School's DONE!! Hip Hip Hooray!!

The boys could NOT be happier!!!

10th grade and 7th grade?!? That doesn't even REMOTELY seem possible!!! Y'all do realize this means Ashton will graduate in THREE years?!!?!?!? YIKES!!! I'm not ready for that!

These pictures were taken at the beginning of the year:

(seriously - they are ALL smiles the first day!)

These pictures were taken today, at the end of the year:

(but NEITHER of them were happy & smiling the last day - What's up with that?!?! LOL!)

~ HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR ~

1. Holden's TOP highlight was probably finishing his VERY FIRST 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours with a time of 1:50:06!!!

2. Ashton's TOP highlights were probably when he got to see Marc (in person) after periods of time of not getting to see him. At least, judging by his expressions and happines/flappiness, that's what I think. 

3. FIRST (and subsequent) report cards of the year were ALL As and Bs for both boys - HIP HIP Hooray!

4. The feeling of validation after the first 9 week periods that moving Ashton to high school was INDEED the best decision for him!

5. Ashton's connections he's made with friends at school. One of his friends at school is a 19yo young lady by the name of Megan. He ADORES her!! Lots of hugs and high 5s!!

6. That Ashton participated in every. single. CBI trip - WITH NO ISSUES!!!!

7. Holden successfully joined both the middle school wrestling AND track teams and even started as a 6th grader in the FIRST track meet of the season!

8. Holden successfully dropped his 1-mile times from 7:09 (last spring) down to 6:25 this year. His coaches want him to drop it down to 5:30 before the start of next track season - good thing he likes to run! there's work to do!

9. Ashton completed his 2nd 1-mile race and is getting ready to run his 3rd 1-mile on Saturday!

10. Holden has successfully completed 9 races (race # 10 is this weekend, an 8K) all with his "I run 4" buddy, Calder. Calder is a 5month old ADORABLE baby boy with Spina Bifida. While Holden hasn't actually ran WITH Calder, we hope we can make that a reality at some point in the future :) (*hint hint Danya & Zach). This has helped Holden to push himself and think of others while having a blast!

11. Ashton's vocabulary has picked up so much that I actually find myself saying, "PLEASE! Be. Quiet!" WOW! Non-verbal to telling him to hush?? Never imagined that day would come!

12. Holden received an iPhone for his birthday - FIRST cellphone! YAY!

13. Ashton received an award for being the "Most Considerate" in his class - again, a teenager WITH Autism no less getting that award... pretty remarkable if you ask me!

14. There has been a complete and total turn-around in Ashton's behavior this year. With the exceptions of one or two times, he's been easy to manage and reason with. Again, his comprehension levels have really picked up and it makes it easier to both communicate WITH him and helping him understand the world around him.

15. the most exciting highlight for me?! That my "babies" have done SO well this year! Receiving awards, accolades and press coverage is always amazing!! I am SO proud of my boys!!

MOM LOVES YOU BOTH VERY MUCH! Now, let's have an amazing summer this year!!!

Holden became a full-fledged half-marathoner!

Yes, Holden (who at the time, was eleven-years-old!) became a half-marathoner earlier this spring, on April 12, 2014 to be exact; just four days before his twelfth birthday. Yes, that means he ran 13.1 miles at one single time. Not only that, but he had a time goal in mind and he beat that time goal by ten minutes!! More on that later in this post.

What most people don't realize is how long Holden had been preparing for this. Or, how we'd consulted with his doctors and his allergist (who also manages his asthma) to be assured that he was up to this enormous task and that he was healthy and in shape and was properly prepared. It's not every day that a youngster will run this distance, though he certainly wasn't the youngest or first, and won't be the last.

The most important fact for everyone to know and realize though, is this is something Holden himself wanted, not something we pushed on him. He had decided last summer he wanted to try and start running longer distances, as in 10-miles or so. What this means is, he started preparing in September of 2013 for the Surf-n-Santa 10-miler in early December. He prepared for over 3 months to get ready for that race and had a time goal in mind. 1:30:00! An incredible 9:00/mile pace. While he didn't quite make his goal, he did run a very impressive 1:35:26, considering the rainy, cold, and very windy conditions, he had nothing to be ashamed of.

A few days after that race, he said he was ready to sign up for his first half-marathon, he chose the Dismal Swamp Stomp 1/2 Marathon held in April on the beautiful Dismal Swamp Canal trail. He/we chose this one as his first half as we'd heard it was a very flat and fast course, a very good first half-marathon for anybody, let alone a youngster.

His goal?

To run the half-marathon in two hours!
As I told you previously, he beat his goal time by ten minutes!

He ran an astonishing 1:50:06!

That's an incredible half-marathon time to begin with, but when you add it the fact that it was his first half-marathon and his first-time ever running that exact distance in addition to only being eleven-years-old, he ran an incredibly amazing race! I want to pause a moment and say a huge thank you to Amber Pratt. She had been instrumental in helping prepare Holden for this half-marathon craziness and had taken him on many, many, many long runs with her. They started these longer runs in late September or early October of 2013 and over the course of the six months leading up to the half-marathon, spent countless Sundays doing long runs around her neighborhood, etc. Holden never questioned it. He knew he had to put in the hard work and time if he wanted to have a successful half-marathon. He knew that if he didn't properly prepare, we would pull him from the race, something he didn't want to have happen. Amber encouraged him along with these long runs - progressively lengthening each run every weekend to where his last "longest" run before the race was 12.5 miles. He would never actually run 13.1 miles before the race, which is kind of frightening but we and he knew, that if he could run 12.5 miles, the last .6 miles should be a piece of cake. Keeping in mind that his 12.5 mile run was 1:52:43, we were pretty sure that given race-day adrenaline kicking in, and barring any unforeseen obstacles happening, that Holden should have no problem meeting his goal. Fortunately, a few days before the race, Amber decided to run the race with Holden and signed up as well. I will forever be indebted to her for that, because I know it made Holden feel a lot more comfortable, knowing that his long-run buddy was running beside him. It was all he'd known the entire time of training, so I'm glad that worked out. I would also like to thank Steve Sheppard, Dennis Welch, Aric Martinez, Heather, Thomas Hicks and all the many friends and family that supported Holden's journey towards his goal. The running community in this area is amazing and just knowing that my son is getting to grow up knowing so many amazing individuals, is a beautiful and inspiring thing. I know we probably had some nay-sayers initially who thought we were nuts to let him attempt this. But, we had faith in his abilities and knew that he wanted to do this and that he was willing to prepare. Also of note to thanks, Darrin Snyder. An amazing friend and truly inspirational athlete. He is a hand-crank athlete and after doing an amazing race with his young protege, Rebecca Rollick, he went back out on the course to locate, encourage and finish again with Holden. It was amazing to watch all of his hard work pay off. All those long run Sundays and drives out to Suffolk? They helped prepare him for that moment at which he crossed that finish line, ten minutes faster than he had trained for!

I later heard that he had a mild panic attack and started to hyperventilate about 12.5 miles into the race. I think he had realized at that point that he was going to accomplish his goal and he got excited and a little nervous. When I saw him nearing the finish line, he looked as though he'd just begun, not like he was just finishing up 13.1 miles! Easy-going, amazing form and just ready to get it done. He didn't even look exhausted or anything! I was so proud of him, and I know he was proud of himself too, as he should have been.

So.... to wrap up what had already been a fantastic day with his race, he got honored as the 2014 Inspirational Story of the race! The video below is from the race, and his story was also featured on the race's website at http://dismalswampstomp.mettleevents.com/race-info.html.

Because of the coverage, he also got interviewed by Wavy10 news reporter, Ariane Aramburo, for the Hampton Roads Show segment "I Am Hampton Roads". They did an amazing job with the interview and Holden was very confident and well-spoken during his segment. That interview can be viewed at the following link, http://wavy.com/2014/04/11/i-am-hampton-roads-holden-mccormick/ - I urge you to watch it! :)

So, now for the fun part - the PICTURES!!! :)

Check out the amazing surprise Holden got from his little "I Run 4" buddy, Calder, and family!

What a sweet way (literally, lol) to commemorate such a HUGE event for him!

FLAT HOLDEN!
(he decided the morning of the race to wear a different s/s shirt instead of the one picturedLOL)

This is the shirt he decided to wear :)
Supporting his IR4 buddy, Calder
and
spreading Spina Bifida Awareness!

Getting ready before the race by fueling with Island Boost, Yum!

Also showing off his bib number, 939!

Getting ready to race with Ms. Amber - THANKS AGAIN Amber for training and running with him! You made his first half-marathon a wonderful experience!! :)

Now for the EXCITING part........ Holden's race results/splits!

How incredible is it that he kept a nearly even pace the entire race?! I was told, even when he started to have pains in his ankles, etc that he didn't really slow down at all. AMAZING!!!

Imagine my relief when I saw that tiny little speck come towards me in front of Chessie the bear! I had been, of course, tracking him the entire race, but couldn't hardly believe he was going to do it, he was going to break his goal by such a large margin! AMAZING! That's Mr. Darrin, to Holden's left, the amazing hand crank athlete that I mentioned earlier.... he rode him all the way to nearly the end :) Ms Amber is in behind Holden as she let him have his glory and let him finish ahead of her and by himself!

I want to be like him when I "grow up"!

AMAZING push to the FINISH little man!!!

Look at the air he got in his final strides!! WOW!!!

I don't think the crowd knew what to think! LOL

They certainly didn't expect to see this tiny body crossing the finish!

Holden and a friend of ours, Felix Tanh.

He came down from Ashburn, VA to run the race.

Holden tried to catch up to him (and very nearly did; Felix ran a 1:48:52!)

but Felix ran an amazing race!

Post-race silliness! Way to run little man!!! 

Here's Holden getting his age-group award (he was 1 of 1 in the 12 & under male group, LOL)

However, if the age group had been 15 & under he still would have placed first and if

it had been 19 & under, he would have placed THIRD! AMAZING!!!

Probably the highlight of Holden's day, aside from actually finishing in well under his goal.....

The elite male runners were very enthusiastic about his inspiring story and shook his hand after he exited the stage. They were even more amazed at how well he'd ran. I asked if Holden could have a quick picture taken with them and they very happily obliged. Holden looks a little star struck and wasn't sure what to think :) AMAZING DAY, AMAZING RACE and AMAZING KID!

So proud to call him ours! :)

We can't forget - the adorable, amazing and most inspirational tiny buddy ever, Calder!

This tiny one is Holden's little IR4 buddy. This group pairs able-bodied runners with special needs children and adults through an online Facebook group called "I Run for Michael". Holden got paired up with this little cutie pie a couple of weeks before his half-marathon and our whole family is in love with this cutie. He's 4 months old and is showing Spina Bifida who is boss by being a little rockstar and defying all odds! We're so blessed to have him and his family in our lives, even if only virtually for the time being. Holden hopes we can meet this little one and his family someday! This tiny little guy has pushed Holden to think of others, given him self-esteem that we can only help support, and has given him the inspiration to keep doing for those who might have a harder time than he has.

Thank you Danya & Zach for allowing my "tiny one" to run for your tiny one! :) 

For more information on I Run for Michael, go to: http://www.whoirun4.com/

or look them up on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/irunformichael/.

There are currently over 2900 runners waiting for their special buddy match. If you are the parent or caregiver of a special needs child or adult, please consider joining this amazing group. As the mother of both a special buddy and a runner (typically the runners are adults but there are a few children who are amazing enough to have their own buddies, Holden being one of them), I love this group.
The family it allows everyone to be a part of and the premise behind it; to support and love everyone, without hesitation.

Gone and now......

 

Gone are the days of tiny little newborn fingers and toes. 

Gone are the days of smelling the sweet baby smell that all babies seem to have. Best. Smell. Ever. It needs to be bottled and millions of dollars need to be made.

Gone are the whispy tendrils of soft brown hair that adorned their sweet little heads when they were born. Holden would quickly lose his while Ashton's just thinned out. Holden's hair would turn curly and wavy around the ends when it got longer and he got older, while Ashton just had a ton of hair, period. Even his standard short with a little bit of hair haircut shows how thick his hair really is.

Gone are the days of just sitting with a baby in my lap, snuggling them to sleep, and watching their sweet little faces scrunch up as they dreamed about whatever little babies dream of.

Gone are the days of the babies learning how to eat real food, drink out of a real cup and learn all of the other amazing milestones that we take for granted (smiling, cooing, sitting, crawling, standing, pulling up, and lastly, WALKING!).

Gone are the days of gorgeous blue eyes for Ashton, though they were replaced with the most entracing green color of eyes. Holden's eyes quickly went from that normal newborn "slate grey"color to the luscious chocolate brown that they have remained since he was 4months old.

Gone is the worries of whether Holden too, would be autistic like his brother, though later, there would be other worries when we received a dual diagnosis of ADHD and Anxiety.

Gone are the days of wondering whether Ashton would ever be able to interact with the world as we know it. Square peg, meet round hole. Fortunately, in the last 15months he's really come into his own and found a niche that he loves being a part of. Piece by piece, he's learning to be an amazing contributor to society. People love him wherever he goes and he's just a joy to have around. I can't foretell what his future holds, but if the last year is any indication, his life will be enriching, peaceful, loving, funny and fulfilling all rolled into one.

Gone are the days that the boys let me pick out their clothes for school. I got to have input into their first day of school clothes, but by and large, they pick their own clothes every morning. 

Gone are the days that they painstakingly let me take oodles and oodles of pictures for me to share. I had to strong-arm them to get the few good ones I got on their first day of school. The only reason why I got them? I bribed them with donuts!

Now I am the mom of a 9th grade high school freshman; a high schooler?!?

Now I am also the mom of a 6th grade middle school student; middle school?!?

Now I no longer have any children that will again grace the halls of a primary or intermediate school.

Now the battle begins to start figuring out what sort of plans we need to start putting in place for Ashton, for his post high school transition. Did you know you need to start worrying about that, so soon into their high school careers?! I didn't! YIKES!

Now the real work begins in teaching Holden organizational skills that will hopefully carry him through middle school and on into high school. It's been a tough first week of school, but I have faith that he'll manage. He's getting from class to class and to lunch, PE and his electives just fine. It's making sure everything comes home that needs to. I'm tempted to make a list for him to keep in his locker, but not sure if that'll go over well with him or not.

Now the worries begin about round two of preteen hormones, attitudes and behaviors. We've been very lucky with Ashton and now, at 14.5years old, he's really sailing through puberty quite well. A few, minor issues but nothing like I was expecting. If anyone is going to cause us major problems, I think it will be Holden. He's so determined and headstrong stubborn, that we are already starting to butt heads and he's only 11.5years old. A lot of his attitude I think is coming from his impulsivity due to ADHD, but I have to believe that some of it is just normal, preteen stuff. Granted, if I remember correctly, this was the age Ashton started giving us more issues, so long as we get through the next couple of years with our sanity intact, we should be good to go. The key is really keeping Holden busy (check!), keeping him well-rested (check!) and keeping him involved with active things (check!). 

The boys had an incredible first week of school and I couldn't be more proud. Ashton is walking independently from first bell to second bell and leads his teacher to his third and fourth bells. He's doing his lunch independently (go figure! if there's anything this boy knows how to do, is to make sure he's fed and EAT!). So proud that the transition to high school has went far better than I had imagined it would. Middle school is going well for Holden, if we can just get him to remember to bring everything home that he needs to bring home. It's a huge transition from elementary school to middle school so we'll see how well things fall into place this second week of school before I start panicking. He's got his first test in his math class tomorrow and he feel pretty confident. We'll see.

So, gone are my babies and in their place now are these two young men who are incredibly handsome, funny, smart and the lights of my life.

School preparation is underway

WOW

4 more days and I will officially be able to call myself the mom of a high schooler and a middle schooler. That freaks me out! I'm not ready!

Ashton's going to HIGH SCHOOL?! 9th grade, here he comes!

Holden's going to MIDDLE SCHOOL?! 6th grade, here he comes!

I am so incredibly proud of both of my boys. As nervous as I am for both of them to begin these new chapters of their lives (middle school and high school are big deals, no matter what anyone says!), I know that they will each meet the new, higher expectations and challenges set forth for them. Moving up to a new school is always a source of nerves and anxiety for both boys. They seem to be taking it in stride though. Ashton surprised us yesterday when we went to the high school to meet his teacher/case manager and he walked us all the way around the school and directly to her classroom without us telling him how to get there! We've only been to the school a couple of times and only walked by her classroom once the day before, so I was pretty amazed. The boy has an internal compass like no other, that's for sure! He seemed pretty happy and content in her classroom, other than putting his head down on the desk a lot. I explained to her that he doesn't like bright lights and she assured me that all of the overhead lights would be off on Tuesday except one. She's a very "out of the box" thinker and after meeting with her yesterday and such, I think Ashton will have an amazing year. We'll see how he does with his electives; adaptive art and adaptive business consumers technology class. 

Holden seemed to grasp the concept of moving from one classroom to another for his schedule at the middle school. We met all of his teachers and the subs for 2 of the teachers (who are, or will be, on maternity leave soon) and he said they all seem nice. :) I think the first week will be a little confusing but once he gets the hang of things, he'll do just fine. I'm more concerned about his lack of organizational skills (he comes by that honest, I am NOT a very organized person) and how he'll manage to keep everything straight in his locker, etc. I know middle school is a time of huge transition and hormones, etc kicking. I just hope he keeps his head on straight and pulls through the first few weeks with flying colors. His schedule is a bit more relaxed this fall than in previous years as he's not playing fall soccer. He is still running with the New Energy group out in Suffolk, but as we've told him, school comes first. If he's not done with homework, he's not going to practice. That simple. He has to make a concerted effort to make sure he's accomplishing everything in a timely manner. We've set the stage for that in that he comes home from school and immediately starts his homework. I'll be in touch with his teachers after the first week to see if they've noticed any issues, and I'm hoping Holden relieves all fears I have by just being awesome without little follow up on my part. Part of middle school is teaching these kids to be responsible for themselves, etc but we know how that goes. :)

Can't wait to see how the first day and week of school goes! Onwards and upwards! 

Thumbs up on the new meds

Funny enough, both boys started on new medication almost 3 weeks ago. Yes, I was all crazy and had them both start at the same time.

For Holden we switched from Daytrana 20mg (down from 30mg in December) to Concerta 18mg. We made this switch because of the skin irritation from the Daytrana (it's a patch) and it just didn't seem like it was as effective anymore; 30mg he acted super mellow for the greater part of the day and then we had MAJOR attitude issues in the afternoon (the drop-off effect once the meds have left his system)... that's all fine and good but that's not his normal personality. He's usually pretty chipper and happy and talkative. We reduced to 20mg in hopes of helping him gain weight, but it didn't have that effect and while the mellow mood and attitude issues were less, it was obvious the med wasn't working as well as it used to. So, Concerta was our next try. He can now swallow pills, so this was perfect timing. We began practicing with mini M&Ms, then regular M&Ms and then peanut butter M&Ms (those are pretty big too, btw!). So far, he's done an amazing job with this new medication, he's more like himself and he's still doing a great job in school (the most important thing). So three weeks into it and I'd say we found a winner for the meds. PLUS... he's EATING! According to our scales he's gained about 2lbs since the switch, but we'll see what the official weight gain is when the boys have their checkup with Dr Madren in March. I'm anxious to see how much he's gained/grown.

As far as Ashton goes.... he's been prescription med free since last summer. He's been his easiest to manage in YEARS, surprisingly. I was hesitant to start him back on any medication because I know just how strongly he reacts to even a very small, minimal dose. However, after giving him a full nine week period to adjust to his new school, teachers, classmates and schedule, it had become apparent that he needed something to help settle him and help him focus/attend to his work. So, I consulted with Dr. Madren over email (by the way, can I say how absolutely awesome it is that I have a medical professional that I trust with my children's medical care, that I can contact via email instead of having to schedule an appointment?). Keeping in mind, I made mention of the possibility of needed to start an ADHD med with Ashton, at our last appointment in December. So, we decided to try the med he'd been on most recently for ADHD, and that was Adderall XR at 15mg. It became quite apparent the first day that this was not going to work. All Ashton did that first day was lay around and he didn't even smile, not even one single time. I gave it to him the next day and again, more of the same. So, the third day (this was over a four day weekend) I didn't give him the meds. Thinking that maybe he was coming down with something, I figured he would be acting the same (laying around, no smiling) if he was ill. Well, he wasn't sick... he was back to his normal silly, happy self. I emailed Dr. Madren back and asked what we should do. He suggested halving the dose to approx 7.5mg. This dose is what Ashton's been on ever since. He's the same happy, go-lucky kid.... but he's able to sit and attend to some of his work. However, having motivators/reinforcers that work also seem to be helping a great deal. Ashton's teacher set up her laptop at school as a "movie station" for Ashton. When he's completed a task, he can go over there and watch a 20minute movie clip (or whatever the allotted amount of time was). AWESOME!  What also seems to be helping is giving him the one on one attention he needs. He's been much more successful in school over the last couple of weeks and that gives me great hope for his future.

So yay for new meds. That WORK. and that have little to no bad side effects. So far, I haven't noticed any bad side effects with either of the boys, so let's hope this trend keeps up!

I happened upon this blog post yesterday

It was titled Dear School Personnel, Community Members and Neighbors. I happened upon it from a friend's Facebook page who had linked to it. I have copied it in it's entirity here as it was written by Marianne, from The Life Unexpected: Raising a Special Needs Child. I plan to send this to my son's last year school teacher and will send it to his teacher in the fall as well as to any of the administrators that will deal with him on a day to day basis. It very poignantly describes what every person who knows a special needs child, or will come in contact with a special needs child should know. If you choose to copy this letter or blog post, please give credit to the ORIGINAL WRITER, as I have done above. Thank you!

To Whom it May Concern,

I am the parent of a special needs child.  I was overwhelmed, confused, heart broken and struggling to unravel the complexities before me.

Please do not pass judgement of me without knowing why I did not attend the school PTA breakfasts or community picnics.  Please take a few minutes to understand why I did not take you up on your offer to have lunch or grab a cup of coffee.  Although we see each other in the supermarket or at school functions, I don’t think you really ever knew me, actually, I can guarantee that you did not know me because just as my child was different, so was I.

I was in survival mode to keep my family in tact and to give my child the best quality of life possible.

I was presented with parental decisions that have torn me apart and kept me up more nights than I can possibly remember.

I had spent most days of the week at therapy and doctors appointments and most nights up researching treatments and medication options.

I was forced into isolation at times due to the stigma and misconceptions that are epidemic in our society.

I became proficient at prioritizing my life and learning to let the little things go, to look at others with compassion instead of tabloid material and to turn a blind eye to the stares or ignorant comments.

I did the best I could.

I survived.

I am one of the lucky ones, my child has blossomed and has exceeded all our expectations.

I have now become strong, I have become confident and I have become a fierce advocate for parents of special needs children.  The growth did not come without much pain and many tears but it came.

So I ask you, please

The next time you see a parent struggling with a raging child, a child terrified to go into school, a child making odd movements or sounds, a child that seems to be in a world of their own… .Be kind.  Give a smile of recognition for what that parent is going through.  Ask if there is anything you can do to help, give them a pat on the hand or offer for them to go ahead of you on line.

The next time you have a birthday party for your child remember that their child has a hard time with a lot of sensory issues and social situations.  Please send their child that invitation and know that more times than not they will not be able to attend but appreciate being included.  Understand that in order for their child to go to the party they may need to stay for a little while and please make them feel welcome.  When they let you know that their child cannot make the party consider inviting that child for a one on one playdate or an outing at the park.

The next time you are grading homework papers please understand that their child struggles, some with learning disabilities others with the exhaustion of  their disorders or the obsession with perfectionism.  The Perfectionism is not necessarily to have the answers right but to have it “feel” right for them.  They have spent hours doing what most can do in ten minutes. A paper returned with red circles and comments only hurts a child’s self esteem and causes school anxiety. Please understand that when they see the school come up on their caller ID their hearts sink, remember to tell them about all the gains their children are making as well as their deficits.  Take a minute before that call and know that they appreciate all you do and want  a collaborative  relationship in their child’s education.

The next time you are in the teachers lounge, please do not discuss their child.  Please do not make negative comments about their parenting or their child’s behavior, it gets back to them and it gets back to other parents in their community.

The next time you pass the cafeteria and see their child sitting alone please consider inviting that child to eat lunch in your classroom and be your helper that period.  Consider working with  guidance counselor to set up a lunch buddy group in a different area.

The next time they are at the CSE meeting planning their chid’s IEP know that they are educated, informed and confident knowing special education law.  Know that they have found the courage to stand up to conformity and will explore every option to give their child the differentiated educated that will show their gifts and not just their disabilities.  Understand that educating a child with special needs is one of the most difficult tasks a parent can face,  know that the last thing they want is an adversarial relationship.  Please show them the same respect they show you.

The next time you are creating an educational plan please take into consideration that their child may have specific interests or obsessions.  Foster those interests, instead of taking away that art class for a resource class consider adding an art class instead. Think outside the box, these parents do.

The next time you see that child in a wheelchair unable to speak or control their movements, don’t stare, don’t look away, say hello.  Do not assume that because this child is nonverbal that they are not intelligent or do not understand the awkwardness that you feel.  Take a moment out of your day to show kindness, support a parent enduring incredible pain and just give them a smile.

The next time your child comes home telling you how Johnny or Susie is so weird, take the time to teach about differences.  Take the time to talk  about compassion, acceptance and special needs. Please remember that your child learns from you.  Be a role model, mirror respect and discourage gossip.

The next time you hear a comment about how out of style these kids are, educate about tactile sensitivities and the fact that these kids cannot tolerate many textures and fits.  Imagine what it would feel like to have sandpaper in your stilettos or tight elastic holding on your tie.

The next time you see an out of control child do not assume it is bad parenting.  Understand that many of these disorders have an organic basis, are biological and are real illnesses. When you hear the word mental illness, take out the “mental” and remember  ”illness”.

Know that it is this generation that can stomp the stigma and create a world of acceptance.

The next time other parents are talking about “Those Kids” be our heroes, stand up for us.

The next time you see a special needs child know they are not just special in their needs but in their brilliance as well.

Take the time to meet our children.  Take the time to know us.

Have a nice day!

He may be small, but he IS mighty........

Holden is still quite the little guy. He's almost eight years old and is lucky if he's forty-six pounds. That's in the 5th percentile for his age, for those that keep track of those things! But this kid is super tough! As most know, Holden started wrestling in March of 2009, so almost a year ago. He's done very well in that time and has amassed quite a collection of medals! He's gotten four, 2nd place medals (silver), and one, 3rd place medal (bronze). He also got the coach's "Most Improved Wrestler" medal last spring as well as the gold medal and ribbon the coach gave out to all the kids who wrestled during the season.

While he didn't place in his most recent tournament (January 16th), he did very well. We didn't really like the way they had the brackets set up, but it seems that Holden overcame his anxiety he seems to get when there's a tournament. He even PINNED the first kid he had to wrestle. YAY Holden!!! :) He lost his next two matches, but he kept himself together pretty well and enjoyed spending his time with his teammates and cheering them on.

Among other news... Holden FINALLY has a REAL big boy bed! He's been begging for one for quite a long time now, and we jumped at the chance when hubby's aunt and uncle offered us up their son's bed frame and boxspring. We figured if nothing else, it gives Holden a place to sleep and he can get out of the toddler bed (which was really, a crib with the front taken off). He absolutely LOVES his new bed and loves the new sheets I picked out for him.

 

In other, more educational/school news.... Holden's report card, was ALSO fantastic! All Ss (Satisfactory) except two Ps (making progress) and ONE O (outstanding!). Now the funny thing about the subject/area he got the O in.... it was in...... currency and money value! Anyone who knows Holden, KNOWS he knows his money facts and can count money like nobody's business. You can give him two numbers and he can't add them, but if you add a dollar sign to the front of the number, you can bet he can add it then! LOL He's such a smart boy, and we're very proud. He was happy to have earned $35 for his report card. We also did some educational/psychological testing to see if he had any other issues other than the ADHD diagnosis we got from the pediatrician back in December of 2008. The psychologist did confirm the ADHD diagnosis and tacked on a diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Now, the anxiety is not something that needs to be treated with medication (at least, not yet....) but it is something that we need to be aware of when we're being overly critical of him, his behavior, etc. The testing also showed an above average IQ (we already KNEW he was smart). His reading scores were quite high, while most of his other scores were above grade level, but not substantially so. His writing scores however, are right at his grade level (2nd grade), which is not altogether bad, but it does show a discrepency considering his IQ and other scores. It's something we're working on and hoping it improves with time.

Well, it's time to figure out what is for dinner ...... I'm thinking leftover chili, but we'll see what the hubby says. If not, maybe some hamburger helper or something.

Toodles everyone!

Ashton's 2nd DAN appt w/ Dr Madren

We discussed Ashton's list of supplements; currently we're doing Cod Liver Oil, Super Nu-Thera, Calcium and Pro Bio Defense (a probiotic, to help promote good bacterial growth in Ashton's digestive system/intestines). Ashton is also still taking Risperdal (1mg), Clonidine (.1mg) and Melatonin (3mg). He's still taking Nystatin as well, but we changed the dosage from 2tsp/2tablets, 2 times a day to 2tsp/2tablets, 3 times a day. The feeling is, if we saw die-off symptoms with the initial dose of 1tsp, 2x a day and then an increase in symptoms from the 2tsp, 2x a day dosage, that we'll see even more die-off, and more positive changes from 2tablets (same as the 2tsp), 3x a day! Whew! So, with the additional Nystatin dose, we've had to revamp his med/supplement schedule, as he can't take the anti-fungal and the probiotic at the same time. We also decided to not use Omega Brite Kidz (Omega 3 supplement/Essential Fatty Acids), as I couldn't find any one place that I can go to and buy all the supplements. Plus, our Dr. Madren said that using Cod Liver Oil might be better than the Omega Brite, because of less ingredients to have to worry about. Whatever, it all works for me. So, the new schedule is as follows: 6:30 AM 1 mg Risperdal 1 tsp Cod Liver Oil 2 tablets Nystatin crushed 1 capsules Super Nu-Thera emptied 1/4 tsp Calcium/Vitamin D hypoallergenic powder 2:30 PM 2 tablets Nystatin crushed 1 capsules Super Nu-Thera emptied 1/4 tsp Calcium/Vitamin D hypoallergenic powder 5:00 PM 2 tablets Nystatin crushed 7:30 PM .1mg of Clonidine 3mg of Melatonin 1 capsule of Pro Bio Defense emptied Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? But in all reality, it isn't. I've seen some children's supplement schedules and they are FAR more detailed, elaborate, and full of many more supplements than what Ashton is currently on. For now, I think it's the right amount of medication/supplements and we're enhancing his base nutritional needs/deficits, so I think we're on the right track. It was funny, Ashton weighed 92.8lbs, WITH his heavy winter coat AND shoes on! He hasn't weighed that LOW at a doctor's appointment (except for his appt during his bout with pneumonia in December) since late '07! It was surprising and shocking, to say the least. *I* was actually really glad, because he had gotten up to 102lbs (yes, that's OVER a hundred pounds at less than 10years old!) and he was just looking SO unhealthy, weight-wise. Now, one of the bad things with this latest increase of the anti-fungals (Nystatin), is we're having a HUGE increase in the obsessive behaviors in regards to the tv/DVD player/computer, again. UGH! I thought we were done with that, but apparently, the yeast is still wreaking havoc in his body, as this OCD/perseverative behavior is usually a sign that yeast is still in over-abundance. So, we plug along with the anti-fungals and have started with the probiotics (Pro Bio Defense) and hopefully we'll battle this yeast monster, once and for all! This whole symptomatic behavior is related to the "die-off" of the yeast, more affectionately known as the "die-off period". But, he's really doing pretty well, overall. His teacher is not coming back from maternity leave, so they've got a new teacher, taking over for the long-term sub that had been in place since November. Ashton met her today and said "she's nice". LOL! How's that for an endorsement? Hehe! She'll be in place tomorrow and Monday, working with the long-term sub and then will be "flying solo" come Tuesday (the 2 aides in the classroom will remain the same, thank goodness!). There is a meet-n-greet/open house on Monday evening for the parents to meet the new teacher. I'm SO glad they're doing this because I want to make sure she realizes HOW important it is for Ashton to not be given ANY snacks/food items that have not been sent in by me, or that haven't been pre-approved with prior notice, by me. We also did another blood test; this time to check for actual food ALLERGIES, instead of just food intolerances/sensitivities. We didn't test for nearly as many foods as we did previously (96 foods, previously) but just the main 8-10 allergens. Hopefully we'll get those results back soon and see if we need to omit soy, eggs and peanuts from his diet as well. These 3 foods showed up on his sensitivity panel, but with low reactivity. We'll see. We also got the test kit for the urine test, which tests for heavy metal toxicity. I haven't done it yet, just because this week has been kind of busy and chaotic. I'll do the collection on Monday and stick it in the mail that day. We'll see where those results take us! We are to go back to see Dr. Madren in April (the 22nd) and we'll see where we go from here. Oh .... and an Ashton funny (and explanation for the picture.... ;) LOL) The other night, Ashton INSISTED that he wanted noodles for dinner. I'm thinking to myself.... he hasn't asked anything pasta, in like FOREVER, but okay, if noodles is what he wants, noodles is what he's gonna get..... I had some rice spaghetti pasta and made him some noodles and then put some marinara sauce on it and he went to town. I happened to be cleaning up the kitchen from mine and David's dinner and I heard Ashton say "I'm gonna be like Master Shifu" (a character from Kung Fu Panda for you uncultured non-parental people, LOL!). I turned around and Ashton had splayed a noodle across his nose (like a mustache) and was laughing and giggling and kept saying "I am Master Shifu". I, of course, had to grab the camera and capture the moment for posterity! I was laughing right along with him and watching him eat his pasta like this totally cracked me up. In any case, his imagination/sense of humor is shining through and he's enjoying making other people laugh. Okay... time to get the kidlets ready for bed and then it's gonna be time for Thursday night TV! woohoo! :)

Holden's awesome report card!

Officer Holden at your service!

Holden had to dress up for his Career Day project, and he chose to dress up as a police officer. The belt was actually part of his pirate costume that I unstitched and then pinned to the shirt and used safety pins to attach the handcuffs and walkie-talkie! He then had to stand in front of his class and tell about his job and what service he provides to the community. He got 100% on his project (40% of which was dressing up!). YAY!! Speaking of good grades... he had an AWESOME report card!! Out of 31 areas that were taught both in the 1st and 2nd grading periods, he brought 13 of them up; some of which were Ns (needs improvement) and he brought up to Ss (making satisfactory progress!). He still had a couple of Ps (progress, though still needs help) in writing, which is something I'm going to bring up with the teacher. He just has such a hard time coming up with original ideas when it comes to writing. If he's writing about something he's learned, he can do it; but creative writing is not one of his better areas. But overall, I was EXTREMELY impressed his report card and he got his much sought-after request; a white bakugan and a big bakugan set that comes in a tin. He was ECSTATIC!! The ADHD meds he is on have truly helped him be successful in school. The meds didn't make him get good grades.... he did that but they certainly HAVE helped him have control over his impulsiveness and his attention span in class. I was in his class on Friday to read to his class (along with several other mothers) and I was able to witness first hand his ability to sit still, listen and not interrupt when something is going on that might not be all that exciting. YAY! Just had to share!! :)

Happy New Year 2009!!!!

Well, as you can see, my guys didn't *quite* make it until midnight... they made it until 11:35pm, 25mins to go! In fact, *I* almost didn't make it until midnight! LOL They were so excited at the prospect of staying up SO late and then they didn't even make it. I looked at my husband shortly after midnight and said "We're too old for this crap!" - hahaha ..... Maybe next year we'll just tape "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" and watch it the next day. I somehow don't think it'll have the same meaning.

Now that it's officially a new year, bring on the New Year's resolutions! My resolution is; I want to lose weight; and not just lose it for the sake of losing it, but lose it and get healthier in the process. I am roughly 40lbs over what I should be and while it's not adversely affecting my health as of yet, I want to get my weight back in check so that I stay the healthy person that I am. So, I will say that I am currently weighing approx 165lbs; yes, at 5 foot, I am considered obese. I HATE saying that but if I'm not truthful, then how will I truly want to change? So, a new year brings a new diet plan and excersize plan. Once the boys start back to school next week, I plan on posting daily to update what I'm eating throughout the day (I figure if I have to post it in a public viewing forum, I'm more likely to watch what I'm eating) and will also post what excersize I'm able to do throughout the day. We have a Nintendo Wii so that will probably be the bulk of my excersizing, though I do plan to go and walk outside when it's not too cold. So, we've had lots going on this past Fall/Winter thus far. First off, I finally squelched my fears and put Ashton on the GFCF (gluten free, casein free) diet. He started it near the end of August, so it's been over 4months and wow, has it been life-changing! While we have had some minor infractions (and one major infraction of eating 2 brown sugar cinnamon poptarts on Halloween), the diet has been pretty succesful so far. Initially, we had some really positive behavior changes; more eye contact, better focus and attention and he was so calm. Those changes don't seem to be AS apparent now, which leads me to believe that there are either other foods that are irritating him, or maybe something else entirely different. However, we have noticed some absolutely WONDERFUL changes in regards to digestion, etc. Ashton used to silently reflux upwards of 10times a day (which I fully believe is what caused him to want to eat; if he was eating than his throat was always coated, etc .... which of course, over eating can cause the reflux to worsen so the circle continued on and on .....). Now, he's no longer taking Prevacid (a RX for reflux) and he MIGHT reflux once every other day or so. Also, Ashton used to have really weird bowel symptoms. Constantly pooping (4-5 times A DAY!) and it was ALWAYS runny. That ceased within a month of the diet. Also, he constantly had a "diaper rash". Horrible and as soon as I'd see an improvement in the appearance of the rash, something would set him off and it'd been bright red and bleeding again. We no longer get rashes that bad! It is easy to tell when Ashton's had an infraction now though; usually within an hour or so the diarrhea starts as does the rashy bottom (which can take a week or so to clear up again) so I've been very diligent in making sure he does NOT get ANYTHING that has even TOUCHED wheat/gluten containing items or dairy/casein items. We changed the med he's on for some minor ADHD issues and it's been a wonderful change. He's now on 1mg of Risperdal in the AM, 5mg of Adderall XR in the AM nd then 0.1mg of Clonidine at night. He also takes 7.5mg of melatonin at night and he's not only going to sleep shortly after going to bed, he's also sleeping ALL NIGHT!! WOOHOO - sleep IS indeed a precious commodity in this house! Unfortunately, Ashton got very sick a few weeks ago and stopped eating, for nearly a week. What little he did eat (Burger King or Chick Fil A french fries), would usually get thrown back up and he lost nearly 10lbs in the span of a week. Turns out the poor guy had PNEUMONIA! He was SO sick and was napping nearly 5-7hrs a day on top of sleeping all night long! That's how sick he was. He's still napping nearly almost every day and it's been a week since he really started feeling better. Luckily the naps are only about 2hrs long, so that's a good thing. I just hope the napping stops since school starts back up on Monday. He missed school from Dec 16th - Dec 23rd (which was the last day before Winter Break). At that point I didn't care HOW much school he missed, I just wanted him better before the Christmas madness hit. He's gained back a couple of pounds (keeping mind that it didn't HURT him to lose 10lbs) Holden was diagnosed with ADHD back at the beginning of December. It's more the inattentive type (meaning he is easily distracted and lacks the ability to focus on things he needs to, etc...) although he can and does have his hyper moments. He started on Vyvanse (30mg) soon after and has been doing WONDERFULLY! His progress report after starting the meds (which incidentally came home the day of his 2 week checkup after starting the med) was GLOWING with positive remarks from his teacher. Not only that, but the school work that came home was MUCH improved over previous school work that had been sent home. The handwriting was neat (well, as neat as a 6yo boy can write, LOL) and the work you could tell had been done thoroughly and with focus. YAY! I'm SO happy that the meds have helped. Our only issue is that he seems to have HORRIBLE insomnia! But then again, he has NEVER been a super great sleeper and we've been giving him 10mg of melatonin at night to help him sleep. His pediatrician even put him on 0.1mg of Clonidine (same med as Ashton, LOL) and it's not really making a huge difference. I plan on calling the ped on Monday to see if we can change the dosage or something. Last night (which was New Year's Eve) I gave Holden his 10mg of Melatonin and his Clonidine and he was rearing to go until 11:35pm. Yes, he was trying to stay up 'til midnight, but he wasn't even acting REMOTELY sleepy until around 11:20 or so. This is a kid that under great circumstances is asleep by 8:15pm and I have to wake him up at 7am to get him ready for school. We'll see. David and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on December 10th. WOW! 10years with the SAME person! I've basically spent my entire adult life with the same person and I couldn't be happier about that fact. We got each other some pretty unconventional presents; he got the Lego Ultimate Collector's Millenium Falcon and I got a Canon EOS XS Digital SLR camera. David thoroughly enjoyed putting the lego set together (took him about 4 days total ....) and I have really enjoyed playing around with my new camera. I can't wait to take the boys to the park or zoo when it's warmer and get some great pictures! Anyways, after this long-winded blog post (typed while I've been watching the Capital One Bowl featuring MSU vs Georgia State), I think that's the end of my update. I wish you all a very VERY Happy New Year and may 2009 bring along the changes that so many of us in this country AND world are hoping for!