Online book source

I just found this website, and it is actually a good beginning reference for any parent/teacher that is working with children with Aspergers, Tourette Syndrome and ADHD.

Who knew?

New year has begun

It would appear the first day of school went well for both boys.

S brought his laptop home, and absolutely NOTHING had been done with it over the summer. In fact, when I turned it on, it only powered up for a few moments before the battery was too low for it to continue. Am I surprised? Not so much – but I am a bit disappointed.
Now I will have to get in touch with the SERT and find out the fastest way to get his required reading material loaded onto his laptop. I also have to confirm EA details with her as S indicated that he didn’t have an EA in his morning classes, only afternoon.

On another positive note, he did remember to give each of his teachers the letter of introduction I had written, so at least they are aware of some of the educational requirements he is facing. If they actually are willing to work with me remains to be seen, but let’s just take one day at a time.

Last night S also asked me to make sure some chapters from the book he received at technology camp was loaded on to his MP3 – he wanted to read the novel on his way to and from the school, he said. Of course I was very quick to jump all over that request! Anything that will put a book in his hand is a good thing in my mind.

The A-man has Math, English, Drama and Religion this semester. He had an essay assignment last night – a “My Goals in Life” assignment that will basically provide the teacher some insight into the kids in the class while providing some extra details about their writing styles. I was quite surprised to see how much he had written by the time I got home, and even more surprised by how well written it was. He’s got a very natural writing style. Perhaps an English teacher is what he should consider rather than Math…

I have to contact the guidance teacher about the Math level the A-man has signed up for. He tells me that he is taking a ‘combined’ class that will allow him either the College or University stream, but I had not realized that such a course was an option. See – this is why it’s hard when Hubby signs off on things! (I was away when course requirement information had to be submitted, and I’m not sure how much review of the details were made before he signed off on the information!) It will probably be okay, but I think it may be a good idea for both the A-man and I to meet with a guidance councilor to review the courses he is currently taking, and to find out what will need to be taken to ensure he is has what he’ll need for post-secondary.

S is going over to Lil’A’s house tonight for a couple of hours, so the A-man and I are going to hit the Y. We haven’t been for a while, so I know it will do us both good to get out and working those muscles. I also need to get the vehicle cleaned out a bit – a car wash and vacuum will be required before I head out for the weekend’s event tomorrow. I’ll be picking up a State Representative at the airport early afternoon, so I don’t want the vehicle too messy!

Yes, I am off again this weekend. Leaving the office tomorrow around 11, and should be back mid-afternoon on Monday. May have something in the city the beginning of October (haven’t been advised by the State yet if I am needed), and I know for sure that I have two weekends at the end of the month that will take me back to the city, but after that my November, December and January are wide open, thankfully.

I’m actually looking forward to this weekend, though. It’s a music event and one of my favourite bands from my high school years is going to be playing on Saturday evening, so I know I will enjoy that. It sucks that I won’t be at home for my birthday on Friday, but since Hubby is on afternoons, it’s not like it would have been a ‘special’ night anyway. I’ve been enjoying my birth-week gifts from Cuz, though; she really does take the time to find perfect, unique gifts! (Thanks for the teapot – she made me giggle this morning!!)

Last year the A-man had told me about a friend of his that he was worried about – she had told him she was being abused by her father. (Not sure if I had blogged about that or not…) The A-man and I had discussed this girl in great depth; he had talked to his Religion teacher about what she had shared with him even before he talked to be about it. He didn’t really know this girl that entirely well, which is why is sort of surprised me that she had confided, but perhaps she just felt he was ‘safe.’ Anyway, turns out that I am acquainted with her boyfriend’s parents, so I suggested the A-man encourage her to confide in these adults because I felt they would do whatever they could to help her. Yesterday she told the A-man that she was pregnant. She is in Grade 11, her boyfriend is in Grade 12. The A-man has never even kissed a girl, and a fellow classmate is going to have a baby!

Yeah, I’m kind of glad my children are geeks…

Reading - sometime not good!

Just reading this article makes me very grateful for my sons. It does scare me, however, for the state mind my nieces will have to endure. I've been witness to some extremes in the name of "self esteem." My ex-sister in law once paid over $1,500 for hair extentions for my niece. They lasted 3 weeks. I wouldn't spend that on myself, even if I did have the kind of cash to blow!

Beauty care and treatment to be 'beautiful' has taken on a new extreme - and a new target market. But really, who is to blame? The parents. It's pretty obvious that a large portion of the 20-somethings generation have a hyper-extended view of themselves, and this article sums it all up pretty nicely.

Oh, what have we done??

Visual DNA and "the date"

Cuz always sends me the most interesting website links. I took this Visual DNA test today and was amazed at how accurate it was. It doesn’t take long, nor is it difficult – try it yourself and see if you found that it gives a pretty good summary of who you are, just based on the photos you select.

Well, tonight is the night of “the big date.” I’m not sure if he is nervous, but I will have about 15 minutes alone with him while we are going to pick up this sweet girl, so I guess I will get a chance to gauge his mood then. (I’m probably more excited than he is!)
Will keep you posted!
~~~
3:11pm - I receive a text message from the A-man - "Cancel on the movies. R's dad said no"
Oh - my poor baby!! I texted him back something to the effect of "Bummer" and then asked if he was okay. His response? "I'll live, but I'm upset about it"
How sad. I'm sure R was/is just as upset as the A-man is!
End result, when I asked if there was anything I could do, he asked if I would take him and his brother to see the movie.
The show starts at 7:05 at the theatre I will be taking them to.

Not a doctor

I’ve had someone ask me about my opinions on the non-medical aspects of treating disorders such as my sons.

Would I consider alternative therapies? Sure, I would consider them, but I would also ask my medical professional their opinions about such therapies, I would do a lot of reading and research on these therapies, and I would also talk to the person that would be administering said therapies before I made a final judgment call.

Would I recommend therapies 1. 2. and 3. as an alternative for someone else’s child? Nope.
I am not a doctor, do not claim to have any education within the medical field, nor an expert on anything that is medically related. Quite simply, I am a parent that has learned over the years to cope with the disorders that affect my sons.

Now, when I learned about S’s Asperger’s, I will admit that I talked about it with my chiropractor. I talked about it with him more because he is a friend than anything else, but I also wanted his opinion on the left brain/right brain theories I had read about.
He suggested that weekly treatments may help determine a pattern of behaviour, but also indicated that he would have to provide treatment for quite a while to really start to formulate and track a pattern based on the manipulations required and the behavioural aspects. The adjustments would focus strictly on the 1st and 2nd sections of the spine – no other manipulations would be done.

Prior to starting this treatment, I did send an email to S’s doctor asking if he thought this type of treatment would be detrimental in any way. The doctor surprised me when he replied saying that there having been some studies on the manipulation of certain segments of the spine, but he didn’t know that this treatment would actually be of a benefit to S. After some careful consideration, Hubby and I thought we would go ahead with the treatments. If the chiro was able to determine something within the time frame we had established, great. If not, that was fine too.

Over the time that S was going to see the chiro on a weekly basis, we did notice that the base of the skull did tend to pull to the right more than normal, but there was never a set pattern established. We didn’t continue with the treatments over the summer simply because of the geographical constraints. Nothing has been discussed for this school year, and to be honest, I am not sure that it was a necessary expense.

Sometimes I feel that alternative therapies also have to be worth the cost. Most medical plans don’t cover the cost of alternative therapies; which can get very costly over the long run. Another consideration – why do you want to look at alternative therapies? Is it because you don’t trust conventional Western medicine, or is it because you don’t want to give your child drugs? These are all very personal choices; ones that only you can make.

My only advice – let the buyer beware. There are no magical remedies out there that will be able to ‘cure’ these disorders. There are no cures – if there were, we would already know about them. Many companies that sell natural remedies make claims, but there is no quantifiable proof that they really do work in the way advertised.

If you are considering herbal supplements, or special diet, make sure you are well informed, and very comfortable with the person that will be assisting. Check out their background, and their education. If you are unsure, don’t start your child on anything until you ARE sure.

LEV, thanks for reading my blog and asking me my opinion. I really do understand how difficult and upseting it is during the time of looking for what may be going on with your child. I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to answer your questions more clearly; if you would like, you can email me directly at lupusawareness(at)hotmail(dot)com and we can get in to more specifics.

It went well!

The A-man is totally pumped about his "Hospitality & Tourism" class. The first cooking section they are going to cover is baking, and he is going to learn how to make an apple pie. I have no idea what other types of items they are going to be making, though - he was really focused on the pie! (lol)
Actually, he did tell me that they had an ISU (individual study unit) where they needed to learn a little bit about a country of choice, then present the information they learned while preparing a dish from said country. The A-man thought he would like to prepare sushi.
Yeah - not only is it a very expensive food choice, but also not an easy one for a beginner chef. Hmmm.... maybe this could be a Mother/Son experiment - we could learn together! I will have to suggest that to him.

S did very well for his first day. Well, at least he told me that he did - which for him is always the most important thing. He got to meet the new principal - he thought she seemed nice - and he has a couple of friends in his class, which is always a good thing.
After supper last night, we went through his agenda and wrote in the days that he has to pack his gym clothes, pizza days, that sort of thing. I told him I would fill in the month of September but it was up to him to do the rest of the months. I highly doubt he will do it, but my thought is that if I keep showing him the steps, maybe eventually, he will pick them up too. BIG maybe there.

Last night I started to read an article of executive dysfunction of the brain, and then after I had read the same paragraph at least three times, I realized I was simply too tired to be able to absorb anything. I slept like a log, but had odd dreams. Very odd dreams. This morning it was tough to drag myself out of bed.

Today is the day that the boys and I are interviewed for the ADHD Information DVD. I didn't share the details of the interview until last night. As I expected, the two of them got very excited and started acting a bit goofy. The A-man suddenly developed an English accent. I have no idea what country S was supposed to be from. I laughed when the producer called me and said they were just going to Google how to get to our house. Try explaining to someone from the city that although you really do have an address, it is simply too obscure for Mapquest to find. I really don't think she believed me.

I am working this coming weekend - another music event for a client. It is going to be really long days (13 hour shifts!!) but I think it will be fun. The weather is supposed to be really hot, but since we are going to be working outside until midnight each night, we are going to have to bring the gammet with respect to clothing. I will NOT be going in to the office on Monday.

Day to Day stuff

This morning, the A-man had a follow up orthodontist appointment, so I drove him in to school afterwards. As we were driving to school he was telling me that he had heard a rumour at school that has him all upset. He has heard that his religion teacher - a man he quotes almost on a daily basis - was being fired at the end of the school year. He told me that he asked the teacher about the rumour, but the teacher just told him, "I'm not allowed to discuss this."
Now the A-man is all upset to think that the school would actually get rid of such "a great teacher. The very best teacher (he has) ever had!"
This "going to be fired" just seems a little bit out there to me - just doesn't seem to work in the vein I think a board would work. I tried to explain all of this to the A-man, but he was far too upset to even hear me.

This is one thing that I dislike about the way that the A-man's psyche works. "I've made up my mind. Don't confuse me with the facts." There are no ifs-ands-or-buts, and nothing can sway him. Very much the Aries ram, my guy is. One website describes the Aries individual as

"Their immense energy makes them aggressive and restless, argumentative
occasionally, headstrong, quick tempered, easily offended and capable of holding
grudges if they feel themselves affronted."

Even if you are not a believe in the astrology signs, and what they say about personalities, the above description certainly does describe son number one.

And son number two - he truly lives up to his astrological sign. Taurus - the bull. That was one of my first thoughts when I was told my due date with S - "Oh, great, a Taurus baby. This otta be fun..." He has lived up to many of the descriptions within this star sign. Hubby and I both live up to our signs, too.

Last night after dinner, I went to my fitness class, and Hubby was able to get the A-man outside to bag up some more fire wood. We are having our driveway resealed this coming weekend, so the push is on to finish getting the wood put in the trailer, thereby allowing Hubby the chance to move the boat from our driveway to out of the way in the backyard. (My dad is storing it at our place for a little while.)

The entire time the A-man was doing the wood, S did not attempt to raise one finger. Not even with the promise of "Mom Bucks." He decided that the A-man can have any/all funds earned with the selling of the wood, and now he does nothing to help with it. Not much can make that boy move... (sigh). On the bright side though, he did use that time to finish a book he was reading.

Interesting reading & update

I read an interesting article this afternoon. It talks about how the birth order often defines the type of person you may end up becoming. Well, no, that isn't completely true - it's actually about how studies have proven that parents tend to be harder on the first born.

I am the first born in my family - I have one brother, three years younger than me. When I was growing up, I swore that my Mom loved him more than me, and that he got away with WAY more than I ever did. As a teenager, he got caught doing things that I would never have DREAMED of doing - and although he may have gotten in to trouble, in my heart of hearts I know I would have been in way more trouble.

Hubby is the first born in his family. His brother is 16 months younger than him, and his sister is 3 years younger than he is. His brother was always much smaller than Hubby, and as a result was always told "Don't fight with your brother. You are much bigger than him and you would hurt him." With his sister - well, let's face it - she was the baby and a girl to boot...

As I was reading the article, I kept thinking, "No, that is not true. I do not treat my children differently." After I really thought about it, I came to the realization that it is true - I do treat them differently.
I don't LOVE them differently - one more or less than the other - but I realized that I do treat the A-man differently than his younger brother. I think I always have, and I think if you sat and truly thought about it, you would have to admit that you (if a parent) do treat your first born differently.

I guess I will have to work on that?

~~~~~

The rest of S's birthday party went well. The one boy's Mom came to pick him up early - I was supposed to take them home after lunch, but she arrived before dinner. The other boy's Mom had called to see if he could stay later, and that was fine.
Hubby's parents stopped in after church - I was in the veggie garden when they arrived. After their visit, I went back to turning dirt in the garden. Just as I was really getting in to it, my parents came to see the birthday boy. Then it was dinner time.

After dinner I was able to get a few income tax forms filed - thank goodness for the online extention - and then I got a call from my friend. (This is the one that had spent a night on my couch a few months back.) Long story short - I left home around 7:30 and got back home around midnight, but, some big pieces of furniture are now in her new apartment, the exisiting boxes are now unpacked, the fridge and stove are clean and the first coat of painting in her living room is now drying. I think I was more a sounding board than anything else. (I know she was happy that someone was able to help her.)

When I got home from work today, S told me that he had Math homework - which he is now doing - and the A-man is all caught up with any homework he has. Going to be an easy night for me in that department.

The SERT is address the issues I had last week with respect to S's 'project,' but I don't know if it may be a case of 'too little, too late."

An interesting concept

While I was at the conference in Jackson, I went to a seminar on "Face Reading." It's a very interesting concept, and one that I had never heard of before. Basically, she prefaced her seminar with "we are born with the face we have, but at 50, we have the face we have earned."

At first I was quite skeptical, and thinking it was quite hokey, but after she explained the concept, I was intrigued. The lady ended up "reading" the faces of 5 strangers, and when I saw the reactions of these people, I believed that what she was saying could just be true.

After the seminar, I went to ask her about the book she was selling. I asked what the price of the book was ($17.95) and she answered that, then read my face. I was shocked! She told me that the little lines on the bridge of my nose - she commented on the number of them - told her that I have a "disgustingly so" need to be a 'can do' person, and she told me that my small chin tells her that I am very hard on myself, and don't take critisism well, since "you already know everything that is wrong with you..."

I bought the book, and was using it to 'read' hubby's face. It takes a while to determine which 'shapes' match up to the person, but I can see how you could get used to it after a while. Anyway, hubby said that it seemed to be true. Of course, I know hubby's face quite well, and I know Hubby quite well, but when I read the section on the lines around his eyes, I said "No, that doesn't really describe you," and he surprised me with "Yes, it does - I just keep some things inside..."

Okay, enough for my book review and new topic of interest...

I contacted S's doctor yesterday, and we are going to go in for an appointment on March 4 to get the results of the fMRI. The doctor has requested the classroom teachers complete some information sheets prior to that appointment, too. It's only a week and a half away, but I wanted answers sooner than that - especially considering the 'silly' actions of S lately.

The A-man was VERY grouchy this morning, but I think he is getting over it now. Hubby has him helping with a dump run, and he was cranky that he has to 'work' on a weekend. Yeah, welcome to real life, buddy...

Okay, I am off to clean the house. Now that my busy time at work it done, hopefully I will be able to get the house back in to a state I can live with!