Sending Gabe into Battle (an old blog entry I never posted)

Every day I wake Gabe up at 0700 to get him ready for school.  And everyday when I kiss him goodbye I feel like I am sending him to the front lines.  He never complains about going to school, but he never says he likes it either.  Most days I sit and wonder what the school will do to ruin my sweet little boy.  Yep, he can throw a temper tantrum that's unbelievable, but most times it's autism related!  I can't imagine what he must feel like sitting there in that class with all those highly verbal children that seem to effortlessly move from one activity to the next.  How do I help the school understand how frustrated Gabe is with not understanding what is asked of him and not being able to communicate?  How do I explain sensory processing disorder?  How can someone who knows nothing of sensory disorders help him?  How can I expect his teacher to understand that the florescent lighting in the room could be a trigger to Gabe's behavior.  Lighting, sound, people moving, rapid changing of activities.  It's all overwhelming to my little autie.  Every single sensory system in his body works over time.  Sounds are super loud to him, movement is fast and sometimes scary.  What will it take for them to understand, how long will it be until they completely destroy his passion for learning????

Latest app!

Well we loaded another app on the iPad. This one is called sentence builder. Gabe played with it a little tonight and wow it is an awesome app! Gabe made sentences with just a little help from mommy. It uses pictures and Gabe has to build a sentence from what he sees. An example: there were two brown dogs in the picture. Gabe had to build the sentence "these dogs are brown". This might become a favorite work time app!

iPad apps are WoNdErFuL

Gabe loves the iPad, the iTouch, or anything electronic for that matter.  He was playing the computer at 2.5 years old, but not talking, go figure!  So we have been using apps for awhile on the iPad and iTouch and I thought I would give a shout out to a couple of them.  First on the list is Proloquo2go.  It's a fully functional AAC (assisted communication) device.  Everything you need to say in one little app at a great price compared to desk top type AAC devices.  Gabe is verbal, so he does not need a fancy AAC device, although we have used them in the past and they are amazing and helped Gabe to a great degree.  And it's something we still go back and forth on, but for now P2G is awesome!  Gabe has severe language issues and word process, word recall issues.  So asking for certain items, or trying to tell me something he did at school can be extremely frustrating for him.  Words don't always flow quickly, not to mention motor planning is a huge issue.  We call it mush mouth.  When Gabe says too much at one time and no one can understand him.  Proloquo2go bridges the gap for Gabe and decreases those communication breakdowns. 

Next on the list.  Stories2Learn.  This is a social stories app.  It allows you to customize your child's social stories.  Finally there's an App for that!  Gabe loves to run in wide open places and doesn't stop to look for cars.  He even struggles to stop when mom and dad yell STOP!  So we made a social story about that.  On Trick or Treat night we made a social story about walking with mom and dad, no running, saying please and thank you.  We all had a blast and Gabe did a great job walking with mommy and daddy!

It's even easy enough my 25mo old can use it.  He's already "spelling" words :)  Okay...so you can't spell them wrong, but it's still great for learning letters.
The next app I plan on downloading is sentence building!  It's a total language based app. 

Happy "pod"ing

quotes....

I was watching a video on YouTube called "Unlocking Autism" and there was a quote from Albert Einstein that I found incredibly moving. "Few see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts."  How very true.  One thing that intrigues me most about Gabe is his pureness.  He sees the world for what it is and nothing more.  His love is real.  His mind is not fogged by what society deems important.  Love flows from his body.  And he truly sees with his own eyes and feels with his own heart. 

Things have been very rough since I last blogged, but one very awesome note of progress....GABE IS EATING!!!  Some days are better then others, but he is pretty much back to normal in the food department.  School on the other hand is not going so good.  Gabe is struggling loads.  It was recommended he be placed in an autistic support class because he is having such a hard time within the typical class setting.  One of the biggest issues is doing non preferred activities.  He hates certain centers.  His frustration is climbing to an all time MAX!  Gabe's ability to effectively communicate is very small.  The school does not have any augmentative forms of communication in place for him at all.  There have been so many failed attempts at communicating that Gabe has given up.  He resorts to screaming, yelling, and hiding under the table. 

His sensory issues are out of control.  Loud sounds, soft sounds, the kids moving with in the classroom are upsetting him.  He can't stay in his seat and refuses to go to circle time most days. Hopefully the school can figure things out soon.  In the mean time we teach him as much as we can at home....although he seems to do a lot of learning on his own.  It's amazing what he can figure out by himself.  

Harvest Festival 2010

Over the weekend we enjoyed some family time at the Harvest Festival at Sprout Wood Farms.  It was a lot of fun.  We saw goats, drank yummy fruit slush's, participated in a drum circle, climbed trees, and listened to some good music. 

Zane really enjoyed throwing sticks and stones into the stream with Daddy.  The weather was 100% perfect.  It was so nice to be outside and enjoy the fresh air.  Zane ate a little bit of pretzel and loved riding around on a little kiddie bike they had.  He played with another little boy in the family fun area and climbed trees with his brother. 

Gabe wasn't so sure about the drum circle at first.  He found comfort hiding behind Daddy.  It didn't take him long to decide it was okay to participate in the drum circle.  He had fun making thunder sounds with the thunder clapper and shaking the maracas!  Zane played along too.  The drum circle was a way to thank Mother Earth for the wonderful Harvest.  People were dancing and have a great time. 

I think the best part of the whole day was watching the boys climb in the trees!  They were great climbing trees too!  Perfect for little feet.

What a wonderful day we had!!

It's been awhile since I have updated...

And a lot has happened.  Gabe started school.  Kindergarten!  It has been a very big struggle for him.  He is having huge problems transitioning.  He cries, screams, kicks, spits, throws things, etc.  Yesterday was his first day back to school after 5 days off.  He had a great day!!!  His teachers are using picture schedules, social stories, and tons of sensory items to aid him in transitioning.  It seems like they have all their ducks in a row, but it has been a struggle trying to explain Gabe to his regular ed. teachers.  They seem to have this idea of what a kindergartner should be able to do, and my child in many ways can do more then the "normal" kindergarten child, but in a lot of other ways he is extremely behind his peers.

Gabe also continues to refuse most food.  Just within the last two days we got him to eat baby food bananas and baby food applesauce.  Regular applesauce causes him to gag.  Because he has such severe food aversions and fears associated with eating it has become necessary to insert a nasal gastric tube to ensure he is getting enough nutrition.  Gabe's TSS did manage to get him to chew and swallow a piece of Mario candy.  YAY!!!  We have an appointment with the GI doctor soon to discuss the need for a more permanent tube called a mic-key tube. 

On a more fun note...because this blog is getting pretty depressing...Gabe lost his first tooth on his first day of big kid school.  Really I knocked it out!  Gabe was fighting me about brushing his teeth and he moved when I was brushing them.  That very loose tooth didn't stand a chance against the power of the toothbrush! 

Gabe also has been on a gluten free/casein free diet for a week now.  One thing I noticed was Gabe's increased use of words.  His speech also seems clearer.  He isn't working so hard to find the words he needs to communicate!  Bonus.  It's been very easy going GF/CF because Gabe doesn't eat.  I guess that's one advantage to all of this.  Hopefully down the road when he decided food really is yummy we will be 100% prepared for the GF/CF diet. 

On to Mr. Zane!  Wow he is growing like a weed.  And starting to use more words.  Zane's favorite thing in the world is CARS!!!  Just like his brother.  When we get out of the car in a packed parking lot all we hear is cars, cars, cars, and it's so cute.  The way he says cars sounds like he is from Boston, Ma.  I love it. 

Zane is loving daycare most days.  He only goes 2-3 days a week, but enjoys his friends and teachers.  The other day he came home blue!  His teacher had blue day and all the kids played  in blue jello.  I'm sure he had a blast getting all sticky and eating blue jello. 

I can't believe he is going to be 2 soon.  Where does time go?  I tell him all the time to stop growing, but he just doesn't listen!

Zane continues to have speech therapy.  We LOVE his therapist.  She worked with Gabe for almost two years...and is totally worth her weight in gold!  She is till offering great advice for Gabe and I pick her brain every chance I get. 

Please eat little Gabe

My heart is breaking into a million pieces. It has been a month since Gabe started refusing solid foods. He has lost just over six pounds and continues to restrict his diet to mostly yogurt and pediasure. He has eaten a few bites of ice cream here and there, but nothing worthy of counting as calories. Gabriel had an endoscopy done the other day. I was really praying it was a medical issue that could easily be fixed and I would have my little guy back again. It turns out his esophogus is 100% normal. I know I should be happy. And really I am. But fixing the "autism" feeding issue is so much more difficult. Gabe now has to go to a feeding clinic where a therapist will teach him how to eat solid food. I haven't slept in days. All in do is worry about my precious little guy and how hungry and sad he must be. Even Gabe's behavior is different. He screams in my face and cries at the drop of a hat. I want my sweet lite autie back. I pray every night for him. Please eat little Gabe.