Beginning a New School Year

Dear Sweet Riley,
You are so lucky to get to go to a great school this year! We enrolled you in the Early CLASS at Callier Center in Dallas and you are absolutely loving it! I get to take you in the morning and you eat your food on the way and then sing songs before we arrive. It takes us a little under an hour to get there and when we pull into the parking lot you unclick that seat belt and are ready to go inside. I have to get there in plenty of time for you to play in the playroom before Kristen comes to get you or you get pretty angry. Once you say goodbye to Mommy, you walk into class like such a pro and don't look back.

I can see and hear everything that you do in the Parents Observation Gallery and me and the mommies talk about strategies to further your communication and social skills. I have learned so much about you and have seen how much you have come along just in three short weeks. Sometimes I need a break and run to get coffee but I always catch you in circle time singing and saying, "Hello Friends" and "Goodbye Friends". You are really starting to say, "I want ___" a lot more and that is way better than the screaming! One thing that you are struggling at is making choices. We really need to work on that more at home, too.

You love your new schedule. Right after Early CLASS we go to big school at the Elementary where they placed you. Not Kylie's school. :( But it turned out to be a great fit and the two teachers that have that class are teaching you and loving you so much! I feel so safe with you there. In a couple of weeks you will start private speech and occupational therapies that insurance will pay for and I know that you will be doing so much by Christmas.

I love to watch you pick up new things and love what you are doing. BINGO is your favorite song right now as well as the days of the week song. I love to hear you sing them! You are my bright little shining star!!

Summer

Dear Riley,
I'm having a fun summer with you and Kylie. You survived Kylie's two week swim lessons in the hot sun at naptime. You were great and didn't try to get into the water on your own which was a blessing.

You are saying more words everyday. You just learned the word "and"......This is what you said, "Jesse, Woody, Bullseye, AND Buzz!" I laughed so hard. The other night you spent the night with Nana and Poppy and were singing a numbers song in the car. They said after you finished you said, "Yea, Yee-haw, Good Job!"

Your favorite things right now are still numbers and letters, you can sign the letters in your name, Veggie Tales, Toy Story characters, Leapster L-max, the computer, Touch and feel books, little people, play food, and of course, Nemo!!

I want to teach you to potty train but you are not wanting to go on the potty. You bring me wet wipes when you poop, sometimes when you are really wet, and you take your pull up to the "twash" and get another one on yourself. Pretty good, kid!

Here are some recent pics of you:




Daddy, Kylie, and I are so proud of you and can't wait for you to show us more of what you are made of everyday. You are bright, you are sweet, and you are LOVED!!

Sweet Singing

Dear Riley,
You sing so sweetly! Last week you started singing something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Finally, Nana told me it was "Tiny Tim" the turtle song. I sang it for you and you looked at me like, "How did you know?" So I asked your teachers if they sing it to you at school. der They told me that they don't sing it, but it's on a cd that you dance to. They sent me the cd home and the second that I played it in the living room, you looked at me like, "I know that song, mommy!" Your face was so sweet! You love to sing and are frequently bringing songs that you have heard home with you. I love that about you!!

Last night at Kylie's soccer practice you played football with two of the older boys there. You were throwing the ball up and they would catch it and throw it back to you. You caught it once and were having the best time with them. It was so much fun to watch!!

Also, instead of saying "Blue" you have been saying, "Boooes Cooes!" I love that, too. There's not alot that you do that I don't love. How sweet you are and how far you have come. You know immediately to say, "Thank you" when I fill your juice. And you are coming to me after you poop and dragging me to the bathroom to change you. Any day now, kid, and you will be right on track. I can't wait to see your gifts come to life someday and really see all that you have to offer. What a special gift you are!!

Who's That?

Dear Riley,
This week you have been really sick. It started out with a high fever and then progressed into a green, runny nose. You have been miserable with me wiping your nose every time you turn around. I love it when you actually came to me and grabbed my hand and put it to your nose.

Yesterday I took you to the doctor and you were actually pretty good. You screamed alot but by the end of the appt. you were really giving that doctor some eye contact. We got you some medicine and I have to lay you on the floor to give it to you. You get really mad but end up taking it like a champ.

Today you woke up and were in the best mood! Daddy is in China and you are staying home from school today because I am still keeping an eye on you. We played the "Who's that?" game. You always tell me who I am and are pretty good at saying who Kykee is. But today when I asked you who Jacob was, you said, "Yaykuh"!!!!!

Have I told you how proud I am of you lately? Smile!

"Up, Mommy!"

Dear Riley,
Your dad and I have noticed something different about you lately. You have started requesting things and your favorite word of the moment is, "up"! You have also been adding, "Mommy" to that which makes me very happy!!

You often come up to me with your empty blue sippy and say, "I want" and I will say,"What do you want?" and you will point to your juice (YOU WILL POINT!! What a miracle!!) and say, "I want juuuuccee!"

The new thing that Mrs. B and Megan are teaching you is "What is this?" and you will tell us what it is. You can do this with silky, Cookie, Elmo, chocolate, shoes..........and you are just starting so I can't imagine what you will say in the summer! We can also ask you where your head, ears, tummy, eyes, are and you will point to them and say the word. Although you still repeat some things we say, "Take your shirt off" or "Come here", I still think that your receptive language has grown so much since this summer.

You amaze us so much with little things that you know and do. I really think that you are going to break all the rules and show the world a little something amazing someday!! You make everyone who knows you so proud!

I want you to know that you being on the computer and handeling it like a pro makes me smile. You and Kylie have been fighting for it all day. Also, you can change a DVD at any moment to your choice. I also taught you to zip the other day. Things like this I never dreamed were possible.

I love you so much and I can't wait to see all that you have to show us. Please keep working as hard as you do and never, ever give up!!!

Repeating

Dear Riley,
It seems that here lately you have been focused on things happening around you. You are understanding my commands and are not crying through two hours of therapy while sitting at the table. Also, I am LOVING it that you are repeating everything! I can ask you to say something and you come out with it right away. Also, your pointing and requesting are getting MUCH better. I just love to hear your little voice and am so thankful that you are finally saying 2-3 word phrases. Did you know that I thought you would NEVER speak?? And here you are saying, "cheese!"

Dear Riley,
My favorite thing that you did today was to sing, "Moon, Moon, Moon" by Laurie Berkner in the car. I actually called your daddy at work to let him listen to your singing. You have the sweetest little voice and I LOVE it when you let us hear you! You are such a special little boy with so many people that love you. Please always be close to us and keep letting us into your little world.

Mommy

Riley's Progress

There is so much that has happened since I last blogged. Riley started to school four mornings a week and is doing very well there. The other day of the week he goes to our church for Mothers Day Out while I go to Ladies Bible Class for a much needed study on prayer. He is doing well there too. Mostly because the teachers in his class know him and love him so much.

Also, he has behavior therapy 1-2 times a week for two hours at a time for Mrs. B who gets him to stay in his chair for the whole time and works on skills and talking with him. WOW! I really like the progress that he is making with her. I'm so proud of my little monkey!!

Alan and I had an opportunity to go to the Autism Conference at the Adam's Mark Hotel a few weeks ago. We were very touched by some of the speakers and learned new information that can help us with Riley. One of our favorite speakers was Jessica "Jazz" and Lynley Summers who wrote the book, "Autism is Not a Life Sentence." Jessica is a high school senior with autism who spoke and sang. There wasn't a dry eye in that room. I can see why her mother is so proud of her. Lynley is someone that I could learn alot from. One thing she said that hit me was that they changed up the routine on Jessica all the time. They never let her get used to eating at a certain time or sitting in the floor in her room at the same time everyday......change is so important! That's why I go a million different ways in the car and Riley lets me know about it every time we don't go his way. He is getting better about that, though.

The thing that Alan and I took most from the conference was also something that Lynley said. Three things that we are going to do better about.

1. Educate Yourself
2. Educate the Individual (In this case it's the sister, Kylie)
3. Educate Others

Number three made Alan go out and buy the people in our family that are closest to Riley a book about Autism. It's called, "Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew." I am so proud of everyone in our family really trying to learn about Riley and Autism in general. We are most proud of Keith and Nancy who are really being proactive in learning and buying us books. Almost every time that Alan talks to them they have learned something new and are passing it on to us.




Since Kylie has had so many questions about her little brother, we purchased a book for her too. She has wanted us to read it to her many times. I took her to get her nails painted today while Riley was at school and the ladies asked me if I wanted to get mine done. I told them, "No, I have to pick my son up from school at 10:45 so I'm afraid that I only have 15 minutes." One of them looked puzzled and asked where he went so I told her that he had speech issues and he goes to the public school for help. Kylie looked her straight in the eye and said, "He has autism." (smile) I am so proud of my little girl!

GOODBYE, ECI :(

Well, the year has come and gone and it's time to say goodbye to ECI. We are very sad that Dara will be gone, Riley loved her so much. Also, Brooke who was such a comfort and big support for me said her goodbyes today. Riles has learned so much this year. Here is a list of things that he has started to do and was not doing at this time last year. I guess it depends on what day that you ask me but I think that he has made lots of progress! YEA!! I would throw him a party but his birthday is in a couple of weeks and he just might get confused.

• He has started to repeat words. YES!!! (Thank you, ABA!)
• He is starting to request items (juice, cookie, outside, go...)
• He will look at me and give me a cheesy smile
• He will say "cheese" for the camera
• He can say "no" instead of scream (not always)
• He throws things away for me.........cute, except throwing away the bathtub stopper is not so cute when Mommy really wants to take a bath!
• He will come and let me know if he has pooped or peed
• He gets in the van, climbs up to his car seat, and is ready to go when I say, "Let's go!"
• He doesn't cry in the van if we go a different route anymore
• He doesn't spin anymore.....I never thought that would end!
• He can take ALL of his clothes off. He struggles with putting his shirt on, but he is getting the hang of dressing himself
• He will sit on the potty without crying
• He will play some games with me and Kylie
• He imitates Kylie and tries to push play on the DVD by standing on top of something and climbing up the armoire to get to it
• He can sit through a whole meal if we go out to eat
• He fills in words to songs we are singing or will sing his own little songs

I could go on but these are things that I am most proud of today. He still can't sit through church without screaming or making a scene during the sermon but we keep trying. I know that he will make so much progress this year and I can look back and see how far he has come. I love you, Riley Roo!

Saying "cheese" with his new haircut!

The Tough Ms. B

Yesterday was Riley's first session in a couple of months with Ms.B. Ms.B is a tough behavioral analyst who makes Riley sit down and talk. They do abc puzzles, food puzzles, and flash cards together. If he throws a fit, she says "I'll wait until you are ready", VERY calm! A couple of times she asked, "ready?" and by george he said, "ready." Amazing things happen when Ms. B comes but I can't decide if she is best for Riley or not. She thinks that he needs intense ABA which we did with ECI and that's when he started repeating words for us. I just don't know if there is a school that would work with him or if the one on one with her would fit us the best.

I know that we are going to send him to the local elementary school but they are dragging their feet. I sent in the paperwork the next day (two weeks ago) and when I called yesterday they still hadn't received it. "We've moved and there are many places that it could be. We will let you know when we get it!" I replied, "Well, you haven't got much time because his birthday is Sept. 2 and I want him in school by then." Here she goes with her guard up, "Well we don't know how many birthdays are before his and we will start evaluating by birthdays so I have no idea when we will get to your son!"

Okay, first of all HOW many kids are going to qualify for PPCD around here that would have birthdays BEFORE him???? If there are alot, am I going to want to put him in a class of 15-20??? Are they really THAT unorganized?? Can I hire someone to cut through the BS that this school is going to hand out?? I just got a strange vibe that she was on the defensive for SOME reason!!

Did anyone send their 3 year old to the elementary school and if so, were you pleased? What other option do I have??

GFCF Diet???

Who knew that there were other bloggers out there that are living with autism? I sure didn't. However, this week I happened to run across some. I am finding out so much information that I think my brain is about to explode! I am really finding strength in reading other people's advice and how far they have come.

Today I am researching the GFCF diet and how it can really work for some kids. The trouble is, I am a very inconsistent person (ADHD) and I just don't know how I can keep it up. I so want to do this for Riley, but I have many questions! He is such a picky eater that I will bet he will hold out for as long as I can. He is already off milk and milk products because they gross him out. So, I would be making him give up wheat and all the things he loves! What about his Juicy Juice that he can't live without? What do I give him then? Are McDonalds fries safe? I heard they were...then they weren't. Where do I find these answers?

I need some feedback from all you pro's out there! Who knows something???

BEANS!!

Today is alot better than the first of the week. Riles is not as clingy to me and whiny. The kids and I miss Alan and can't wait until he gets back from Mexico tonight. Also, Big Brother is on. Enough about me.

Anyways, it took Riley a little longer to get out of his room this morning. I don't know why he has trouble opening his door from the inside. He has just started opening every door in every room from the outside. The best is when he opens the bathroom and washes his hands for hours. He DOES leave on the water, too.

His big thing this week is playing with the beans. He can actually say "beans" and he said it many times when I was playing with him last night. It makes me very happy because "beans" is actually one of the first words that I tried to get him to say at 15 months. He LOVED jelly beans and so I tried my hardest to teach him that word. He would seriously look up at me and try to make a sound but couldn't. This is the first time that I thought that something was wrong. Of course, you always want to blame it on hearing issues. That's what I was hoping it would be.

So, back to playing with the beans. We have beans and little cups in a plastic container and he loves to scoop the cups with beans and listen to them falling back into the container. The only problem is that he is not confident with his scoops. He would rather me do it every time. So I make him do it, maybe some hand over hand and we have a great time playing together.

Then, I put him to bed, read his favorite book, "Goodnight Moon" and turned on his music. When I started to leave the room, he would whimper, so I sat in bed with him. He was so happy to have me there and would just look up at me and giggle. I got him to say, "mommy" a couple of times and sang to him. He didn't want to sing tonight, he just wanted to stare at me. It was one of those moments that I just couldn't walk away so I stayed until Kylie was screaming at me for one reason or another. Plus I had bearly showed her any attention.

It's just the little moments that I want to hold onto for forever. Like when he stares at me like, "you're my mommy and I love you!" or when he really wants something but can't get any words out. I know that I want him to grow up so he can start to understand and may actually be able to have a conversation in a couple of years, but right now is what I am going to miss. He is my sweet little boy and as different as he is, he is still loved and given to me for awhile to enjoy. I hope I can remember that and give him all the love, patience and kindness I can instead of thinking about the things he NEEDS to be able to do. Why did I EVER pray for patience????

Seeing The Bigger Picture

Okay, so I started this blog so that I could document what Riley is doing and what he isn't doing. Also, I can be negative and no one has to know! There are only a couple of days a month where I just want to give up and don't want any part of this autism thing. Other days I am so proud of my special little boy for how far he has come. But there isn't one day that I don't want to be his mommy. For some reason, God picked me and Alan to parent him and there is no way that I can let Him or Riley down!

Some days are great! He is repeating things that I want him to and sometimes repeating, (echolia) things like, "What do you want?" I am having a hard time wondering why he stims and doesn't want to talk some days, as well.

Yesterday, we went to Nana and Poppy's house and he was determined to make me push him in that car that they bought for him! He would pull me and scream and would NOT take "No" for an answer. Also he didn't want one of his favorite people, Poppy, to push him. Finally I had enough so me and the kids packed up and left. So much for a free meal at Nana and Poppys!

Alan went to Mexico but will be back Thursday night. It's just me and the kids until then and I have so much on my mind. Here are some things that are weighing me down:

1. I had to call MHMR today and get Riley on "the list". This is a ten year waiting list for kids to be able to get almost any service paid for by the govt. I think. Also, when it kicks in, we may or may not need it. Who knows? All I know is that MR means mentally retarded and I really wanted to stay as far away from "the list" as possible. Brooke the therapist talked me into it.

2. Alan and I have a chance to go to a Conference for Parents of Autistic Children in September. The keynote speaker is a 25 year old guy who had severe autism as a child. I am encouraged by stories such as these. I am also a little apprehensive about going but I know that we will learn alot of information.

3. Riley has to get evaluated by the public school down the street so that he can go every day for a couple of hours, free. I really wish we had the money to put him in a private school. But, I know that the school may be able to help him. I am praying that I can get child care for him on two days so that Kylie and I may go to Sunshine School. It is really important to both of us.

I guess that is all that worries me today. On a side note, Riley is no longer taking off his poopy diaper, therefore getting poop everywhere! Yea!! He now comes and tells me in some way.

Lord, Please help me to see the progress and all the milestones that have been reached from this incredible little boy! Let me strive towards serving you and all the rest will fall into place. I know that you have my interests at heart and I pray that you will help me be patient in seeing the bigger picture. Thank you for allowing me to spend time with someone so unique that can actually teach me a thing or two. You are a great and awesome God!