Randomness

Just some random stuff...

I've been told that I don't post pics of myself... well here ya go!

(I make no promises for any more)

St. Patrick's Day. Can you tell by the green?We have a deck remodel in the works.

So far the stairs have been relocated!

We are very thankful for experienced and willing friends :)

She was actually sleeping in this picture.

New toys are fabulous!

We tried cereal for the first time...

she is NOT a fan.

Guess we'll wait a couple more weeks.

Awwww.... self portraits!

Some cute videos!

Grandma (and anyone else)... more videos on the youtube page!

Not Yet.

Diagnosis? Not Yet.

Mrs. Wonderful is still not 100% comfortable with diagnosing Andrew at his age.

She really feels like it is Asperger's, but Asperger's has pretty strict diagnosing criteria, some of which cannot even be evaluated in Andrew yet because of his age. He simply just doesn't have enough life experience... yet! Mrs. Wonderful is confident that more of those things will come out when he begins attending school full time.

Until then...

We will be meeting with a Behaviorial Therapist who can hopefully help us to learn how to handle some things better, as well as teach Andrew some coping techniques. Like all of us, he too will have to cope with this life whether he likes it or not, whether it is harder for him than most or not!

Although I was a little disappointed with today's outcome, I am still confident that Mrs. Wonderful has and will continue to help us greatly! She was able to help us understand some of Andrew's behaviors and reinforced what we already thought was true about a couple of big (everyday) things we deal with.

1. "fairness" doesn't make sense to him - like if he got to ride in Grandpa's truck this morning then it is fair that Sydni & Davis get to ride in it this afternoon and he doesn't get to again since he already had a turn

2. his meltdowns are anxiety driven

3. he is not "picky"... he is rigid...he thrives on schedules and predictability... he doesn't like surprises, they cause anxiety, that causes meltdowns...

you get the idea.

Although he could officially be diagnosed with PDD-NOS (previously discussed in earlier post) Mrs. Wonderful thought it would be better to be patient, wait and give him the proper diagnosis at the proper time.

Thank you for your notes of encouragment and your prayers. We covet them both!

I found the pic of Lincoln!

Fall 2009 - Either 7 or 8 months

March 2011- 25 months

Spring? almost!

The end of last week was absolutely beautiful... it felt like Spring had arrived.

Well, it is supposed to snow tonight!!

I suppose it is a little early for Spring to be here 100%

We did take advantage of the weather and spent a lot of time outside.

One time I remembered to take the camera AND

the video cam!

Enjoy!

Okay, so I had intended to put an old pic of Lincoln in the same swing... but I couldn't find one?!

Anyway, doesn't he look HUGE?

Look at our big girl swinging with our little girl, this almost brought tears to my eyes.

Yes, we use the term "monkeys" seriously!

How cute is she!

She loved being outside and swinging...

she is obviously feeling better!

This last video is not open for discussion. It is obvious where we stand on the whole gun issue... yes our kids have guns and even before they had guns they made guns, out of sticks, legos, pancakes, whatever.

Crazy few days!

We've had a crazy week! Amelleah spent nearly 4 entire days in the hospital thanks to RSV (a respiratory virus). She needed oxygen, breathing treatments, and deep suctioning. I'm going to give a short time line here (mostly for my own record!)
Monday (Feb 28th) - she woke up with a cough, which was weird since she hadn't been sick
Tuesday- we went to the clinic, RSV and Flu tests were negative, given steriods
Wednesday evening - we went to the ER because she was struggling a litte with breathing, chest xray looked like pneumonia
Thursday night/Friday morning - back to ER for difficulty breathing, repeat xray showed no pneumonia, RSV was now positive, oxygen levels were low, had a breathing treatment and some blow by oxygen, then sent home.... which we were NOT happy about. But we already an appointment scheduled to follow up with our doctor from the 1st ER visit. So 2 hrs after leaving the ER we went to the clinic. Doctor was shocked that she had not been admitted. He called the hospital (ER) and told them we were coming back to be admitted. We got back to the ER (which is the process for being admitted) at 8:30am on Friday. After a breathing treatment, a couple times of deep suctioning, and pretty low oxygen levels they started her on oxygen and we started the wait for a room. Finally around 3 pm we were taken to a room... an overflow, pediatric unit. The normal unit was full... and THAT is a whole other story! We eventually were moved to the normal unit due to lack of nursing care/attention. We came home Monday late morning!
Anyway.... Here are some pictures!

Being held by Daddy while waiting in the ER.
Sick baby girl!

Starting to feel a little better!

Finally, no more oxygen... "When can I go home?"

In other news...

This is Amelleah's latest preference for sleeping... NOT MINE! She always pulls the blanket or burp rag up over her face!

Before Amelleah got sick the girls (and Lincoln) had a little impromtu photo shoot, which included more videos that you can watch here

www.youtube.com/kennedysalyna

The Girls!

So, even though it was (is) a crazy week we are very thankful for all the support we have had from friends! It is so wonderful since we don't have any family nearby or even in the nearest 900 miles!

Diagnosis???

Yes, we are very close to having a diagnosis for Andrew! Mrs. Wonderful Psychologist is just well... Wonderful!!! Today was a follow up appointment for me only, to discuss her observations and do yet ANOTHER questionaire together with her. It was very, VERY interesting. The score of that questionaire concluded Andrew is "borderline" autistic... so what does THAT mean???
Well, Mrs. Wonderful said "If I had to diagnose him right now, it would be PDD-NOS... but"
For those of you not familiar with the autistic jargon that stands for...
Pervasive Development Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified

That probably didn't help much did it?! Here is a great explanation from Autism Speaks that will probably do a better job explaining it further than the "mildly autistic" explanation that I will give you. In previous posts I have talked about more specific issues we deal with, if you want to search the archives. http://www.autismspeaks.org/navigating/pdd_nos.php

So Mrs. Wonderful continued "...but I think we are really dealing with Asperger's."

Yep, another jargon diagnosis... here is the link for it
http://www.autismspeaks.org/navigating/aspergers.php

We have done a lot of reading on our own and suspected that both or one of those diagosis' would come up in this process. Asperger's has a more specific diagnosing criteria that Mrs. Wonderful needs to solidify with more interaction with Andrew. We have one more observation/interaction appointment scheduled. THEN we will likely have a solid diagnosis!

Whewwwww... although Andrew will be forever "labeled", he WILL be able to get some great help in school. Mrs. Wonderful was glad I was prepared for our conversation since most parents see this diagnosis as bad or very disappointing and discouraging. I was prepared to hear what we were doing wrong and what we need to start doing instead. Quite the opposite... I was extremely encouraged when she told me that we are doing SO many things right. The most important thing we have done is NOT changed our lives to adapt to Andrew's inability to handle a lot of social situations. So I am very glad I (we) finally got over all the looks, stares, and comments... and continue to participate in less than ideal circumstances, like shopping with the entire family, going out to eat, going to a new friend's house, taking a trip, etc........

The biggest thing Andrew will have to eventually learn is that he thinks, feels, discerns, and reacts very differently from most other kids (people), but that he can't choose to withdrawl from life, rather he has to learn how to manage it!

So, here we are! I will continue to update as the end of the school year is fast approaching which means a Summer filled with less routine days, followed by starting "real" school in the Fall. *yikes*

If it is on your heart, please pray for Andrew and our entire family, as it really does affect everyone. (another post about that someday soon)