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Willa
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| Posted: Feb 11 2007 at 3:07am | IP Logged
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We probably mostly know each other already. But perhaps here we could introduce ourselves and give a bit of background about our Special Blessing situation? That might help us to network a bit more.
I am your forum moderator and my sixth child Aidan is developmentally delayed, and seven years old. He had a liver transplant when he was four months old. Right after that he had a major stroke. They don't know the cause but now we think it might have been an interventricular hemorrhage. Anyway, the outcome was that he needed a VP shunt. He had it for several years and was able to get it out a couple of years ago due to a relatively new technology in neurosurgery.
During the stroke he also received some significant damage to his periventricular area resulting in some paralysis and spasticity in his left side. Today he wears an AFO brace on his left leg and a part time soft splint on his left arm.
He had eating problems for several years resulting in a G-Tube which was finally removed last summer.
He gets Occupational Therapy at home through the California Elks; outpatient Physical Therapy through the state; and speech and language services through the local school district. He sees a plethora of medical specialists for different areas of his medical condition -- neurosurgeon, neurologist, nephrologist, hepatologist, gastroenterolist -- you name it, he's probably consulted one  However, at this time he's quite medically stable so the main ongoing issues are the cognitive delays and the difficulties with his left side motor involvement.
He has a wheelchair for "limited mobility" -- he can walk all right for short distances but for hikes and trips where there is a lot of distance covered he gets tired easily.
I write about him occasionally on my blog -- the most recent are:
Plans for Aidan
Plans for Aidan II
Hope some others will chime in. I look back at this post and see it is somewhat in medicalese. On the personal front, he is a wonderful child who stretches us to do our best parenting. Everything is different with him -- true of all our kids!-- but in his case, the milestones are especially touching because they come later and in unexpected ways.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Mrs.K
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WJFR wrote:
| the milestones are especially touching because they come later and in unexpected ways. |
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I'm sure we can all relate to that, which you summed up so well, Willa. Every little achievement is such a joy and treasure.
My Eliza has Down Syndrome. She just turned three before Christmas. She had an AVSD which basically means her heart had holes between the left and right sides and one large common valve in the middle. She spent her early months in progressing heart failure and then had corrective surgery when she was five months old. She is still on meds for her leaky heart, but thankfully that has been her only medical issue.
She was really a challenge when my now ten month old Kateri was born, she was very jealous and stopped eating. But she has adjusted well now and 'Baby' is her favorite word. When she wakes up in the morning it's always the first word out of her mouth. Actually she just started to say 'Kateri' so now she has a new favorite. We call her the Queen of Cuteness and you can see pictures of her excessive cuteness on my blog. 
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Blessings,
Mrs.K
My rosariesBeads of Mercy
My blogPondered in My Heart
 Jesus,I trust in You!
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amyable
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| Posted: Feb 11 2007 at 5:46am | IP Logged
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I'm going to introduce myself here, even though my kids' "specialness" is on the mild side, in the hopes that others in this situation will feel free to join us - sometimes the mild problems can be very hard to deal with as they are more "hidden" and people tend to disbelieve you.
My oldest is 9 - she is a fun, outgoing child.She is "Meg" on my blog. She has alopecia areata, which is an immune system disorder where her hair gets attacked - meaning at any given time she has patches to large areas of hair missing. Typically with her, she is 50-70% bald, with the patches of hair moving around, now this spot is growing...now that spot is falling out and this spot is growing. We keep her head shaved because it looks better (something that our relatives don't understand. "Let it grow!" they are always telling us.) "Meg" also has multiple anaphylactic food allergies, learning disabilities/quirky memory issues, and vision issues (convergence insufficiency, among other things, lol, I didn't get enough sleep last night and can't think of what! ) for which she is receiving vision therapy. She's a hands on learner, an extrovert who makes friends wherever she goes - young and old (I'm not kidding, we'll bump into people in town and I have NO idea who they are, and they are all saying, "Hi Meg, how are you? We know you from ____." ). She can be extremely impulsive, strong willed and inflexible, and despite being everyone's "best friend" has been my hardest to parent by far. She also has low blood sugar issues, some tactile defensiveness. And like Nina's below tends to pass out at the sight of medical procedures!
My next child is "Jo," (7) who has a unilateral mixed moderate/severe hearing loss, which in English means she has a relatively severe hearing loss in one ear only, the "mixed" part means there is damage in both her middle and inner ear. We think it was congenital, as her ears are also a little misshapen, although she wasn't diagnosed until she was 4 or 5. She is smart as a whip, but shy, my cuddler and future nun.  She is the only one out of my kids who doesn't have food allergies.
The other two children "Beth" and "Amy" (I've got a Little Women theme going on my blog ), so far, only deal with food allergies/eczema/asthma that we know of.
Me? I spend time playing "Doctor Google" way too often, panic about teaching a child with hidden learning disabilities, get about half the sleep I desire , and was a speech-language pathologist in a former life, although I think I've forgotten more than I ever learned! 
(Edited because Nina's post made me remember some things )
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Lissa
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Hello, everyone! Mrs. K., I was struck by the ages of your two little ones--they are the same as my two youngest. My Stevie turned three in December. He has a moderate/severe hearing loss in both ears, which means that without hearing aids he can only hear very loud sounds. (He loves the piano!) With his aids, which he wears during all his waking hours, he tests at the level of a "mild" loss--which means he can hear medium-loud sounds, but not the very softest sounds of speech--which is to say, most of the consonants. I have enrolled him in speech therapy in our local public school system in hopes of broadening the range of consonants he can pronounce. He also uses sign language, but he is dropping that as his verbal speech progresses. (We wish he would hold on to it longer, as his verbal speech is very hard to understand. We are continuing to study ASL as a family so that Steve will have a backup should his hearing loss get worse as he gets older, which is quite likely.)
He was born with a number of medical issues including an intestinal condition that required surgery immediately after birth. (A loop of bowel was protruding into his umbilical cord.) He has a mild heart defect and some neurological issues, including high muscle tone (similar to cerebral palsy, but his was congenital, not due to neonatal trauma). He was in PT and OT from infancy, and his progress has been darn near miraculous. Initially they told us he might not walk, or if he did, would likely need a walker. Today he runs and climbs with ease. My heart soars every time I look at him!
But he continues to pose challenges on the medical and developmental fronts, and juggling all his appointments and therapies is a mindboggling, time-consuming process, as I'm sure you all understand! I blog about him frequently at my Lilting House blog (see link below).
Amy, glad to see you here too. Alice raved about you & your family after your visit!
Warm wishes to all of you, and Willa, thank you so very much for opening this discussion. What a good idea.
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Lissa
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Maria B.
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Hello to all of you! My oldest of ten was born with bilateral vocal chord paralysis. Both of Catie's vocal chords were paralyzed causing a problem with her flow of oxygen through her windpipe. As babies, our vocal chords take up a large part of our airway. If this don't vibrate the air cannot flow properly through the windpipe. Due to this "obstruction" Catie squeeked like a mouse until about four months, when her airway became large enough to handle air and paralyzed vocal chords. Despite the vocal chord paralysis, she was able to make sounds and cry! We were told that overtime the paralysis would most likely end, and it did. But in the short term, the lack of proper oxygen to Catie's brain caused several problems that did not slowly became evident as she developed. She was always slow with baby and toddler milestones. She received speech therapy for four years. When she was ready for Kindergarten, testing revealed many learning problems. Long story short over the course of many years she was misdiagnoed with autism, Aspergers, ADD-HD, you name it. Now after almost 20 years, I can tell you that she is learning delayed/mildly retarded, OCD, at one point anorexia, sensory integration problems.
We have homeschooled Catie all her life and used private therapy options. She finished high school with this past year. Currently she is working at Wegmans, a grocery store in the Cafe. She loves one on one contact with people and knows all the regulars at the store. It is a hoot to go there with her because it takes us forever to get out of there. Everyone stops to say hi to her.
We have struggled through so much during her adolescent and now, adult years emotionally. She is aware of her "handicaps" and tries so hard to keep up with her younger siblings who are "passing her" in accomplishments and maturity. It hurts very much to see her struggle with this. Each day is about reassuring her of her worth and the wonderful young woman she is. She longs for friends, but this is a tough one. So hard to find. Genuine friends for Catie is one of my standard petitions!
She longs to work in a nursing home or pre-school/ Right now I am exploring options for her and considering some classes at our local community college. If I could, I would take the classes with her to help her get through them, but with all my little ones this is not possible. Tyring to figure this one out and praying about it. She has so much to offer the young and old. Her heart is bigger than most people's.
I would love to share with all of you. Some things of particular interest are sibling relationships in special needs families, special needs adult children, coping as a parent.
Thank you so much Willa for this opportunity!
Our Lady of Lourdes pray for us!
__________________
Maria in VA
Proud Mom to 10 Great kids!
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Nina Murphy
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Hi You all.
My oldest daughter, almost 19, is very talented and bright--God has given her the voice of an angel and an other-worldliness; but she has special needs in many areas. She tends to get panicky over simple things involving touch----a form of tactile defensiveness. It has complicated her life in many small and some bigger areas. She also has terrible vision and a lazy eye that won't correct. Due to her sensitivites she doesn't really want to treat her vision in any way and wants to wear glasses always. She also has a senstive gag reflex and can not swallow pills and has difficulty with any medicine at all. She passes out easily if she has to have a medical procedure, so it is a scary proposition for us all! She also has something called Reynaud's Syndrome which involves the circulation. Her fingers and toes can turn blue, then black and numb and she must keep warm, especially her extremities. I will move on to my next child.
My oldest son, who will be 16 in a month, has a form of tactile defensivness that is more severe. For the first few hours after he awakens he will literally jump if he is touched, even lightly. It is such a cross for him because he says people do not understand---he can feel every single hair on his head and it "hurts". It's like knives are in every nerve of his body. I've read about it---it's like a nerve sensitivity that I guess is genetic. I've always been a sensitive type as well to sound, light, touch... He also has terrible vision (but ironically, suffers through putting the lenses in); asthma, allergies, and tends toward low-blood sugar issues.
My next child, Matthew, is 13. He has severe allergies---that is it, thanks be to God.
Fourth child, Mary is 11. Same as above.
Fifth child, Maggie is 8. She has pretty bad chronic eczema and cracking of lips, hands, feet. She also has some dyslexic tendencies and has been the latest reader and writer.
Sixth child, Clare, is 5. She has Cystic Fibrosis which affects every system of the body and is fatal, there is no cure (info available all over the web--just do a Google search!)  She also has a very difficult strong will, "a spirited child"... a classic Choleric. She is challenging every moment for those in her presence and as Dr. Ray says requires parenting at a level of 100% Not sure if God made her this way because she needs to be "tough", to be a fighter... to deal with her crosses and her CF, or if she isn't feeling well and can't really translate it/communicate it. ??? We're hoping it gets easier as she gets older.
My 7th, Joey, is now 4---was a preemie, had Meconium Ileus due to Cystic Fibrosis, was hospitalized again for serious RSV, then gastric reflux and projectile vomiting. He is a weak little thing and currently is not growing sufficiently. We have to be open to the G-tube insertion to make life easier on him eventually. He just doesnt' want to eat. He is an angel, a real sweetheart, just wants to take it easy. He also has asthma and wheezes easily so he just prefers a simple life at home! He is on so many meds---we pray he strengthens as he ages.
Eighth, Andrew....so far so good. He's only 1 1/2.
Thank you, everyone, for your support and prayers.
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God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Dawnie
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Hello everyone!
I've just started to read the Special Blessings forum. For a long time, I thought that I just wouldn't be able to handle a child with special needs and didn't even want to think about it. But my oldest daughter is showing me that I was wrong.
She is 7 years old. She's very healthy, physically, but I am beginning to suspect that she has some kind of behavioral or emotional problems. Her behavior goes beyond "difficult" at times. I have never heard of "tactile defensiveness" before several of you mentioned it above, but that sounds like my Mary Beth. She's VERY sensitive to any physical contact, especially when she is upset or angry. She will become defensive and physically violent even if I try to hug her. I had been hoping that she would outgrow the hitting and kicking she does when she is angry (most often over being disciplined for misbehavior, ESPECIALLY when I try to escort her or carry her to time out--she will yell that I'm hurting her even if I'm only resting my hand on her shoulder), but it doesn't appear that she is. I need to figure out how to help her before she gets big enough to injure me or one of her siblings during these tantrums! I'm seeing a counselor on Wednesday to talk over strategies for managing her behavior and possibly a diagnosis for her. From what little I've read so far, she fits the criteria for ADHD and ODD. I feel like I'm in way over my head. But I suppose if God gave me this child, He's going to give me the grace to love her the way she needs to be loved. I'm trying to rest in that confidence and trust His plan for us. "One day at a time" is my motto for this year.
I will remember all of you and your families in my prayers.
Dawn
__________________
Mom to Mary Beth (99), Anna (02), Lucia (04), Clara (06), and Adelaide Victoria (2/28/09)
Visit my blog!Water Into Wine:Vino Per Tutto!
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Taffy
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| Posted: Feb 11 2007 at 3:22pm | IP Logged
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I am so happy to read all of your intros here. I've been reading and posting on this board for quite a while and I had no idea that so many of you shared our difficulties.
I'll reintroduce myself now. I'm Taffy, mom of 3 beautiful boys and wife to Mr. Wonderful. We are also expecting our fourth this fall and I'm quite excited about that...
My oldest boy is my special needs fellow. He is 10 and has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS or atypical autism. Parenting him has been a joy and a challenge. My experience with children before having him was very limited and I really had little to no idea what normal development was really like. It is only as his siblings have gotten older that I've realized how hard I've been on him...
Anyhow, his challenges are many. He is very intelligent, yet his language skills are very delayed. He learned how to read very young (was reading books easily at age 4), yet his comprehension is worse than his 3 year old brother - very frustrating. His ability to "read" nonverbal language, however, is quite good which is one of the reasons his behaviour problems aren't as bad as they could be.
We've really struggled with finding help for him. Early intervention was a disaster. And, while the school did try, our son wasn't progressing well academically or socially while there. Dh finally agreed with me to pull him out when it became apparent that the school had given up on teaching him academic skills and were mostly interested in keeping him with his peer group. 
While he has come a long way, I've found parenting him to be a very lonely challenge. He's very withdrawn and we have to work really hard to get him to respond to his environment. I still have many memories of him leaving his swim lesson as a 3 year old and not even looking for us. One time, while in the hospital waiting room, he got tired of waiting and took the hand of a complete stranger to try to go home.  It's literally taken years to have him respond to us the way his brothers did easily. But the constant rejection or ambivalence from him was and is hard to take.
My second boy is 7 years old and pretty typical. I've been trying to convince my husband to let me homeschool him too but so far have been unsuccessful.
Our third boy is a 3 year old Thomas fanatic. He's pretty typical too.
I am absolutely in awe of those of you who have posted here describing your special children. You all really DO understand what parenting a child with special needs is really like. Thank you for being so open and sharing. I am so deeply comforted to know that I am no longer alone. Thank you. 
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Susan
Mom to 5 on earth and 1 in heaven
Susan's Soliloquy
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marysjoys
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| Posted: Feb 12 2007 at 1:41am | IP Logged
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Hello, new friends!
I'm so thrilled that we are all getting to know one another, and finding so much in common.I have a 4 year old daughter, Christina who has Down Syndrome, and thank God, no major health problems to date, after close monitoring of small hole in her heart, which closed within 6 months of her birth.
As I shared before, Christina has had Early Intervention since birth, and spent a year in half day special needs pre-school which left me unimpressed, so she is now home-schooled, with the same types of therapists coming into my home as when she was in EI(PT, OT, Speech, and Special Ed).
My biggest concern for her, is that she routinely rejects therapy, refusing to do any activities. Her speech therapist just quit, and I find myself explaining constantly to the therapists why I won't be sending her to school, in light of her avoidance behavior.
No one seems to respect a mother's opinion, (even when that mother happens to be a certified teacher with 15 years experience). All homeschooling mothers are experts on their children, and deserve respect.
This is where you come in, my friends, we can support one another in our homeschooling and when dealing with 'the system'.
__________________
Mom to three lovely girls, Gabby, 13, Bella, 9, and Christina, 5 who has Down Syndrome.
My Link
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Dawn
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| Posted: Feb 12 2007 at 7:59am | IP Logged
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Hi everyone, I am so grateful to Willa for starting this thread. I appreciate hearing about everyone's children, and other family experiences.
We have three boys, the youngest, my Earlybird, is 5. He has PDD-NOS - was diagnosed just before he turned 4. Someone once told me PDD-NOS was a catch-all diagnosis for a child who was delayed and fit some of the autistic behaviors, but not all. From what I have seen (or read or heard about), kids with PDD-NOS experience such a wide range of issues and differ very much from one to the other. (As is true with all children, of course!)
Mainly my son struggles with developmental delays. Now it is mostly speech and some sensitivity issues.
When he was a baby he did everything late - sat late, walked late, etc. He has also been prone to tantrums, emotionally sensitive, hard to handle in large crowded, noisy places like zoos, birthday parties, restaurants, etc. HATES long car rides (tolerates about 30 minutes tops.)
It was one of those things that niggled around the edges of our anxieties. We kept waiting for his speech to kick in ("He's just a late talker") and dismissing his behavioral issues as quirks or perhaps being babied. Because we did (and do, I think) baby him.
He has grown out of a lot of that, but is still prone to outbursts and getting overwhelmed very easily. He is also an absolute JOY of a child - so affectionate, loving, hugs and kisses. If someone cries he is the first one there with a "big hug!" If he sees something sad on TV, he is in tears and in my arms.
When we first had him diagnosed, they prescribed 25 hours of structured learning a week. They wanted us to put him in school. We said no and instead decided to seek private therapy and home educate him along with his brothers.
We knew in our hearts being away from us everyday for 5 or more hours would not be the answer. I also knew from observing him in playgroups and social settings that this is not the setting where he learns best. He needs a more supportive atmosphere for relaxing and focusing.
He loves to be with people, and children of all ages. When someone comes over, he is the first to the door, asking them to come and sit in his family room, showing them things, asking questions. (In his limited way, he is not always clear, but loves to ask, "What's that?" and then answer, "Ooh, that's a train!" In other words setting up dialogue with others in a way he can manage.)
When we have co-op here, he is right in the mix, though clearly in his own way. He's pretty good with social cues, but his speech delay keeps him out of the loop to a degree.
He had 10 months of OT and has had a year and a half of speech therapy. Currently he is in speech twice a week - we go to a private practice a few miles away. Over the past year we have seen so much progress, it has been wonderful.
I am going over-long here, so to sum up, let me say, we plan to educate him at home with his brothers, and keep him enrolled in private therapy as long as is necessary (when I say private, I mean partially covered by insurance - we pay a small co-pay). We may have him do OT again later this year, but for now speech therapy (supported at home) is working well.
I am trying to formulate a homemade curriculum for EB, and I agree structure is good for him. When he "graduated" from OT, his therapist suggested getting a Pre-K curriculum (since he is at the age 3-4 level) for him. Which is why I started this thread - and got lots of wonderful advice  - but I am still working on that.
Another component we are working on is life/social skills. Bringing EB out on short visits and trips to practice how we behave at say, the store or a friend's house or the park.
OK, now I will stop. I am very grateful for this group! Thank you all for listening and sharing.
__________________
Dawn, mum to 3 boys
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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benedicta
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| Posted: Feb 12 2007 at 8:41am | IP Logged
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Hello, All! Thank you for generating this thread!
Two of my children have genetic epilepsy, inherited from my DH. Though their seizures are fairly well controlled now (thanks be to God!), there have been many,many rough times. All the seizure activity has affected their cognitive skills, especially in the case of my DD Lydia, age 11. So, homeschooling needs to be sensitive to her fatigue, attention difficulties, and processing delays.
In addition to his epilepsy, DS Liam, age 14, also has bipolar disorder (about 15% of people with genetic epilepsy may also have BP). By the grace of God, this is very well controlled with medication. We have also been lucky in that Liam's BP manifests itself in rapid cycling mania/euphoria and depression, not in the rages and aggression that so many BP people have to deal with.
More later.....my toddler needs attention NOW!
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benedicta
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More follow up (which I'll try to keep brief):
My eldest DS Evan, age 20, does not have epilepsy, but is on medication for depression and panic disorder. Fortunately, his meds work very well....he is a college junior, honors student and plays lead guitar in a band. He's also a terrific writer!
Baby Luke, age 20months, so far has shown only minimal signs of epilepsy (a few staring spells, some myoclonic jerks when sleeping), so we are hopeful he will avoid Liam and Lydia's more severe conditions.
And I am pregnant with #5 (well, #6, as I have a DS in God's good care in Heaven), due in April. We pray for his neurological (and other!) health.
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Nina Murphy
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Thank you Benedicta for your posts! Thank you so much for sharing your family's "infirmities"--("if I glory in anything it is in my infirmities..." was the epistle reading yesterday for us!) I am inspired by your example and testimony to trust in God and openness to life.
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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benedicta
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Oh, Nina, thank you for your kind coments which made my day!
Don't you feel yourself that, in the midst of the many crises and heartaches we have experienced with our children, The God who loves us is holding our hands and leading us to love more deeply, trust in Him more deeply, and treasure the miraculous gift of life that has been given us? Now, if you had told me this very thing during the early years of my children's diagnoses many years ago, I would have said "No, I feel alone and scared." Naive young woman I was!!! But now.....I feel my entire life and those of my blessed children are in His hands. And it feels wonderful
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marysjoys
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Benedicta,
I felt God holding me very close in the early days when I was expecting Christina, and through her first months, but, to be honest I feel more abandoned and afraid now that the system expects her to 'fit in' and leave my home. I am surrounded with therapists and family who see no problem in the school system, and don't think I'm qualified to teach Christina, though her older sisters (ages 9 and 13)have done well homeschooling.
I suppose it's my fault because I haven't reached up for God's Hand as much as I should have; I have a tendency to 'do it myself', forgetting how much I need Him. Thank you so much for reminding me that not only is He here to guide and support me, but you are as well!
__________________
Mom to three lovely girls, Gabby, 13, Bella, 9, and Christina, 5 who has Down Syndrome.
My Link
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Rebecca
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Hello everyone! I am joining in here and am so grateful to have this special place to "talk" with all of you! To tell you a little about my family, I have dd1, dd3, ds7 and ds10. I have written about my ds10 here and here.
About a week ago, he underwent a sensorimotor exam as well as an extensive vision test. He was diagnosed with convergence excess and accommodative insufficiency as well as general farsightedness. Because of this, he will be wearing glasses full time for the next couple months with hopes of correcting some of the problems. After the six weeks are through, it is possible but not probable that he will only wear the glasses for close up, detailed work (lessons, reading, handiwork, etc.).
Because these problems have gone on for many years untreated, he is very "behind" in many areas of his education due to the inability to concentrate on his work. He also has very little recognition of personal space because he is used to getting in people's faces to see them.
I am fairly certain that ds10 also has some level of sensory integration disorder that manifests itself as food issues and oversensitivity to touch. He may also be possible ADHD but I will not have him tested for that until his eyes have been treated for at least 6 months. (Many times eye convergence issues mimic ADHD due to the inability to focus the eyes, and therefore, the brain.)
Next is my seven year old son. He is very sweet, pleasant and kind 90% of the time but completely loses control and becomes radically different when angry or afraid. This began when he was two years old and we thought he would outgrow it but he has not. If you can imagine a toddler lying down, kicking and screaming, violent, highly disrespectful for about 15 minutes a day, only in a seven year old body, that is my ds7. I do not even know where to begin to help him. Mostly I send him to his room for fear that he will hurt someone. If I try to go in and comfort him, he screams and often hits me, even if I am not the cause of his frustration.
So I am here in hopes of helping my boys as well as helping the rest of my family to cope with the behaviors of my boys.
Thank you for starting this thread!
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benedicta
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| Posted: Feb 12 2007 at 4:25pm | IP Logged
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"No one seems to respect a mother's opinion, (even when that mother happens to be a certified teacher with 15 years experience). All homeschooling mothers are experts on their children, and deserve respect."
Dear Marysjoys,
You are so correct with this comment! Though many of us may not be "qualified" as special ed teachers, we do all know our children.....and we come to know them, and their strengths and weaknesses, more and more as the years go by. No one else can tell you what is best for Christina....I truly believe only you and DH can, with prayer to our Lord for guidance.
I, too, was unimpressed with what the school could offer to my children, through no fault of the school's. In fact, the teachers were mostly kind and well-intentioned. It's simply that each child, even if s/he "shares" a diagnosis with another child, is an individual. We can't do cookie cutter education with anyone, especially with a child of special needs.
Don't be afraid to continue homeschooling, despite whatever the "experts" may be telling you (and you're a teacher, too!!). Trust yourself, trust God, trust in the love you have for your precious daughter. You will know what is best, throughout the years.
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mom3aut1not
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| Posted: Feb 12 2007 at 8:04pm | IP Logged
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Well, I'm happy to introduce myself (again), but because three of kids are adults, I will be brief in discussing them as they value their privacy. Lisa now 24 has ADHD and other issues. She is also extremely creative and verbal, and she would love a job with writing or reviewing. She is struggling greatly with depression and anxiety and needs a full-time for health coverage and independence. Katie now 21 is PDDNOS and ADHD and is working on an AA degree in computer security. She may be looking for a job within the year!! She homeschooled from the begining with some SLT from the school system. Kristin now 19 is autistic and is trying very hard to finish high school. (She would like your prayers!) She has significant memory issues as well as the typical difficulties of an autistic person. She started hsing in first gradeand got some additional SLT fromthe school system. Joseph now 7 is also autistic. He is a happy little guy. He has worse language skills than his sisters had at his age and is not yet potty trained. He currently gets SLT from the school system and privately. I am going to start using The Processing Program with him (his private SLP already uses it) and AAI in his homeschooling. He is thrilled to be a Tiger Cub and is also in K4J. He is also a Thomas fiend and is looking forward to hatching frogs.
In Christ,
Deborah
who also has an autistic brother....
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Nina Murphy
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| Posted: Feb 12 2007 at 8:30pm | IP Logged
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Wow, Deborah. You're beautiful.
So they think that there may be a genetic link to autism?
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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mom3aut1not
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| Posted: Feb 12 2007 at 10:35pm | IP Logged
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Nina,
<blush> Thank you, tho' I don't see it.
And yes, they think autism is "strongly genetic"; however, several genes are believed to be involved. If a family has one autistic child, the chances are about 1 in 12 that any other given child in the family is autistic and about a 1 in 3 of some kind of disability Including autism. So we knew Joseph might be autistic; that's one of the reasons there is such a big gap between him and Kristin.
In Christ,
Deborah
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4Real Forums : Special Blessings
Topic: Can we introduce ourselves?
