Not going to blog much today.
Kids are off for March Break - I am bitter.
I can't take time off to do stuff with them - I am bitter.
Lots of snow melted, then came back - I am bitter.
Forecast calls for more snow - I am bitter.
May not get to see Cuz this weekend - I am bitter.
Want to garden, and play in dirt. Stupid snow. Stupid winter.
Bitter.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Report cards are in
Cuz - just read your comment on the last post. You ask a very good question - one that I will have to ask the doctor myself, actually. Will keep you posted.
Nothing to report on the homework front - two snow days this week, and the final day before March Break - there will be little to no work done in the schools today.
I am very upset about the snow day yesterday because S was supposed to receive another two and a half hours training on the laptop, and I have no idea when (or if) they will reschedule that. When I took the results of the fMRI in to the school, the SERT gave me all of the training dates for the remainder of the year, and I am hoping I will be able to make a couple of them.
My time at the school on Tuesday was pretty effective, I will admit. I received a new copy of S's IEP for term three, we established a date for an IPRC review meeting - based on the newest findings - and I was told all the training dates. The IEP...well, let's just say I am glad that it is a 'working document' because I don't think this one is a clear nor concise as last term's was. It's is still are far cry better than the first one I ever received, but there are some older things being carried forward that really are not applicable anymore. March break homework for me, I suppose.
S got his report card the other day. His marks are pretty good actually.
Trust me - there are days that I really wish I could tell some of these teachers what I really think, and feel, about these bogus marks, comments and report cards...
Nothing to report on the homework front - two snow days this week, and the final day before March Break - there will be little to no work done in the schools today.
I am very upset about the snow day yesterday because S was supposed to receive another two and a half hours training on the laptop, and I have no idea when (or if) they will reschedule that. When I took the results of the fMRI in to the school, the SERT gave me all of the training dates for the remainder of the year, and I am hoping I will be able to make a couple of them.
My time at the school on Tuesday was pretty effective, I will admit. I received a new copy of S's IEP for term three, we established a date for an IPRC review meeting - based on the newest findings - and I was told all the training dates. The IEP...well, let's just say I am glad that it is a 'working document' because I don't think this one is a clear nor concise as last term's was. It's is still are far cry better than the first one I ever received, but there are some older things being carried forward that really are not applicable anymore. March break homework for me, I suppose.
S got his report card the other day. His marks are pretty good actually.
- English - Reading 74%, Writing 74%, Oral 77%
- French - all components 60%
- Math - varies from 65% in measurement to 70% in Algebra, and 75% in the two math components
- Science - 70%
- Geography - 65%
- History - 75%
- Phys-ed - 75%
Trust me - there are days that I really wish I could tell some of these teachers what I really think, and feel, about these bogus marks, comments and report cards...
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Clinical Interpretation
This is what the testings findings said:
"S showed left hemispheric dominance for the receptive and expressive language functions, but no activation of the mesial temporal lobes during novelty scene encoding task. Please note that he had a very good pretesting abiltity to do all the tests outside the scanner. However, all the fMRI studies for language and memory testing yielded low activation levels. Post-scanning recall of the scene encoding paradigm shows about 20% lower recall ability compared to our healthy controls. Clinical correlation is required with respect to the significance of these findings among patients with Asperger's syndrome."
The doctor wrote some things on the sheet, but I can't make them out. I know there was something about the hippocampus...will have to confirm that too!
Are we having fun yet?
"S showed left hemispheric dominance for the receptive and expressive language functions, but no activation of the mesial temporal lobes during novelty scene encoding task. Please note that he had a very good pretesting abiltity to do all the tests outside the scanner. However, all the fMRI studies for language and memory testing yielded low activation levels. Post-scanning recall of the scene encoding paradigm shows about 20% lower recall ability compared to our healthy controls. Clinical correlation is required with respect to the significance of these findings among patients with Asperger's syndrome."
The doctor wrote some things on the sheet, but I can't make them out. I know there was something about the hippocampus...will have to confirm that too!
Are we having fun yet?
Still shaking my head...
You know, I am not surprised one iota about the 'clinical diagnosis' given to me yesterday. In my heart of hearts, I knew he was going to tell me S had Aspergers. I think I am just so frustrated with feeling the need to learn all I can, now.
I realize no one is making me do this, but my sense of 'right' tells me that it just makes sense to learn about your children in any/all ways available. I had done some research about Aspergers a while ago, and when I did, it just 'fit' with S, but now that I know this for sure...well, I just don't know what I am feeling.
When we were at the doctor's yesterday, we ran out of time before we could start to discuss the actual therapies he would want to consider for S. The information was relatively new to the doctor, also, and he really hadn't had a lot of time to absorb it all, and plan for the next step. We will continue to touch base electronically, and start to devise a "plan of attack" that way.
I had a chiropractor appointment yesterday afternoon on my way home from work, and the doctor and I discussed the results of S's testing in depth. He has suggested that we consider some C1 and C2 specific adjustments for S. C1 and C2 are top two areas of the spine - right below the plate the brain actually sits on. He has worked with a severely autistic girl for 7 years, and he said that he and the girl's mother have been able to establish a pattern for this girl, and he feels that often times, if he notices a variation in her C2 area, and he is able to adjust the C2 on a regular basis, if she still has a seizure, it is much milder than what she has experienced in the past.
Now, he did tell me that this type of 'therapy' will take time to actually find a pattern, and he told me that he wanted some time to read some information about what I told him, and he also wants to prepare a chart of sorts to see if a pattern can/will eventually start to show for S. For example, C1 was shifted to the left, S exhibited this...and see if his body always shifts in one way (or another) before, during, or after any particular events/stessors, that sort of thing. I have gone to this chiro for a number of years, and I often take the boys in, too, but the type of adjusting he is talking about will be specific to the top of the spine only. He will only adjust there. I am going to start setting appointments for S. I'm sure the specialist would tell me that this will not be of any benefit, but then again, he did tell us to start giving S omega 3 capsules, so who knows?
Got a letter in the mail the other day from the A-man's specialist at the Tourette clinic. She is going to be taking 6 months to a year off due to an adoption that is being complete, so the A-man will be monitored by the referring paediatrician for the next little while. Less of a drive for us, but less 'specific' a specialist, too. Now that we know what is happening with him, though, I don't know that seeing a specialist really makes that much of a difference - he has tourettes, it is somewhat mild, and we cope. He is doing SO much better, so I guess seeing the referring doctor won't really make that much of a difference.
Just got a call from Boss a few minutes ago - he advised that I just stay put today, given the weather conditions. I am okay with that. Not feeling 100% anyway, so I think I will just head back to bed. Boys are on ANOTHER snow day, so it will be another jammie day for the three of us!
Oh, and another piece of news that isn't specific to either of the kids! Hubby got a call at work yesterday - our bid for a new ATV has finally come through, so we will be getting one in time for Spring. The boys were over the moon excited about that. The A-man's main question - what colour is it? Answer is 'camo'... (sigh... I was hoping for pink - guess that isn'tgoing to happen when you are the only girl in the family...) Oh well, maybe I will get a pink helmet!!
I realize no one is making me do this, but my sense of 'right' tells me that it just makes sense to learn about your children in any/all ways available. I had done some research about Aspergers a while ago, and when I did, it just 'fit' with S, but now that I know this for sure...well, I just don't know what I am feeling.
When we were at the doctor's yesterday, we ran out of time before we could start to discuss the actual therapies he would want to consider for S. The information was relatively new to the doctor, also, and he really hadn't had a lot of time to absorb it all, and plan for the next step. We will continue to touch base electronically, and start to devise a "plan of attack" that way.
I had a chiropractor appointment yesterday afternoon on my way home from work, and the doctor and I discussed the results of S's testing in depth. He has suggested that we consider some C1 and C2 specific adjustments for S. C1 and C2 are top two areas of the spine - right below the plate the brain actually sits on. He has worked with a severely autistic girl for 7 years, and he said that he and the girl's mother have been able to establish a pattern for this girl, and he feels that often times, if he notices a variation in her C2 area, and he is able to adjust the C2 on a regular basis, if she still has a seizure, it is much milder than what she has experienced in the past.
Now, he did tell me that this type of 'therapy' will take time to actually find a pattern, and he told me that he wanted some time to read some information about what I told him, and he also wants to prepare a chart of sorts to see if a pattern can/will eventually start to show for S. For example, C1 was shifted to the left, S exhibited this...and see if his body always shifts in one way (or another) before, during, or after any particular events/stessors, that sort of thing. I have gone to this chiro for a number of years, and I often take the boys in, too, but the type of adjusting he is talking about will be specific to the top of the spine only. He will only adjust there. I am going to start setting appointments for S. I'm sure the specialist would tell me that this will not be of any benefit, but then again, he did tell us to start giving S omega 3 capsules, so who knows?
Got a letter in the mail the other day from the A-man's specialist at the Tourette clinic. She is going to be taking 6 months to a year off due to an adoption that is being complete, so the A-man will be monitored by the referring paediatrician for the next little while. Less of a drive for us, but less 'specific' a specialist, too. Now that we know what is happening with him, though, I don't know that seeing a specialist really makes that much of a difference - he has tourettes, it is somewhat mild, and we cope. He is doing SO much better, so I guess seeing the referring doctor won't really make that much of a difference.
Just got a call from Boss a few minutes ago - he advised that I just stay put today, given the weather conditions. I am okay with that. Not feeling 100% anyway, so I think I will just head back to bed. Boys are on ANOTHER snow day, so it will be another jammie day for the three of us!
Oh, and another piece of news that isn't specific to either of the kids! Hubby got a call at work yesterday - our bid for a new ATV has finally come through, so we will be getting one in time for Spring. The boys were over the moon excited about that. The A-man's main question - what colour is it? Answer is 'camo'... (sigh... I was hoping for pink - guess that isn'tgoing to happen when you are the only girl in the family...) Oh well, maybe I will get a pink helmet!!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Left Brain vs. Right Brain
The results of the fMRI are in. Based on the findings, S functions primarily with the left side of his brain. Very little, to almost none, of functioning is completed on the right side of his brain. New information - very little taken in. He showed zero response to novel concepts. Additionally, I was told that what is taken in, comes in slower than 'normal' and comprehension about 20% below the norm.
I am dazed and confused right now, I will be honest. Oh, and did I mention that, clinically, S has Asperger's AND a non-verbal learning disability. Yeah, he does. Am I surprised? Not really, but I guess part of me was holding out hope that we wouldn't be told this.
There were all kinds of medical lingo thrown around this morning, and my poor wee non-medical brain is having quite the time absorbing all of this. I've done some Internet searching - as I am prone to do - and have found a few websites that might be able to help me understand a bit further.
One website, called Wired, has a pretty good summary about the left and right functions of the brain. It told me,
I am dazed and confused right now, I will be honest. Oh, and did I mention that, clinically, S has Asperger's AND a non-verbal learning disability. Yeah, he does. Am I surprised? Not really, but I guess part of me was holding out hope that we wouldn't be told this.
There were all kinds of medical lingo thrown around this morning, and my poor wee non-medical brain is having quite the time absorbing all of this. I've done some Internet searching - as I am prone to do - and have found a few websites that might be able to help me understand a bit further.
One website, called Wired, has a pretty good summary about the left and right functions of the brain. It told me,
"The left hemisphere handles sequence, literalness, and analysis. The rightThis site also has a very interesting 'diagram' of the human brain and 'how' it functions:
hemisphere, meanwhile, takes care of context, emotional expression, and
synthesis."
Knowing S, when I saw this summary of which side of the brain controls certain things, it certainly explains some things:
Left brain functions
sequential
analytical
verbal
logical
linear algorithmic processing
mathematics: perception of counting/measurement
present and past
language: grammar/vocabulary, literal
Right brain functions
simultaneous
holistic
imagistic
intuitive
holistic algorithmic processing
mathematics: perception of shapes/motions
present and future
language: intonation/accentuation, prosody, pragmatic, contextual
S is very literal in all that he does. He is not able to conceptualize how his present actions will/can affect his future. He doesn't have a very good imagination - to come up with something new and unique is not his forte...
The main question now is - can it be 'fixed'? We ran out of time before the doctor was able to fully establish a therapy plan of attack, but this will be done with both him and I, via email for the next little bit. In the interm, I will continue to do research!
Results day
Today is the day we get the results of S's fMRI. I know we won't have any miraculous breakthroughs or anything like that, however, I am hoping we will be able to get a copy of the DVD to watch. Again, we won't really know what we are watching, but I still think it will be very fascinating!
I am also very interested to find out what types of therapies the doctor is going to recommend, and which - if any - mental health issues they should address. I'm sure it will be a very long, yet informative appointment.
Yesterday's "ice day" was pretty ironic - it was 8 (above freezing) for most of the day, and all of the snow/ice on the driveway melted, and a lot of the snow off the deck melted. Crazy to think they called the buses off the road for such a nice day! The R-man informed me this morning, though, that they are calling for a winter storm tonight. Nice. March - lion to lamb...I guess we have to see the lion part to appreciate the lamb, right?
Speaking of lamb, I am going to be heading down to Cuz's house this weekend to go to the Canada Bloom's Show. She doesn't live real close to where the show is held, but at least she is closer than I. Now, that said, I have made a big boo-boo, and done a wee bit of double-booking myself this weekend. But, I think a workable plan has been hatched, and we will STILL get to spend some quality time together - which we have not been able to do as much as we like to do normally.
Cuz, I won't be able to arrive until close to supper time on Saturday evening - Hubby is working Friday night, and I have an appointment/date with Jazzy's mom earlier on Saturday, so I thought I would be able to make it for drinks on Saturday, then we could head to the show on Sunday. Would that work?? I won't rush away after the show, but I think that is going to be the most workable option right now.
The A-man just read my last sentence over my shoulder and said, "Ugh...you are leaving again?? Every weekend you leave us...you hate us don't you?" He knows that is not true, but he sure does know how to pull on those heart strings...
Speaking of the A-man...toes are still looking icky, but I think we have been able to drain most of the infection. I am going to monitor things, and continue to pick at things, for a couple of days, and if I don't think I am going to be able to be successful with the hang nail, I will be making a doctor's appointment.
Hubby and I have made an appointment with a nutritionist for March 17. We have been planning on going to see her for quite a while, but the past few months have been just far to chaotic to even consider doing major dietary changes, too. It is time.
I am also very interested to find out what types of therapies the doctor is going to recommend, and which - if any - mental health issues they should address. I'm sure it will be a very long, yet informative appointment.
Yesterday's "ice day" was pretty ironic - it was 8 (above freezing) for most of the day, and all of the snow/ice on the driveway melted, and a lot of the snow off the deck melted. Crazy to think they called the buses off the road for such a nice day! The R-man informed me this morning, though, that they are calling for a winter storm tonight. Nice. March - lion to lamb...I guess we have to see the lion part to appreciate the lamb, right?
Speaking of lamb, I am going to be heading down to Cuz's house this weekend to go to the Canada Bloom's Show. She doesn't live real close to where the show is held, but at least she is closer than I. Now, that said, I have made a big boo-boo, and done a wee bit of double-booking myself this weekend. But, I think a workable plan has been hatched, and we will STILL get to spend some quality time together - which we have not been able to do as much as we like to do normally.
Cuz, I won't be able to arrive until close to supper time on Saturday evening - Hubby is working Friday night, and I have an appointment/date with Jazzy's mom earlier on Saturday, so I thought I would be able to make it for drinks on Saturday, then we could head to the show on Sunday. Would that work?? I won't rush away after the show, but I think that is going to be the most workable option right now.
The A-man just read my last sentence over my shoulder and said, "Ugh...you are leaving again?? Every weekend you leave us...you hate us don't you?" He knows that is not true, but he sure does know how to pull on those heart strings...
Speaking of the A-man...toes are still looking icky, but I think we have been able to drain most of the infection. I am going to monitor things, and continue to pick at things, for a couple of days, and if I don't think I am going to be able to be successful with the hang nail, I will be making a doctor's appointment.
Hubby and I have made an appointment with a nutritionist for March 17. We have been planning on going to see her for quite a while, but the past few months have been just far to chaotic to even consider doing major dietary changes, too. It is time.
Monday, March 3, 2008
...and, REST...
I will admit it - I love going to hotels. I love going out to dinner, having drinks and meals "on the company", but I am VERY happy to be done all of that for yet another year. I was bone-tired when I got home last night! Even my cheeks hurt from smiling non-stop for three days. But, it was a good weekend, it was a fun weekend, and I am really glad I got to experience the 'other' side of the coin. It is more physically demanding, but alot less stress-inducing!
The flu seems to have worked its way through the house, thank heavens. I have not felt any grumblings in my body - touching wood here - and it would appear the A-man came through unscathed, also. I am not going in to work this morning, and I think I will play it by ear for this afternoon. We had quite a bit of freezing rain last night, and yet another snow day today, so if the roads are still nasty, I think I may not go in after all. May have a nap later... ;o)
I got an email from S's SERT telling me that she had been able to repair S's computer, but I was surprised by that because when I asked S about his laptop yesterday, he told me it wasn't fixed yet. Maybe she got it done and didn't tell him. Not sure.
S has his appointment tomorrow morning to get the results of his fMRI. I had sent some forms to the school, asking the teachers to complete the information, but I haven't seen the completed forms. Now today is a snow day - or would be an ice day?? - and we will be at the Doctor's for 9:30 am. I guess I will have to call and see if they can fax the forms directly to the doctor's office.
Last night the A-man mentioned that his big toe was sore. When I took a look at it, I said, "No kidding it hurts." He has a majorly infected ingrown toenail. Apparently it's been like this for a few weeks, but he never mentioned it. Oh, and his other toe is starting to hurt too. Yeah, it's also infected, but not as badly. I have made him soak it, and I've been working at the nail, but it hurts him so much. I'm feeling bad for him, but I want to know I've made the attempts to remedy it before I source out the doctor's office. Even searched the Internet to confirm the best way to proceed. Guess I will be going through some salt in the next few days...
That is the worst part about them growing up so fast - they insist on taking over the personal hygiene-type things, and won't let you near them, and then the next thing you know... I think he has learned this lesson the hard way, poor guy.
The flu seems to have worked its way through the house, thank heavens. I have not felt any grumblings in my body - touching wood here - and it would appear the A-man came through unscathed, also. I am not going in to work this morning, and I think I will play it by ear for this afternoon. We had quite a bit of freezing rain last night, and yet another snow day today, so if the roads are still nasty, I think I may not go in after all. May have a nap later... ;o)
I got an email from S's SERT telling me that she had been able to repair S's computer, but I was surprised by that because when I asked S about his laptop yesterday, he told me it wasn't fixed yet. Maybe she got it done and didn't tell him. Not sure.
S has his appointment tomorrow morning to get the results of his fMRI. I had sent some forms to the school, asking the teachers to complete the information, but I haven't seen the completed forms. Now today is a snow day - or would be an ice day?? - and we will be at the Doctor's for 9:30 am. I guess I will have to call and see if they can fax the forms directly to the doctor's office.
Last night the A-man mentioned that his big toe was sore. When I took a look at it, I said, "No kidding it hurts." He has a majorly infected ingrown toenail. Apparently it's been like this for a few weeks, but he never mentioned it. Oh, and his other toe is starting to hurt too. Yeah, it's also infected, but not as badly. I have made him soak it, and I've been working at the nail, but it hurts him so much. I'm feeling bad for him, but I want to know I've made the attempts to remedy it before I source out the doctor's office. Even searched the Internet to confirm the best way to proceed. Guess I will be going through some salt in the next few days...
That is the worst part about them growing up so fast - they insist on taking over the personal hygiene-type things, and won't let you near them, and then the next thing you know... I think he has learned this lesson the hard way, poor guy.
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