Good News

I finally heard from Mrs. Highfield today. Just as I suspected, she's been on vacation and she's been attending lots of meetings/seminars. I expected that because of the time of year, and I was glad to hear from her. She asked about how the summer was going...LOL...I'm sure her ear was throbbing when we ended our conversation. I told her about everything from Calen's daycare kicking him out to the fact that he hasn't been receiving any services over the summer. The main thing is about his new teacher. She has been training over the summer to learn ABA! She's getting ready to go to Auburn for 4 days to attend a seminar (or something to that effect) about Autism and the different methods in teaching. I'm very glad to hear about that. She also told me about the new teacher being younger, more experienced with special-needs kids, and is herself a mom. The previous teacher was not a mom. That's great that she's been training with ABA techniques, but if I'm not satisfied with Calen's progress, I will not be quiet about it. That much is certain. But I am so excited for my baby because he really enjoyed the 3 days that he attended school. I can't wait to see the progress he will make now that he will be going 5 days a week, he's on medicines that help is digestive system calm down and he will (hopefully) be able to begin B-12 shots. I'm still looking for a topical anesthetic that will not burn when the meds are injected, so if anyone out there knows of anything, please let me know ASAP!!!!

I was in shock when I opened my mailbox yesterday. I'm just now receiving the report from when Calen was diagnosed with developmental delay by Sparks Clinics back in October and November of 2007. It even made mention of the fact that I asked for him to be tested for Autism. He was 2 years and 8 months old at the time. That goes to show just how bad behind Sparks Clinic is with the large amount of children being diagnosed. They are too far behind. There are too many children out there needing help. When I requested that he be tested for autism, he was added to the list. His wait was going to be six months (at least). He was still ahead of others that had not been seen yet! Praise God...a cancellation came through and I received a call offering me the spot and I jumped on it. Calens wait turned out to be 2 months instead of 6. There were some helpful web sites on the report. I will post them on this blog. My Internet at home is down for some reason. My only chance is to do it from work.

Everything else right now is okay. Nothing at all to complain about. I just take it one moment at a time.

Calen Not Feeling Well

I received a call from the daycare yesterday that Calen was having very runny bm's. The day before, he was only eating sweet things which let me know he isn't feeling well. I left work to pick him up. He was playing as if nothing was wrong. Kylia was sleeping. I went ahead and took both the kids home. Calen still wouldn't eat. My dad came by for a quick visit and around 7pm, Calen wanted to go to bed. We went to lay down and he started to whine a little, then a vomited all over himself. I cleaned up, then got the kids to sleep. He woke up this morning still acting as if he doesn't feel well. He drank some juice and threw it back up. I called in to work but the voicemail didn't activate. I then gave my kids some Kix, and Calen was able to keep them down. He started acting like himself again, so I got the kids dressed and sent them to daycare. I took the teachers some chocolate covered doughnuts to eat out of appreciation for being so good to Calen. The other day when Calen wasn't eating anything, Lib actually called me to talk to me about things Calen could have. That was the very thing I was asking the other daycare to do....CALL. I appreciated that so very much. I allowed her to give him half a nutri-grain bar. She read the ingredients to me...it had natural flavor and malt...two things that he shouldn't have. I allowed her to give him a little so that he will have something in his system. He ate that and seemed satisfied. I am so grateful to her and her staff for the special care they've shown for Calen. I'm concerned though about his BM. It was runny and smelled metallic. I've never smelled anything like it. It was just so weird. I hope he hasn't swallowed anything and if so, I hope it doesn't cause a major problem.

Our next appointment with the DAN! doc is on the 31st. I'm excited about going. I enjoyed the trip last time. This time, I think we will start Diflucan. I still have the b-12 injections in the fridge. I plan to start injections when school starts back. I have no idea when that will be.

Heard from Auburn

I received a call from Jennifer Sellers yesterday. She is the contact person for the Autism Center in Auburn. We discussed various issues. She said that the Auburn city school system would be the one to determine whether or not Calen needs the center's services. This will be accomplished through an IEP meeting. She stated that I will have to fight to get him in there. She said she can attend the meeting to help me present my case if I invite her. If it is deemed necessary to send Calen to the center, then the school system will pay for it. I was a bit disappointed. I wasn't expecting them to be tied in with the school system, but it makes sense to me now. The part that I'm disappointed in is the fact that I will have to FIGHT. If a need is obvious, then what's to fight about? She also informed me that she can come to Calen's schools and show the teachers how to do ABA and workstations...basically the same services that Brandy Worthy is offering.

Moving is still up in the air because I haven't heard from Mrs. Highfield. If my son is refused the ABA services offered by Brandy Worthy, then I will be leaving. I truly hate to leave because all of my family is here. Plus, the only people I trust to babysit my children are here. I won't have that support if I leave. At least Huntsville is only an hour away. Auburn would be a major move, but if it means help for Calen, then I will have to do it. I called Mrs. Highfield again to let her know about Mrs. Sellers and her services. Of course, I didn't get an answer so I left a message on her voicemail. I don't know if she's on vacation or maybe she had to attend meetings that were held out of town. It's a little frustrating.

I've finally made a decision about my college education. I've chosen University of Alabama. I will be working toward a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Human Science (General Studies). I have to get with an advisor to steer my educational goals. I'm still pretty undecided. I want to do something in the health field. I'm also interested in doing something with Autistic children. I don't know just yet. If I do something with children, I want to be able to be a better mom because of what I learn. I don't want something that will take me away from my children. In other words, I don't want something where I will be on call, or have a job where I work lots of hours. My babies only grow up once. I REFUSE to miss out on things like school plays and recitals and games my babies may participate in. I plan on being there to cheer them on with whatever they plan to do. I'm sure I'll be calling Mr. T very soon (be ready! LOL).

I faxed an application to the Madison Co. Commission a couple of weeks ago. It's for a Probate Clerk II position. I have the qualifications. God will point me in the right direction. I will only walk through the doors that are opened to me. I won't try to force one to open. If it is His will for us to relocate, then the opportunity will present itself. If not then I will stay here and fight. As long as there is options, then there is hope.

I share an office at work with a lady named Alicia. She has got to be the sweetest person I've ever met. When someone is going through something, she goes through it with them. Not to share all of her personal business, but the strength she has is amazing. She's lost her mom, and she shares custody of her daughter with her ex-husband. She doesn't get to see her daughter as much as she wants. Yet everyday, she comes to work and she smiles and laughs. She brings smiles to other people. She cracks jokes and makes people laugh. She showed me a picture of her mom. What a pretty lady she was! Alicia looks just like her. I told her that she honors her mom everyday with the goodness in her heart. The reason I'm talking about her is because when I'm feeling a little down, unsure of myself, depressed...this woman inspires me to carry on. She is such a great person and a true friend. I pray that everything will work out for her and her daughter. Alicia is a great mom and she loves her baby girl! She reminds me a lot of me when it comes to being a mom. She does the best she can. If she can do it, then I know I can do it, too. She makes me want to be a better person.

Sensations

I read a post from Nancy Kale's daughter on a site I think is Froggy.com ( I can't remember). She came up with the idea of writing a thank you note to people or businesses who show kindness and willingness to help/understanding toward customers with autistic children. I like that idea. There are a lot of cashiers at Wal-Mart and various places that I have thanked a thousand times for little things that are actually big things for us. When we shop, Calen will take strong interest in something I place in the buggy. I don't know why or what it may be about some particular object, but he will hold on to it as if his life depended on it. One time, it was a box of blueberry waffles (this was before the gf/cf diet). Of course, he would have a minor meltdown at the register when I had to take it away from him so it can be scanned. One cashier at Wal-Mart came out from behind the register and used the scanner gun so we wouldn't have to upset him. That was so sweet. Sometimes, I will just pick up an extra of whatever he has taken hold of so we can avoid the screaming altogether. Then, there are times where people make me so angry. My baby did not have a nap all day at the daycare, and we HAD to go to Wal-Mart. When we got inside the store, he saw the bananas. He wanted one (they're his favorite snack) and I walked past them without getting him one. Normally this isn't a big deal, but this time....COMPLETE AND TOTAL MELTDOWN. I've never seen him have one this intense before. I decided to take him to the bathroom by electronics. One lady actually stopped in her tracks and gave my son a dirty look. I became overwhelmed with anger at her...I couldn't hold it in even though I wanted to. I said, "What the hell are you staring at?! You've never seen a child cry before?" Her dirty stare was now focused on me and that made me feel better. Glare at me....NOT my baby. I took him to the bathroom and inside the largest stall, there is a seat with safety buckles. I put him in the seat and strapped him in and allowed him to kick and scream all he wanted. I wanted him to get it all out. I also wanted him to wear himself down. After about 10 min, he was still going but not as intense. When I saw him wearing down, I unstrapped him and picked him up and just loved on him and talked to him. He stopped crying and we were able to check out and leave the store. The only reason I didn't leave is because we were totally out of food and I had to get us some things to eat. Otherwise, anything else would have been left behind. When we got home, he wouldn't eat or drink. He took me by the hand and led me into the bedroom. That's his way of saying he's ready for bed. I undressed my babies, washed them up, and put them in the bed. I have to lay down with them or they will get upset. Calen was asleep in less that 10 minutes. My poor baby was worn out. I hope I did right in the store that day.

Dr. Kalb is Calen's DAN! doc from TN. I e-mailed him about the show my sis saw "How It's Made". They featured canned veggies and the fact that they are cooked in the can. He responded and stated that he isn't aware of any tests for tin or aluminum levels in the veggies. He advised me to stay away from canned veggies as best we can. No problem for me! I also purchased a stainless steel saucepan. The Teflon coated cookware isn't good to use. The Teflon has things in it (I just read it and can't remember exactly what's in it) that can get into the food and into our bodies. I also read that microwaving food in plastic bowls isn' t good either. The ingredients in plastic can latch onto the food during cooking and get into our bodies. This is stuff I never thought about. I've changed a lot of things in my kitchen that will be better for all of us. For more information, go to GenerationRescue.org Defeatautismnow.org

Calen loves to be in closed, tight spaces. I don't know what it is, but he will run to something that he can crawl into or under. I have a little pool I blew up for them. Everytime we get ready to use it, it rains...but that's another story. Anyway, he will get the pool and flip it over and lay under there. He loves it. The slide outside has an area underneath that he loves to crawl in and sit. He will come out and slide a couple of times, then he will crawl underneath and sit. He loves when I pretend to be a monster. I will roar real loud and reach in to try to get him. He giggles and moves away from me. Then he will come out and I will chase him around the slide, then he will dive under the slide again. He giggles the whole time. He his so funny. He cracks me up. I love playing with my babies.


Thank you Mr.T for your help

Some Cute Progress

Yesterday while picking up my babies from daycare, the teacher said she had something to show me. She made a "crawling" action with her fingers up Calen's right arm. She went all the way up to the back of his neck. He flinched and giggled. Then, she held her arm out and he repeated the same action!!!! I could have fallen over! I was so excited, I yelled out "I'm so proud of you!" and gave him a big hug and lots of kisses all over his face. He giggles when I do that. I am so happy for him.
I would recommend this daycare to anyone with a special needs child. They don't specialize in such care, but they do such a great job anyway. Calen gets one-on-one attention, too. I made a surprise visit to the school and saw him receiving special attention from his teacher. All the other kids in class were sitting at the table doing puzzles and my baby was in his favorite high chair with Nikki (teacher) right there at his side playing with his toy...a yellow school bus filled with little children. I am so pleased. The daycare is Just Kids on Kelsey Ave. (the street running beside Swamp John's). The owner is Lib Grissom. She has very low turn over. These young ladies have been working for her for at least 3 years.

I made a call to Lisa Highfield. She's the Special Ed. Coordinator. I left a message because no one was in the office. I'm waiting to hear about whether or not she will provide ABA therapy or at least training within Calen's class. This decision will affect our willingness to stay in this area. Huntsville schools send their children to the local ABA center (The Riley Center) at no cost to the parents. If Mrs. Highfield says no, then I'm moving Calen to another school. My friends are encouraging me to stay and fight for it. I would, but I already know that the other parents are acting as if they are afraid to stand up for their children. I would have no support, not that I need it. The main reason I'm saying no is because my son deserves the most help as soon as possible. I would be taking that away from him if I stay and fight. He could be getting therapy now rather than a year or two from now. This area is behind because it CHOOSES to be behind. Mrs. Highfield is a part of the Autism Coalition. There is no excuse for not having any active movements going to help our local autistic children. The way I see it, she should be sitting down with the parents of the special needs children and discuss the various options, such as diets. Muscle Shoals should be "the place to be" for autistic children locally due to her efforts, if any are made. Maybe I'm expecting too much or maybe there's some legal issue preventing her from doing certain things. I don't know. We need to ban together and attempt to get an ABA center here. Or even better...a center that provides various types/combinations of therapies for autistic children. There's not just ABA. I'm also still waiting on someone from Auburn to e-mail me. Their Autism Center has openings for 3 to 5 year old children. I'm interested in getting Calen in there, but if it costs money then I won't be able to. Right now, I'm looking toward Huntsville, Franklin Co, TN, as well as the town of Franklin, TN (right outside Nashville). If Mr. T is reading this, he will be glad to know that I've gotten the FAFSA and student loan paperwork in for Athens State and University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for their online degree programs. Thanks for all your support. Kind words and encouragement can do wonders for a person feeling burdened. Now, no matter where we may have to move, I can still earn my degrees!

I have Calen on oral B-12, but Nancy Cale from GenerationRescue.org told me that injections work a lot better and get into the system quicker. I called my neighbor who is an RN and asked about numbing topical. When I had my gastric bypass, a nurse rubbed some numbing medicine on my hand when starting an IV on me. I didn't feel a thing. I was hoping my neighbor would know what this stuff was. She didn't know, but volunteered to come over anytime and help hold Calen down while the shot was administered. I said okay. She said that she knows of some numbing med but it would burn if I used it and then opened the skin with the needle.

I plan to order a gf/cf cookbook. I attempted to make some cookies for him but it turned out to be a crumbly cake. He ate it all up though! I think he misses that bread texture. I've also come up with a barbecue sauce that he can eat. It's my mom's recipe and all I had to do was change one ingredient...the ketchup

Gf/Cf Barbecue Sauce
2/3 cup Organic Ketchup
1 12oz can cola
minced onion to taste
minced garlic to taste
sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Mix all these ingredients into saucepan and allow to cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes. It will thicken as it cools. As for the cola, use Coke or Pepsi or any type of cola. Diet or regular, caffeine or caffeine-free...doesn't matter. DO NOT USE DR. PEPPER!!! All you will taste is Dr. Pepper. I use regular cola because Calen can't have the artificial sweetener in the diet drinks.

More Crying at Daycare

Yesterday, when I picked up my kids Calen's teacher told me that he was upset for most of the afternoon and they couldn't figure out why. I just called to check on him about an hour ago, and again, he's been crying "real tears" for most of the day according to Miss Lib (the owner). I'm very concerned about this. Either it's because of the lack of structure with the activities, or he doesn't feel good. I asked if he had a bowel movement today, and she told me no. I'm guessing he may be constipated again. I've made an appointment with Dr. Erica Crenshaw for this Thurday. I will also get her to check his ears again, too. If it is the constipation, then I will notify Dr. Kalb in TN to see what to do next. I'm thinking that the meds Calen's on may be working almost "too" well. He's had good normal (solid) bm's lately. I'm hoping it's not constipation. I'm very nervous right now.

I've ordered a few things from AllergyFoods.com yesterday. I plan to start baking my babies some cookies and breads. I even found a recipe for gf/cf cornbread! I had some baking powder from Aldi's but it has aluminum in it. Since I can't use what I have, I'll give it to my sis who loves to cook. I've got some without aluminum on the way. I also ordered him some choc sandwich cookies that look and taste like Oreos. He loves them!! I know my baby is probably sick of eating fruit. I want to put a lot more variation in his diet. That will take a lot more cooking and time on my part, but it will be well worth it for him. I'm also looking for other meals we can eat at home as a family. I don't want him eating his own "special" plate. There are a lot of meals that we can't eat at home anymore. But I'm working on that. I still haven't asked about the canned veggies yet. I will probably have to write myself a note or program my cell to remind me. This morning when I dropped him off, a little boy had a pop-tart on the table and Calen ran for it. He grabbed it, but I caught him just in time to keep him from eating it. I felt terrible because they're one of his favorite snacks. Here's a great website I found for recipes:
glutenfreecookingschool.com

Today, I looked in the yellow pages for speech therapists. Helen Keller has not called us yet, and the summer is almost over. Calen has gone all summer without any speech therapy. I hope this doesn't affect in a bad way when school starts next month. I will be so glad when it does. My baby really enjoys it. I still haven't talked to Mrs. Highfield about ABA therapy. If I can't get what my son needs from Muscle Shoals, then I will start looking to Huntsville. Even though I don't want to move there, I will do whatever it takes for Calen to get all the help he needs. Besides, it's only an hour away.
Kylia is doing a lot more mimicking of Calen's behaviors. I hate that, but she doesn't know any better. She's doing great with potty training too. I'm excited for her. I bought them a baby Einstein CD about counting to 5. They love it. Kylia enjoys it a little more, I think. She counted to 3 this morning while clapping her hands. I'm going to video what she does while watching to show.
There was talk at my job about switching to 10 hr shifts. That way we can come in 4 days a week and have an extra day off. They said it was to help out with gas. I wanted to add my name to the list, but in the end, it wouldn't be worth it. My evenings with my children will be practically taken away. Plus I have to get my son back and forth to school this fall, so I have to say no. I sure could use that extra day off though. It would help with doc appointments too. I would be able to work 40 hours and still get things done! I would also get a much needed day all to myself! But I can't for right now.
I've signed up for 2 colleges. I've signed up for UA majoring in Human Science. I also signed up for Athens State majoring in Management of Information Technology. It's nothing definite. I've still got to pay the app fees. I hope all turns out great with my education.
I'm also looking to buy natural foods. I'm alarmed at the news I heard that little girls were maturing at a much faster rate due to the hormones in meats. I have two co-workers with 4 year old daughters with a small amount of hair on their privates already! I hope I can stop Kylia from having to go through that.

No Money After All

I finally got a chance to go to the web site that Mrs. Binger sent to me. It is the one I referred to previously about getting up to $5000 for speech, occupational and physical therapy for Calen. Well, in order to qualify Calen must be covered under some type of COMMERCIAL insurance. If an applicant is covered under Medicare or Medicaid, they automatically don't qualify. I don't quite understand the concept in behind that. I was disappointed. The grant is through United Health Care. I will get on the phone today or Monday to find speech and occupational therapists that will accept Medicaid. Otherwise, my son will continue with absolutely nothing (accept the few activities I do with him) until school starts back in August. I'm hoping to get him and Kylia into the CP center in Sheffield during the school year. I don't know for sure about Kylia just yet. It will all work out somehow.

I need to make more things for him that will help his fine motor skills. I don't want to spend money on something I can make at home out of everyday things. I'm just not a very creative person when it comes to things like that. He really enjoys stringing things, so I bought some gluten-free penne at Wal-Mart and I have some old shoe strings. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope it works. I also want to get him things that link together. I want to do therapeutic things with him that BOTH the kids can enjoy and learn from. When I was telling the OT lady Calen used to see (Britta from Helen Keller) about how hard it was to spend some one-on-one time with Calen doing activities because Kylia tends to get a little jealous, she actually said that Kylia will just have to "get over it". Spoken like a true woman whose never raised children. I don't want to exclude one child or make one of my babies feel like the can't play with me and the other one. It breaks my heart to think of purposefully excluding one of my children when they want to join in. We're a FAMILY...we are ONE. I love my babies.