It's the dog's point of view Autism

Today is Saturday and I'm trying to just relax because I'm just worn out from the week. Everyone wants my attention and assistance from family to friends, teachers, my businesses and of course Doodle. Yesterday evening Doodle and I went for a ride around the neighborhood and she did pretty good going around the neighborhood twice, but the bell on her bike broke and I thought it might cause an issue. That top would have just have to be just glued on but there is another issue that rose from it. I told her there was no way to put the top back on and I was looking for a place to put the bell top. I had no pockets and Doodle doesn't wear pockets if she can help it. Stretchy pants are her favorite thing in the world. She looked at me and said, "Put it in the basket." Referring to the basket attached to her bike so her "friends" can ride. That's called progress. Normally she would just stim by humming. But she acknowledged the situation and came up with a conclusion herself.

But this blog is about a dog's point of view. My poor dog Yasas, Greek for hello, just loves Doodle some days. Today I don't think this is the day. She's old and she's like me by keeping to herself. She'll play when she wants to but other then that just likes to pretty much be left alone.

So here is what it's like to be a dog dealing with Autism.

Hey there. My name is Yasas and I live in a household with a child on the spectrum. I like living here. I'm loved and taken care of. Some days are better then others. Depending on how obsessed the smaller one is going to be with touching me that day. And today is one of those days.

Apparently, I'm better looking with flowers around my neck. I'm not a big fan of them but I won't complain. At least the smallest one isn't dragging me outside to jump on the trampoline. I really don't like that thing. But I know that after pictures are snapped cause I'm awe so cute they will be removed and I can go outside and take a nap.

Just like the time a bowl was placed on my head for a hat. After a quick photo session I was put outside for a potty break and a nap. I really don't mind the photo sessions as I know I'm going outside to enjoy this wonder fall weather. The feel of the breeze through my fur. Ah, it's a wonderful feeling.

I'm normally an inside dog, but when the weather is as great as this I prefer to be outside. My human lets me sit at her feet when I'm inside or outside, she just loves me that way. The other one, likes to look at me and carry me around. Sometimes she dresses me up like she does those things I've never been allowed to chew on, that the smallest likes to sleep with and carry everywhere.

The smallest is nothing like me but hey I like her. I won't bite her or anything cause when she doesn't want to eat, it's up to me to clean her plate. It's a cushy life even though sometimes I have to play with the smallest but hey, it's worth it.

Now if you will excuse me, it's time for my brushing and a biscuit.

Life is good with Autism

Yeah, you read that title correctly. Life IS good with Autism on the good days and well today is one of those good days. I prefer these days a lot more. Of course when Doodle was at the school with the fantastic teacher, I had way more good days then bad days. The bad days were so very rare. Last school year I had more bad days then good days and of course my summer was not so much fun. But this year she is back on track and I am loving it.

She's doing so well in the two weeks since school has started, people are taking notice. Here I am able to take Doodle out to stores again and I am loving it!

As I have posted about in past blogs Doodle has a product line I'm working on. Had to go to the Health food store to stock up on some supplies. I only do the best ingredients for Doodle's line because I've always used the best ingredients for her. To me it's about quality and if it doesn't work well, it's not for Doodle.

We were getting ready to leave and Doodle brought me four bolts that she found on the floor. I promptly handed them over to the cashier. He looked over at where Doodle had been and said, "Oh they were just chilling over there." I replied with, "she has autism. She finds everything!" He looked at her and then looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. "Seriously?"

Sometimes I get that response but it's been a long time since I've gotten that response. So, you can imagine that it was good to hear it again. "Yep, and she wants to be a doctor, too." He grew the biggest grin on his face. He was very happy to hear that. "She's going to make it," he replied. "She's going to be the best doctor!"

It was the best compliment I've gotten. People are excited when they meet a child on the spectrum who doesn't always show the typical signs of autism. Yeah, it disrupts their day and of course ours as well. When Doodle was diagnosed with autism, she was diagnosed with mild autism. Last year even though at the beginning to middle of the school year with a regression she was labeled as high functioning. She has autism and she has some challenges but I'm thankful she's no longer the wild child that she used to be. I've had a lot of help with her. A good teacher will always teach the parent and that's the type of teacher you want.

And on a different note it's time to update you on Doodle's progress with her learning to ride a bike. That didn't go over so well and thankfully her Godfather had already bought her training wheels for adults. They work perfectly on her bike.

Her first day riding with these new wheels she was so happy. I asked her how she felt about riding a big girl bike. She placed her hand up to her mouth and yelled out Booo! That's a typical Doodle response. She understood what I was saying and she let it be known how she felt.

Later around the corner I could hear her verbally stimming. I looked over at her and she had such large smile on her face. Now we are at a point with her riding her bike, she goes around the block twice and no longer just once. I'm pretty proud of her. She's growing up so fast and every moment is precious.

You guys have a great day.

Ear Infections and today's Autism

Well, this morning was one of those mornings. I'm not really having any trouble with Doodle getting ready for school in the mornings but this was one weird morning. I got up when my alarm went off and Doodle was still asleep. Normally, she's laying on my legs in the morning trying to pet my dog and that's how I normally wake up. This morning I walked to the kitchen to start my coffee and let the dog's out to go potty. I made myself a cup of coffee and went to wake Doodle to get ready for school.

As I walked to the room I noticed that the bathroom light was one, so I knew that she was already up. I went in to let her know that we needed to get dressed for school. In her hands was toilet paper with blood on it. Now you have to remember no matter how much blood is on a paper towel or on toilet paper it's not a lot of blood, it just looks like it's a lot so there is never any reason to panic. She was sticking her finger in her ears, which alerted me that she had something going on with her ears.

So this morning was a day for the doctor. One of the tubes in her ear had finally fallen out on the other one is starting to come out, and the inside of her ear was turning red. So she was beginning to get an ear infection. Caught it early! Luckily, there was no issue with bleeding ears other then right on the inside of the ear she had scratched the skin which caused the bleeding. Time to trim her nails again. And off we were back to school.

About 30 minutes later came the call from the school nurse. Dana wasn't feeling better and now her sinuses were bothering her. Since she couldn't settle down to do school work, they decided that she needed to be resting at home. I kind of figured that would be what would happen today. So at home is where she is. Laying on the bed in the dark, watching television. She has her medication and a headache, due in part to the weather change that is taking place. I love the fall weather but it wreaks havoc on her asthma and sinuses.

And in all honesty I knew the sick day was coming. I've had a summer cold for a few days now. In the mornings I sound like a man, so you know the cold is pretty bad when it changes your voice patterns. Could be a perfect time for prank calls, unfortunately there is this thing called caller i.d. and I would never get away with it. Darn you logical thinking and modern day and age!

So other then a sick Doodle my day hasn't been that bad. Bringing my sick child home to lay in bed with her jammies on. Yeah, I know I spoil her but she's my only child and hey I'm still getting speech so a little spoiling is in order.

It has literally taken me all day to write this post. Between the stopping to go to the store for this or that and coming home to take care of Doodle and back out to the store for something else. It's really been a long day! I hope you guys have had a great day and it's winding down for you.

If you are interested in creating your own business and need some help or advice comment down below and I will be more then happy to help you.

chocolate makes everything better

Are some schools better, Autism?

Well, that's the million dollar question for the day. As you know I posted on Friday about scheduling my iep meeting. And this teacher is on on on it! Had my meeting last Friday, which is today. And yeah I posted my blog late, no surprise on iep days. For some reason iep days always end up being the wildest days. I don't even know why! It's just crazy.

Last year a Para lost her mind on me and I just sat there and smiled, nodding my head. And the moment I got home, I was contacting my advocates because I was so hot under the collar. Livid doesn't even come close to how I felt on that day. I think the devil himself was hiding from me as mad as I was, that day.

Well, like I said days for iep review meeting are always a little wild. I won't get into what happened on Friday but I will say that it is the best meeting I've had in awhile. I am really liking this teacher. So far since school has been in session for about 2 weeks I'm no longer having the issues with getting Doodle ready in the mornings that I did last year.

Today was the first day that homework came home and she did it all with no complaints. She had so many issues getting homework done last year I had to bribe her with sweets. Not the case, this year. This teacher is on her game.

Now I will say this. There is a difference in what a teacher does for the student. If the teacher is geared more for teaching children on the spectrum, they can relate and handle them better. Which is the case with this new teacher this year. You will see how your child will get back into the child that you know by the work of the teacher. If you have a teacher that doesn't really know how to keep your child busy and working with them every moment of the day with sensory and with school work then you will have a frustrated child.

And if having so many iep's last year pushed the teacher to take another position so that the self contained classroom needed a new teacher, then I'm so glad I pushed.

This is what I found out at the meeting on Friday. Doodle was not taught out of Edmark last year. Which I suspected considering the work coming home for homework. This was frustrating Doodle as her teacher Ms. Heather had done this years ago with her. Children on the spectrum need to be challenged. Heck, Doodle challenges me just about every single day it seems like. She is very bright.
But my problem is, Doodle is a grade behind because she wasn't taught with the curriculum that is geared to her level. Am I happy that she's a year behind. Nope, not one single bit and that means that I will be pushing this teacher to double Doodle's work to get her back on track.

I have been promised that in October when the school's fiscal year starts edmark is on the top of the list to be ordered. I will find out at the beginning of  November. I'm keeping track with Doodle's progress. It's my job to make sure that she is a success. My child wants to be a doctor. She will get there by a lot of encouragement and a lot of hard work and it will be worth it.

So you know, today's blog post is late. Later then it's ever been and I am truly sorry for that. It's been an extremely busy day as the last of the editing is taking place on Doodle's book. Every day it's getting closer and closer to the final production of seeing her work in print. And I can assure you that this will not be the only thing that she gets into print.

Have a great night and if you are reading this in the day, have a great day!

It's all in the scheduling, Autism

Yeah, another blog post about scheduling. Enough with it already. Well, this isn't that kind of scheduling. What have I already scheduled? I've scheduled the first iep reminder on my computer, using Google calendar. What does that mean? It's the time clock that every teacher dreads. The parent who knows they have absolute control and the schools hands are tied. The school can't make me conform and they can't slack with Doodle and her education.

I'm raising a doctor, it's been Doodle's dream since she was 3 years old. I can't let that dream go to waste. So until my child becomes a doctor I have to work extra hard to get her there. I will push any teacher to go above and beyond to make Doodle's dreams a reality. And why not? Doodle had a teacher 2 years ago that could run circles around me in her sleep and Doodle progressed in a way that I never thought possible. I learned a lot from that teacher and still keep in contact with her to this day!

And seriously, why can't Doodle be a doctor just because she has autism? We have Doctor Temple Grandin, so I know people on the spectrum can become doctors. There is no question in my mind.

It's the love of my child to succeed that draws me to be the best that I can possibly be. I am her first role model. I was her first word before she lost the speech. And yeah it may sound weird but Doodle said mama at 5 months of age. And a few short hours later said dada. She repeated these words for an entire month. Once she turned 6 months old speech was gone. She was back to baby gibberish. And everyone that I spoke with in the family said don't worry they lose speech right before they start walking and it will come back. It never came back. It didn't come back until she was 6 years old and that was because of her fantastic teacher.

So I will push a teacher to be the best with my child. I have fired a para who stood in the way. I'm not afraid. If anything the school is more afraid of the parent who has the knowledge and the backing of advocates and support groups to get things taken care of.

One of the things that I do find so interesting is at a meeting I attended last week was a woman who substituted for the school in question and saw Doodle a lot last year. She told me that the para in question who had a lapse in judgement, she had said that the woman had a mean vibe to her. Something she couldn't put her finger on and something she didn't like about her.

I really didn't expect to get her fired but I was hot under the collar for her telling me to fix what was going on in the classroom. Uh, hello! It's the para, she is to work with her team and that's the teacher and the therapists. Not come demand the parents handle the situations. And especially, tell me that I needed to medicate my child. She can't do that. There are a lot of things a para can not say to a parent and medicate is one of them. If you know how to handle a child on the spectrum it's not an issue.

So my time line is set. Schedule when the first letter goes out to the school and start tracking the teacher's progress and Doodle's progress. And then when the school starts doing their job they won't have to hear, "Don't make me come down there." Because I will come in with narrowed eyes, a smile on my face and my head held high. I know where I stand and I know what I won't put up with.

I'm para level fired. My best friend over the summer graduated to Principal level fired. So yeah, there are levels in our special needs community as the type of parents we are. Your either the one that submits or your the one where the school says, "Oh, $#*@!" the moment you walk in the doors. I'm the latter because I have grown a fondness to making examples of others. If I can do this and her teacher 2 years ago can do this with her eyes closed. The new ones can do this.

Have a great day!

Sorry for your inconvenience, from Autism

Well, this was the weekend I dreaded. Finding sturdier training wheels for a bigger bike. And hey guess what, still didn't manage to find them. But thanks for the lovely shopping experience at Walmart (insert sarcasm). It was the Sunday I got the look. You know the stare I'm referring too. When your child is having a meltdown and you can't get out of the store fast enough. People think your child is spoiled and you are ruining their day. All I could do was smile through and get out as quickly as I could.

Look, my child learns by mimicking. If she sees kids acting up, she will mimic that. One kid was having a tantrum in the Customer Service line and slapping on her mom, which had Doodle craning to see what was going on. And that set off a whole other world of problems. She didn't want to be at the store to begin with. The moment we walked in I didn't grab a buggy for her to ride in which makes her more comfortable in a store. All the buggies were wet and I didn't feel like cleaning another one out from the rain.

Every freaking child (toddler to 5) was having issues also and screaming their heads off. By the time I got the new set of training wheels and got to the register Doodle was in full blown meltdown mode. She didn't know why she was so sad, but I knew. With all the kids flipping their wigs, it was extremely crowded (nothing new for Walmart), she was going into full blown sensory overload.

Why did the first set of training wheels have to bend on her? That's what started her downward spiral. Something that was suppose to hold her weight didn't. They were defective. So it was back to the store to trade them out for something else. The next set I got didn't work either causing her to fall off her bike again. And I've gotten my old bike set up for her too. The front wheel glows a beautiful blue, it's got her bell on it and a basket to bring her friends along for the ride. The only problem is she can't ride a bike without training wheels. She has no balance. None! So we have to do training wheels.

But I am determined. I will spend an hour this afternoon just to teach her how to ride without training wheels if it kills me. (Note to self: it will kill my patience.)

So yeah, my child was the reason people gave me nasty looks. But let me tell you something. Had it not been for the other kids flipping their wigs, her meltdown wouldn't have even been as bad as it had been. So to the parents of the "normal" kids, get your kid under control so mine can have a more enjoyable shopping experience and people don't give me "the look". This has been a public service announcement.

Have a great day.

This was Doodle hours before the great meltdown.

A glimpse through my eyes, Autism

I wrote this over the summer and forgot to post it. Today, Sunday, another storm has rolled in and I'm on the hunt for fabric to redo Doodle's sensory swing as the other one stretched too far and has started ripping apart. I can't show you guys how to create your own swing if it turns into something you have to keep replacing after 3 months. Tutorials like that make me want to pull my hair out. If I'm going to do a tutorial on something for our children that help us save money, darn it, it's going to save us all money!

On with the blog that was forgotten.

Yeah, I know I put Autism in all my post headings. It's just a force of habit for me. She's a person but Doodle also has autism. Some days are more bearable then others.

Right now I'm writing this post in the dark. The only light source is from my computer screen and a dim glow from the television. It's about 2:30 in the afternoon and a storm is rolling in. I will admit I'm a little tired today. We have 2 dogs and one fought me hard on getting a bath. The other tried but she didn't succeed.

So here I am writing this post in the dark, because, well Doodle wanted the room dark. If that's what her sensory can handle right now then that's what it will be. The thunder is rumbling in the distance and it's trying to rain. Other then that I'm tired. It's been an exhausting week for me and getting work done and trying to keep up with Doodle. I will admit it, I'm ready for school to start back.

At least she and I got an art project done. I have a memory with her to cherish. And yes Doodle is awesome when it comes to art but with paints not so much. I'm still waiting on a few leaves to dry and this project was a few days ago.

I had just had an incident with Doodle where she was biting and slapping me. But in all honesty I started that. She wanted the iPad and it's my job as her mother to teach her even on summer hiatus from school, to share. She reached for the iPad and I pretended that I was going to bite her hand. And that's how it started. It was my fault. What is playful can get out of hand and pretty quickly. But for me I don't have the round about knock out's that some parents raising the spectrum have. All I had to say was I was going to take her to her Uncle Jason's house and that stopped that in it tracks.

Some nights are just awful to deal with as Doodle won't go to sleep on her own. Nothing like being woken in the middle of the night with someone playing with your feet. I really don't like that feeling at 2 or 3 in the morning. I have to show her through the window that it's still dark outside and dark outside means that it's still night night time. That normally will have her lay down and go back to bed.

And then there are the days the child has so much energy that it exhausts me. I feel as though I have run a marathon but haven't gone anywhere. Those are the days I don't like the most. I'm exhausted at the end of the day but the good news is another day is a new day. Time to start fresh.

My child is not bad. Her disability is not the worst thing in the world. I've heard of parents who got their diagnoses and wept. I was not one of those parents. Look on the bright side. With a diagnoses you will know how to treat them. We find the therapists and the doctors that will know how to treat our children. It's not rocket science. Keep it simple and everything will fall into place.

You guys have a great day.

Autism, school is in session!

As you guys know it's been awhile for me as the summer is the hardest time for me to keep up with business and autism. Doodle's line is coming along very well and I am very much pleased! I started a new business with a friend of mine and it's hopping along.

This Monday was the first day back at school and I've been trying to find the time to write. But this is how it goes for me. Full speed ahead! I have a small window in which to get work done and currently I need to make sure that the packaging for Doodle's line is on point. So I'm trying to get as much done in a day and as quickly as I possibly can. And no my life in not exhausting. The only thing that keeps me working is that small window. It's my adrenaline rush every single school day. This has got to get done before Doodle gets out of school. I have to redo my to do list because at the current moment I have two maybe a third floating around here somewhere. Which seems a bit weird considering I just wrote an article for Something Building about the dreaded to do list. Breaking it down to more manageable sections and time constraints.

Well, Doodle has a new teacher. If you read through the blog you will see how I handled a lot of issues with the school. This year they brought in a teacher who specializes in autism and Doodle is back to being taught with sign language. I'm pretty happy with that. Picture schedules go up next week. One new Para educator and one of the same Para educators from last year (not the one I got fired).

However, I did see the Speech therapist yesterday afternoon and found out that due to schedule conflicts of Physical Education and Lunch, speech and OT services are being cut. Haha! That's a laugh. I don't know what the Principal is thinking but effective in two weeks will begin my check list for progression/regression. And guess what, I'm taking inventory too. This is where if I feel that Doodle is going to suffer and just be at a stand still in her education then the lawyers get called in. A.k.a. my advocates. The school knows I'm not afraid to use my lawyers.

This is why I'm so friendly with the school stuff until they urk me. The friendlier I am with them the easier it is for me to get information that I might need to use at a later time. Such as the case right now. It will take a few weeks but I will be making sure that Doodle gets speech and OT. It is required by the state and covered in her iep.

And then there was the conversation I had this morning with someone that works with the school. She doesn't work for them just works with them to where she is there all the time. Rumor around the school is that Doodle's new teacher is lazy. Well, I informed the woman I spoke with that this teacher won't be lazy as I will be keeping her on her toes. I thought it sounded kind of weird that the teacher at worked at an autism school I'm very much familiar with for only 4 years. And yeah I will admit I was furious when I found out that the teacher had been replaced. But Doodle is being taught with sign language which is what I wanted.

The way the conversation went down yesterday afternoon is that Doodle's teacher stepped down. Wanted a new position at the school. I'm pretty sure it was all the iep's that I had going on but I was in battle mode. Doodle was regression and I was fighting to stop it. Doodle is in love with school this year so I'm pretty happy. No more of the battles that I had last year. Fighting to get her dressed in the mornings.

So it's another day for me and I'm back in full swing mode. It's another busy busy day for me and I'm pretty stocked about it. Have a great day!