Autism As A Whole: Christmas

Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Monday, December 12, 2011

I Am Starting to See Some Light!!

Unknown 12/12/2011 0 Comments

Things have been looking pretty dreary here lately and I have been getting depressed. Charles has a ton of doctors to see about his muscle atrophy and I have been very concerned. Christmas is almost here and approaching very fast. I wasn't even sure how I was going to manage Christmas this year with many unexpected purchases. With lots of thanks to Jessica from Jessica Hester Photography and Ellen Seidman from Love That Max, who connected me with Betsy Helmick, for your help in making Christmas a lot brighter for my wonderful children. I cannot thank you all enough.

I have applied for a grant from the Autism Society to provide Chucky with a Snuggle Swing, which is sold by a wonderful small family owned company. Sensory Goods was created to meet the needs of people affected with developmental disabilities while understanding the financial needs of those caring for them. They carry an assortment of items including chew tubes, swings, weighted products and even more. I do encourage you to take a look at their products and they are priced very reasonable too!

The owner has two children diagnosed with Autism and understands the struggles. I felt comfortable speaking with him and he was very kind. I had spoken about the swing and he had suggested a weighted blanket which Chucky does not have. He does however have two big heavy blankets that he sleeps with year round regardless of how hot it may be. He had suggested I get a weighted blanket and I had said that I would come at a later time because finances were tight and that was a purchase I cannot make right now. This generous parent did something that still has my emotions on a roller coaster. He bought my son a beautiful weighted blanket with the most comfortable weighted beads he had. I wanted to thank Cal from Sensory Goods for providing my son with this product. I plan on doing a review when it is received and telling everyone what my son thinks. Actually, maybe I will let him tell Cal himself!!

So, things are looking up for the end of December and a lot of things are starting to fall into place. My son's service coordinator also came out to the house and we completed all of the paperwork to get some behavioral therapy started and hopefully some respite. Sometimes things seem pretty bleak but I am so hapy there are caring individuals out there to help bring a little light into my tunnel. I cannot thank everyone enough!! Merry Christmas Everyone, We survived another year and to address January, my cursed month, BRING IT ON CAUSE THIS MAMA IS ARMED AND READY!!!

With lots of love from my family to yours,
Charlene, Chucky, Buddy, Chipmunk and Princess

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Opposite of Ignorance is Awareness

Unknown 1/10/2011 0 Comments

Last night as I was doing a little grocery shopping with Chucky and Pumpkin at Hannaford a woman approached me asking about the device my son was playing with. I explained that it was an iPad that he got for Christmas . She asked what it did and inquired if they were for children. I told her that we use it to help him communicate and also to teach him. They are not just for children but many children use them. I did NOT mention that Chucky had Autism. It didn't even cross my mind to tell her this.

I question myself about why I didn't take the opportunity to educate her about my son's diagnosis. Why not educate an open ear? Was it for fear of rejection or maybe just an avoidance of the topic? Although it may have seemed like a perfect situation, at that moment, I didn't need to. He was calm and was watching Curious George. I don't feel there is a need to point out to everyone that he has some difficulties. I want them to know him for who he is and his name is Chucky Cheese not Autism. The woman continued to chat about her son and Curious George and the iPad when my son began flapping and screeching.

It was at that moment that my heart dropped and I felt like I wanted to run in the opposite direction. Instead I tried to calm him and maintain the conversation despite my fear of a rude ignorant comment. I misjudged the woman and I am sorry for that. Instead of making a nasty comment or judging my son she calmly asked me if my son had Autism. Yes, you heard me right. She asked me about my son without coming to her own conclusions and without making false judgement.

This is the first time I have encountered someone that was able to question the behavior without judging my parenting and being critical. My offering the information wasn't needed. While I was cringing and looking for a quick exit she was connecting and inquired. Maybe she saw the instant fear of rejection in my eyes or the look of complete tenderness in my interaction with him, but she got it and was compassionate. I appreciate this and encourage anyone who is unsure about a situation to ask. It feels better than to have someone gawking or making rude comments.

This lady made my day. Not only was she open to attempt to converse with my son but she was also open enough to ask questions. She wanted to know more which is how we spread awareness and how we open the doors to acceptance. The story doesn't end there because she also looked at me and expressed how wonderful she felt I was doing with my son. This made me feel as if I was invincible even if that invincibility only lasted 5 minutes. It was worth it. So, to the woman in Hannaford I must say thank you. You gave me more than you could ever know just by asking a question and exchanging kind words and a smile.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Different But Not Less....

Unknown 1/01/2011

Now that the holidays are over, How did yours go? Did you have endless meltdowns or did it go better than expected? I think this is a great blog hop hosted by Adventures in Extreme Parenthood. I think I might add a little thought about how the aftermath f the holidays have been.

Let me explain why... Chucky.... (minus the cheese for this one...) tolerated Christmas very well. We even went to a family dinner and we didn't have any melts. Amazing right? Don't get over excited yet ok... He did wonderful while we were there but lost it after we got home and Christmas day went OK too... There were a couple melts but nothing atypical. Couple days later a maniac entered my home, with inconsolable tantrums and problems sleeping. Today, well lets just say after I picked him up from his dad's house he had a 20 min meltdown. We made his bed with a new comfy and sat in his calm room. He was fine then. I think with some preparation our holidays went well but the aftermath of all the activity will still hit you so good luck with that.

How does your family celebrate the holidays?
The holidays for us are pretty simple. We get a tree decorate it, listen to music (which is almost impossible with my son), and enjoy each other. We make visits to loved ones the day before and stay home on Christmas day.

What changes have you had to make due to raising children with special needs?
The noise level is quieter and my son can open gifts when he is ready. A lot of times he gets overwhelmed. This year I bought less items but they were more expensive. It worked out better for both of us. He plays with what he got and i am not tripping on useless toys that he lines up in the middle of the floor. LOL

If you'd like to join the "Different but not less" holiday blog hop you can do so by writing your own blog post about how your family celebrates the holiday season while balancing the needs of your child with autism or another special medical condition.

Simply add your name (or your blog name) and the URL to your blog post in the Mr. Linky located on her page and we can visit each other's blogs and share ideas, tips, and inspiration.

Lets get hopping!

2010 Recap

Unknown 1/01/2011

I haven't done my recap for the year and have hardly met a year as a blogger but I think I can recap my year for you and it would also serve as a nice insight to my life.

January 2010-
Much needed daughter time

My son was diagnosed.....

February 2010-
I celebrated my Dad's Birthday.

Pumpkin and Chucky Cheese got their hair dyed

March 2010-
Chucky Cheese turned 4!!!

My daughter sang in All County!!

April 2010

We attended our 1st Autism Walk where we met Nancy King whom is Chuck Cheese's Equine Therapist!!!

It rained the whole day but the kids still had fun.

Buddy

Chucky Cheese

Chipmunk

Easter was warm... Kids had a blast and we made a tire swing!!

May 2010

We celebrated my nephew's birthday and I turned a year older!

Chucky Cheese started Equine Therapy

June 2010

Chipmunk's class went strawberry picking

They also did a read a long of Madeline!!!

Chucky Cheese learns how to swim!!!

July 2010

I tried to help Buddy in the ball cage at a friends birthday party.

We also had a trip to Splash down with my older three. It gave them some mommy time and I think it would have been really hard for Chucky Cheese.

August 2010

I rescued a baby robin and nursed it for three days but it died. :(

Chipmunk and Buddy turned 7 and 6!!!!!!!

September 2010

It was all about expression!!

This is them on the 1st day of school

This is the end of September

October 2010 -

Chucky Cheese got a ribbon at horse therapy and started playing with a little boy who is also ASD!!!

Pumpkin drove the tractor solo and got her hunting licence !!!!!

Skin picking was happening a lot...... It got better towards the end of the year.

Halloween the boys were Mario and Luigi

The girls were a goth chic and a genie

Chucky Cheese jumped four feet head first from a playground boat and fractured his nose. He couldn't tell me it hurt, just had odd melt downs.

November 2010
Sleep issues again........

Chucky Cheese is brushing his teeth more.... this has always been hard cause of sensory stuff.

Krystal turned 12... She is getting so big... We had a very memorable birthday bash for her which included a photo shoot with a friend.

My Wife and I with all our kids... LOL...

December 2010

Christmas pictures

Jocelyn keeps losing teeth

Charles needed stitches but we glued instead!!!!

What an end to the year, Jacob was having seizure like behaviors so we had to go for an EEG

He fell asleep

Well, that is my year in pics and videos. It could have been much longer cause it was a very active year and as many parents can agree there are a lot of milestones. I encourage you to check out Charlie's facebook diary to recap some of his milestones throughout the year at Charles Alexander. You may have to friend request him. Hope you enjoyed this. Happy New Years.

This year I am going to try to focus more on the small things instead of focusing on all the things that seem so overwhelming. I want to enjoy my children as they are while they are young.