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.   

What's it really like raising Autism

If you've ever met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism. My life is different from what other parents face. But the situation still stays the same. I'm raising a child with autism. When Doodle was six she had no speech and had been in speech therapy sense she was 2 years old. Yes, she was even in early intervention. Nothing seemed to work. At 6 she wasn't potty trained at all. Poop smearing dominated my life. She was a crafty child and a backwards zip up outfit didn't stop her. What was normal for typical children were tasks that were impossible for her to do.

The first three years of an autism diagnoses are always the hardest because you don't know what to do, where to turn to or how to start some of the therapy that your child needs. Now that Doodle is in school she gets a lot of therapy I no longer have to drag her to. The sound of a screaming child in the back seat, screaming their head off to therapy. Her calming down for therapy and then the screaming all the way home cause she didn't want to leave if she did OT or she wanted more bubbles from speech therapy.

I use a lot of reinforcements to get Doodle to do what she needs to do. At home say for instance I know she will eat food. It's very rare I will see or even hear her have a gag reflex when it comes to food. If she wants dessert she has to eat her food. And yes it takes her forever to eat. She would rather be preoccupied with other things. She's a busy bee so to say. And since Doodle is progressing now positive reinforcement works much better. 

Her routine when she comes home is she has to hand me her school folder so it can be signed. I need her to give me her snack box so I can pack it for the next day. She needs to change out of her school uniform and dress for appropriate weather, putting her shoes in the shoe box where they go and put away her book bag. All before she is even able to get on the iPad. My positive reinforcements used to be small skittles given one at a time for each task completed. But she's outgrown that and can do at least 3 tasks before a reminder of what the next ones are.

Autism is a lot like raising a toddler most days. Some days you know what sets them off and others you don't. It's not all fun and games for me. And I like to think that everything is just a drop in the bucket. I also like to think that her accomplishment bucket is overflowing. Those are what I like to keep in mind the most.

The day before Doodle's birthday we were making a run to Publix for a few supplies. I asked what is tomorrow? She replied with Friday. Birthday. I asked who's birthday is it? And she replied with her name. For the longest time Doodle always had trouble with who and how. Usually, this is a point where I have to hold my finger to my lips and ask the question several times before she could get it. And this time she got it on the first try. I'm proud we have come this far. In all honesty had she not regressed when she was 10 years old she would have been further in progression at this point.

The age of ten for kids is the cut off point. At this point they will either continue with progressing or it stops. It all depends on the teacher. And no matter what amount of work we did at home, because her teacher had her for 8 hours in a day and I had her for 4 before bed time I wasn't able to successfully combat the damage the teacher was doing. When Doodle went on half days, which is a violation of the iep aka against the law. The damage had already been done. I was basically gathering work from the parent teacher store and teaching her on my own. Which is not the funnest thing in the world. With trying to make sure I had everything for my classes I was teaching, learning calligraphy and having to come up with a lesson plan of how I was going to teach my child and what she was going to learn. It was a lot on my plate. Not compared to what I am doing now! But it was still a lot considering it was like I was having to teach my toddler all over again. Grant it she wasn't a toddler, she was 10 years old but that's how far she regressed, to being a toddler. And having to relearn so much all over again. Hand over hand is no fun when your kid fights like Mike Tyson.

So there are good days and there are bad days. I am fiercely private and really am not comfortable with sharing a lot of my life. I'm working on that. Most parents come to this blog for information, but if I'm not sharing the good or bad how honest am I really being? 

I've gone from single students to working on accounts. A magazine that just doesn't seem like much fun as I'm always so tired and I'm getting into some really complicated pieces. I'm worried over will today be the day she freaks out on the bus and hurts another student or smashes her face into the window? Will she scratch her eyes out while on the bus cause the last time she freaked out of the bus, her eyes were the first thing she scratched at.

We all have fears when it comes to autism. And it doesn't help my job as her advocate and protector when in the groups that I'm in I'm seeing parents just giving their kids over to live in group homes or nursing homes all because they can't control them. Add the constant debate that rears it's head every year or so with parents saying they don't want to vaccinate their kids because they don't want a child with autism. That's a lot to depress anyone. Add on winter and the winter blues and that's quiet a lot for one parent to shoulder. 

Doodle is my rock. She's my laughter in the dark. She says some bizarre things which are out of place and seriously funny. Add in her Cindy Brady lisp and sometimes those words are hard to understand. And she likes to change what things are. Currently, she's saying that a lion fish is a porcupine fish. She knows the difference but she wants to change it. There was a time when she was little she called lightening bugs keke bugs. It was so adorable! And I really miss those days, but she's 13 now and they have to be called by their actual name. Sometimes it takes me 30 minutes to get her to say something correctly without dropping the L or the TH sounds. You just have to pick your battles. So there are plenty of days I'm like, cool whatever we've been at this too long already.

For instance last week while waiting on the bus Doodle was watching YouTube video's of fish on my phone. She says look mom, that's a porcupine. I said no that's a Betta and a porcupine. It took me a good minute to realize the fish needed to be called what it really should be called. I corrected myself. That's a Betta and a Lion fish. Dang it Doodle.

I don't know why she wants to change what some things are. Maybe it was because I let so much slide when she had limited to no speech. All I can say is 6 am with little sleep is too early in the morning for my brain to function.

So what is it like raising a child with autism? Some days are tiring. Severely draining. And other days it's a cake walk. She's my child and I wouldn't have her any other way.

See you guys on the flip side.

Why I won't battle in the vaccine debate, Autism

There are many people out there that love to do the vaccine debate. Many refuse to vaccinate their children from diseases that have pretty much been eradicated because of vaccines. For me getting into a fight over something like that isn't worth my time as there still is not enough research to prove if it is the cause of autism or not. And here's the reason why I won't debate it.

Autism has been around longer then vaccines. If you read up on fairies you will read stories of changelings. These are stories that were passed down from generation to generation, as that's how stories tend to work back in the day. Parents would put their babies and children to bed at night. Normal, healthy littles with no issues. When the parents woke up in the morning their child was different. The same that some of our children are before they are diagnosed. This is how the phrase changeling came about. People used to think fairies would come into their homes and change out their child for a human baby. When Doodle was a baby she was on track with her milestones. At 5 months old she was able to say momma and dada. I got two good days of her babbling those words and yes I know that's a little early for a baby to speak.

When Doodle was brought home from ICU at about 2 weeks of age my husband was bringing her into his mothers house with Doodle in her car seat. My mother in law looked at Doodle and said, "Hi, Precious!" And I kid you not, I heard it, my husband heard it and my mother in law heard Doodle sigh out Hi. It could just be a fluke with the way she sighed at that moment. Don't know. But I will always say to this day my child is special.

Back to the point at hand. Two good days of Doodle saying momma and dada. And yes, she said momma first! Doodle was trying to stand up as much as she could. She wanted her little legs to work and do things quickly. Well, after the second day she stopped and went back to cooing like a NT baby. She didn't crawl until she was a year old and didn't walk until she was two, believe me I tried everything to get her to crawl and walk. And still we had no speech. She never even got her baby teeth until almost a year old. And she rubbed her hair off the back of her head. For a little girl she matched my Uncle Larry in the bald head department. Looked like a little old man!

So do I believe in changelings? Pretty much as that's the way I experienced life with Doodle. It was an overnight change and she did bizarre things. Crossed her legs, tucked her chin in her chest, pulled on her diaper and went ridged. Happened so many times and no one could figure out why she was doing that. At least 30 times or more a day. Nothing I could do to snap her out of it.

It was later determined that it was possibly seizures. She doesn't do that anymore since the age of 6. And I have no answers to this day as to why or what was the cause.

I'm a researcher. It's not actually what I went to college for. But I need research. I don't do hearsay. I need cold hard facts. Doodle was given a vaccine but it was after she lost her momma and dada speech. So I can't connect those dots. But I have researched fairy stories for years as I am just fascinated by them. Would love to write a fantasy fairy story one day.

Back to task at hand. My husband was cleaning out one of the rooms in his grandmothers house when he read a letter from the water board. They were informing everyone in the area that they were going to be putting fluoride in the water. And they did have a list of possible issues with fluoride being added to the water. One of the possible concerns was that fluoride could cause autism in children. This was found after Doodle was diagnosed at the age of 3.

So could this be a possibility? Possibly. Depends on the environment in which you live in. I don't know the conditions of the water systems or some of the vegetation surrounding where the people who have little children who became as they called changelings. As that would be a possible clue.

Now if you look at cancer it's more common today then it used to be. So why the rise in cancer? If you learn the back story of Peter Pan you will learn about the Davies children, well their mother died of cancer. That was in the 1900's. So why was cancer a thing back then? Did you know that women during this time used powder on their faces and bodies. This goes back many many decades of woman doing this habit. I remember my great grandmother and grandmother using giant powder puffs to put powder on their faces and necks. It's talcum powder they used and it was scented. The same talcum powder we use on babies and the same talcum powder that's used in our makeup.

Now those in the makeup world are familiar with Sister Charles and his recent scandal. If you haven't here's the run down. Customer used his newly released makeup pallet. One of the colors I think it was pink would not come off her eyes, she broke out in hives and her eyes began to swell. She tweeted him over and over and even made YouTube video's complaining about it. During this time Sister Charles tweeted her back and told her she needed to see a dermatologist. Another person in the makeup world broke down the science of talcum powder in makeup and said there was a chance that some makeups have asbestos in them and can cause a reaction. That talcum powder is mined in the same place as asbestos and they look pretty much identical. I'm not saying that Sister Charles has asbestos in his makeup. I don't even have any of his makeup. But during the manufacturing stage there is a possibility that talcum powder can be contaminated with asbestos if just one person in the beginning of mining the powder doesn't know what they are doing.

As you know asbestos causes cancer. When Mrs. Davis became sick with cancer there is a possibility that someone messed up along the line and sold her talcum powder with asbestos in it. Either intentionally or not. So before you start screaming you might want to check some of the products in your home that have talcum in it. Especially, if you use talcum powder on a baby, you know the baby powder you put on your child after they get out of the bath and are dried off.

So there is that run down. But back to Autism and vaccines. I believe it's more environmental. Something has changed because autism diagnoses are exploding now more then they ever have before. So what would be the change? It could be the fluoride that they are putting in the water. It can also be the chlorine the water systems are using in our water now. Here, where we live you can smell it! And if you wash your car off in the mornings it eventually eats the paint off the car! No joke!

Back when Doodle was a bitty I bathed her with Johnson's and Johnson's baby shampoo. They were a company I thought I could trust. They even say it in the commercials. I bathed Doodle with the baby shampoo until she was 6 or 7 years old. Because I wanted the absolute best for her at all times. I stopped when the news broke that the formula for the baby shampoo was the same formula as formaldehyde. If you are unfamiliar with that it's embalming fluid. When you die your blood is removed from your body and replaced with embalming fluid so that the decomposition process slows down. I can tell you for a fact if that gets in our waters and streams and even our grounds that's not good on our environment. And we as parents of itty bitty's are washing that stuff down the drain after a bath. Which either goes to a plant our straight out to our oceans or streams. This is why I make my own soap now. I know what goes into it. I can trust what I put back into the environment. In the back of my mind this is a possibility of why Doodle has autism. But until that research is conducted we don't know the true cause of autism.

Let me give you another breakdown of the chemicals that we use. Doodle used to eat clothing. I would buy her cute little outfits to wear to school and my billy goat would eat her shirts every freaking day! And this was why we couldn't have nice things. About the time of the embalming scare I started making my own laundry detergent. Borax, soda powder, and a bar of soap along with water. Yes, I've gone off the deep end. I'm using a chemical a little girl burned herself with while making slime. Actually, borax in small amounts isn't even harmful. It's a mined rock. I have my hands in this stuff every single week as I've just gone to using only borax to wash our laundry. Fill the washing machine up a ways add the borax and swish it around with my hands. And I made kids slime with borax for a very long time and have had no issues. Anyways, the reason I'm even mentioning this is the moment I no longer used Tide or Gain or any other commercially made laundry detergent Doodle stopped eating her clothing. She hasn't eaten a shirt in a very very long time. So the chemicals that were left as a residue, unseen and unnoticed was like candy to my child.

And speaking of candy, there is a possibility that processed foods we buy at the grocery store could also be a contributing factor in the rise of autism. What all they are giving to the animals or the chemicals that are called harmless but give our foods a longer shelf life. We don't know. There isn't enough research. Just people screaming over one thing but not looking at the whole picture.

And let's get into the tests they preform when you are pregnant. That stuff they had me drink that was nasty and I had to keep coming back for blood to be drawn. I wasn't allowed to eat that day until after the test. I know that put a lot of stress on Doodle when she was in the womb. It's for checking blood sugars they said. Could this be another thing that's causing autism? Don't know.

Everyone has their own opinion. People who have autism are tired of being lumped in with kids who have cancer. Though I kind of see a point with that. Autism and cancer feel like they come out of nowhere. The parents who don't vaccinate don't want a child with autism. I see nothing wrong with a child with autism. They are wonder kids. Love Doodle to death! I wouldn't trade my child for anything. If I got the opportunity to do it all again I would in a heartbeat. I wouldn't change a thing, except for the teacher that regressed her. That I would change! But I prefer to have a child with autism. That's me! I love the work I put in to helping her become a success. When she grows up and looks back on her life I want her to see mom made a difference and she has the best childhood! We are doing things together I never did as a child. Heck if she were a nt child we wouldn't even be hitting up concerts. I do it to push her out of her comfort zone.

Again, I believe it's environmental. I believe that the chemicals in the products that we use, that we take for granted because it's a convenience that we pay for are a contributing factor in what is causing autism. From the water we drink to the products we use on ourselves. And if we truly want to spread autism awareness, we will stand up and demand more research. Not only into the environments where we are raising our children but in the products that we are using in our households.

Most parents who raise children on the spectrum aren't happy that I have a child with autism that on some days doesn't appear like she has autism. Used to have more days like that before the bad school. Now everyone can tell Doodle has autism! Therapy, countless hours working with her and eliminating so much in what she touches or she has contact with has really helped her to focus and become unlocked in her mind. It's time we start helping our kids. It's time we take a stand and find out the cause and looking at all things that could be the contributing factor.

And on that note! I'll 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!

New Year another day, Autism

Thank you so much that today is the last day for December.

I'm late getting the magazine done cause I was sick with the same stuff Doodle was sick with and that meant I could barely function. But naps were my friend. Doodle has taken to her Christmas presents. I have to push Doodle and keep her out of her comfort zone. Yeah, I know the comfort zone is what keeps our kids calm. Well, I'm not one of those parents. She somewhat loves learning as long as it's not at school. At home learning new things helps keeps her busy and out of trouble.

For the new year I'm going to try my hardest to turn her pictures she drew as a 6 year old into a book. That would be awesome to get that done around her birthday. But I myself am learning a new program for my publishing company. I'm keeping with my goals for myself that I have for Doodle. Stay out of your comfort zone.

Yeah, I know I already have so much that I do already and I am adding more stuff to my plate. I love my kid and I want her to have the same opportunities as a NT child. But she won't get there if I don't push her. No, I'm not gonna push someone else. My job is to push my child. Get my child to learn what she needs to learn. Practice, practice, practice. That's the key to meeting goals.

The saying in the autism community is, "You have to be taught something over a 1000 times before a child on the spectrum learns it". So there you go for how long it takes for your child to get where you can see change.

Today is New Years Eve and tomorrow is New Years Day. Start a visionary board on the goals that you want your child to reach. Just remember the hard work that you have to put in there to get them to that goal. Cause it takes teamwork to make that dream work.

See you all on the flip side and happy new year!

You've got the fever, Autism

When a typical child gets sick it's easy for them to tell you what is wrong with them. But when you have a child on the spectrum get sick with limited speech, well that one is hard to figure out.

Doodle had her Christmas program at school. And she did very well but she wasn't herself. That morning before getting on the bus she was coughing and hacking up phlegm. Signs of an asthma issue. So she had to have a breathing treatment when she got to school.

During her program she wasn't her normal out of control self. But she did the program like a champ and I was so proud of her. I went to her when the show was over and gave her a kiss. And that's when I noticed, she felt like she was running a fever. So we headed to the nurses station. She was running a temp of 99.8. Time to check out of school and head home.

She's pretty much stayed in bed since she's been home. Her fever fluctuates from high 102.6 to 98.8 and she can't go back to school until she is fever free for 24 hours without the aide of of fever reducer. Doodle has requested soups and sprite during this time.

So far she has missed school on part of Wednesday and all of Thursday and at this point she's gonna miss Friday as well. I'm hoping that she will be well enough to go back to school on Monday and Tuesday. If not I will go to the school on the 18th and drop off the gifts for her classmates and pick up her treats and school shirt before coming home.

I hate that she's sick. And the only thing I can do is just treat the fever and cough. I know her throat hurts because the words she can say, her voice is having a hard time staying the octave that it's suppose to be.

Her fever did finally break on Saturday. Which means she's going back to school today and she is not pleased at all! She wants to stay home and watch the iPad. I'm ready for her to go back to school so I can get the last of Christmas taken care of.

Just two days, Doodle. That's all you have to worry about and the last day is a party so you will be fine! I still have to make sure her classmates get presents and treats and the teachers are taken care of too.

At least you have an update, though it's a short one because she is needing a lot of care and she's wanting to be cuddled. Which I don't mind as cuddling is not something she ever wants to do when she's well. I will take what I can get!

Bonus, I haven't gotten sick. So there's that!

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.

Thanksgiving week Autism

It's Thanksgiving week and I have so much to do. Still working on the magazine and no where near the finish line and it doesn't help that Doodle is out of school for the week. That's gonna be interesting. She's gonna be so mad when she goes back to a communication book.

But this is what we are resorted to going back to since we are losing speech at an incredible rate. If you guys haven't seen the communication book I have posted in a previous blog that's what we are going back too. I will be updating it only because I want to incorporate her to use complete sentences.

This morning I will be dropping my vehicle off to be worked on.

Life with autism can be hard enough, add a free magazine and vehicle repair work to the mix and you have yourself a whole headache of work to do. Now throw in being a single mom and it's Thanksgiving week and you have barely anything to survive off of.

I am considering changing the magazine to be paid but that won't be for a couple of years. I don't want it to come to that but it might have to be done.

I'm going to keep this post short as I know of all the work I have to do this week to get everything finalized for the magazine.

See you guys on the flip side.