Truthful Tuesdays

Truthful Tuesday.... is on wednesday this week.

The truth? I was not feeling all that spectacular yesterday and had a lot to do still. So I didn't get to the post. I hope next week goes better. LOL!

The cat's outa the bag....

We are expecting again! It has been a total surprise to us, but sometimes the best things in life are surprises.

Scott has been having dreams for over a year now that we have a baby. I never had any indication or anything... so Surprise!! LOL!!! (He didn't tell me about these dreams, by the way!)

We hope it will be a girl this time to maybe try to balance out the testosterone in our house. But in reality I just want a healthy baby that does not go to the NICU.

Estimated Due Date is the middle of December, but we all know I would never make it that far. So I am just hoping for a thanksgiving baby and not halloween.

Thankful Thursdays

Today I am thankful for technology. I am going to be getting a hp ipaq that Scott found for me on ksl.com..... and I am thrilled.

I need something that will do all my calendar stuff, plus phone numbers, information on Josh... the list goes on. I was not going to pay for a smartphone, or Palm phone with a 30$ data plan per month on top of the cost of the thing. So Scott found me the perfect solution. And even though it is used... the guy bought it for HIS wife who could never figure it out.... it was an amazing price.

I will be picking it up tomorrow. I can't wait.

Truthful Tuesdays

Trevor has been seeing a therapist with Weber Human Services, named Joel. We like Joel and he has given us some great coping tools. From day one of our sessions, he has told me that Trevor needs a Med Eval with the psychologist. But in order to do that we had to feel out some eval forms and both his regular Ed. and Resource teacher did as well. I put a rush on the teachers and was able to get them both back in yesterday. Before handing them over to the receptionist to be scored, Joel read through them and what the teachers had to say. Basically he told me it was what he was suspecting, but now is sure of. Trevor has ADHD. It actually is common for Autistic kids to have ADD or ADHD. What his teachers said was he is not aggressive at school (good news), he does very messy and poor work, he does not remain seated, he daydreams, ect. Also his regular Ed. teacher mentioned that he is not socially fitting in and the other kids are starting to notice how different he is. She called him 'socially misfit' with 'odd behaviors'. Nothing we didn't already know and suspect.

I am glad he is getting some help right now, because I am in way over my head. When Trevor was at the NUAP and we were learning all about Autism at that point, I remember hearing about ADD, ADHD problems and thinking at that point that I was soooo glad he did not show signs of it. I feel way overwhelmed with this... although we have been dealing with the behaviors for awhile. I think it is just having one more diagnosis that is hard for me. But I hope the Dr. can get him another med added to the one he is on, or change it all together and we can get him in a better place. I know there is something out there that will work, we just have not found it. I hope we do soon. Or else I might go crazy.

Now you know. I am scared of ADHD. Awesome.

Thankful Thursdays

Today I am thankful for the sunshine. I know that might sound corny... but I am!

It was such a nice, warm, sunny, blue day yesterday for soccer and I loved it. I didn't realize until last night how much I miss sunny warm days. I hope spring sticks around.

Truthful Tuesdays

Today I will admit that I struggle with routine.

I have always been a more spontaneous type of person. Having a child with autism changed all that. My life revolves around routine, routine, routine. Some times I don't think much about it becuase I feel like I am on auto pilot. Other days I drag becuase it's like groundhog day and I am doing the same thing over an over. When things happen, like illness, vacation ect. I am finding it harder to get back into the routine. I think it's because I am just tired of routine.

But... I will keep on going with the routine, routine, routine, becuase if I don't? Well let's just say things will fall apart for Trevor. Because of him I keep on keeping on.

Thankful Thursdays

Today I am sooooo thankful for something that makes my life easier. Today I am wondering why it has taken me so long to find this amazing product. It is called SimplyThick. It is a gel beverage thickener. I know you probably wonder why I get excited over things like this.

Josh needs all of his liquids thickened to a nector consistency. We have been down this route before and I HATED it. Before I used this stuff called Thick-It... a powder you mixed in. It was gritty, never fully dissolved and if left for periods of time (like 45 min) it would settle and I found myself constantly shaking Josh's sippy cup all day. Plus I put it in his formula a couple times and it clogged the pump every time. So anyway this time around I was less than thrilled when I found out we had to go back to thickened liquids. (He is refluxing thin... we had a swallow study done yesterday at PCMC) But once again my friend Jessica mailed me some samples of this Simply Thick gel. I am in heaven! It mixes in seconds... stays mixed forever and even for several days. I have been thickening Josh's formula and had no problems whatsoever. It is amazing stuff!!!

So today I am VERY thankful for Jessica and pointing me in the right direction. I am soooo glad there are products out there to help me when we come across these problems.

So three cheers for Simply Thick!!!

In case you want/need to use this product... here is where you go.

www.simplythick.com

Love, love, love, love it!!!!!

Truthful Tuesdays

Today for my truthful tuesday I am going to tell the truth about cleaning my house.

I think I have OCD about it being clean. I think I have had too many bad meltdowns with Trevor over a cluttered room or house to not be paranoid that if it gets too wild and crazy, he will lose it.

There I said it.

Now I really wonder if you can develop OCD in your adult life. Anyone know?

Autism Awareness Day

** I tried to post this for two days. For some reason Blogger did not want it. What gives?

~~~ Original Post that I did on Friday Morning, Autism Awareness Day~~~

As you may or may not know... today is Autism Awareness Day. April is Autism Awareness Month. I wanted to make sure that everyone who reads the blog knows the latest statistics.

1 in 110 children are now diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. 1 in 70 Boys are being diagnosed.

As a mom of an autistic child, these are so alarming!!!! Every year when the NIMH does their latest statistics... it gets worse and worse. When Trevor was diagnosed in Feb of 2006 with Autism the ratio was 1:163. Now just three years later (the latest statistics are from 2009) it is 1:110. I know I am not alone in wishing more research would go into the study of Autism and ways to help.

Now for some personal info. In case you would like a glimpse into raising a child with autism... keep reading.

Autism means lot's of guessing. At least for me. I am continually guessing what is bothering Trevor, what is wrong, how he feels, why school was hard that day, why he can't wear most clothes that are bought for him, why he is angry, why he is frustrated, why he can't just explain his reasoning.... and on and on. Life with autism for me means many hours of planning ahead for holidays, birthdays, special events. It means schedule boards, behavior charts, many phone calls to and from the school, battling homework, battling reading on a daily basis. It means worrying if he is going to eat when we go somewhere, if he is going to eat if he is home. It means wondering if this little change of routine is going to cause some mild questioning, or screaming on the floor. It means thinking about how uncertain the future seems.


But I also can say this about Autism. I have been truly opened up to another life that I never imagined or could prepare for. But even though it has been a hard and extremely frustrating at times journey... I would not change it for anything. I have learned so many things on a personal level that I could not have learned otherwise. I think I am more patient with the kids because I know that Trevor truly does not understand the most basic of things at times. I think that I am alot more compassionate to other people and especially those I see struggling as well. I am ashamed to admit that I used to be annoyed by the screaming child at the store. Now I have so much compassion for them. I want to walk up and give that mom a hug and tell her I understand. Even if the child is a neurotypical child, I know how it feels to be looked down on for a screaming child. I think I have a special place in my heart for children with special needs that I could not have had if I didn't experience it for myself. I just latch on to those kids and truly love them even though I don't' know them well. Case in point (sorry to put you on the spot Jessica) but a friend of mine I have met on this special needs journey has become one of my best friends... someone I go to for all sorts of advice. Her little boy Jonah, has Bronchiecstasis, a lung disease that is like Cystic Fibrosis. When little Jonah has problems, does not feel well or has his 'clean-out's' down at PCMC, I am on constantly thinking of him and praying for him and Jessica to make it through whatever trial they are going through. I love this kid and am amazed at what he goes through. These special needs kids are amazing!!!! I can honestly say that I have hear that term many times throughout my life, but never truly understood what that meant until now.

I am so grateful for the things I have learned from Autism. I am glad that we are able to have the help we do for Trevor and he has the people in his life he does. Some days... I will admit I do hate Autism and wish it was not anything I had to deal with. But since I do have to deal with it, I am glad I have been able to embrace it and learn as much as I can in order to help Trevor has the best chance at life as possible.

Thankful Thursdays

I am thankful for my new washer and dryer. I am still amazed 6 weeks later at how fast I can get loads of laundry done. I used to spend so much time on the laundry and truly hated doing it. With the new one's I can get it done in 1/4 the time (no this is not an exaggeration) and I can't be more thankful! Sometimes it's the simple things in life that make all the difference! :)