Here's the long over due update, Autism

As many of you will have noticed, since before school started I went MIA. I miss writing about our lives but it was for the best. Right now Doodle is in a new school, that is geared towards her disability. She is now under the care of a psychiatrist. And it was after I prayed and cried over it for three days.

Her school bus goes to the old school to pick up the kids that used to be in Doodle's class last year. Cause it's a special needs bus. Well two incidents happened on the school bus and the last incident was the last straw. Someone got on the bus from and at the old school to "help" one of the students and turned to talk to Doodle. Doodle flipped out started crying, hitting herself, punching herself in the face and just would not let up. By the time she was dropped off at the house she couldn't be calmed down until the next day which was Saturday. The Friday routine was a no go. And anyone who knows Doodle knows that she won't turn down an ice cream cone, which she did. She changed into her night gown and got into bed and refused to move until the next day.

I was livid! This is my child and for her to not stay on routine and scream and cry for the rest of the day and night was unacceptable. I called for an emergency IEP meeting and the new school took immediate action to protect their student. They got the school board involved without hesitation and the matter was resolved. But that didn't stop with the damage that had already been done. Doodle exhibits PTSD while at the school and it took two months to get her to work through having anxiety just from being on the school grounds in the school bus.

So I talked to a friend of mine, who I get the best advice from. She's principal level fired. She highly recommended a psychiatrist, the one in the same that got her principal level fired. Doodle has been seeing him for a month and I've been going to him for a little longer to fill him in on Doodle and what's been going on.

Next week I will know what all else needs to be done, because at this point our new doctor has been testing Doodle so that she can get back up to par and give the school tips and resources to help Doodle learn. So that's where we stand right now.

Another reason you guys have not heard from me is that I have been spending a lot of time at work. And when I wasn't at work I have been working on glow paintings. I created a challenge on JSN Creative's facebook page called the challenge accepted challenge. That's where you have two days to recreate artwork out of what people post to your wall. Along with that I have had two massive paintings that needed to be worked on and when they are finished they also will be done as glow in the dark paintings. So as you can see, I've been extremely busy with everything going on and writing has been furthest from my mind. Sorry, it's called life and it does happen.

You guys have a great day. Hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving.

How to request an IEP, Autism

Not every single parent that has a child with special needs knows how to do this. And it is one of the most valuable pieces information that I can relay to you. Yes, I had to be taught this, but I was taught by a teacher that knew how to teach children on the spectrum. I've dealt with this so much in the past two years I can literally write up a letter, because I know how it's suppose to read and why it has to be done this way, in my sleep. And yes, at the end of the day a few times last year after Doodle was asleep and the picture schedule cleared, I've written a few half asleep.

I've also written one waiting at the light to get across the street to the school. So it' something that you need to make sure that you know how to write, when to write it and if it's really necessary to write one.

The common grounds for calling an IEP meeting are red flags. Red flags are things that your child is doing or behaviors that your child is exhibiting. When my husband was deployed for a year Doodle flipped her wig and I was told by her awesome teacher that I needed to call for an IEP meeting so they could address the issue and come up with a plan to correct the behavior. Remember that children on the spectrum do not handle change at all. It was really the first time that I had to ever deal with ABA. But this was my first lesson and after two failed attempts to write this thing up, I was shown how to do it.

So from me to you, here is your early Christmas. First off depending on how the school has treated you in the past depends on who all you call into your IEP. Find out who is head of the special needs department in your school district. If the school and the principal have denied your request in the past then you need to start contacting the ones over their heads for your last attempt before you call in your Advocate.

Don't be afraid to call in your advocate, remember that they are provided for you free of charge. And never be afraid to make the school aware that you are contacting your advocate and explain what the advocate is to them. Because using the word advocate won't always tell them it's a free lawyer provided for special needs cases. Here in the state where I live our advocates are know as ADAP which is short for Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program. In most cases your advocate will tell you everything that you need to do, if that doesn't get results they will jump in and take over. They will even fight in the IEP meeting for your childs' rights on your behalf.

If you don't explain to the school what an advocate is, it's just like saying well, "I'm going home to call my ham sandwich." See, how this sentence makes no sense and how you can't take the person's sentence seriously? If I get the rebuff from the front desk I casually say, "That's okay. If I go home now I will be tempted to contact my advocate. And you are aware that my advocate is a lawyer that is provided free through the state for my childs rights." And that's all it takes. Not only do I get a response back immediately but I do end up getting results. Schools don't like the parents that come in and know all about their childs rights. It just throws a wrench into their plans and makes their day worse. Schools want to handle everything without lawyers getting involved because that would end up costing them way more money in the end.

So how does one call for an IEP meeting? Here are two examples. The first example is a standard IEP meeting call. The second will be a when you need to bring in everyone before the advocate can take over.

Side note: I always make my letters out the same, and it's always made out To Whom It May Concern.

Letter 1:

Date

To Whom It May Concern:

I am requesting an IEP meeting to be held on behalf of (insert child's full name) in regards to (insert your concerns) with (insert teachers name), (speech therapist name) and (occupational therapist name).

Under the laws and guidelines of my IEP rights, you have 10 days to respond and set up said meeting.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

 (Insert your full name)


Letter 2:

Date

To Whom It May Concern:

I am requesting an IEP meeting to be held on behalf of (insert child's full name) in regards to (insert your concerns) with (insert teachers name), (speech therapist name), (occupational therapist name), (principal's name) and (insert head of special education at school boards name).

Under the laws and guidelines of my IEP rights, you have 10 days to respond and set up said meeting.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

 (Insert your full name)

I do hand write all of my letters and either make a copy or take a picture of them before I send the letter off in Doodle's book bag. I also mark on my calendar the day the letter was sent off to the school and circle 10 working business days that I would be getting my response. I've always gotten my meeting way before the 10th day and I have always been called by that afternoon the letter was sent to set up the time and date.

I have known parents that verbally request and they have never been given their meeting. I have informed them of the importance of writing their letter as it is required that a letter be written. Sometimes, info falls on deaf ears because they have complained all throughout the school year they never got any of the meetings that they had requested all school year.

Keep your sanity and your head up. School is only as hard as you make it.

Hope you guys have a great day!

Learning something new, Autism

If you guys have not utilized the opportunity at Michaels Craft Store during the summer, you're missing out on some valuable Occupational Therapy. And you are also missing out on a great opportunity for your kids to learn something new. Look, I know that we are all tired when we drag our kids to outside services and we can't rely on just school services alone.

On Wednesday, Michaels Craft Store had two crafts for the kids to make. And it was a puppy dog when you pulled on the dogs tongue his ears would move. The other is a game that I just adored and it was a perfect game for Doodle and I to play together. I called it tic tac fish, but in reality it was tic tac toe. These projects were done at all Michaels Craft Stores across the nation.

Doodle has never really played tic tac toe. But she does love herself some fish and therefore it made it the perfect opportunity to play together. I only let her win the first four games. After that I helped guide her through 6 games. By the end of it all she was giving me a run for her money. She was laughing and trying to cheat by putting all her fish on the board at once.

I had never even known about Michaels Craft Stores even offering summer crafting before I started working there. And it's very rare that we go in on Saturday for the kids craft days, unless it's fish related. And since she is getting into the new and old Ghostbusters for Halloween it will be a perfect opportunity to create a tic tac toe house and make ghosts for the playing pieces.

I love the opportunity when it arises to teach my daughter something new, considering the past school year has been really rough and the only time that she did any school work was homework that I highly insisted on coming home. (Yes, the teacher got in a lot of trouble at the IEP meeting when it was mentioned that homework was not coming home.) Yeah, I'm the bad parent because my child has rights and I will not have them violated.

Doodle has only 4 more weeks before school starts and I am almost prepared. Just need to get under garments, socks, shoes, (I'm going back to sketchers, they last longer with her) a few more shorts and lots of pants. Because we all know that some uniforms will need to left at the school.

I hope that you guys are keeping up with your list of everything that needs to be addressed at the beginning of the school year IEP. If you don't schedule an IEP meeting at the beginning of the school then you aren't switching to a new school or are happy with the state of your childs' school. When there is a change such as school or teacher I call for an IEP meeting. If there are things that have come up during the summer and your child doesn't have summer school then the first day make sure that you are writing up a letter calling for an IEP meeting, to be sent with your child the first day of school. I will address this matter in a later blog post for those who don't know how to do this.

You guys have a great day.

It was a bad sensory day, Autism

So during the week, Doodle had a horrible sensory moment. Why do I call it a sensory moment? Because sometimes things happen in our life and when we look back on it, it's just a drop in the bucket in our life. Yes, Doodle does have a lot of days where sensory overloads happen. It can't be avoided in our lives. Some stores we just can't shop at because of the lighting. And well Publix is turning into one of those stores. For Doodle, lighting has always been her sensory issue. The lighting has to stay consistent. If it can't be consistent then it just leads to all sorts of problems for her and for me as her mother and care giver.

When we walked into the store it was fine until we left the vestibule area. That's when she clamped onto me, closed her eyes and covered her face. I was basically dragging her through the grocery store. In the flower department it was pretty dim. No lighting on at all and it was only 4:00 in the afternoon. The produce section was pretty dim as well, but the shelves where the main produce was held, well, that had it's lights on. You know the section that sprays the produce when the thunder sound is made. So it was a bit confusing to her.

Let me tell you about this awesome invention that saved me my sanity in Publix. It's known in my circles as the Caroline Cart and it was made for parents with children with Special Needs. Those who can and can't walk. For those with children on the spectrum that like to run off when you turn to look at a product for a split second, this is the cart for you, as you can buckle your child in for their safety.

Look I can't drag my kid around a store, it kills my back when she is immobile from sensory issues that cause her to freeze up. She sat in the Caroline Cart and kept her eyes closed. But I was able to get everything on my mental list that I needed. Most of the time when an issue like this arises I can only managed to get two items and then leave. I don't want my child to be uncomfortable. It makes me more uncomfortable when she is in distress.

I will admit that I did get a lot of stares because here I am a mom pushing my 10 year old that looks perfectly normal in a Caroline Cart. And yes, under normal circumstances I will gladly leave the Caroline Cart for someone who needs it, just like I can get a handicapped placard but since she can walk with no issues I'm not going to even think about getting a handicapped space because someone else that really needs it can use it. I could care less about the looks. No my child is not lazy. Yes, I was saving my sanity because once she locks up it's only a matter of time before the meltdown ensues.

You guys have a great day.

It's summer, is it really break time, Autism?

Wednesday's post did not include the Autism tag in the title like it normally does. But that's okay because I can't be expected to remember everything. Considering what all is going on in our lives thanks in part to battling regression in our lives. No parent wants to go through a regression. It's like taking one step forward and 30 steps back.

Not a finer moment in our type of lives, considering we don't live normal lives to begin with. Well, now that it's the summer time and things are beginning to fall into place for us with reconditioning and picture schedules, what should I be doing other then trying to take a break? Nope, not gonna happen. A new school year is approaching which means a new IEP meeting.

So at this point, every time something comes up I jot it down. I want things corrected with Doodle that I just can't correct myself. Other then using pencils or crayons that are less then an inch long I have no way of correcting palmer grip. Palmer grip is were a child doesn't hold a pencil or marker or crayon other then in the fist of their hand. Basically, like a one year old or toddler would hold it. Doodle has been using the palmer grip for the past year. She's too old for that. She knows better, but it's something that I suspect is due to the regression.

She's also been tapping on everything thing, cars, beds, care bears. You name it she will tap on it and won't be able to move until the tapping is out of her system.

Her vocal stemming is getting much better since I have started the reconditioning. As a matter of fact I haven't heard it in a couple of days. But the tapping has increased and we all know the tapping is a form of stemming. One bad habit for another. Great!!! More things that want to grate my nerves.

If you are not taking notes starting right now to be better prepared for the new school year. You just aren't being prepared. I know it's a lot of work but look at it this way. The more work that you put into something at the start of it the sooner this part of your job will be over. You and the teachers will be on the same track. Unless you had a teacher like we did last year. If I were to deal with the same case of that all over again, I think I would just push for a new school or even put Doodle in a regular ed classroom and let it be the school's problem to deal with. Instead of just being in the self contained classroom.

So the question to you would be, do you really want the type of success that I can get with my child? Yeah, I know this past school year was miserable! For me and for Doodle. But I got what I wanted. I had unlimited access to the classroom, just sign in at the front desk and didn't have to wait on a teacher to come see me. Just waltzed right on in there like I owned that classroom. For the awards ceremony the last week of school I asked to have Doodle get her award first. I didn't want to miss the awards, but I also had to be at the new school to register and book it immediately to work to teach a calligraphy class. And yep, Doodle's class was the first to get called up for their awards and Doodle was the second kid to get her award. What makes it awesome is that Doodle's class was the class that always went dead last. Every single awards ceremony. So I didn't miss out. I got my pictures, got to give her a hug and kiss and booked it to the new school.

If you think that you are tired now and you will never be able to do this because your always so tired. Life is draining. You will have this mentality always. It's something that you will never be able to lose. If you don't put in the work nothing will ever start getting easy and nothing will change. Everything will always stay hard. And you will always stay tired.

When you put in the work for your child, only then can you see the benefits of your hard work. If you aren't getting what you want in the IEP meeting keep scheduling IEP meetings. Eventually the school will succumb to your requests. Technically, you're not to be denied services. Behavior, ABA, therapy. It doesn't matter, they are not to deny you, it's your right even before your IEP contract is drawn up. If you allow others (the school) to convince you that no you can't or they can't or they won't, that's where your free legal help comes into play.

The reason that I am starting now is because I don't want to walk into my meeting and just shake and nod my head because I can't remember what all I need them to work on with Doodle. As long as I have a paper that I've been keeping track with then I'm already ahead of the game. I've also listed what all I've been doing during the summer to get the tantrum behavior under control. Thanks to the teacher and her own form of conditioning, throwing a wrench in the well oiled machine. Some days Doodle will have a meltdown but we've had more tantrums then we've had meltdowns. And there is a big difference between the two.

So the school will have what has been taking place and where they can go from there and continue on with the progress. Because that's what I want out of my child is progress.

At this point I can direct more attention to where attention needs to be placed. It only takes me a few moments out of my time to do this little bit of a task. And hey if you find yourself without a pen and paper, you do know you can text yourself on your phone. I'd actually done that for years. Very convenient.

I will be re-doing the blog again. It's summer and it's the start of summer crafting. I have lots of little projects that I know you and your kids will love as Doodle and I really enjoy our summer time treats. There won't be much to report unless a lot of progress is being made. Everything is slowing down at work and I can work on Doodle's line. I also have a book that I am working on on JSN Creative Services and I do plan on putting some crafts with that. I want families to enjoy time with each other and crafting together along with praying together is the best way to keep families together.

I can't promise that I wil be able to keep my standard schedule of Monday, Wednesday and Friday but I will at least give it the 50's version of the good ol' college try. Because let's face it, this day and age the

college try isn't up to snuff.

If there is something that you want help with or if you want pictures for your own picture schedules and how to make it, let me know I will will work on that for you. All you have to do is ask.

Hope you guys have a great day!

Update time, regressions and summer break

Right before summer hit as you all know we lost one of our own in our community. As school was winding down and I was the classroom mom and part of the PTA, I stretched myself a little thin. But it's all good now. It's summer time, I'm working some days, sometimes doubles at work. I've got to make some aprons and capes for a friend. Doodle is partaking in Camp Creativity for OT homework during the summer. And even though I had informed Doodle's teacher that I wanted a summer pack, she assured me that I would be receiving a summer pack, so that there would be no small or large educational regression during the summer. Hey, guess what I didn't get! So we are going to be doing Camp Creativity, counting money and learning how to order for ourselves. Thankfully, everyone at work and our friends at Dairy Queen are very patient with Doodle.

Doodle has stopped picking at her skin, but her speech is falling. Tuesday night I got home from work late. Doodle was still wide awake. I told her, "You're suppose to be asleep!" She responded with, "Surprise!!!" And that has been the main word she's used for a couple of days. It's taking longer for her to answer request in what she wants and the correct way in which to say it. But once she gets into the new school hopefully everything will get back on track with progression.

I'm not sure if I have made the announcement, I'm sure that I have but Doodle has gotten into the school I was pushing for, for the past two years. So starting the new school year she will be a panther. That's the school's mascot. I couldn't be more excited. The bonuses are that she will be getting the same services she received from the school district that we loved so much and miss every single day!

So now I am working hard on Doodle's line. I've already got plenty of Lavender soap stocked piled and now I am working on her other product lines. I want to make sure that I have a large enough stock pile before I start putting products up for sale. I already have a few stores lined up that want to carry Doodle's line. And before school starts up, I will having the launch party, where samples will be given out for free. To not only celebrate the line launch but to celebrate Doodle getting into the new school.

So what else would there need to be said? Well, I'm frustrated with the school that she's left behind. This summer I am spending more time trying to re-condition Doodle back to where she was before the move almost two years ago. If you guys remember, back during the school year I shared with you how I conditioned her to do homework without complaints. I also have a picture schedule that I use only when days are really bad for Doodle. No fighting, she does what she the schedule says and I don't even have to say a word except for, "Look at your schedule." I haven't used the schedule in a long time, but this is common bread and butter to autism.

I do have a blog post all about the schedule. I have even increased her use of her communication book. Because she's just not speaking the way that she used too. Every time she completes a task on her schedule she gets a small piece of candy. At work they had on clearance little foot print hard candy's for cakes. It was a large bag for $1.99 so of course I couldn't pass it up. And those are the candies that we are working with for the month.

Never give a sucker to a child on the spectrum who is suppose to be completing tasks. I used to watch the Real Housewives of New Jersey, that is until one of the moms' found out her kid had autism. At first I was all happy about it, then she started doing all the no no's of autism. He completed a task she gave him a sucker, and tried to get him to continue on with the task, with no success. Well, duh, your kid got a reward that could take him 20-30 minutes to finish, he has no desire to work on what you want him to work on. And then there was the episode where they were on the hunt for camels milk, because it helped remove the autism from their child. And that was the last time that I watched the show. The parents were just grasping at straws. Look, cows milk has been linked to causing stomach issues in children on the spectrum. If you replace cows milk with almond milk or rice milk or even goats milk you don't have to drive around Amish country on your vacation in a tour bus to hunt down camels milk. Children on the spectrum suffer from gut issues, that's no secret. Seeing all this just grated my nerves to no end.

They also suffer from yeast issues. And many like my Doodle are highly sensitive to sls. Anything with sls in it will cause her to hit herself, beat her own head in the floor and cause her to try to rip her skin off her own body. Which is why I make all my own products for her. I can eliminate that issue for her and she can better focus and concentrate. Focus and concentration is one of the issues that children on the spectrum have.

So as I was saying about the picture schedule. Doodle has acclimated back to the picture schedule beautifully. Every time she does a task she comes to me for her small piece of candy. Skittles work great as well but I went with what I have. It's a small piece of candy. It works beautifully and I don't have to wait until she's finished with a sucker or playing with a sucker (lollipop).

And why have I not started reconditioning during the school year you might be wondering. Well, it all boils down to this. Doodle is normally in school for 8 hours a day. The only time I have Doodle for more then 8 hours is when she is on holiday or the weekends. Everything I would be working on during the school breaks or during the weekends would end up being derailed by the teacher that she had. Every weekend I would be starting new. I just don't have the patience for that. I did however have the patience to wait for summer break and start fresh.

So in other words I am doing my own form of compliance training, with expectations using candy rewards. So far so good. By next week she will be progressing again with no issues. The regression should officially be halted in it tracks with the help of her communications book. Re-reading through some of the blog from 2015 I can see Doodle's decline and all that has been done with the teacher from the school year we just left.

As a parent of a child on the spectrum it is our job to make sure that our children stay on track if we don't get the option for summer help. They really don't do that here. Use everything in your power to get your child back on track. I can honestly say that this coming school year I will not be doing as many IEP's as I had been used to doing for the past 2 years. And that's because it's a school that is used to doing IEP's they already know the rights. From what I understand they even hold a seminar every year to let parents met lawyers and learn even more about their rights. This school is going to be my dream. I can officially say that I will be retiring from leveling up. Bus driver got dismissed, leveled up, para got fired, I leveled up again.

And speaking of leveling up. Doodle's teacher that has caused all the issues that I am currently correcting. I've already gotten word that she was let go a few days after the last day of school. But I will admit that the teacher had taught me a lot. And it's information that you yourself need to know. Sign up for class room mom and sign up for PTA/PTO at the school. That's the easiest way to have unquestioned access to your child in the classroom. Many of us as parents work and yes I understand that you can't be at the school as much as teachers think. But you need to sign up. You need to be more involved in your child's education. The more you pop in that classroom the more you know what's going on.

Have a great day guys.

We've lost one of our own Autism

Our autism community is devastated over the loss of a young man by the name of Kreed. His parents ran the blog Kreed's World: A Complex Journey Through Autism.
We will all miss the smiling boy known as Kreed who enjoyed Five Guys and swinging. How he interacted with his mother. We all saw a bit of our own child in Kreed.

But let me tell you about Kreed's mother. When I first came across the blog two years ago I was in awe! A child on the spectrum who didn't live his life as a shut in. This is one of the reason's why I rebelled and make it a quest for us to get out. For if we and our children are out in the world, that is the easiest way to spread autism awareness. And for my child to learn how to be out in the world.

And she wasn't just taking her son out to restaurants, He was going to concerts! Now that's something I never thought my child would be able to do. But this is a mom who saw potential in her child. And yes, sometimes I forget there is potential in Doodle.

If we don't get our children out in the world and teaching them how to interact with those around us, we will never be able to show the world that our children do matter. Some kids on the spectrum have a voice, some children use their words. others use a dynovox, some like Doodle use a communication book, sign language or their parents try to speak for them.

Thanks to Kreed's mother, Erin and her blog she taught me so much of being an autism mom. What all I was doing wrong and what I was doing right. You see as a community we stand together and learn from one another. Some can really learn while the others sit back and watch.

And though Doodle is not being taught to my standards for her education, all that will change the next school year but at home because I applied what Erin taught me through her blog, Doodle has truly thrived. And though Five Guys isn't our favorite restaurant of choice, we found a home in Dairy Queen. Which just goes to show that our kids can be out in the community. And just recently we have been enjoying Rock n Roll sushi. Doodle is getting pretty good at chop sticks.

So on that note, because I do have so much work to do tonight and tomorrow before I work a double shift at work, preparing for the summer, giving kids something to do and Doodle's essential oil line, I want to say this.

Thank you Erin. Though I'm sure that you won't read this blog. But thank you for sharing your journey and your son with us. You may not realize it but you have taught some of us a lot about ourselves and a lot about our children. I hope that you continue on with posting some of the information that you know.There are still a crop of parents that need your information and your help. We will all miss Kreed, but rest assured there is a little bit of Kreed in all of our kids, when they make us smile. When they are silly and when they are swinging or jumping on the trampoline. For we will never forget the boy who loved the color orange and loved his superman shirts. And we will never forget what Kreed has taught us.

We will never forget Kreed, the true super hero.

My perspective of Autism

Autism is, yes apart of my life but I don't let it control my life. Most of the time I can look past the autism to see who Doodle really is. She's super talented when it comes to art. Yes, she is one of the few children on the spectrum that has that ability. Not all children with autism develop a talent. That's a myth that all children on the spectrum develop talents.

But in all honesty since she was an itty bitty she's had a marker, crayon or pencil in her hands and always under strict supervision. When she was 6 months old and stopped speaking I had her doodling. When Doodle was 5 months old she spoke her first word and that was momma. About a day later she said dada. Two weeks later those were gone and replaced with baby gibberish again. When I first feed her baby food as an itty bitty she refused me feeding her. She was highly insistent on taking the baby spork from my hands and fed herself. It just blew my mind. And she was not even missing putting the food in her mouth.

I've always known there was something special about her. To me she's an amazing kid. And it's very rare I even look at the fact that she has autism. So when I see parents say they hate autism, referring to their child's disability, it really breaks my heart. I wouldn't change Doodle for anything. I have always embraced her autism, just like I embrace my quirks. I'm not autistic but I spend a lot of time trying to remember that yes, she does things differently, she sees things differently.

I'm not perfect and neither is anyone else. When I have a lot of writing to do I twirl my hair and some times in the section of my hair, yeah I have a bald spot. I also have a fantastic hair stylist who corrects that with the style she gives me. No one knows it's there but myself and my hair stylist.

Our children have a different way of doing things and sometimes they can scream at the top of their lungs for hours. Or do the guttural stem that grates your nerves worse then nails on a chalk board. That's the one that drives me up the wall. The out of no where screams, oh those just make me want to rip my hair out! She's only done that twice and it was more or less mimicking one of the kids in her class. The first time she did it we were walking in the neighborhood and we were just passing an elderly gentleman who was painting his mailbox. Out of her mouth pops this blood curdling scream that scared me to death and scared this poor gentleman to the point he dropped his paint brush on the ground. So much for that white mail box if he wasn't finished. I just picked up the pace on my walking and acted like nothing happened. The second time she did it I told her she was going to start loosing some of her prized possessions. It hasn't happened since.

And of course Doodle has been mimicking other autistic kids in class. There is this hand figet thing that one of the other girls in class does. She got popped on her hand for it. She's not going to be doing what is not her stem. And of course this vigorous rocking back and fourth. That came from another kid in her class. She pretty much stopped that on her own when she liked to have knocked herself out while attempting that one on the bed. All I heard was CRACK! as she hit the rail to the top bunk bed while sitting on the bottom bunk. She said, "Hospital, hurt head." My reply was, "You don't need a hospital, you did that to yourself by mimicking what you aren't suppose to do."

If she can stick with her own stems then I'm fine with that and I reward her for good work and good behavior. Dairy Queen is her favorite place to be so she gets an ice cream treat when she can behave. Other then that, autism isn't so rough. Not like it used to be back when she was non verbal and thought everything was funny. I guess life can be pretty laughable once you look around.

And since I've gotten rid of my phone she doesn't elope as much as she used too. For those who are unsure, eloping is wandering off. I try to keep an ear out for verbal stems when in a store if the store has racks and not actual aisles in it and she wants to explore. Other then that she has to stay right beside me at all times if she's quiet or the store is set up like a grocery store and you can't see the next aisle over.

Sometimes when it comes to autism you just have to have patience and gaining your child's trust. Last night I taught a class full of kids. Which is a first because they normally don't come to the adult classes. But hey I don't mind I will teach anyone as long as they are ready to listen and learn. One young man wasn't having any of it. Hey, that sounds a lot like my child most of the time. No supplies and no way to do the work. He was ready to get the heck out of dodge. His guardian handed me the money to get his supplies and I ran out of the classroom to track him down. Once I found him I started building trust with him. At the end of the night he was one of the best kids in the class. So proud of himself for what he did and I was proud of all the kids.

I love what I do. I take pride in my job as a mom to Doodle and an art instructor. I'm changing lives with one hobby at a time. I just look at it this way. She will always have the mind of a child. And she will hopefully always have a heart for the Lord. She's got instant access into Heaven according to the Bible. Which is kind of surprising considering the conversation that I just had with her not 20 minutes ago. Which was a bit odd and out of the blue. I posted this to my social media cause I've already typed it out once and I'm kind of tired of typing right now.

She's listening to Love me like there's no tomorrow by Freddy Mercury. She started crying and I asked her what was wrong. She said, "kill." I asked, "who kill?" She didn't answer. Then she said, "say goodbye to friends." I asked why. She replied with, "he's coming back soon." So I asked who. She said, "Jesus." And of course I reminded her that, he told us he was coming back. This is just out of the blue. Now she's back to laughing at video's, like that conversation didn't just happen.

You guys have a great day.

It's not been quiet and Special Olympics Autism

From your end I've been very quiet. From my end, it's been hectic! So here's the deal. My last post I made mention that we were preparing for Science Fair and water color was getting everywhere. A lot of things have been found out that you as parents need to be made aware of for your kids. Parents who read my blog are parents just like myself who push the schools and push your kids. Some of your kids are like mine and are in self contained classes. But before any of that, here is the back story.

I'm the class mom in the classroom. You guys knew about that at the beginning of the school year. Especially, my displeasure with the parents in the class during the Fall/Halloween party. So I had my duties for the class to prepare for Special Olympics. All of which came out of my pocket because well only two parents paid their part for their kids crafting time and seat cushions that I made.

I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and have been battling that pain while trying to get all my work done. I teach art and calligraphy classes at Michael's craft store so I pretty much stay on top of going above and beyond even in pain. FYI frankincense works great for 8 hours of relief but the pain does come back. I was helping out at the school for book fair, something that I was looking forward too this year. And of course we had the writing event at school, Science Fair and Special Olympics.

This is the way that I do things and the way I look at things. Our kids are largely ignored by the school. There are no PTA fundraisers for our class and our kids are pretty much treated as lepers. So there is nothing wrong with me being the class mom, because as I kind of hinted to the teacher I don't mind being the bad guy to make sure that our students have a fighting chance. I'm used to being Doodle's voice and in most cases I can be just as loud and scary as Doodle can be. That's my job as her voice.

Doodle did the science fair, that post will be later on. Not in this blog but what you need to know about has to do with it. I found out though the school news letter that Doodle's grade was doing the science fair. And it was due in a month. When her project was presented, it was the planets because she knows the planets, their order and all the bits of info on them. There was not enough time to try to teach her about a synopsis, conclusions, predictions, you know all the good stuff that goes along with a good science fair project. That would take months to teach her and we only had a month to get this done. Anyways, I got to go see her project in the library with the rest of her grade level. And there is where the problem fell. Seeing all these projects, many that looked the same. So many students doing similar projects. Hold up now! That means that parents and teachers were on the same page of what to do. Why was I left in the dark? Checking some of the kids work, it went all the way back to November! NOVEMBER! Hold up! Why was I not informed? But that's not the best part. I bought all of Doodle's supplies. The tri-fold, the planets, the paints. Everything came out of my pocket. The entire fourth grade got their tri-fold and information sheets of what to do for free! And Doodle was left in her class to be ignored by the school.

Did you know that according to IDEA which is apart of our rights, all children that have special needs are to do as the regular ed students. They have the exact same rights as the normal students and yet Doodle's rights were ignored??? Want to tell me how right that is. If you are a pushing parent like myself, keep that information to heart. Start stalking your childs grade level and make sure you keep an eye on that school news letter.

After Doodle turned in her project, it was only then that the regular ed teacher for Doodle's grade level started submitting work that Doodle needed to do. How do I know this happened? Well, the homework changed. It wasn't what had been coming home. Talking to Doodle's teacher, it was then the regular ed teacher remembered that Doodle was in the school. So that just tells me I have to work even harder now. And yeah, if I have to act all mafia on a school teacher so be it. I will stroke under my chin and get them something to remember. Because, yeah, I'm a jerk of a parent to deal with. I also have a heard of gold and a huge spot in my heart for my daughter and her classmates.

Now back on task. Doodle is out for spring break, I'm not busting my hump to get her to keep up in school with events so the pain in my shoulder has been gone for about a day now. It had to have been the fact that I was really stressing over everything that needed to be done. Doodle penguin walked the 50 meter. The starter gun freaked her out again. And the girl who was to keep up with Doodle well, she did more running on the field trying to catch Doodle then Doodle actually did in the 50 meter. And yeah I was heard on more then one occasion asking why my kid was running wild on field.   She did the ball toss this time around, because we got rained out on that one last year. And the bus got hit by a car coming back from Special Olympics.

As class mom, I had a car load of everything that needed to be in the stands for the kids that were not participating. Figet fingers, seat cushions, incentives, umbrellas and of course water. And I'm kind of glad that I had what was needed because the "adults" watching over Doodle's classmates spend a lot of time on their phones. They didn't even think to bring incentives to make sure the kids didn't make a break for it and stayed in the stands. Kids are happier with small candies when your sitting in stands and can't do much. Figet fingers is also a great distraction. Especially for the screamer in the class.

I had gone to pick up one of the parents that morning that wanted to go but had no ride and since I had already decided that I wasn't going to ride the bus this year I gave her my spot. And I'm really glad I did. After the wreck happened and the school informed me, I went and picked Doodle up straight from the scene and we started spring break early. I didn't have to worry about giving a ride to the parent that I picked up, Doodle's teacher told me that one of them would give her a ride home. I might add that Special Olympics day was my birthday and I was ready to be done with the day! I was ready to spend time with Doodle's father who had come into town just to see Doodle in her event and spend time with Doodle. Okay I will admit it. I was looking forward to him watching Doodle so I could shop without having the beggar with me. I promise you every single store I go into she has to leave there with something! My poor wallet really hates me when I try to window shop and Doodle is with me.

So that's about it in a nut shell. You guys have a great night. I'm going to play some Sims 3 for a little bit and then I'm heading to bed. Tomorrow is another busy day for me as I have to bathe a dog and start working on my 1940's bathing suite. I'm sorry I'm not about to pay over $150's for a bathing suite when I got all my supplies for it for under $40.00 with enough material left over to make Doodle a bathing suite also. All of my work for open house on Saturday at work is done and I'm still looking around at the things to change my web page around too. I think I will tackle that next week, after I get a mani pedi when Doodle goes back to school.

As in the words of Froggy from my frog stuff, Happy Crafting! And you guys have a great night and a great day!

I don't have all the photo's as they are on my camera. But here's some that I took and a friend of mine took. Yeah, she came and stood in the stands with us along with another of my friends.

One of my dear friends, Stacey. She made the shirts. She rocked it out with the shirts! I'm the one with the Creative Lifestyle shades on. 

At least I thought as I was leaving the scene with Doodle in her fathers' truck to take a picture because seriously who would have believed me.

Doodle wanted to wave to the crowd.

Doodle getting ready to throw the ball.

Go big or go home Autism

I think I've already done a go big or go home post. I can't remember. It's one of my all time favorite sayings because that's the way I do my life. Doodle is going to do something and I will push her to get that speech and I will get her to do that OT. Her teacher used to always go big when it came to submitting Doodle's work for art competitions. And now it's my turn.

At Doodles' school they are having a family writing event. To show the importance of love and togetherness through everyone's writing abilities. First off, never ask a writer, publisher or artist to submit work for these types of events. Because you know there will be parents who get their feelings hurt as another parent takes the cake. No surprise I'm the parent that went all out. Of course it doesn't hurt for where I work part time and it being Michaels craft store.

Here's the deal. The kids had to write a piece for this event. It was suppose to be during school with the teachers help. But the teacher asked me to do this. Not a problem. And yes I cheated. I went to shelsilverstein.com they have tons of kits to help teachers and parents to allow their kids to learn all about poetry. I took about 2 hours going through all the kits to find something that Doodle would be able to do. And I found it. It was really easy, all she had to do was just put in the words at the end that described herself. Okay, that was easier said then done. That took at least 30 minutes just to get Doodle to figure out what to even say about herself. Scientist popped up a lot. After I filled in what she said about herself, the next day she wrote it out. I of course used my work ruler to draw the lines and all she had to do was just copy what was on the paper.

I wanted her to try to write with at least ink on bristol board but that wasn't going to happen. So I opted for regular drawing paper that I use when I teach drawing in my classes. It's a sturdy paper so it's not going to have a problem with getting ripped when send to school.

Sunday morning I finished my artwork on my poem about Doodle. And this morning I laminated it myself. I used contact paper because yes I used bristol paper on my piece for this event. I had an option of writing a letter to my child but that wouldn't get me BIG. Remember, I'm the go big or go home mom. So I combined all the elements where I can use this piece in all of my classes to show case what we have to offer. Which would be drawing, painting, and two types of calligraphy.

And what would an autism post be about if something isn't getting wrecked? Not my art piece that's for sure, but the ipad will never be the same. As long as it won't cost me an arm and a leg to have it fixed I will be fine with saving up for this to get fixed. But Doodle and I have a concert to go this weekend and I have shirts to buy for the upcoming Special Olympics meet next month on my birthday. I will tell you in advance, you will not be hearing from me that Friday in April.

Hope you guys have a great day, as of right now I am typing this and dodging paint splatters coming over the tri-fold. Doodle has a Science Fair project due next week, so that's what she is working on right now. She's not the form of autism that she can do a proper science fair project but they are letting her at least enter with what she does know and that's the solar system. More on that in a later blog post.

The sketching phase after the ink went down for the calligraphy.

I used gouache to paint everything on the bristol board.

The easiest form of lamination for such a large project. Contact paper. Does a fabulous job every time.

And this is what the ipad looks like now.

When you're sick Autism

So apparently being sick right now is not just localized in the south. Right now we are in early spring and the pollen is flying! So of course we are sick with allergies. I was down for about a day and a half. And as you might imagine I can't stay sick for long.

Because my nasal passages were swollen I needed relief to breathe. My biggest problem was I was called into work because they had set up a quick calligraphy class for me to teach. Not a problem except I couldn't breathe. Here's a quick tip to bring the swelling down so you can breathe like a normal human being. Put coconut oil on the bridge of your nose and if you need even faster relief put it under your nose too. Next with just a drop of peppermint oil run that over the coconut oil you placed on your nose and under your nose. This is a quick way to dilute the essential oil. Remember you need to use essential oil not peppermint extract as that is used for cooking not for the promotion of healing. Under your nose will begin to sting but you can wipe it off with a tissue if it gets to be too strong to handle.

In less then 5 minutes I was able to breathe again and no one knew I was starting to get sick. At this point I was able to put my make up on with not a problem.

When allergy season hits your go to oils are peppermint oil and lavender oil. In the above solution to breathing it's not suggested to use lavender oil. Peppermint oil is a lot like icy hot. It works fast and has the sting of icy hot. For when you have aching muscles, mint or peppermint oil should be your go to oils for relieving muscle aches and swollen nasal passages.

I have also been diffusing in my diffuser oregano oil, frankincense oil, lavender, eucalyptus oil, rosemary oil and tea tree oil. They all work great together for promotion of healing. If you are very congested I suggest that you add some peppermint oil to your diffuser as well.

If you are trying to sleep and you are coughing I highly suggest that you place on a cotton ball tea tree oil, rosemary oil and eucalyptus oil. Mixing these three oils yes I know, smells like vick vapor rub. Rub the cotton ball on the bottom of your feet. This will help keep you from coughing in the night and you get a restful sleep.

Along with my elderberry tea, your body can't help but to heal faster. I'm not a big fan of the whole greens thing. I think green drinks from the health food store are great for flu season, but this isn't the flu it's allergies. Elderberry tea or elderberry wine (if your over 21) do just great with getting you well again. I haven't seen elderberry wine but my mother says they used to make it in our family a long, long time ago.

Those are my tips and tricks for getting well as quickly as you possibly can.

Fireberry tea is my all time favorite. Elderberry if one of the main ingredients in this tea.

The greens that help you get well but taste oh so horrible in my opinion.

One of the many oils I use. The Now company is great on the wallet and as well as they work, yes they are pure. Don't let some "essential oil saleswoman" tell you any different. And yes I've wanted to throat punch a woman for telling me that young living was the only certified pure oil out there. No, it's not. Just because their oils are a higher price then the Now brand is because how else is she going to be able to make commission. All that is tacked in there. For the price of one bottle of their oils you are actually paying for it 3 times over. Trust me I know as I am pricing oils from the Spice district in India. So I know the price of the oils and how much they actually retail for.

Preparing for battle Autism

So apparently I'm only able to do blog posts once a week now. My schedule has yet to settle down and I've added a new piece of machinery to my arsenal. I saved up for the new Silhouette machine and I'm going into work Friday night to learn it.

And I taught our first calligraphy class tonight. It was pretty interesting. I was teaching my students the do's and don'ts of the fountain pen. I said, "Whatever you do-Don't shake your pen!" All while I was shaking my fountain pen. My students learned first hand why you don't shake your pen. Because ink just exploded out of my pen and I was covered! I taught my entire class covered on my face and neck in indian ink. Of course I played it off cause I teach one of the messiest classes there which is fine arts. I said, "If you're not getting messy in my class, you're not learning." Which is my motto because I always leave work covered in either acrylic paint or leads and graphite's."

Yes, I'm aware that tonight is Thursday and not the normal Monday, Wednesday or Friday that you would find a post. But like I said, my schedule has yet to settle down.

But this blog is not about work or what I'm doing with my business to grow it. It's about the battle that is brewing. Doodle had an eye appointment on Monday. I had been contacted two weeks ago to call in the insurance information. Which I did. When we got to the appointment on Monday and early I might add because the appointment was at 1:00. Since it was a new place I knew I had information to fill out and that takes time. So after my gps told me that being on the interstate was my destination, which it wasn't and getting turned around several times. I finally found the doctors office. And I was still early. Checking in, the girl chastised me for not getting the information in. Well, by this time I was already irked. I have a lot to deal with. I'm not married to this girl, I don't need a tongue lashing. I told her I did call it in. She checked the computer and said oh they didn't tell me. So she had to call our pediatrician to get a referral.

Of course our pediatrician was closed for lunch. So we waited an hour after our appointment time had come and gone. By 2:30 she was finally calling Doodle's doctor. 3:00 I found out that we had to be switched to a walk in. Hello, I did my part. I called in what the girl asked for. Don't tongue lash me because you dropped the ball.

Admit it, you have a kid on the spectrum and you have some of those Doctor appointments where you are mentally and physically preparing for battle. The eye doctor is one of those appointments. Doodle never cooperates. She has a bad eye and she's always trying to keep from using it. No matter what. So it's hold her down. Or force her to not turn around to look closer at the actual chart that's behind the chair. My child is not stupid. She knows how these things go.

And I'm just trying to get her some glasses that she will wear. I found a place where I can pay out of my pocket and she will get what she wants and they will even be tinted pink. Why tinted pink? Well, some places kids on the spectrum do better with tinted glasses, either pink or yellow. Dr. Temple Grandin suggests it so I'm going with it. The tinting won't cost me a dime. The glasses can be replaced when she breaks them which is a lot! And I can get two pairs of glasses instead of just one pair. Face it we all have that type of insurance that restricts you. Well, darn it, I'm not going to be restricted. My only problem is the place where I can get what I want can't handle Doodle to get an accurate reading on her eyes. So I'm stuck using insurance, to keep from putting some doctors kid through college. I mean I'm sure I could pay for it all myself but I would end up paying out of the nose and saving up for several months for them to charge me $200 to turn off the lights, $100 for Doodle sitting in a chair and $1000 for the eye machines. The insurance I hate it is!!!

So because we were switched to being a walk in and hoping that someone didn't show up and sitting there until well passed the time for her school to be out. I got fed up and rescheduled for Friday. Which means Doodle won't be going to school on Friday because this appointment is early am. And I'm sure by the time we get out Doodle will only have an hour to be in school. She's still on short days.

Mentally and physically preparing for this appointment is really draining! Not to mention that on Monday the only thing on my mind was all the work that I hadn't finished that I needed to get turned in before 5 that afternoon and at the rate it was going I only had an hour left. It was a horrible Monday. Next time I'm going to call an office up every hour on the hour and make sure they got the information that I called in to begin with.

I know some people think they are high and mighty in the position that they are in. But seriously, I'm usually pretty meek and try to hold my temper. The girl is lucky I didn't flip my wig on her. I was polite and beat feet to get out of there before I did lose my cool.

I think the only thing that saved that day was Dairy Queen for dinner on Monday. Doodle got to see her favorite person and she loved it. That's all that mattered to me. And FYI yes tomorrow we will be having DQ for lunch. That might be the only way that I can get her to cooperate and use her bad eye so they can see what needs to be done.

And well, like I said earlier I have a class to take at work to learn how to use my new machine. So there is a little break for me. Praise the Lord for small things! Hey I don't have girl friends to go out with on the weekends, so I opt to take free classes at work to get some me time. Though I am thinking I might get a mani pedi next week. I've earned it!

As time is ticking down for bed, I hope you guys have a great night. If you are reading this during the day I hope you have a great day!

Yes I'm getting Doodle Rose colored glasses.

It's an update Autism

I'm trying to wrangle in my finances. It costs a lot to raise a child on the spectrum. Heck any child with special needs are expensive to take care of. But this time around I'm trying to get financial freedom. And the fact that I work with fine arts at Michaels and in my regular business, life gets really pricey with what all you have to have.

In order to keep the school compliant with IDEA, Doodle will be participating with regular education students in the writing event in school. The teacher was suppose to work on this at the school, but with all the things she has going on in the classroom she doesn't have the time. So I took the opportunity to visit shelsilverstein.com to get some great help with accomplishing this. In one of the kits that are available free of charge there is a lesson on creating a non rhyming poem. All Doodle had to do was tell me who she is. And there is also a science fair coming up. Doodle can't create a hypothesis so a quick discussion with the school assured me they will accept a project of the solar system. As Doodle knows the solar system by heart and the order of the planets. Yeah, that's not gonna be costly (insert sarcasm).

I'm not sure if Doodle is able to swallow pills or if she's chewing them but I've had to go with a different melatonin, due to my health food store being out of the fast acting sleep aide. I've switched Doodle to a 6 hour time release that is pill form and it seems to be working the same way as the fast acting. She lays down at night, watches about 5-10 minutes of television and is out like a light.

I'm no longer using calm child to keep Doodle calm. Which saves me money there. And I'm trying my hardest not to buy any more essential oils though I use them every single day. Next month I will be purchasing essential oils for Doodle's line. The price will be what I need to keep her essential oil line affordable for all. And like all essential oils they will be tested for purity and how well they work.

Teaching over at Michaels craft store is pretty fun still. I love teaching fine arts and I will be teaching a new course next month. I will be teaching calligraphy and it won't just stop with the store. As I already have a back ground in creating "workshops/parties" I may be doing a calligraphy workshop. Which will help with becoming financially free.

I don't advertise my services unless it's for Michaels craft store but the other goes by word of mouth. And that seems to work fairly well for me.

And the best part is Doodle is beginning to grow tired of shopkins. She keeps getting the same two toys every single time we purchase one of the little baskets. She's not happy with that. She wants something different but I'm trying to teach her that we buy for being good not for just any time. Which is why I rarely take Doodle anywhere when I go out to buy for what I need. If Doodle is with me she wants it all. She seriously takes that song by Queen to heart when it comes to obsessions.

So now I can start a nest egg and feel better about Doodle and I doing it on our own. That's the most important part.

Later this week Doodle will be going for her eye exam. Which reminds me I need to find her glasses again. And with the insurance that she has I'm only allowed to get one pair of glasses and it's not by what I want or what she wants. Which means that Doodle won't like them. Which is always the way it goes. So I've got to make sure that I have enough to be able to get two pairs of glasses she wants with pink tint to them. Children on the spectrum do better if they have on glasses with a yellow tint to them or pink tint. It really helps with their sensory of sight issues. Which is why I mainly shop at Michaels craft store for crafts. I can't go into Hobby Lobby as the lighting affects Doodle. I haven't been in that store in almost a year.

And along with a full pallet, no pun intended regarding fine arts. I'm also learning how to code. Which is a bit challenging but worth it. I've posted a DIY to JSN Creative. This DIY has helped me to learn calligraphy a lot faster and with more ease. It will also help with illustrations that need to be done.

So this is why you haven't heard from me last week. I was working and taking care of Doodle as always. I'm researching, learning and preparing. It all just takes time.

You guys have a great day and I will talk to you when I get a free moment again.

DIY diffuser necklace Autism

I shop at the health food store a lot and of course I follow a lot of essential oil pages. One thing I would like to try for Doodle would be a diffuser necklace. One thing I've never been a fan of is the prices that others are selling them for. 

So why not just make your own? It's simple and the supplies can be found at Michaels craft store in the jewelry section. You can find lockets in the jewelry section that you can place a piece of felt in. The felt will hold your essential oil on.

And yes I know a lot of the pictures are really dark because of my background. At least I got the last picture right.

The supplies you will need:

Locket with open holes in the front

Felt

E6000

Scissors

Jump ring

Chalk

Necklace chain

Remove your locket from packaging and add your jump ring to the top hole of your locket.

Next add your necklace chain of choice. I chose this one because it's harder for Doodle to take off.

Take your felt of choice. You can tell a crafter by the supplies that they have.

Cut a square about the size of your locket.

Chalk a circle that will go into your locket.

And make sure if your locket closes with a magnet, you make room for that so the locket can close.

Here you can see the locket closes correctly

Now it's time for glue.

Glue your felt to the bottom of the inside locket using E6000 glue.

Once your glue has dried, I allowed a 24 hour cure process, your ready for your oil. I use Frankincense the most on Doodle to help her focus. It's the oil that actually keeps her calm as well.

 

Lauren Daigle made autism cry

Yes, Lauren Daigle made Doodle cry. But in all honesty autism is a tricky disability. Keep reading to find out why.

Winter jam was last night and yeah it was a school night, but it's not everyday that you get to see for King and Country on stage live. And that's the main reason we went to winter jam. It was 10 bands for $10 which is a really good deal. Which is why I'm pretty stocked for when Newsboys comes to town on their rocket tour next month.

But this is how the night played out. Getting to winter jam, the traffic was backed up to the main intersection. No big deal to me and the parking lots were full. We parked at the baseball field with a sign that said park at your own risk, objects fly off the field into the parking lot. Luckily for me there was no game last night. Doodle wanted to take in her care bear, sweet dreams bear. Not going to happen, I'm only going to keep up with my child. As we were walking to the venue we passed a lot of church vans. One church van in particular will forever stand out in my mind. There was a child, a boy about Doodle's age and Doodle's look. The look of autism is very familiar especially for some who deal with autism a lot. Similar nose features and the placement of the eyes. He was screaming and crying as we passed. And his youth group leader or father (I have no idea) was placing him in a hold with his hands behind his back like an officer would if he were arresting you, which was the cause of the boy distress.

Well, here's one incident where my child will feed off that boy's energy and start to have a meltdown.  I prompted her not to pay attention and we kept walking. No point in me going to blows with someone and getting arrested when Doodle and I are out to have a good time at a concert. In all seriousness though, you have to remember that there are wolves in sheep's clothing in churches. The Bible reminds us of that. They aren't there to serve the word of God just have the appearance of it. And you could tell with this guy. When we got to our spot to wait in line, oh course their spot was being held by one women for 15 or so people and this guy had no patience at all. He was ready to get into the concert and told his group they were letting people in and they could squeeze in with everyone else. That's right, we were at the back of the line that was wrapped around the building and they were all going to skip the wait and squeeze on through. Nice church, glad I don't go there cause that's not what I'm trying to teach my daughter is to think of herself but to think of others. We never saw that group again. And by the time we left at 11:30 their van was gone from the parking lot or it could have been towed as they parked in the grass part and not in a parking space not 100 feet away.

Doodle and I had dinner at home but they were serving $12.00 nachos and popcorn and soda's. Not on my budget last night. I seriously thought winter jam was on the 24th of this month not last night. I found out my mistake when I got notification on it over the weekend while I was working so a good save of on money was not in the cards for last minute as I had an eye appointment on Tuesday because my glasses are no longer cutting it for my sight. Great news is my eyesight has improved. The doctor said that I am almost at 20/20. which is a shocker because I have had really bad eyesight since I was a kid and it's always gotten worse not better. Looked like turning 40 is my year!!! And my best friend says it's because of the plexus that I take everyday that helped improve my eyesight.

We missed the first band, Stars Go Dim. But that's okay, it took awhile to get into the venue. And it was cold outside while waiting. We found a seat just in time as Stars Go Dim was leaving the stage.

The concert was going great. Doodle didn't dance much. Not like she did at the TobyMac concert. She really loved that concert. A few times she asked for Newsboys but like I said in the beginning that's gonna be next month. By the time Lauren Daigle got on the stage Doodle's night was going down hill. Lauren wore a large hat that draped around her face and made it impossible to see her face. So of course Doodle thought the show was over because she couldn't see Lauren's mouth moving like she could for the rest of artists in the show. She thought the show was over and she wasn't allowed to see for King and Country, the main reason we were there. She cried during her entire set! Would not stop crying. So we sat there and I rubbed her back and let her cry on my shoulder. My poor Doodle.

After Lauren left the stage Doodle was headed to a meltdown but it was a quick stage change and Red came on stage. This is a heavy metal band for Christ. Now my heavy metal days are long gone and I'm just not tolerant of the music anymore. A grim reaper figure walked around on stage and the flames of fire that shot up from the stage could be felt from our nose bleed seats. And the blue haired in front of us (who looked a lot like my dad's sister) who was head banging to Red was something that I will not forget! It was different!

Matthew West came on stage and Doodle seemed to really enjoy his set. He was really great. He wanted us to hug the stranger next to us. But Doodle was ready to bolt for it by this time and she was more apt to leave and I needed to love on her and keep her calm and close to me I couldn't hug the stranger to my right. Sorry young lady it was nothing against you. But like Matthew said, we don't know what others are going through. God understands. It was while he was wanting everyone to hug that Doodle was pinching herself and trying to get her skin to bleed. She also picked at the sore she created at school during her last incident just to get her face to bleed. This was her way, I feel that she tried to get us to go home or it could have been sensory. Last night was a little hard and going through trying to keep her calm made it difficult to fully know why she was doing what she was doing.

Crowders' set took forever to put together but was good. While they took well over 20 minutes to set up their stage we made a break for the outside to get some swag. I picked Doodle up a for King and Country t-shirt, which she was happy with. And we headed back to our seats. When we got back to our spots Crowder was still not done getting the set built. But it was just a little wait and that went well though they were super loud and they got "swampy" with it, it was a bit confusing for Doodle and of course it was getting really late. But in all honesty she was ready to go home when Lauren was on stage.

But the group that we were there to see was for King and Country and they did not disappoint! Joel and Luke had tons of energy on the stage. The song before last was when we started making our break for it. We stood behind the stage as the last song was finishing and they were taking their bows. At that moment Doodle ran for the stairs to leave. It was a great night of worship all together and the best part for Doodle that had her the most excited was the ride home.

Autism is a really fickle disability. She enjoyed the TobyMac concert more then she enjoyed winter jam. That I could tell. But in honesty all she wants to do is listen to TobyMac in the car. In the mornings, in the evenings, no matter where we are going we have to listen to TobyMac. This is her absolutely favorite artist of all time.

As I do not have a cell phone, I didn't take any photo's at the concert. As I have stated in a previous post I just can't have a cell phone at this time. I like being out to dinner or anywhere out in public and Doodle having my undivided attention. Children on the spectrum make a break for it really fast. Nothing worse then checking your phone and looking up to find your child gone. But hey I will not be getting a ticket or getting into an accident for a phone ringing or answering texts messages. Everyone everywhere will get my undivided attention, because I don't get the distractions most people get. So the pictures that are posted are from what others have posted regarding winter jam. Including a picture that was taken by Caleb Cook Photography of Lauren Daigle that was not from last night's concert.

You guys have a great day.

On a side note. I did send a message to Lauren Daigle letting her know that Doodle cried during her set and why. She was really understanding and said the next concert that we attend of hers she wants to meet Doodle. That was really sweet. I didn't send her a note to be a jerk, I just wanted to make her aware that the hat was confusing and if my child had an issue maybe someone else's would too and she would be making future autism fans happy with being able to see her face.  And her response is the whole reason why I love Christian artists. Heck even when we listened to Way-FM where we used to live, you would find Christian artists serving others at drive through windows at Chic-fi-la. When was the last time you heard about main stream artist doing that? Okay the exception for that would be Lecrae, but he's truly a Christian artist. Just listen to a TobyMac cd you will find him on there.

Crowder

for King and Country

Joel from for King and Country

Joel from for King and Country

Joel and Luke from for King and Country

Matthew West

Lauren Daigle photo taken by Caleb Cook Photography

Crowder

Red

KB, Tedashi and Triple Lee were great! They come on stage several times during other people performances and knocked it out of the ball park!

Sidewalk Prophets was great as well.