What I feel about school autism

 I'm seeing a lot of parents of kids on the spectrum that are pretty upset that school is not going back in session. Well, some schools are not going back into session. Me, I'm cool with school not going back to being in person. Our school won't go back until around November. Doodle has autism and that's a neurological disorder. With her asthma her getting the virus is not gonna be a good thing.

Parents send their kids to school sick all the time so what makes me think parents won't do that this time around? And it's not like oh you just wake up with a fever. If you raise kids you know that a fever can pop up anytime of the day. So by the time a fever is present by then its too late.

For me I can readjust my schedule at work to better suite teaching Doodle from home. With having a publishing company I can adjust that schedule to be there for my child. I've always been flexible with Doodle's schedule. You never know what is going to happen when you raise a child with special needs. 

School for us doesn't start until September the 1st. For the first time I'm not totally prepared for school. I mean all I will need is just a computer or tablet. I'm more than prepared for that. Anything happens to my equipment I have a company that takes care of all the repairs. Believe it or not for the past year they have been working overtime on my equipment. From upgrading my computer equipment to repairing a shattered iPad to shattered laptops. It happens with raising a child with autism. So I'm not to concerned. 

My child being safe is my utmost concern. Other kids staying safe, that is also my concern. So like I've said, it's not a big deal that we will be doing online schooling again. Though it's only for 9 weeks. We will get through this. And for help on what to do when your kids figit too much in their chairs I have several DIY's for this coming up issue in the magazine to help with that. This isn't my first rodeo and it won't be my last.

If the kids go back to in person learning I support all the parents who send their kids back. For those doing virtual learning, I support that as well. It's a hard decision to make. I understand that. I want my child to be back in the classroom. I also want her to be well and safe. I will be devastated if I lose my child. I've dealt with to much grief from her not to continue living with her quirks.

The private school have all gone back into session so we are all watching how that goes. So far though it's only been 2 weeks it's going pretty good. Some elementary schools have had issues but only the classes have shut down but not the school. Not sure on the comfort level of that one. But everything will work out. And there is a possibility that given the type of school Doodle goes to she might not go back to in person schooling at all this year. No matter the decision I will support it and continue to do what I can to help my daughter succeed. 

To get her out of the house she may possibly be doing a dance class which can be virtual or in person. So that will be how I slowly step into this new roll with her. She hasn't done a typical class since she was maybe 5 or 6 and that was with gymnastics. That was a fail when the coach started flinging the kids in the air. And that's how I found out that my child was afraid of heights. Good times! 

Not all parents can be as flexible as I am and I am thankful for my schedules. So I'm not going to judge other parents about their decisions. Cause it's not an easy decision to make.

So what are your decisions for this school year? Are you sending your kids back or are you going to do virtual learning as well? I support whatever decision you make. 

See you guys on the flip side.   

Back to school, Autism

I can honestly say that I am so excited about Doodle going back to school. I would say that I've been waiting for this the day after school let out, but it really hasn't been that bad this winter break. Sure she's done a lot of stemming and she's been sick and I've been sick. But it hasn't been that bad.

I went back to work on Saturday and Doodle goes back to school today. She's made a lot of progress during the winter break and I am elated!

I overheard her talking to herself and she actually slowed down and pronounced the word feathers. The th sound had always been a problem for Doodle. But she's more cautious now with how she is pronouncing things. And that makes me so happy.

I've spent as much time as I could with Doodle during the break while sick and trying to finish the magazine. The autism life is not always easy and the work involved makes me feel like I'm on teacher duty 24/7. But I'm starting to see progress again and that matters the most to me.

I want my child to succeed. And I'm going above and beyond to get her to that point. I'm still hoping that she wants to be doctor when she grows up. But if she wants to be an artist I will support that too. Whatever her future holds I'm willing to be there and support her to the best of my abilities. I always have and I always will.

If you are a parent and your child has just been diagnosed the most important thing to remember is the first three years are the hardest. All the appointments with doctors and therapists. Trying to figure out what would be the best thing for your child and it feels like you get no rest. Everything is jumbled together and if you can remember to breathe you're doing alright. There are bad doctors out there and there are bad therapists out there. If you feel like you're not being heard as a parent switch your child to someone else. That's the only way that your child has the stepping stones to succeed.

Today when I got up the first thing I sent off to the school was my letter for an IEP. I have the mitts our pediatrician sent to us. Cause those things were not the easiest to find here. And since these are technically our mitts, I want them back at the end of the school year just like I have to get the breathing machine from the school.

Well my day is already filled and I need to get back to work on the magazine and new programs I'm learning.

If you want to read the newest issue of the magazine you can find it here. This month and next month we are tackling a weighted blanket. Check it out. www.jsncreative.com/ezine Remember it's free, no need to use your email to view it and NO ads!

See you on the flip side!

Happy Holidays, Autism

With Doodle being sick and now out of school. The days have been daunting. Add making a ton of pom poms for a craft I feel will never be finished and getting the same crud Doodle got. It's just not been fun.

Plus side is we are ready for the Holiday which is later in the morning. Doodle opened her Christmas Eve gift up and she fell asleep watching Dragons. She kept herself on schedule, which made me really happy.

So as of right now, she's out. I'm typing this while feeling like I'm having a hot flash. I hate this sore throat and congestion but my energy is finally coming back. And I'm not sleeping so much. So there is that.

Another note is the doctor's office mailed the mitts that I mentioned in a previous blog for when Doodle has meltdowns. So of course that has to now be handled with another IEP meeting. But not until the Holidays are over.

So from our family to yours, Happy Holidays! May your day be joyous and bright.

See you on the flip side.

Self harming and Autism

Self harming is something almost all children on the Spectrum do. Some parents get lucky and the child will stop self harming. From slapping themselves, beating their heads on the floor to trying to remove their skin, it's not uncommon.

So what do you do when you find yourself in this situation? So many years ago when Doodle was little she beat her head on the floor. She was limited in speech and this was one of her coping mechanisms. Now that she's older and has speech it's not normal behavior out of her anymore. But during that time in her life she wore a ton of winter hats to soften the blows.

But we find ourselves in another boat. And we thought we had it pinned down. But that doesn't appear to be the case. Now we are trying to figure out why Doodle is trying to remove the skin off her body.

Until then we have to condition her to stop. And the only way to go about that is with medical mitts. Good news and bad news of this one. They work to help the person stop hitting or scratching their skin off. Bad news is, there is not a single medical supply store in the lower part of my state that carries them.

And believe me I have called around to every single medical supply store within 50 miles trying to locate some. Our pediatrician even has the prescription ready to go when I find a medical supply store who carries them. Unfortunately, couldn't locate one.

So I called out pediatrician and informed her and I'm at the point right now where I will just make some using genuine leather that I have on hand and the insides will be padded with warm fleece. She can think they are gloves. And she won't try to take them off to scratch herself, because I'm adding a velcro strap.  Then I received a call back from our pediatrician and they have contacted the rep for the medical mitts company and they are waiting on a call back from them.

That is the best news to receive. I will know that during these difficult meltdowns Doodle will be having a hard time scratching her face or her arms or her legs.

The reason I'm having to go this route is last week when Doodle got off the bus she looked like she got in a fight with a rabid dog and lost the fight. Her face was torn up! And it was one of the things she had done to herself according to the bus driver and bus aide.

Yes, the school is investigating the incident.

See you guys on the flip side.

   

Revelations and IEP's Autism

As you all know I've had to do a few extra IEP's due to regression. Wasn't sure what was causing the regression and wasn't sure why she was going through meltdowns, which was something that was not normal for Doodle.

So there I was on Wednesday sitting in the IEP meeting with the Vice Principal and Transportation, the speech therapist, teacher and LEA. Doodle had two meltdowns on the bus last month and I would feel better knowing that my child is being well behaved and not cause issues putting the safety of the driver and the rest of the students in danger. So that round at the table went very well. Vice Principal was on board with trying to find the triggers. It the way I felt. She wasn't having meltdowns at home. And for Doodle to have meltdowns at school and on the bus. That's not normal of Doodle.

When the Speech therapist was going over her data of what Doodle could and could not say and the sounds she was having trouble with she turned to me and said, " You had a death in the family? I wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss." And that's when it hit me. We didn't have a death in my household family. We had a death in my work family. My co-worker lost her battle with cancer. And Doodle adored her! Even renamed her Jasper. When Trish lost her battle that was the time the meltdowns started. This was Doodle's way of grieving.

I informed the speech therapist of this and asked our teacher if when she got my text about my co-worker passing if that was the time the meltdowns started. She said yes it was. The speech therapist informed me that when that text was sent that's the two days they couldn't get Doodle to even go to therapy.

It all made sense. Now we know how we can better help her. We can help her with her grief and we can help her with those meltdowns. Doodle's not great at articulation which is why we had to do the first IEP. And it didn't help that she was losing speech again. She is at a really good school and there is no reason for her to be losing speech. At this point I can honestly say it's not regression. And it's not tantrums, she's locking herself in her mind because she's trying to convey what is wrong but just can't. Doesn't understand how.

I know of a few parents that can't make their IEP's. To me I'd better be dead to miss one. Because if you are requesting something, you won't get it 9 times out of 10 if you miss the IEP meeting. But to me this IEP was an eye opening one. It took about a month from the first meeting requesting the extra data accumulation so we could try to find out the cause of the loss of speech and the meltdowns. To resolving the problem at the second IEP.

I'm a pretty strict parent when it comes to Doodle and I know to a lot of people I make raising a child on the spectrum look easy. It's my dedication to my daughter, all the excess classes and training to be able to better help her. It used to take over a hundred times teaching her something before she could actually learn something. Now it doesn't take that much. Schedules and calendar of events that help her to stay on task every moment of the day. To me I've got it down to being easy according to most. But it also takes a lot of prep the day before to make sure that everything is ready to go even if her routine changes.

I like to be laid back and easy going and that's not always the case when it comes to autism. But I get through it. There is always so much that has to be done. Her routine means that I have to be on routine. The magazine has to be done. My classes have to be planned. I'm learning a new art form and I'm learning animation again. My life stays busy with me just being a regular mom. But I want Doodle to be independent. And if the laundry fairy doesn't get the laundry done while she's at school, well that causes an issue. If her snack box isn't made, yeah that causes an issue. Even if the vacuum cleaner isn't where it's suppose to be anything can set off a meltdown at home. Which is one of the things I've been lucky enough to make sure is avoided at all cost.

I'm off to get more work done. Have to create templates for online classes that will be coming to my website in March or possibly April.

See you guys on the flip side.

Emergency IEP Autism

Last week I didn't have a blog and I almost debating not doing one this week. But this one is going to be super short as I am exhausted.

Lots of changes are taking place in our lives and as you know anything that sets off a bad routine is not a good thing. At work I am dealing with a new manager, but I'm familiar with this manager already so that's not so bad, but I now have a new coordinator through my sponsor.

Saturday's event which is what I was looking forward to the most to bring my numbers back up, that didn't go so hot and a kid puked in my face. That was a big ol' NOPE!

But on to Doodle. When a child on the spectrum begins to lose speech and sleep you know you are on the regression train and you need to get it to stop ASAP. She's lost speech. A name she knows by heart she can no longer say. And this is the one that breaks my heart the most. She can no longer say Jesus. This is a word that she says daily and she knew the name very well. Now she can't pronounce it correctly.

For the past two weeks she's been losing sleep. No matter how much melatonin she takes it's not helping and I'm not gonna bump up the dosage. Melatonin only helps a child go to sleep. It doesn't help them stay awake. Not even the time release melatonin helps with keeping them asleep.

Her bus is now picking up super early. 45 minutes earlier then normal and that's because we have new students and a student switch. So when the bus picks up the moon is still out and it's dark. Like really dark.

So this morning at 5:55 am I sent in via email request to her homeroom teacher that we needed to have an IEP meeting. I know why we are regressing. Same reason Doodle regressed so badly several years ago. She's not being challenged. And at this point I blame the State that we live in. As per our state anyone that's disabled has to be taught at lower functioning levels. Doodle will not do well in a regular school system. And I know the teachers are following guidelines placed by the State. Well, not every child with a disability is the exact same as another child with a disability. Just like the saying you meet one child with autism, you've met one child with autism. They can't all be lumped into the same category as they are all different. And I know this is something I'm going to have to work on to change but not until I'm back up to par.

As of right now I feel as if every day I'm being drug around by a pack of goats. I'm beyond exhausted. But once we get this squared away I will be getting my energy and strength back.

Great news is I'm still number one in district for our store but it's nothing I can celebrate as a regression makes me feel like I've got a tons of bricks falling on my head. The magazine is behind and I'm trying to become the next Michaels maker. So there's a lot to juggle.

See you guys on the flip side.

School routine, home routine Autism

It's Monday and for this day I'm writing the blog while my other computer restarts so I can work on the magazine. I've kind of been putting it off for about a week or two. I need to get at least 5 projects written out and 5 crafts actually done. October gives me more of a crafting opportunity so I'm going to be working on two magazines for this week.

Doodle has fallen into school routine with no issues. Considering she was on a wonkie sleep schedule for 3 weeks before school started. And she's taken to getting up at 6:15 every morning with no issues. Though she is still waking up to giggle at 4 or 5 am. That's not cool! But I really don't have to do prompts to get her out the door. She did not want to go back to school this year.

The good news is the school is going to be using EDMARK to teach reading this year and all the teachers are learning how to use the program. I'm really happy with this decision, this is the program that Doodles' teachers used when she was 6-8. This is how she learned to read, write and do math. So I'm happy she is back on track to accomplishing her goals of speech and reading. In a way I kind of wish the kids had homework. But it's okay because there are times that I can't do homework with her depending on my schedule with Michaels craft store. I don't work every single night as an instructor but there are days when I barely have time to get her fed and me get out the door to be on time for work.

And Doodle does want a fish. I do not want a fish. In all honesty this fish is coming to our house to die. I won't lie. The gerbil was complaining because he was out of water yesterday. And the gerbil is one of her responsibilities. I did buy her a little fish bowl at the thrift store. I have a new type of class that I'm going to be teaching on Thursday that lots of people have been begging me to teach for over a month. The only problem is I don't have denim jackets. The hottest rage is painting scenes on jackets and pants pockets. I do have some lesson plans I can use for this. And it's gonna be a paid class so no big deal. Any who, she will need to clean that fish bowl and get the bowl ready for for her fish. She will be getting a few things on Friday and on Monday I will purchase her fish. I'm not trying to go broke, but children on the spectrum need to learn responsibility. Wish she would take up to going back on the responsibility of the gerbil. But it is what it is.

So there you have it in a nut shell. I'm currently waiting on the vinyl shop to open, typing up this blog and cleaning up the adobe computer. Being back on school schedule is going great. A large shout out to the bus driver for actually picking up every single day at 6:30 am. Not a time I am able to function. Last year I was rolling out of bed at 6:30 am. And now I wake Doodle up at 6:15 to get her dressed, teeth brushed, hair brushed and out the door with her snack box and book bag before the 6:30 alarm lets us know that it's time for the bus.

See you guys on the flip side.

Summer Break Autism

Out of respect for the Holiday of Memorial Day here in the States I opted not to share the post yesterday. It was a time of remembrance for those of us that have lost loved ones in the service. Thank you to those who have gave the ultimate for your country.

It's the last day of school and everything is bitter sweet for me. I'm sad that I won't be able to see the normal faces that I normally see every weekday. Doodle is not eligible for summer help anymore. She hasn't been able to receive that since before pre-k age.

This morning I waved the bus off on it's last journey until they will be rolling again in the fall. This year I wasn't going to chase the bus down because I forget to get the harness off Doodle before the bus moves from my street, heading to it's next destination.

So today has been a cooking day for me and I've been prepping and cooking since the bus picked up this morning. I've also been checking my largest resin art piece. And that did not do so hot at all. But though this now has a lot of mistakes in it for the resin cracking, I can still work with it and embrace it. Flaws and all. I've been trying to stay as busy as I can all day today. I'll admit it, I teared up this morning as the bus pulled away.

And since today is the last day of school I had already made sure that I had a package of summer fun for Doodle for when she got home from school. Which is going to be earlier then normal because I'm picking her up today from school. I like having the opportunity to tell everyone good bye and that I too will miss them just as much as Doodle will.

And Doodle ran up to every single person that she knows at the school, hugged them and told them good bye. I know she loves the teachers there at our school and the kids, well she's making friends that won't treat her like she's got something wrong because they all have something wrong with them. So they all understand!

I'm blessed for Doodle to be at this school and I'm blessed that we have teachers that don't want to be babysitters but want to teach. They are very protective of all the kids at the school and that's the most important thing to me.

When Doodle came home from her early dismissal I went ahead and gave her, her summer package. A box of markers, a miniature bubble machine along with bubbles, Crayola clay and a drawing pad. There is an outdoor game but that will be when she is outside playing and I can play with her.

Well on that note I will see you guys on the flip side. I'm working on the magazine, still cooking and I have to get ready for my class tonight.