Hi everyone!
Here's what we have been up to since our last post....
As I had mentioned, we went in for a meeting with Christopher's ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) team to hear their findings in the assessments that they had done with Christopher. The team consists of his preschool teacher, an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher/Autism specialist, an occupational therapist, an adaptive physical education teacher, and a speech language pathologist. For those of you who did not know, Christopher has issues in areas that each of these people are assisting with. We had suspected for some time that Christopher is different than most children, we just were not sure why. In their assessments they found that there is a good possibility that Christopher has autism. This is not a medical diagnosis, this is only a school diagnosis of autism. We can decide whether or not we want to pursue a medical diagnosis or not. Our current plan is to tell his pediatrician during his 4 year well visit in April and then we will go from there. We were given two choices on how to proceed with his treatment. Choice #1 was to catergorize him with developmental delay, which would only guarantee him treatment until he turns 7. At 7, he would have to be reassessed and if he did not meet criteria, he would no longer be able to receive treatment. Choice #2 was to put him under the Autism label and then he is guaranteed treatment until he finishes school if he needs it (This is how it was explained to me). After talking with the team members and consulting with my mom (A special ed teacher) and my sister (an Occupational therapist) We chose choice #2 because we agree that there is a good possibility that Christopher is autistic. He has problems with social interaction, especially with peers, he has sensory issues, he has motor skills issues, and speech issues. The good news is that Christopher is finally receiving the help that he needs to succeed and that is what matters. He rides the bus to and from school three days a week. He attends his normal preschool class on Tuesday and Thursday and on Wednesdays he has a small group program where he has speech, occupational therapy, and other services. He is always excited to go and that makes us feel good. We just want what is best for our little boy.
I have to admit that I was pretty shaken up after the meeting and was a little emotional, but I also went into it expecting it. I am trying to learn all that I can about Autism. But I also know that we are not going to let it take over our lives. Christopher may have Autism, but we are not going to let it define him or be all that he is about. We thank God for bringing him into our lives every day, just as well thank God for bringing us Sydney and Noah.
We spent Christmas in Onamia. On Christmas Eve, Brad had to work, but the kids and I went up to mom's. We went to the cemetary with the Rogers family and then we went out to Aunt Kathi's and Uncle Dennis'. It was nice to be able to see some of my many cousins and their children, as well as some of my aunts and uncles. Christmas Day we were at mom's and Sara, Reed, Nick, Eric, and Audrey were there too. Later in the day we were joined by Aunt Kathi, Uncle Dennis, Terri, and Donnie. It was lots of fun to see each other. Brad was really sick on Christmas Day and spent most of his time in bed.
Noah got his first stitches! He is the first one of our children to have to get them. He was downstairs playing with the kids, I heard a crash, went running down the stairs, and Sydney was screaming to me that Noah was bleeding. By the time I got to him he was covered in blood. Fortunately, I am trained in First aid, but I was pretty sure that he would need stitches. It was 7:30 p.m. and I knew that Sydney and Chris both had to get up for school the next day and I was a little shaken up by all of the blood and was pretty sure that I shouldn't be driving so I called Brad and he came home and took Noah to Childrens Hospital in downtown MPLS (that is the hospital affiliated with our pediatrician's practice). Brad said that when they arrived at the hospital they cleaned him up and put some numbing cream on it and by the time the stitched him he didn't even cry because they gave him a popsicle and let him watch Nick Jr. They didn't get home until about 10:45 p.m. so I was glad about staying home with Sydney and Chris!
Sydney has been doing really well in school. She had a wonderful report card. It is lots of fun to listen to her read books and write stories! She spends a lot of time writing and drawing. She has also been helping with chores around the house. She has had a playdate with a friend from Kindergarten (Julia) and been to a couple of birthday parties (Greta R. and Grace). She is looking forward to soccer in the fall and has been asking about getting in to karate. There is a reasonably priced placed here that we heard about through school, but we haven't decided what we want to do yet.
Brad and I have been keeping busy between work and kids. Brad's company changed over as of February 1 and things seem to be going well so far. Last month he volunteered in Sydney's classroom on a Friday. Sydney was so surprised that her daddy was there! He's such a good daddy! :-) The enrollment in my classroom at New Horizon has gone up again, so I have been getting my hours every week. That has been nice. I am still looking for jobs nearly every day, but no luck so far. I think I am going to revamp my resume once again, but I am thankful that I at least have a job. It could be much worse.
I will try to write again soon. Happy Valentines Day everyone!
Love,
Stacey, Brad, Sydney, Christopher, and Noah
