Our son has another IEP meeting on Friday.  It's about him making the transition to middle school next year.  Although he seems to want to be home schooled.  I am very nervous for him going to middle school. 
     Yes, my son is different, he might make faces while he talks (he doesn't even know that he is doing it), he might be a little loud ( most of the time), he might talk about things that are only interesting to him (all of the time), he doesn't see things the way we do and that's ok.  I am learning and I am trying to handle him not differently, but differently if that makes any sense.  He still hasn't had the appointment with the psychologist yet, they had called and cancelled a little over a month ago and said that the doctor was sick and that they would call back...for one people in this office really doesn't seem to be doing their job when it took a month for you to make the appointment to begin with.  I am thinking that I might be taking him somewhere else.  It's a shame that this is a good doctor with such poor office workers :(.

     Knowing now that our son is Autistic opened my eyes to why he behaves the way he does.  From him being incoherent to what is going on around him at home, to the almost melt downs at the store.
     Our son can be at the same table with us while we are eating dinner, there is a conversation going on and not even two minutes later he is asking us questions that had already been answered.  He doesn't like to be told what to do or how to do things (I know...most kids don't) Our conversations with him isn't a usual conversation, they are one sided most of the time, about topics he wants to talk about.  He hardly makes eye contact, he might briefly but it is rare that he will actual engage in eye to eye contact.  Trying to explain things to him such as lying, money, respect and chores seems too much for him at times.  Before our eyes were open to the possibility of autism we thought that he was a self centered little boy and couldn't figure out how he got this way...I guess some would think of him as a spoiled brat.  I keep trying to explain these things to him, calmly...it's not easy.
     The almost melt downs...this past Friday he was talking about buying a train set and he needed more money.  I told him that he had his chance to earn money by doing his chores.  I reminded him that he told me he no longer wanted to do chores and he would sell things for money.  He wasn't at all happy when I told him he still had to do his chores...needless to say he was unhappy with this already.  He said he was going to sell one of the loom bracelets he had made for $10.00.  I suggested that it be less than that, he said he no longer wanted it and through it down on the floor of the grocery store and said I don't want the bracelet anymore.  Our daughter picks up and says, yay I got looms ( of course this doesn't help stop a melt down before it begins it helps get it started).  Now he wants the looms back and she's not giving them up.  This goes on for a while and then he lays down on the floor of the store and says he's not moving until she gives them back.  I honestly don't remember how this one was resolved as quickly as it did (I think it had something to do with my daughter making a deal with him for something) and every thing was fine. 
     He has had a melt down at church as well.  He will bring his own basketball, but doesn't want anyone else to touch it.  He gets very angry when someone does.  I am not sure if it's a permission thing or a touching thing.
     We try to steer him from Thomas the Tank Engine ( after all he will be in middle school next school year and the thought of this scared me to death ) but he keeps on going right back...so I have given up on that.  It's kinda like Thomas the Tank Engine is a fisherman and our son is a huge fish and Thomas keeps reeling him in. 
     I would like to know what goes on inside his head, what things look like from his perspective.  That would give me so much insight and I might be better at helping him more...but I am learning as I go.

Thanks Again for Reading.

IEP Meeting

          Basically, an IEP is where teachers and parents come together and figure out what the educational needs are for the child...like a personal game plan. 
         Our son was tested at school and along with the home personal survey; they have found that he is on the Autism spectrum...and Aspergers was mentioned.  We have him scheduled to see a specialist, a really great doctor.  I say that because I have personally met with him before and I have even recommended him in the past.  I am confident that after all the other tests our son might have to through the specialist that there will be no long drawn out process as it is/was in my case.  This will be a learning process for the whole family. 
         I was observing him the other night a dinner with my sister and her youngest son.  My sister is a nurse and was very good with him.  My sister had refilled the salsa dish with a different bottle that he had used and he was very quick to point out she had use the wrong bottle and it wasn't the same.  She explained to him that it had the same salsa in the bottle that she used.  She also went on to explain to him that she was going to get another basket of chips and that they would be the same type of chips just a different basket.  I personally didn't think he needed this explanation since he has been to Mexican restaurants a lot since he was little.  I didn't say anything, I continued to watch.  My son said that it was ok as she was handed a new basket of chips.  I thought to myself, would I know when to explain things to him when things are different like a basket of chips?  How will I know what I should explain to him and what I shouldn't.  I don't want him to feel like he's different, I want him to feel like himself.  I am sure I will learn with my husband the do's and don'ts as this process and progress goes on. 
Thanks for Reading.

"HELP"....

    

Nothing is more frightening to a parent than hearing their child cry for help.  Especially when you can tell the difference between a fake cry for help and a real one.  Now to get to the story as to why I labeled it HELP...
     This weekend my husband and daughter were out all night with a church the youth group at church for their "Survivor" weekend challenge.  I thought it would be nice to take our 11 year old, J and 10 month old, W out for dinner.  J and I agreed on Waffle House.  Dinner went on and I was very proud of J for not making a mess while eating.  He excused himself from the table to use the restroom.  One of which he has used before.  While I am waiting on him to return to the table I proceed with getting the W ready to go.  Still no sign of our son in the restroom.
     I thought I heard a faint, "Help,".  It was so faint that I thought I must have imagined it.  Then came the panic almost frantic sounding, "HELP".  I have the W in my arms and our stuff still at the table, "Are you ok?", I ask him through the restroom door.
     "I can't get out!", J said.
     I asked the waitress, which didn't seem to thrilled to be there in the first place, and her response was tell him to turn the lock."...that was a lot of help.  I am sure he knows that considering he had to do that to lock it in the first place.  The waitress did tell someone else and luckily he was quick and had the key.  He saved the day.
     I am surprised by this because he has used this restroom before and I am not sure if this has anything to do with aspergers or not.  I felt helpless, all I could do was wait for the door to open. 

Welcome to Another Journey

  
     Welcome to another one of our journeys we are currently going through.  We have noticed that our 11 year old is different, he has been ever since I can remember.  Nothing bad, just different.  We thought it was because he was so sick with phenomena when he was two.  Then I thought maybe he will grow out of these things...we kept the thought of autism in the back of our minds, the thought was there...
     Until recently, teachers at his school have noticed a few changes in him.  One started noticing stuff last year, but no talk of Asperger's came up.  Until, about a month ago.  His handwriting is awful, he can't tie his shoes, he talks constantly about Thomas the Tank Engine, and other things; these were some of the things they noticed. 
     When my husband and I started reading more about Asperger's we soon realized that there were a lot of things that started to make since now.
     Our son makes faces when he talks, he seems to live in his own little world with little knowledge of what is going on around him unless it interests him.  He doesn't get emotional when every one else is grieving or showing other types of sadness.  He is a very messy eater (which I thought was typical of boys).  He chews on his fingers, picks at his head and scratches himself...at first I thought this behavior was because he saw someone else doing it (he is very quickly to want to act like someone he knows or sees on television). 
     The school sent home some paperwork that we had to fill out and I guess that's when it hit me that maybe he wasn't coping other people; maybe it was his way to cope with things.  They are going to do some testing there at the school, but we also took him to his doctor and he is being referred to a physiologist. 
     I love my boy and want only the best for him and knowing what we know now has opened my eyes so much.   It does scare me to think that he will be in middle school next school year, and knowing that on a maturity level he's just not ready.