Anyone who has a child with Autism, or for that matter, any disability or illness will tell you that every once in a while, you have a bad day. A day when you just want to stay in bed and throw the covers over your head. A day when you hurt so much for your child and what is going on with them, that you just want to cry and cry and cry. Today was one of those days for me. Now, before anyone gets to thinking that I'm feeling sorry for myself, let me set the record straight. It's never about me....It's about Ryan. He is such a sweet, lovable little boy and it just rips my heart out when he has trouble with things that "typical" 2 year olds can do. Communication is probably the area where we notice it the most. Ryan has trouble communicating his wants, needs, and preferences some times more than others. As a result, he tends to get frustrated very easily. Staying positive about things one hundred percent of the time is very difficult. I guess the biggest issue that I worry about is Ryan's future. I realize that he is only 2 and 1/2 and that I probably should not be pondering these issues at the moment...but I wonder about things sometimes. Will Ryan continue to make progress ? Will he be able to make the transition from Early Intervention and Building Blocks to the public school system ? Will the services he receives in school be enough for him to continue to make progress ?
I sometimes even worry about the long term future such as whether he will go to college, find love, get married, and other things that I realize I shouldn't be worrying about at this point.
I'm only human folks, and just not having a good day today thinking about all of these "what ifs".
Tomorrow is another day and hopefully my attitude will be better. Sorry to be such a downer, but sometimes, you just gotta let it out.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Setbacks and progress
So, I thought that Ryan and Nattie were over their nasty colds. I thoroughly cleaned the humidifiers and packed them away in the closet. The day after I did this, their colds came back with a vengeance. Back out came the humidifiers, vapor bath, and baby rub. Oh well...at least now it seems like they are at the tail end of things. One can only hope at least.
On a brighter note, the amount of progress that Ryan has made over the past 6 weeks is nothing short of amazing. His language especially has exploded. He says a lot more single words than he was and even has a handful of 2 to 3 word phrases that he uses on a fairly consistent basis. Ryan also seems to be a lot more focused at times. He is jumping now. His hand sensitivity seems a bit less frequent than before. He's playing with his peers more. Ryan has made significant gains over the past 6 weeks and still has a long road ahead of him, but progress is good.
John and I brought Ryan back to Children's Hospital recently for a follow up to his evaluation that was done in July. The Doctor noted marked improvement in several areas. Overall, he's now functioning in the 20 to 22 month old range. She recommends that we continue with all of the services that he currently receives through Early Intervention and Building Blocks. The Doctor is also recommending a full day integrated pre-school program for Ryan when he turns 3 in September. The city that we live in does not have a full day integrated program, only a half day integrated program. John and I will push for Ryan to spend the maximum amount of time in the integrated classroom, as we believe this will greatly benefit him.
We are just getting started with all of the evaluations and assessments that need to be completed in order for Ryan to attend pre-school. It's a long, tiring process and we are very nervous about it. Going from Early Intervention to the public school system, well....it's an entirely different world. My husband and I will push for an all day program for Ryan. This means that he will likely spend a half day in an integrated classroom and a half day in a DS (Developmental Specialty or Services...I'm not sure what the proper name is) classroom. From what I understand, the main difference between the integrated and DS classroom is the level of support. An integrated classroom may tend to have more children that need less support. A DS classroom would tend to have less children that need more support. We would like for Ryan to receive the maximum amount of services that he can. Between Early Intervention and Building Blocks, Ryan currently receives about 23 hours per week in services. John and I believe that in order for Ryan to continue to make progress, he'll need something comparable from the public school system. We will do all that we can to make that happen for our son. Right now, we're just trying to take it day by day, meeting by meeting. We'll advocate for him as much as we can and will push for everything we can get for him. As Ryan's parents, we feel that these are the best gifts that we could ever give him.
On a brighter note, the amount of progress that Ryan has made over the past 6 weeks is nothing short of amazing. His language especially has exploded. He says a lot more single words than he was and even has a handful of 2 to 3 word phrases that he uses on a fairly consistent basis. Ryan also seems to be a lot more focused at times. He is jumping now. His hand sensitivity seems a bit less frequent than before. He's playing with his peers more. Ryan has made significant gains over the past 6 weeks and still has a long road ahead of him, but progress is good.
John and I brought Ryan back to Children's Hospital recently for a follow up to his evaluation that was done in July. The Doctor noted marked improvement in several areas. Overall, he's now functioning in the 20 to 22 month old range. She recommends that we continue with all of the services that he currently receives through Early Intervention and Building Blocks. The Doctor is also recommending a full day integrated pre-school program for Ryan when he turns 3 in September. The city that we live in does not have a full day integrated program, only a half day integrated program. John and I will push for Ryan to spend the maximum amount of time in the integrated classroom, as we believe this will greatly benefit him.
We are just getting started with all of the evaluations and assessments that need to be completed in order for Ryan to attend pre-school. It's a long, tiring process and we are very nervous about it. Going from Early Intervention to the public school system, well....it's an entirely different world. My husband and I will push for an all day program for Ryan. This means that he will likely spend a half day in an integrated classroom and a half day in a DS (Developmental Specialty or Services...I'm not sure what the proper name is) classroom. From what I understand, the main difference between the integrated and DS classroom is the level of support. An integrated classroom may tend to have more children that need less support. A DS classroom would tend to have less children that need more support. We would like for Ryan to receive the maximum amount of services that he can. Between Early Intervention and Building Blocks, Ryan currently receives about 23 hours per week in services. John and I believe that in order for Ryan to continue to make progress, he'll need something comparable from the public school system. We will do all that we can to make that happen for our son. Right now, we're just trying to take it day by day, meeting by meeting. We'll advocate for him as much as we can and will push for everything we can get for him. As Ryan's parents, we feel that these are the best gifts that we could ever give him.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Quiet
Hey, I know folks...I've been real quiet. Lots going on around here. Both of the kids and myself had pretty nasty colds for a couple of weeks and were feeling, well, just plain tired and crappy. After getting over that, we have just begun to start up with the pre-school process for Ryan. It's been non stop evaluations, assessments, and meetings, and we are just getting started !!! Throw in some medical appointments and a husband with a somewhat unpredictable work schedule at the moment and voila...you have a few weeks of not really having the time or energy to blog. I have lots to talk about though in regards to Ryan, this whole pre-school process, and some medical appointments that he has had. Stay tuned everyone !!!!
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