Light It Up Blue for Autism

Posted on 04/01/2012 by bclause

Monday April 2nd is Light it Up Blue Campaign to spread more awareness for Autism. As you know my son has Pervasive Developmental Delay which is on the Autistic spectrum. I know many people look at him and then in disbelief. Not all disorders are physical. He is fortunate that he is mildly affected, but I find I do have more trouble trying to get him help. The school is constantly battling me on his IEP, and finding people who know how to work with him at school has been hard. I am worried about him transitioning to middle school next year with all new teachers and routines. I will take it day by day as it does not help to worry about things I cannot change. I have not been around much to update as his school (Leap Test) and my school work has dramatically increased. I will update on all that has happened last month soon.

Back to Light It Up Blue for Austim campaign. Autism Speaks is asking everyone to wear blue to show support. Talk to friends and family. Have your children wear blue to school. The teachers at my son’s school are all wearing blue tomorrow. You can also tweet, share on facebook, blog about it, or anyway to help spread more awareness. You can go to Light It Up Blue to find banners and even a profile badge to change for facebook and twitter. There is also a cover page for your Facebook Timeline. If you want to learn more about Autism then go to Austim Speaks.

Will you light it up blue to help shine a light on Autism tomorrow?

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Play Therapy is Working!

Posted on 02/29/2012 by bclause

I had mentioned several weeks ago that Robbie started receiving play therapy. It seems to be working. At his last session, his therapist gave him some good techniques to use when he gets upset. He already does the deep breathing, and try to think of happy thoughts. She suggested maybe using a straw for him to chew on. I wasn’t overly keen on that idea with his teeth, but we have tried the stretchy band and a stress ball. He can’t chew gum in class so I thought well why not.

Yesterday he came home and told me he was getting upset in one of his classes. He felt like he wanted to cry but instead he took his deep breath, and thought of a song in his head, and chewed on the straw. He said it really helped to soothe him and he was fine. He only needed to chew on it for a couple of minutes. The school is fine with this new technique. It’s a small step but one in the right direction.

He came home so happy that he was able to take action and resolve the problem on his own. He made an A+ on Spelling, a B+ on Reading, and an A+ on Math quiz. I am so proud of him for taking action.

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Wordless Wednesday: Robbie’s Awards

Posted on 02/22/2012 by bclause

He actually had another award for Honor Roll, but just didn’t get it in this picture. I am so proud of my little man. We had his awards banquet last week. Congrats Robbie! Keep up the great job.

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Play Therapy for Robbie

Posted on 02/12/2012 by bclause

We finally found a local play therapist for Robbie. I am beyond thrilled, and it’s through the graduate program at the university I am attending. The price of the weekly sessions are more than reasonable. I am paying a fourth of what my insurance co-pays would cost. They work on a sliding scale, and being a full-time student isn’t hurting.

Robbie meets with his therapist every Monday except for any holidays. I am not sure how that works yet so I need to ask tomorrow. Basically the play therapist is working with him on his anxiety in school. He will have homework some weeks, and everything he learns will be taught to me. The therapist has infomed me Robbie will learn relaxation and breathing techniques he can use to help calm him when he is anxious. I already do use breathing, but it does not always help him. I am open to any new suggestions at this point. I will also teach these techniques to his aide and teacher.

Robbie is also happy he gets to basically play while talking to his therapist. The room is set up with lots of toys. Sometimes it is easier for children to open up and act out their feelings with play therapy rather than just saying I am upset because of this reason. I feel the play therapy is going to be very beneficial for both of us.

He is already becoming quite comfortable with his therapist which is great. He looks forward to his appointments which is very encouraging. I plan to share some of the great techniques he will learn at a later date. I just had to share and it finally feels like our life is on the right path.

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Wordless Wednesday: Feeling Sentimental

Posted on 02/08/2012 by bclause

This is a picture of my beautiful baby boy a couple months before he earned his wings. I believe he was going to be a carrot top. He really favored my husband’s grandfather side of the family. I could also see more of the German hertiage from my mom’s family. I came across this picture and wanted to share.

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SPD Foundation is Giving Away $50 GC for Study

Posted on 02/02/2012 by bclause

The SPD Foundation in Greenwich Village, Colorado is looking for kids age 6-17 to participate in a fun brainwaves study. The study is open to kids with SPD and typically developing kids. It sounds very interesting and I really wished I lived in Colorado so we could participate. You can read all the details at Brain Waves Research Study at SPD Foundation.

The best part is you will be rewarded with a $50 Target gift card for participating. I am not sure of the dates as I just received the email tonight. If you do participate or know someone who does, then please comment and let me know more about the study. I think it is very interesting especially since my son has SPD. I just wanted to share with anyone who can participate in this interesting study.

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Update to His Headaches

Posted on 01/27/2012 by bclause

I do have great news as Robbie’s CT Scan came back normal. This is a huge relief to know he is fine and it’s not serious. On the flip side, what could be causing him those type of headaches? His doctor still wants me to keep a journal for the next month. I will update when we go back to see her, but I have a feeling she won’t really know either.

Luckily it doesn’t happen often, but I am now wondering if it is part of the sensory disorder. I might be grasping at straws, but it does get frustrating to not know what causes your child pain. I am planning to have him tested for allergies. It’s all about process of elmination at this point.

I do know his medications are not causing the headaches. As I mentioned before, he had the headaches when he was younger. He was not on any medicine until the last 2-3 years. This just started again recently, and he has been taking them for over 2-3 years with no issues. I really do not believe this is the cause. I do remember him getting so upset that he would have the headache, throw-up, and then sleep until morning. This is really why I think it’s more about the sensory disorder.

I am following up on my resolutions with his first play therapy appointment on Monday. I hope she can help him with his anxiety especially school and dogs. He has a terrible fear of dogs. It has gotten a little better, but it’s still a very bad anxiety for him. That is another post for another time as I get annoyed with some opinions I have to hear. Got to love family. I know it is meant out of love, but unless you have lived with any type of anxiety, then it’s hard to understand how it controls your life. I do understand which is why I am so empathetic, but sometimes it’s just better to smile and nod then try to make someone understand who doesn’t want to understand. I also wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. I have received some very nice emails and comments.

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Wordless Wednesday: Interesting Way to Sleep

Posted on 01/25/2012 by bclause

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Migraines are a Pain

Posted on 01/21/2012 by bclause

First I want to apologize as I couldn’t think of something overly clever for the title of this post. Robbie has had ongoing headache issues since he was about 4 or 5. The funny thing was I never could put it together as he would just complain he didn’t feel well, but he could never explain what was wrong or where it really hurt. About once every two-four months he would get very upset, eat a bite of supper, throw-up, and then sleep the rest of the night into morning. He would feel great the next day. I always thought maybe it was due to the temper tantrum he had just thrown as to why he didn’t feel well.

It only lasted for maybe 2-3 years, but no real rhyme or reason so I wasn’t too concerned. Now that he is 11, he can tell me what exactly the problem is and where it hurts. Thursday he came home complaining he had a bit of a headache. He did go outside and get sweaty so again we thought he was overheated. He was complaining the back of his head was hurting him like he got hit with something. He also said the lights were bothering his eyes and blurry. He fell asleep on the couch before supper which was unusual for Robbie. We woke him up to eat, and he ate a few bites, then immediately ran to the bathroom. Afterwards, he laid back down on the couch and slept until 8:30pm. He woke up for a few minutes and went to bed where he slept until morning. He woke up telling me he felt great and no more complaints of a headache.

I decided it was time to bring him to the doctor for further investigation. His doctor suspects migraines might be causing it. I have to keep a diary for the next month of when he has a headache, intensity, and duration. He is getting a CT scan next week. Depending on the results she will refer us to a pediatric neurologist. What is interesting is I recently read Sensational Kids written by Dr. Lucy Miller, and she mentioned that some children with SPD can have these type of headaches. It’s unusual they are starting again, but I wonder if it has something to do with him approaching puberty. Maybe hormone related? I will keep everyone posted.

I really hope and pray it’s something minor and easily treated. He is already dealing with so much. I also want to have him tested for allergies. He does have stomach issues from time to time. I think it’s time to do a major overhaul of his diet. It very well could help with his anxiety and behavior. I know when I was doing a cave man type diet, where I took all grains out plus I ate more protein and fats, I felt fantastic. My skin glowed and I had tons of energy. I don’t know why I didn’t stick with it, but I am planning to start again next week. If you have had similar problems with your child, then I would love to hear from you.

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Coming Soon- Robbie’s Corner the Website

Posted on 01/16/2012 by bclause

Robbie’s Corner was started this past semester for my computer class project.The computer class was learning to use Dreamweaver, and I had to create a website for my class. I made mine about my son to help spread more awareness. I enjoyed the project so much I bought the domain to plug-in the website for everyone to see. But we never learned how to upload a site from Dreamweaver into a hosting site. I still haven’t taken the time to figure it out. Instead I decided to make it into a blog.

I know many websites also have a blog in addition to their site. If anyone has any suggestions or tutorials for me, then I would be extremely grateful. I guess I just need to call my hosting site which is Web Hosting Hub so maybe they can help me. It might take a few weeks to implement, but I really want to have Robbie’s Corner as an actual website in addition to a blog. It will be a one stop type thing. I want to have a links section as well as a section for people living in Louisiana. I have found some great non-profit organizations to help guide me through the school issues. I already had a couple of news writers call me to feature a story on Robbie. I would prefer to have the site up and running first.

Another long-term goal of mine is start a parent’s group. I am a little too busy to take on something that really needs to a lot of attention and love to get off the ground. I feel I could get something in the works with a website. I could offer a parent’s forum or maybe a Yahoo group. A group might have to wait until after I graduate in May. I have too many fires going right now so I really need to concentrate on one project before starting another one. I want to get the website up and running before the end of the month. I will give myself some time and say my first goal is to have it live by Mardi Gras (Ash Wednesday).

I know this blog is still very new and not getting as much traffic as I had hoped, but again my fault for not marketing it. My question to those who are reading, what would you like to see on the website? I am open to any suggestions. I will have information on anxiety, PPD-NOS, and SPD. I am thinking of having a section on Joey and SMA. I will have a links section, guest book, and information on where to get services if you live in Louisiana. Some links will be nationwide so you just plug in the state you are located to find more services or information. I will have the blog connected to the website. Please comment and any suggestions or comments are appreciated.