Autism Is & Isn’t February 22, 2012

Autism is:

• Finding new creative ways to teach our cuties, it’s not that they aren’t smart it’s that they learn differently, you have to find what works for each child individually
• Knowing when to stop pushing to avoid meltdowns / but knowing how much to push to encourage learning.
• Positive Reinforcers (aka bribery)…and lots of them….hey I don’t work for free either…just saying
• Different for every child …just as every child is different, autism or not
• As a parent, trying to give your child all the fun experiences any child should get the opportunity to enjoy, all while sheltering them from the stares, the possible sensory overloads, and the general assheadness of many out there who mistake things like stimming for misbehaving
• Celebrating the small victories
• Remembering that autism is not our kids, our kids may have autism, but our kids are still just kids
• Realizing that no matter how frustrating it may feel at times from the parent side of it, remembering it’s a million times more frustrating for our cuties…not being able to express what they are trying to, it’s heartbreaking
• Being a translator…to the world my sons speaks a foreign language, to me he speaks pretty clearly
• A constant fear of regression
• You, as a parent, fighting for all the services your kids need and finding ways to make sure they get them

Autism isn’t:

• Caused by lazy parents..while experts cannot agree on what causes autism, and I have my own 2 cents on the issue….it is 100% NOT caused by lazy parenting
• All savants and rainmen, yes there are some true geniuses out there…some with autism, some without, but autism doesn’t always = geniusness
• Excuses….as parents it’s our job to make sure our kids learn; learn right from wrong, learn appropriate behaviors, learn anything and everything they can learn, anything and everything we can teach them, no excuses are acceptable
• Therapy 24/7, or at least it shouldn’t be….yes consistency is important, but remembering that everyone needs a break and needs down time is equally important. I don’ t get parents that push therapy all the time…My job is to be mom, to tackle the mom duties, the therapists job is to do therapy….my job is to carry over what I can into the home, not to do hours of nightly drills after my kiddos already put in a full day at school and after school therapy
• Bad…I hate all the whinning…in fact I have 2 posts ranting all about it, just waiting for my Bloggy Blankitis to go away so I can finish up the posts….Venting is 100% okay, but realizing autism isn’t bad/terrible/tragic/the end of the world is so important.

So…to sum up my mini rant….Autism is learning new creative ways to make sure our cuties learn, everything else is just parenting….remembering our kids are still kids and are perfect just the way they are, and LOVING them like CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And a final thought on being nonverbal, “Just because I have no words doesn’t mean I have nothing to say”.

Mom Lessons January 17, 2012

10 Things I’m Learning Being A Mom

Note I say I’m Learning, not I’ve Learned, because every day I learn something new, every day that quote from The Real World flashes through my head saying, ‘You think you know, but you have no idea’…. Here’s my list of 10 things that [I think] I know, as of now:

10- Siblings fight more than any only child thrown into parenting can ever be prepared for….autism or not, brothers will be brothers, boys will be boys, and they will shenanaginize as such

9- YouTube can be a great teacher. I would have thought this one was bs a few years back, but my son is addicted to a YouTube channel called kidsTV123 My son has learned his colors, days of the week, months of the year, all sorts of good stuff….check it out (and no KidsTV123 has no knowledge of me or this post, and I am in no way being compensated for my opinion, I just think it’s a great fun learning tool for children)

8- Sometimes it’s easy to over parent…know what I mean? Kids have to learn to work things out for themselves, how to entertain themselves, and how to manage their kiddo business (for lack of a better word lol)

7- Sanity Savers are important for any parent….and by sanity savers I don’t mean wild kid-free nights out on the town….I mean simple things you can add in your daily routine to make your day a little more laid back. Check out mine HERE.

6- Kids will be kids, let them…..teach them, guide them, but don’t rush them into being an adult

5- Trust your gut….for everything an expert or professional knows, 10,000 parents have known and told said professionals about numerous times (i.e.- autism parents have been speaking of the powers of probiotics for years, doctors laughed at us for years, now every grocery store diary isle loaded with yogurts preaching the powers of probiotics…those same probiotics we were nuts for using a few years back…)

4- While eating healthy is important, stressing yourself out to the point of sickness over your kids not eating isn’t worth it. Offer healthy choices at each meal, limit snacking when possible, and never forget the power of a multi vitamin

3- Kids will have meltdowns, especially with autism – they just happen , that doesn’t mean our whole world stops, that means ‘You can be mad, but go be mad in your room, and come out when you’re done’

2- Pick your battles

-and the number one lesson I’ve learned being a mom, and this one I know is a FACT–

1- Your kids are 100% perfect, tell them that and that you love them EVERY DAY!

-In my early days of parenting, 19, pregnant with the little man, hanging out outside our soon to be built house with my hubs and the twins….about 7 years ago.

So what’s on your list of 10 Things You’ve Learned as a Mom (or Dad)? Do a post of your own and add your link, I’d love to check it out 🙂

I’m entering this post in LoveLinks #40….I’ve been reading the LoveLinks Link-Ups for weeks now, and this is my first week to join in…click the link below to check out all the other great posts /bloggers linking up

Autism Funding Resources – Nation Wide January 12, 2012

Therapy is EXPENSIVE! Hell, kids are EXPENSIVE, but throw in therapy, durable medical equipment, respite (if you choose to use it), afterschool care….the list could go on and on…..and as many of you know a lot of insurance companies don’t cover things like therapy for autism. I guess they don’t realize, or maybe just don’t care, that 1:91 kids will be 1:91 adults sooner than any of us are ready for, but that’s a rant for another day….In an effort to help cover the costs some great organizations have set up grants to help out special needs families. This is a list of national programs available, but don’t forget to check out local charities and foundations too, they can offer a lot of help.

 

I’m sure there are more organizations out there, these are a few I’ve either had a good experience with or heard good things about from other families. I am in no way affiliated with / or being compensated by any of the organizations listed below, in fact most of them don’t even know me, or that this blog exist. Also, I encourage you to do your research before working with any organization, sadly there are companies out there who will take advantage of those in need…whatever the need may be.

 

 

The Brett Woodhall Foundation – they mainly provide funds for ABA, there is a spot on the site that talks about Grants and Resources available to families http://www.woodallkids.org/contact.html

Variety – offers a lot of assistance to special needs families, they helped us receive funding for ABA therapy for our sons.  http://www.usvariety.org/programs.html In our area they also do *FREE*special needs showings for every kids movie that comes out the Saturday after the movie is released. Check out your local Variety to see if they offer special needs movie showings too!

United Health Care provides grants to families with private insurance (you do not have to be with UHC insurance) http://www.uhccf.org/apply_applicant.html

There are a long waiting lists, but if you have Medicaid there are Medicaid waiver programs, such as CLASS and HBCS, that provide funding. They vary by state but here is a link to a national list that will let you search for state and the waivers available to you http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Waivers/Waivers.html

The Shriners / Masonic Lodge is also a great resource for funding, however grants are handled by state, not nationally. After a simple application I found online, and a letter from the my sons doctor they covered almost 6 months of 1:1 ABA therapy for my sons (I cannot guarantee you would get the same results we did, but they are definitely an organization worth looking into)

And finally a list of random grant available to families of children with autism—Some of these I am unfamiliar with but it can’t hurt to look into

http://autism.about.com/od/financialresources/tp/grantsforautism.htm

Still need funding? Not finding what you need to help meet your child’s needs?

Try http://www.giveforward.com/ Give Forward is an amazing website where you create a charity for whatever you need to raise money for. This is how we raised the funds for our childrens’ iPads, thanks to the generosity of friends, family, loved ones, and the kindness of strangers. (note – they do take a small percentage of your total so be sure to factor that in when setting your total fundraising goal)

 

Have any grant programs or charities I missed? Leave your favorite, and a link or contact info, in the comments sections – If it is a group that is only to the area/state you are in please not that in the comment.

Cookie Monster Doesn’t Eat Chips…Does He? January 11, 2012

I’m behind again…Go figure…

Day 10 – Childhood

My monster feeding his monster chips … I tried to tell him Cookie Monster wouldn’t eat chips but he proved my wrong.

Flying Doodie January 9, 2012

Every morning as I rush around getting the kids and I ready for school I tend to follow a routine, as many of you do I’m sure….my routine is probably far from normal, but it works for me….but I digress… Every morning I wake the boys up, change their pull up and tell them to go to the potty, I need to be no more than a step behind them on the way or they’ll lie back down or try to watch TV instead of getting ready. Now I have a full diaper, a clear path to the trash can across the room, and a child headed the potty….What would be more logical than to chunk the overflowed diaper across the house and into the trash? So every morning I change the child, shoo them toward the bathroom, and chunk the diaper along the way….simple enough right??

The other day my hubs changed the full diaper but instead of chunking it he told the little man to take it to the trash. The monster grabbed the pull up, ran to the edge of the kitchen and stopped. Then it happened….He wound up and chucked it, just like mom, but he’s timing was off….He let go a little too early and I ended up with a face full of funky diaper…Good Morning to me….Maybe it’s payback for the time I rolled up a full diaper and chunked it to someone to throw away for me, while yelling ‘Merry Christmas‘ and lmbo …Hmmmm ….

Lunches Made Easy (Easier).. January 6, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t this too cute?? I thought so too…but yeah I’m not that mom, in fact most days I’m lucky to get everyone out the door on time,with matching shoes and socks, and hair and teeth brushed…So here’s my lunches made easy easier / solution to massive amounts of wasted snack foods in house….

The Problem:

Spills, Spills, and More Spills === Lots of wasted food

Children Who Dump Out Everything  === Lots of wasted food

Snackaholic Little People === Lots of wasted food

 

 

Wasted food makes me sick for 2 reasons –

• Money Doesn’t grow on trees
• There are so many hungry people out there, I hate throwing a whole bag of food away

 

Then there’s the mess factor, as if there’s not enough to clean up just having 3 monsters – dumped out, crumbled up food is not a mess I care to add to my normal mom duties. Add in that when I buy groceries they are meant to last a whole a week, for lunches at school, snacks, etc.   Top that off with the fact that  mornings are chaotic around here,  and I was spending an extra 30 minutes bagging up breakfasts, lunches, and snacks x 4.

 

So I had a plan…

 

Confession – I actually saw this on an eposide of Wife Swap years ago, laughed at it because it seemed like a time consuming waste, then decided to try it out and it’s working wonders….but getting back  on track…

 

I bought a weeks’ worth of cereals, snacks, and breakfast goodies, bagged them into individual serving sizes, boxed them up, and stashed the boxes in a top secret hiding place…Okay the top shelf of the pantry buried behind my warehouse club supply of paper towels….Suprisingly enough it didn’t take nearly long as I expected, in fact since I wasn’t still half asleep, like in the mornings, it took no time at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Setting up to start

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-Bagged Portion Controlled Munchies

 

 

So far I’ve cut the hecticness down in the mornings for myself, and the kids can’t find the sancks so they don’t get wasted. Pretty Genius huh?

 

Random Ramblings December 28, 2011

Randomly odd things I’ve said, thought, and a few shenanigans thrown in for added laughability.

‘I don’t pee on your paws, why must you pee on my shoes’

‘Yes, you can use the computer…BUT not while eating peanut butter by the finger-full…want a spoon?’ Child yells ‘No Way!’ and is thoroughly pissed…How dare I say peanut butter is only allowed at the computer when on a spoon or sandwich!?

‘You really couldn’t tell your dog food bowl from the trash?’

…and a few hours later…

‘Your stomach hurts? That is what you get for eating all the garbage…dumb dog!’

‘I’m convinced your kids are trying to kill me’ – While suffering mom abuse playing UFC with the boys

‘I’m convinced your kids are trying to kill me’ – This is actually a common complaint of mine…my boys are some SERIOUS shenanaginizers…that’s all I’m saying ;p

~ On a side note, notice that when the kids are up to no good they are always their dad’s kids

‘Put your pants on’

…and an hour or so later…

‘Seriously, if you must stand in the window you really must put pants on!!’

Apparently I am full of dumb rules… why shouldn’t one child who shall remain nameless, not be allowed to pour milk in their brothers’ shoe?

I was watching Beauty and the Beast and I have to ask, am I the only one grossed out by the fact she loves a beast …she didn’t know he was a man… Beast – Bestiality- Barf

Reminders are important…’I know we cut our brownies with a (butter) knife, but we DO NOT run and swing the (butter) knife around like a wild man, EVER’

‘Whoever finds the poo, changes the poo’—I may or may not have been trying to avoid diaper duty

While making brownies with the monsters:

Me – ‘Don’t put your fingers in the brownie batter’
Child- Puts face over bowl and licks batter straight from bowl…because I said no fingers and this way he wasn’t using fingers….
Me- ‘If you must eat batter, get a spoon’
Child – Gets giant spatula, loads it with a massive amount of batter, attempts to eat it
Me- Now gagging at the sight
Child -Spitting out brownie batter
Moral of the story–All things are good in moderation 😉

Last Minute Gift Ideas December 22, 2011

Need a last minute Christmas gift idea, that doesn’t look last minute? I’m a huge fan of home made gifts for loved ones, these are gifts the boys and I made for their for Father’s Day in past years, each took a few hours, no to very little cash, and (if I do say so myself) all turned out pretty awesome. With a little tweaking each can be customized for your loved ones….Hope you enjoy…and please excuse the cruddy picture quality!! (These are past posts I’m combining for the Holidays…and in my early blogging days my picture taking skills were lacking to say the least lol)

First Up –

Does your loved one like a sport or have a hobby? Take tons of pics of your kids doing what they loves and frame it

For this one my walls were already painted blue. I painted a circle of paper yellow for the sun and cut clouds out of computer paper, taped it all to the wall and covered the floor with material to look like water. I bribed the boys with French fries to sit on the board and tickled them to get the smiles.

Next –

We did this one 3 years back for Father’s Day and it’s still one of my favorites.

“Someday We Hope To Fill Your Shoes Dad (Mom, Grandmother, Grandfather, whomever…insert loved one here)”

All you have to do is dress your kids up in dads/moms clothes and take pics…make sure you can see the shoes in each pic. Another idea would be to just get the kids feet (in the grown-ups shoes of course) in the shot. I found this frame and letter stickers at the local drug store, if your kids can write have them write it.

And Finally –

I used my hands to make the letters because the boys were wiggly but if the kids will make the letters have them do it.

We made each letter with my hands and arms, and each picture is it’s own letter. Then I glued the pics to a piece of black poster board and surrounded it with pics of the whole family, framed it and voila! An awesome (inexpensive) homemade gift that shows how much you care

—and again so sorry for the cruddy picture quality, but I hope you’ve enjoyed these gift ideas and that they can help you solve your last minute shopping /gift giving delimas…..Have a homemade gift idea of your own, share it in the comments or post a link, I’m always looking for new fun gift ideas the kids and I can make.

Shirley & Marcy December 19, 2011

A friend forwarded this to me, and maybe you’ve seen it, but it was too cute not to share:

Shirley & Marcy

A mother was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school.
He didn’t want his mother to walk with him.
She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe.
So she had an idea of how to handle it.
She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance,
So he probably wouldn’t notice her.
She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.
The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew.
She did this for the whole week.

As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs,
Timmy ‘s little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week.
Finally she said to Timmy ,
‘Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week? Do you know her?’
Timmy nonchalantly replied, ‘Yeah, I know who she is.’
The little girl said, ‘Well, who is she?’
‘That’s just Shirley Goodnest ,’ Timmy replied, ‘and her daughter Marcy .’
‘ Shirley Goodnest ? Who is she and why is she following us?
‘Well,’ Timmy explained, ‘every night my Mum makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, ‘cuz she worries about me so much.
And in the Psalm, it says, ‘ Shirley Goodnest (surely goodness ) and Marcy (mercy) shall follow me all the days of my life’, so I guess I’ll just have to get used to it!’

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always

I know you smiled!
Please pray that Shirley Goodnest & Marcy go with everyone you love

The Booger Man – A Thursday Throwback December 8, 2011

Thursday Throwbacks

It’s Thursday!! You know what that means. One day until Friday!! You’re saying Thank you Captain Obvious right now aren’t you! No, really, it means it’s time to throwback and pull out some good memories to make us all smile!!

Today’s Throwback….

The Booger Man…Yes he was real!! And no it’s not the boogie man…who’d be scared of a dancing man (boogie – dancing – get it lol) Anyways, as a kid he was the Booger Man, he was scary as hell! He lived in between mine and my neighbor’s house…or at least he hid out behind the AC unit after the sun went down. As we’d go from each other’s houses in the evening we’d bolt as fast as we could for that 15 feet until we got to where the porch light lite up the grass…funny how as kids you can be scared of something you’ve never seen, and don’t even know if it’s real…In my defense, not only was I little, and my mom told me he’d get me, but I never thought the Booger Man was specific type of creepy being (you know like a sasquatch or whatever), just a bad scary guy…maybe from 4 streets back [I’m still convinced that only weirdo’s lived on that street…and if you grew up in my old neighborhood you know what street I’m talking about lol].

Point of the story…no point really…just remembering the old neighborhood, old friends, growing up, meeting my hubby to be (He moved in 4 houses down and years later), the Booger Man, having a blessed childhood, and lots of good memories.

So…What’s Your Thursday Throwback??

My childhood house

–This picture was STOLEN WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM ITS OWNER!!!, sorry Dad…I guess it’s Karma for all those pics you stole borrowed from Germany when I was a kid 😉

Here’s where I’m Stealing Pictures From 🙂