

We were here somewhere.

This is what we saw the second time.

It was memorable and to share it with Drew was wonderful.

LIFE

There are 70 wedding pictures on FB.  I am trying to wait and put them together in a slide show and unveil them at once on here.  If you want a sneak peek do a search on Phoenix images on Facebook. Or wait a week and I will get creative.

There is no rhyme or reason to this post.  I realized that i had not posted in 2 weeks and so much has been going on - just life but just life can be exhausting.

We have seen an increase in Drew's anxiety level - he is getting very nervous about school starting.  He has the same teacher but there are some unknown factors in his life so that makes it hard.

I have lots of inquiries about vacations especially Disney ones.  booking one today.  That makes me happy.  Disney World has a great deal right now - FREE DINING for dates in September, October and  December.  Also a wonderful deal on a California Coast cruise with many of the Pixar characters.

Scott is recovering well.  Most of the road rash is gone.  His knee looks pretty bad and so does his ankle but his head has healed pretty well.  the most visible sign of the collision is the bright pink cast he wears on his right wrist.  It is due to come off August 15.  He seems better recovered than Drew and I.  Mentally at least.  The thought of him getting on a bike again TERRIFIES me.  I wish he would take up long distance running.  for some reason that doesn't seem as scary to me.

The newlyweds are back from Estes Park and had a wonderful time.  They seem to be settling into married life pretty well.

lots more but time is short.

first day

Today was the first day back to a homeschool regieme.  We are still working with the school to get the Home and Hospital teacher worked out.  i didnt' want to let Drew go with out schooling until this was worked out so off we went.  First up.  Computer work on Synonyms.  then some math review.  Then a BREAK.  We are using Time4Learning.com.  I will be doing a review of it in the next couple weeks.  It has some great points and a few things i am not too keen on.  We headed to trader Joe's and to grab some lunch.  While we were driving I asked Drew if he was all right with returning to doing school at home.  He said if it kept him from being hit and teased about his Tourette's he was all for it. WE came home and he read me Henry and Mudge get the Cold Shivers and then i introduced him to a long term project.

He loves Pokemon.  So I  have him designing his own card game.  He has to come up with the characters, their weapons, powers, who can battle who etc.  He seems to like the activity.  The main thing this time around is that I know now to keep it interesting and change up the activites so Drew does not get frustrated or bored.

can't say much but

Because of reasons that be disclosed we have gone back to homeschooling Drew. For the time being the district will be sending a teacher to the house but last time that was a mitigated disaster. So I have decided that I am going to start working with him to get him caught up.

This is the only way we know to keep him safe.  His tics have already become manageable and he is not having the anxiety issues.  He is sleeping better since his doctors made the decision to "home and hospital" till the end of the year.

When I was questioning a couple weeks ago he could not tell me what a synonym or an antonym were. HE can't identify a noun, verb or adjective in a sentence.  These were things that he COULD do before he went to public school but since it is not reinforced it is gone.  They say he is working a third grade level but he can't write a paragraph, no papers come home from school or academic progress reports other than his report card.  I find it hard to believe he has an A+ in science when he has never brought anything science related home or even talked about science class.

I will let the H&H teacher come to the house because I have to but it is going to be really interesting.  We are looking at all options for next year.

time 4 learning

As a member of Time4Learning, I have been given the opportunity to review their program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. For more information, check out their standards-based curriculum or learn how to write your owncurriculum review.

stay tuned

weekend

Thursday Andrew and I made our trek to San Francisco to meet his Tourettes doctor.  It was an adventure to say the least (the VERY least) But I am happy to report that we made it home.  I get to fight a 100.00 fine I got because I thought the stupid MUNI subway read both of our tickets but apparently it only read Drew's.  When you get off the subway during busy times there are cops waiting to ensure you didn't ride for free.  I didn't ride for free but their stupid machine shows I did.  HUMPH.  Now I get to ride a letter explaining what happened and hope that they waive my fine.

This Doctor does not see the Asperger's in Drew.  so back to square one there.

We get to do it again this Thursday.  Yippee. Yesterday we had a great day.  In the morning we met with CHILL - our home school group and learned about wind and made kites and listened to stories about wind.  While all this was going on  my phone was sending alerts about the real power of the wind in the way of tornadoes that were ravishing the south.  Wish we could have taught about that.  Then home we went.

Last night we went to see The Lorax.  Wonderful movie.  I can't believe it was never on the read list to Drew.  We read so many other Dr. Suess books but not that one.  Bad Mom.  But I will be rectifying that soon.

Today drew is enjoying some down time watching movies while Scott is out for his ride.  ME?  I am supposed to be doing my final Statistics paper for my class.  That is a blog post unto itself.  And I will be so glad when it is over this week.  Scott is also going to the National Homemade Bike show this today.  Not sure what that is but I am skipping it.

I did get my grocery shopping done this morning.  I love that Bel Air allows me to place my order online.  They pick the groceries and when I get there I push a button tell them I am there and they bring the groceries to my car.  Can't get much simpler than that.

I am also preparing for the IEP meeting we have Monday.  Yet another blog post.  Drew does see an audiologist Monday afternoon.  There are several docs waiting to see those results.  I have to make sure I take all the information to the appt. so the results get sent.

So here I sit at my computer doing everything possible to avoid writing my paper.

I am back

I tried the world of Word press but it was not for me.  I thought I wanted to be a blogger of deals and steals but I want to come back to my little corner of the world and blog about me and Scott and Drew and homeschooling ( yes the H word) and Phil and Betsy and life and love and all things me. This is where i belong.  I have to figure out how to put some of the other blogs posts on this site so i don't lose them.

Where do I start?  We have been fighting the wonderful world of bullies and drew getting beat up and dealing with the school for not telling us.  Drew is asking for home school again.  He is tired of it and wants to feel safe.  We meet with the school again on Monday for an emergency IEP and I think the will be seeing things my way for the end of the this year.  I can file lawsuits with the best of them.

We are also finding that Drew may have APD (auditory processing disorder).  So off to the audiologist we go Monday afternoon.  Tomorrow Drew and I are off to San Francisco to meet with the Tourettes doc at UCSF.  Scott and I went last week and now Drew gets to go three times then a plan of action will be put into place.  They are also putting us in touch with an Asperger specialist at UCSF to help as well.

Wedding plans are on course as far as I can tell.  They tell me when they need something.  but otherwise i stay out of it.  Safer that way.

Scott is getting ready to run a half marathon.  His goal is to finish in the top 10 my goal would be to have fun and finish.  I have started going back to the gym.  well until the doc benched me because I tore a muscle so now I am waiting for the all clear to go back.

adoption and other stuff

It has been an interesting week around here. Drew and I have some real heart to hearts. We are seeing more normal 9 year old mischief. YIPEEE!!!! He tried to juggle - with rocks and broke a porch light. He is riding is bike without training wheels and is starting to build ramps to jump off of. Yesterday is my favorite. He put on is army camo jacket and hat, took brown acrylic paint and painted his face and climbed a tree to see how well camo techniques really worked. They did. I was so busy trying to get dried acrylic paint off his face I forgot to get a picture. his therapist is wanting us to attempt to put him a regular class room next year for 2 hours a day 2 days a week. That is HUGE!!!! He is about to graduate from OT. He is trying new foods on a daily basis. Another HUGE!!!!!

We were driving to therapy the other day and he started asking about the difference between birth mom and mom. I explained that a birth mom is just that someone who gives birth to you BUT a mom is the one who takes care of you, stays up with you when you are sick, goes camping - even when camping is not her favorite thing, buys pet lizards and feeds them crickets even tho she hates both, cooks, cleans, reads, hugs, does homework, kisses scraped knees, puts up with Disney channel, and a million other things. He seemed to grasp that. we talked a little more about what I do as a mom. several times during the conversation I reiterated that his Birthmom did love him because she chose to give him to us because she knew she couldn't do all the things that we do. He said I know A***** loved me but it still hurts.....

WOW. I assured him that he is not alone in that. I told him it was OK to have those feelings. Many adopted people feel some hurt. It may not go away but how he chooses to deal with it is key. I can see how far his thought process on the adoption issue has come in a short time. All we can do is be as open and honest as we can be. That will get harder with time.

progress

We are making progress in the foods Drew eats. For the longest time it was only carbs. It got to be very challenging and VERY unhealthy. In working with his OT, she came up with a way for him to try new foods. He gets to be a scientist. When he is introduced to a new food he gets to examine it for color, textures, smells etc. Then he has to try it. In some cases the first try may only be a lick but he is not allowed to say he doesn't like something until he has journaled about a food 10 times. I am happy to report instead of just potatoes and corn on the cob he now eats dried bananas, snap pea crisps, sweet potatoes stawberries and blueberries. He has ruled out for the time being freeze dried mango, kiwi is iffy at best. He has licked broccoli and asparagus and the jury is still out on those but in our eyes that is MUCHO progress.

Another Tuesday

Drew is at school. Scott is at work. I am at home. I have been weighing my options as to what I could do today. I think some washing of sheets is in store for me. May be washing a couple dishes. Then I plan on knitting and maybe some online retail therapy.

Drew this morning was listening to a song and to give you an example of how his mind works - the lyrics were "she's a good bass fisher and an dynamite kisser...." Drew looked at me and asked "why would anyone want to kiss dynamite?"

I am taking a class right now on moral and social ethics. in his world everything is black and white. But when talking about morals there are many grey areas. I am still trying to help him understand Ethics on an 8 year old asperger level. All I can say is it is not easy.