Off to a rough start

So Joe was supposed to start school this Monday. We woke up to snow drifts galore and a 2 hour delay. I opted to keep him home because he had been sick with a wicked cold on Sunday. My energizer bunny had not moved from the couch for the entire day. After staying home Monday he seemed to be on the road to recovery, he actually played with some of his toys and was acting more like the Joe we know and love. Monday I made the mistake of telling him at bed time that he was going to school the next day. He kept insisting 'not go to bed go to school.' After a tearful and slightly stressful bed time Daddy and I breathed a sigh of relief to know he was so excited about school.
Of course the tune changed the next morning. 'No school, stay home, Joe's home' became the new mantra of the day. We had gotten him up at 7am. That gave us an hour to get ready. I felt like we were rushing the poor child through his morning routine that he usually gets to set his own pace for and it was torture. The school bus(van) arrived and Joe was less then thrilled about that as well although he did not cry so I was able to get him buckled into his car seat holding my own tears back as he told me again 'No stay home Joe stay home.' Of course once the van pulled out of our drive way and got down the road out of sight I was a blubbering mess. What a long day that was. Joe got home and seemed quite content. He came in and began playing with his toys and when I asked him what he had done at school he even responded to my question with 'played with big ball'. I assumed this meant he had therapy with PT. So I made an executive decision and Joe went to bed a half an hour earlier so we could get up earlier and not feel as if we are running about like chickens with our heads cut off in the morning.
Wednesday morning seemed smoother, Joe was less apt to say No stay home and more into just saying No because it is his favorite word.(Ahhh the irony, last year I would of killed to hear any word out of my child's mouth and now all I hear is NO.) So off he goes on the bus happy happy joy joy, he seems really excited about going back to school. Home he comes, he slept all the way home, apparently he had a huge coughing jag prior to coming home and wore himself out. I took him out of the van and the fun began. Everything was tears, hitting mommy or daddy, and pure frustration on Joe's part. Dinner in particular was awful, 1 hour of screaming and crying. I finally got him settled and into bed. His coughing stopped once he stopped crying and so did the runny nose. He slept well all night, no coughing and seemed perfectly willing to cooperate when morning came(Willing to cooperate means he only said NO 3-4 times when we asked him to do something). Off to school all is well until the phone rang at 10:30. Joe is not acting himself and feels warm. All he will say is all done and go home. I picked him up and decided to keep him home tomorrow as well to see if we can't get this cold to loosen it's hold. Poor little man.
Hopefully next week will be a better to start to his school week.

A week of visits.

Despite having an awful cold for the last week, me not the boys, we still have been managing. Joe had his annual check up last Friday and Rory was getting his 6 month check. From the moment we entered the exam room Joe began to wind himself up. His repetitive sound making started and he wanted to be picked up. Once the Dr entered the game was on, he began screaming at the top of his lungs and gasping. His nose turned into a faucet and ran down his face no matter how hard I tried to wipe it(which in and of itself just upset him more). I finally convinced him that Dr. was here to see Rory and Joe quieted while we watched Rory get his exam. Once finished Joe was a little more open to the idea of getting his exam and cooperated. All was good until the shot time and then both boys voiced their grievances.

Over the weekend I don't think I could of survived if my darling husband had not been so wonderful braving the cold to take care of our farm animals( actually my farm animals for the most part). I lost my voice which is always entertaining when you are trying to redirect a rambunctious 3 year old. I am sorry to say I gave in and let him watch Cars and the Polar Express each day. I usually save that for his bad days when he needs a break. Of course I am now paying the penalty I knew would come due. He asks every day for both movies but I explain we are not going to watch TV till later and then he can see one 30 minute Christmas special. It was a little rough at first but he is adjusting back to his old schedule.

Yesterday was his last session with his old speech therapist. As of January 4th he begins preschool and will be seeing their therapist. He loves his school and I am looking forward to seeing the progress I know he will make in socialization. To help him with the transition I have taken him down to the school for his sessions with his PT and OT. The first time we entered the school was a little hard. He went into the building willingly but once in the reception area he turned back for the door and began telling me 'No mama, OUT.' over and over. His therapist and I talked him into coming to see the slide and taking a ride on the tricycle. After that he was open to anything and by the end of the visit was insisting 'No mama, stay!'.

Well I hear my sweet boy waking up, warmest holiday wishes to the universe and all in it.

Life with PDD-NOS

My husband and I have been dealing with this lovely label since our son turned 16 months old. Joe was a very engaging baby but did not make eye contact very frequently, he started talking in single words but would stop using the words, and never pointed to anything to indicate what his personal needs might be. I became a champion mind reader because this continued until he was 2 years old. Joe was five and a half weeks premature and had already been seeing an early development Doctor as well as his regular pediatrician. I started to suspect autism by the time he was 12 months but did not want to come off as that over protective weird mother who thinks her kid has everything. (That and I really like denial, it's a nice fuzzy place to live.) So I waited until he was 16 months old and mentioned my concerns to our regular pediatrician who had me make an appointment with the other Doctor. We had our diagnosis, Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified, and yes for the first month I had to get the freaking book out when family or friends asked about the name because I couldn't remember it and when I tried to take the short cut and say it was on the autistic spectrum people freaked out. Some of our family members almost burst into tears. This in and of itself was slightly frustrating because they seemed to forget about Joe and just focus on the label he got stuck with. This is when I realized how important it was for me as his mother to teach him that he may have this diagnosis but he is still a completely amazing little man whose smile gives absolute joy to everyone he meets.

My next job has taken me a little longer to learn, Advocate. Part of the problem being I did not know what he needed. Because I am a licensed practical nurse I think a lot of folks assumed I knew way more about this then I did. Personally I wish I had asked for a reading list early on but better late then never. Currently I am reading a few books, Engaging Autism, and another about diet issues. I have found that refined foods have a very adverse affect on Joe's ability to focus on the job at hand,(what ever that may be).

Any how this blog is a simple way for me to vent, organize and possibly share with folks who may be going through very similar situations.