Roll Call

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-2006
Roll Call
13
Tue, 03-11-2008 - 11:46pm

We haven't had one for awhile and we have quite a few new posters....

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-2006
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 12:30am

I guess I will be first :)


My name is Lainie, I am 43 and am married to Tony.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-10-2007
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 12:45am

Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-2006
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 1:25am

Nikki!!!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 7:13am

Hello all!


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-28-2008
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 10:16am

Hi, I'm Drea . I'm 45 and married to John for 11 years. We have a 9 yo DS, Graham, who has AS; Miles , 6 yo, is speech disordered; and Anson, 3, is speech delayed. Our therapy schedule runs my life! We live in the Chicagoland area.

Graham can be very sweet and because he relies heavily on social scripts, adults are charmed by his politeness. He'll talk to anybody anywhere . His drawing skills are above average and he's doing well in school. He's very affectionate with family and truly loves his brothers I can't imagine him being any different than he is.

Drea

Andrea, mom to

Graham
Miles
Anson
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2007
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 10:24am

My name is Crystal, I am 30 years old, married with two kids, a 5yo boy and 2 month old baby girl. My son is in his second year of full time Montessori preschool and is doing really well. He's incredibly bright, happy, funny, silly, outgoing, and ultra loving. He has been and continues to be the light of my life, now along with his baby sister. I work full time but am extremely commited to maintaining a very active involved role in my kids' lives. That's part of what has made this week so hard for me. My son's teacher brought up the "possibility" that Connor could have AS during a conference on Monday afternoon. It was like she had dropped a bomb on me. I hardly knew anything about the condition, and I felt like there was no way my son could have something like AS without me at least "suspecting" something earlier. I still don't know whether I think he could have AS or not. I have my moments where I feel like it's impossible. The only 'quirks' I've noticed with Connor are that he sometimes exhibits signs of having audio-sensory issues (loud, unexpected sounds sometimes freak him out a little, and he also covers his ears sometimes when he's scared) and he has a hard time maintaining eye contact when people talk with him sometimes. Maybe I'm in denial... but I thought most five year olds had a hard time with this! He's also super intelligent and started showing this at a very young age. He could do jigsaw puzzles when he was two and started reading at three. I always felt like a "proud mom" and now I hear that this high intelligence could be another sign of something being off with him.


Right now, I'm just trying to figure out how I'm feeling about everything before deciding what to do next. Obviously I just want to do what will be best for my son. As a mother, my biggest concern (besides the physical health of my son) has been that I do the best I can do to help him be a good friend to others, and be confident and secure in his social surroundings. I struggled making friends at an early age and I remember the pain I felt when others didn't want to be my friend. Now I'm a happy healthy adult, but those early memories still stay with me. I am so scared that my son will have these same struggles if he does indeed have AS. I guess that's the main reason I came to this board. I think I'm looking for the reassurance that even if it turns out Connor has AS, that, with my help and maybe the help of others, he will grow up with confidence and with friends.


I so admire all your courage and support for each other here. I don't know yet whether I think Connor should get a "diagnosis" or whether I think it will make a difference. I don't think I'd change anything right now, even if I found out he did have AS. He's doing great in school, has lots of friends, loves play dates, birthday parties and the playground, and is a very happy boy. Whether I pursue a diagnosis right now or not, I still want to stick around and hear more of your stories. It's already helping me feel a lot better about what may end up being in our future.


thanks! Crystal


Crystal Siggy 3/23
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 12:54pm

Good idea, Lainie, Thanks for taking the initiative.

My Name is Paula, I am 40, Irish-from-Ireland, but I live on Long Island now. I used to work fulltime outside the home until I became ill about 20 months ago with an as-yet undiagnosed neurological illness.

I first came here about 6 years ago, but my journey with Peter started when he was about 20 months old and lost a lot of skills. At the time, I thought it was because of our recent move to this house, because everything had changed then: house, my job, daycare, and then the baby arrived when he was 21 months. However, He just bacame more and more unhappy and difficult, and daycare recommend we have him evaluated (of course, *I* thought he was perfect). He qualified for EI, and then for special ed preschool.

At one point "they" told me that he was borderline Mentaslly Retarded, would probably never function in a normal school setting... blah blah blah. "They" were all wrong, With the help of a lot of intervention, Speech and Occupational herapy, special Ed and me working with him (them) at home, he is now 9½, in mainstream 4th grade, but with a lot of supports, and doing beautifully. He started Judo lessons, in September and now he has his Yellow belt. In fact he just asked if he could take part in a national tournament which is coming up in PA.

My DD Siobhan is now 7. She was so ahead in her skills compared with Peter, that we thought she was absolutely perfect and oh-so-advanced. It turns out that she had a speech delay and severe sensory issues. Put daycare, who had been very involved and committed to Peter, raised the flag and we had her evaluated. She qualified for special services at three, and attended a regular preschool with a lot of supports. She flourished with the supports and was mainstreamed in K. She is now in Second Grade, she still has some support but she is doing well, has friends and is happy. She also takes Judo and is doing well with it.

I have one huge piece of advice for new people: Don't compare your child to typical kids. Compare him (her) to himself 3, 6, 9 months ago. That way you see the progress, and you appreciate their accomplishments so much better.

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-28-2007
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 1:27pm

I'm Deirdre (dee), and am 33. I'm married to JT (42).

I'm Irish born and raised, he's from NY.

Together we have three kids: Liam (7) HF Autism/ADHD/BP-nos. Cian (4) Aspergers and poss ADHD, Roan (15 months) NT but flirts with sensory seeking behaviours.

We live outside Atlanta in GA, but have lived in NY and MD.

Dee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 1:54pm

I'm Heather and I'm 38.

                                

Avatar for betz67
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: tebald
Wed, 03-12-2008 - 2:37pm

HI, I'm Betsy, 40, married to Michael, 44, for 18+ years. We've lived in IL, WI and now SC. We have 5 kiddos. I'm a seamstress and part time preschool teacher (currently just subbing). He's a computer guru, software architect.

Warren, 16, is Dx ADD-NOS and has sensory issues and health issues w/ severe eczema, allergies and asthma-- he flirts w/ the spectrum esp in areas of social interactions and exec functions. He's fully mainstreamed (had a resource/study class for the last 3 semesters but graduated out of that) and is doing great this year. I think the cleanliness factor might finally be kicking in.

Amelia, 14, 8th grade, NT, has some learning differences but has learned to adapt. She's a leader and so much fun now that we're through the worst of puberty.

Weston, 11, 6th grade, ASD w/ significant sensory issues and speech delay (tho they're starting to think we might graduate from speech by high school-- we'll see). He's fully mainstreamed w/ push-in resource for honors language arts, lots of other supports throughout the day and supports for teachers as well. He has pullouts for speech and OT during the week as well. He's the "test case" for the middle schools in a high functioning kid doing gifted work and needing lots of supports (tho my friend who works in the autism program says there will be more and more kids like Weston as they grow and have good therapy in early elementary). They're learning that a special program might be necessary at all the middle schools in the district instead of just one (at one school) for lower functioning kids. He's come a LONG way in the last 2 yrs. He speaks and converses w/ adults. He can tie his shoes, and get himself ready for school or bed. He can handle some disappointments as long as he's not under too much stress. He's learning to advocate for himself (he will finally tell a teacher when he needs to leave for safe haven about 60% of the time.)

Martha, 8, 3rd grade, dyslexia, sensory issues. She's just about as polar opposite of Weston as you can get. Social beyond her years. In touch w/ emotions (tho not in great control) yet takes her forever to make a decision.

Owen, 6, kindie, SID, ADHD, Still a very wild child, but he's doing great at school. He's still in the small private kindergarten/preschool that he was in for preschool. He's way ahead academically, and does great at this school, I'm still a little concerned about public school next year. Our school is supposed to cap the class sizes at 18 for K-3, but they can always change that policy. He does great in the smaller class size and structured setting.

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