Well, ya know I was thinking

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Well, ya know I was thinking
18
Tue, 08-02-2005 - 11:32pm

We have no cl and we have lots of newbies, lots of oldies and maybe some lurkers. How bout a roll call and update. I personally would like to know where some folks have gone and what is up with everyone else.

So how bouts, your name, your family, and what you've been up too lately. How is stuff going? Chelsea, how is the Dog and kids? Sio, where the heck did you go girl? Val, haven't heard from you lately? Paula, did you ever move girl? What happened with the job? etc etc etc. I could go on and on.

Renee




Edited 8/2/2005 11:33 pm ET ET by rbear4
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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-24-2004
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 12:12am

Good idea, Renee! We are 2 wks away from having a c-section and delivering Cassian's new baby brother, Tristan. Cassian is very excited. We took a trip to the Birthing Unit where I will have the baby, and he entertained several nurses there. I was planning to have a more active summer with trips to museums, but preparations for the baby and the trials of late pregnancy have kept us from taking many day trips. My mother, the saint, is staying with us to help out. I've had every benign problem you can imagine with this pregnancy - - must be my age! Tristan is very active and has a good avg heartrate and normal sonograms, so we hope all is well with him.

Our biggest project this summer (other than the baby) is getting Cassian's room decorated and organized. He went from being a family bed kid last year to sleeping in his own bed (a mattress on our floor), and now he is ready for his own room. Tim built a castle bed for him, and we are painting it. It has a play area underneath. We have also been building a closet system to organize his clothes and toys. Book shelves for his massive collection of books are already in the room, along with a jump-o-lene. Cassian cannot wait for everything to be done.

Cassian is enjoying learning to swim. We are working on fine motor skills a lot at home and seeing his OT 2 times a week this summer. Speech therapy with a private therapist is supposed to start soon, but they haven't called me to make an appointment. We still do floortime and some RDI (mostly lifestyle stuff) at home. This week, I am working on some manners and safety stuff with him. Of course, he would read books all day if I would let him.

I would love to get Cassian to see his new school and meet his new teachers, but schools won't be in session here until after my c-section is done. I'm going to call the assistant principal of the school to see what we can do to orient Cassian sooner than that date.

That's all for us.

Suzi

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 7:14am

Hi all, I'm around as a lurker mostly now, but daily at that.

Valerie 28, Tim 30, Matt 3 ASD, Austin 2 PDD. We live in Rochester NY.

Both boys will be starting preschool in september. austin had been going in the summer and doing great. if matt can adjust, then i am going to be so happy to have a little bit of time to myself.

i am involved in starting a school for children with autism in our area. the plan is for it to be sensory-based and for the individual needs for each child. specifically for the children who don't transition well to public schools, as i think this will be the case for matthew.

and DH and i are going on an overnight locally in a few weeks. we reserved the bridal suite at a fancy local hotel that has a 4 person jacuzzi, a separate living room, etc. i am looking forward to it.

i am also going to the DIR conference in Mclean, VA in November if anyone else is going.

things are fairly well. matt is having some behavior issues, but at least he's sleeping at night.

renee, you need to update too!!

valerie

~Valerie
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 8:02am

My name is Samantha. I mostly lurk here now too. My kids are Kyle (ASD more indicative of Asperger's) and Hannah (anxiety-formerly Selective Mutism). Kyle is 10yrs and Hannah is 7yrs. I'm working 3 days a week (chiropractic assitant). We are chelating on the weekends and going camping a lot in our new camper. Hannah started PT and TPL and as a result has started riding her bike (with Fat Wheels). Kyle is doing a once a week strength traing program through PT. And they both have day camp this week put on by a theraputic horse back riding group. They are having lots of fun. School registration is on 8/11 so my anxiety level creeps a little higher every day. School starts on the 24th. Oh, and my DH's computer business he opened ~4months ago is doing fantastic. I'm so proud of him.

Samantha

Samantha
Avatar for finian
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 8:22am

Hi there :). Renee, don't you go to the "Coping when Spouse Travels" board? Your nick looks so familiar.


Love and Light, Joelle

Homeschooling mom to a 11yr old hydrogen molecule.




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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-16-1998
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 8:32am

My name is Helen and I live in Australia, I mainly lurk too.

My DS, Addison is 10 1/2yrs and as yet doesn't really have a diagnosis, he is truly unique!!!! we went through a while of thinking his Dx was Aspergers, now it is clear that although he has a few indicators, and was spot on for AS when he was a toddler/preschooler, that is not his DX.

He definately has some degree of ADHD, and takes Concerta 54mg daily and it does help with his concentration. His other Dx, while still tentative, but becoming more real, are Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and possibly Tourrettes Syndrome.

It is unclear at the moment if he has the OCD & TS, or if they are a result of the Concerta, although he did display some signs of the OCD before the meds and the first of his 'quirks' that started the investigations into a possible problem, other than the ADHD, was tics. Also, I do sometimes display some OCD behaviours and tics are quite common on my side of the family. Also, his father quite fits the AS dx to a tee!!

At present Addison attends a special school that mainly addresses behaviour modification and concentration. He goes there 4 days a week and attends his mainstream 'home' school one day. He will eventually be fully integrated into mainstream, but this will take up to 12 months and he has only been there 3 months so far.

He also has a high IQ, and is reading at a 9th grade level (he is in grade 5) and has just discovered a love of electronics in which he has advanced to a 10th grade level in 8 weeks!!!

I hope that all makes sense!!! I also haved a 5 yr old DD, Eloise, who is NT, she also has a high IQ, I believe, but she has not displayed any of the quirkiness or 'Little Professor' type behaviours Addison did up to this age, she is *very* social!

Also, Addison got too much for me to handle and his violence was endangering his sister, so he now lives with his father and has done for around 18months now.

Helen
Aussie Mum to Addison (Nov94 ADHD ?AS ?OCD ?TS) & Eloise (34weeker May2000 NT)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2005
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 11:11am

Hi everyone...

MY name is Vicky and I come and go on this board and it's always a great insight and comfort when I visit. I have 3 children: Chase 7 with AS, Ashley 6 who is currently showing signs of OCD and possibly tourettes, and Daniel 3 who at the moment seems NT but who really knows, right? We live in Louisville, Ky., the home of the Kentucky Derby and it really is a great place to live. Chase will be in the 2nd grade this year and we have decided to send him half day because he seems to have difficulty staying on task and plugged in the entire day. I will be homeschooling him for science and social studies but he is very bright and could probably teach them himself. He currently reads at the college level but comprehension is not as advanced and while he is good at math, he hates it. Oh and almost forgot, I'm married to wonderful DH for nearly 13 years.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 11:33am

Wow, new faces and some not seen in a while. That is so awesome.

Suzi - good luck with Tristans arrival and all that goes with that.

Val - I didn't know you were helping to start a new school. How awesome is that. Crossing my fingers hoping the transition to school goes well in Sept.

Samantha - So good to see you again. I love hippotherapy. Cait just got a blue ribbon at the yearly horse show where she rides.

Joelle and Helen - WELCOME! So nice to see new faces. Going through the diagnostic trying to figure out phase is so stressful. Joelle - that isn't me on that board, but I may check out the writers board. I pretty much stick to the special needs stuff. Helen, my psychologist calls these kids "the ones up there in the spectrum somewhere where everything overlaps and we don't really know what is going on". Someday they will come up with a diagnosis for that or something. My youngest is like that.

My update-

Where to start. Myself, well with the youngest going to kindie this year I have been figuring out what I want to do with my life. Unfortunatey with 3 kids with IEP's and the other with some difficulties with reading, it is hard to work outside the home. I have a friend who has me helping her with a project that involves writing and creative stuff. Crossing my fingers that it works out because we suddenly have more bills.

The summer is going pretty well. Cait and Mike did extended school year which was very short, then we all did vacation bible school. Mike did way better this year than last year and Cait was practically a junior crew leader. Today we are going camping for a couple days. Hope that goes well.

Cait is having a rough summer. She doesn't do well without a school schedule plus we tried to decrease her meds and that didn't work out. She started having sensory seizures when we decreased the seizure med, and got really nasty when we decreased luvox. I was really hoping to get her off some of the meds but doesn't look like that is happening just yet. She is going to an Asperger's class in the fall for middle school. 2 periods in the day class and the other 4 mainstreamed with an aide in the class. She is not sleeping well again or at least not a normal schedule. Darn puberty, middle school and autism.

Mike was doing better. It is on and off. He either does great and is really flexible or has pretty big outbursts. For instance he had a great day at sea world last week, but a couple days later we went out for dinner for DH's birthday and he had one of his bigger problems in a restaurant ever. I thought he was going to blow up and I would have to carry him out of the restaurant while aggressing. He eventually pulled it back together but not before the waitress gave us a few really weird looks. He needs to go back to school too.

Emily and Dave are doing pretty well. Emily is getting nervous about reading and math in 2nd grade. She is anxious about it being too hard.

Dave is well Dave. I still don't know if he is just spirited or something else. He had that odd EEG and we had all the blood tests done which showed nothing. The doctors only thought was to try another stimulant that would likely cause absence seizures again but "Then they could get it on an EEG andknow what kind of seizure med to give him". So lets give him a med to cause seizures to find out what med to stop them. I told her where to stick it.

Other than Cait cause we cant get her off her meds, I have stopped going to the neuro for the boys. It isn't helpful and I am going in other directions. I am their casemanager and figuring out what they need. We are using vitamins and diet. I may begin homeopathics too if I can come up with the money. Meds didn't help them so I am going a different route and in my experience all the medical doctors have ever done is offer another script. I don't want another script so that is that.

We have done alot of home improvements this summer. I posted the bathroom pic. Now we have just completed a playhouse/cabin/fortress for the kids and a field stone patio. As well as lot of landscaping still in progress. Next we build a fire pit on the patio, level out the dirt and start planting. I am trying to convince DH to put in an above ground pool too for sensory purposes. It is going to take alot more work to convince him, lol. But it is the last thing left to an awesome sensory place for the kids.

I guess that is it. Boy is here BEGGING that I get ready to go camping although we can't check in for 5 hours. ROFL. Oh well.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 12:35pm

I'm still here! The would-be move was for my has-been job. My realtor was FURIOUS that they put pressure on me to move then cut me loose, but I'm just glad it happened before we uprooted everyone. That would have been a nightmare!

So for anyone who does not know me: I am Paula, mother to Peter (7), HFA and Siobhan, (5) who officially is "at risk for Aspergers" (Unofficially: She has it) We live with the long-suffering Jim (DH) on Long Island, with a big dog, a loudmouth cat, several freshwater fish and four aquatic frogs. I used to be a fixture on this board, but took a crazy high-pressure job last year, and have been a lurker-occaisional-poster (plurker?) since. The nice thing about unemployment has been the opportunity to catch up with my friends!

Jim and I are originally European (Irish and Scottish, respectively), but we have lived in the States since 1993 (12 years this month!), and have no plans to ever leave.

What else can I tell you? Oh yes, about the kids:

Peter is in a self-contained special day class (SDC) in his home school. He is mainstreamed along with a small group from his SDC into a regular Math class. In Sept., he will be getting OT, PT and ST 2x each per week in 2nd grade. He is a funny outgoing kid who loves Pokemon and anything which incolves running fast or flinging yourself about. Therefore, we have him involved in Soccer (he's a good goalie), Karate and swimming.

Siobhan is a girle girl, apart from a camera obsession. She owns more purses than I do (altough I have her beat hands down on shoes!), and loves prettyfying herself. I have to keep all cosmetics well out of her reach and sight, as she has been know to persuade her monkey brother to climb up to high places to fetch my stuff! She will be startign K in Sept, in a mainstream class with a full-time aide beteen 3 kids, 45 mins of push-in SpecEd teacher and 2x ST per week. She just graduated from OT, and does not have the same muscle tones issues as Peter, so she never needed PT.

Siobhan has similar sensory needs to Peter as regards motion and proprioception, so Karate, soccer and swimming work pretty well for her, as well. (She loves them all, too) I will probably enroll them both in dance classes and hippotherapy when I get a job, although I haven't been breaking my neck to do that yet, until the house is more in order and my sanity is somewhat restored. Hey, It's summer!

Welcome to all newbies, BTW. It is nice to see the board thriving!

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 12:39pm

Hi!

I'm Michelle, been married for 18yrs, and we have 2 boys. Tyler, 8 NT, and Nathan 6 HFA. We just moved last weekend into a much bigger house. Our old house was 1600sq ft and the new house is 3118sq ft. It's been a huge move!!! I'm still unpacking and trying to figure out where to put everything. I try and get on the board everyday, but it doesn't always work out that way!! LOL

School starts at the end of Aug. Tyler will start 3rd grade and Nathan will be in 1st. I'm a bit nervous about Nathan though, it will be a full day and he's never been away from me for that length of time. Summer hasn't been that great for him, everything has been quite chaotic with the move and everything. He's real touchy about everything, very obsessive, talking loud, and lots of odd behavior. He's back to lining his toys up everywhere!! I hope going back to school will help out with his schedule and routine.

Our local autism society decided to start a little support group for moms. I went to the first meeting on Mon night. It was very informal, we met at a restuarant. There were 10 people that showed, so that was nice. I had a great time meeting other moms with similiar issues. I also wanted to find out more about respite in our area, since Nathan has been impossible to take shopping. I found out that that they have a WAITING LIST for respite here!!! I guess that explains why I haven't heard much about it around here!! I'll just wait patiently for school to start! I'll have more time to do stuff then.

ESY ended last week for Nathan, so now he has a month to wait til school starts. I'm planning to start working out again once the boys are back in school....haven't had much time for that lately! And probably start figuring out what to do with my new yard!! I have lots to do to keep busy this year!

Michelle

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2005
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 1:05pm

Okey-dokey -- here goes. I'm Kellie and my husband is Reed and we have a beautiful little boy named Calvin who turned 2 in May. We just moved to NY to be near our families (we were in DC) and are going through the adjustments of being near family again, in a small town vs. a big city, AND having a newly-diagnosed special needs kid (Calvin was diagnosed as having PDD a few weeks ago). I work from home as a freelance editor/writer and am thinking of trying to break into the parenting magazine circle by floating a few article queries about special needs and early intervention (any ideas would be welcome!).
Calvin is a great kid and is pretty interactive considering his dx. I feel really lucky to have him, but am having some dark periods lately and really appreciate all the help I've received on this board. Looking forward to e-meeting you all.

Kellie

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