Somehow, Casey started talking about belly’s and their sizes the other day. So here’s a little dialogue…
Casey: “Daddy, you are the biggest in this house”
Mommy: “heheh hahah ” (starting to giggle)
Daddy: “What do you mean?”
Casey: “Your belly, it’s the biggest”
Mommy: “Heheheh..HAhahaha..” (laughing a little)
Casey: “And Mommy, you’re the oldest!”
Daddy: “Heheheh..HAHAHAHA..”
Mommy: <frown>
TOUCHE!! =)
Well, it has been a while since I’ve been here. Life sure has been crazy this past month. I’m even a year older! UGH!
Speaking of crazy, I think this past weekend was the topper! Friday started out with the news telling us of a big winter storm with 2-4 inces of snow and 1″ of ice. So everyone closed and we all stayed home. Some may say, YEAH!! I say UGH!! Three roudy kids with lost of energy stuck in a small house. So Friday we did ok since Steve was home as well.
I’ve been busy with cleaning things out and selling like crazy! (emilycroce.shutterfly.com) Which is great, but exhausting. So I had one couple come on Friday evening and take a look at some things. Saturday, I had 3 more sets of people come. Steve had an early gig, so he had left by 9am. I was constantly trying to pick up after the kids and keep things straight. I also had to clean up the things people were coming to buy and try to keep the kids from fighting while the people were there. VERY exhausting! So by the time Saturday evening came and Steve got home, I announced that we HAD to get out of the house! So we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. The kids had tons of fun! We all got to bed late, but it was worth getting out.
Sunday, Steve had a bridal show. He’s required to do these once in a while for work. So I decided to take the kids to church myself. So after some rushing, we got in the car and off to church. The kids Sunday school rooms are on the 2nd floor and to get there, we have to go up two large sets of steps. Now that the kids are older, they do pretty well on the steps. But, they asked me to take the elevator, so I agreed. Up the elevator we went and we were all just about out with Chase bringing up the rear, when I hear the elevator alarm!! Chase had pushed the alarm button on the elevator and I turned as fast as I could to turn it off. Of course the main sunday school office window is right in front of the elevators. So a huge group is now staring and I hear one women say, “I hope the fire trucks don’t come”. So I just ignored all the stares and continued down the hall. Then, as I’m trying to search for the boys name tags in the hallway, they decide that they really don’t like each other at that moment and start shoving each other and punching each other! Julian goes flying down on the ground and starts screaming. Once again, 15 sets of eyes on me as they are walking by. So I put Chase firmly down against the wall in “time out” and continue my search for their names. Found them and we’re off!
So after church I decide that I really don’t want to go back home to the small house/three roudy kids ratio. So I thought the mall would be a good idea. Lunch in the food court and then go run around in the indoor playground area. I also called my friend, Mindy from work to meet us there. (her daughter is in the boys class at school) So lunch started off ok. Towards the end I hear Julian say, “Oh no Mommy!”. I look and there is his orange drink all over the floor. BUT, he missed his clothes AND shoes – “It’s a winner!” So I notify the personnel, and off we go. The kids had lots of fun playing and running – which was great to burn more energy. As I’m sitting and talking, I occasionally look to see where the kids are and what they are up to. Everyone is doing pretty well. Then I hear in a very loud, angry voice from some unknown mother, “You don’t push kids like that!!!” I look up and there is Chase standing a couple feet away from a much smaller boy who is on the floor crying. I jump up, grab him off of the play area and bring him to the bench. I start scolding him and telling him he’s in time out. I then carry him over to the other boy, who is now in his Dad’s arms and crying. I tell Chase to say he’s sorry to the boy, and he did. The Dad then tells me that he saw the entire thing play out and his son was the first to push. So, I did feel a little better. However, I still scolded Chase, because he is VERY strong for his age and can’t push anyone, especially kids half his size! Although, I must admit, that I later thought about the fact that he’ll always be able to defend himself and probably Julian too! Julian is very “mouthy” and often full of attitude. I can just see him down the road yelling at some kids and stirring up trouble. Then ending it with, “yeah, well, I’ll get my brother Chase to get you!” heheh =) NOT funny, but for now – a little.
So we all got home and took some much needed naps. Sunday night I rested well and dreamed of children going off to school and me off to work. =)
Click here : www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214
The band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.49 to Autism Speaks each time this video is viewed. The funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment, please visit the link above to watch the video and pass it along.
As I look at this video I can’t help but think of what Chase could have been like. At his 15 month check up as a baby, I still remember being by myself and the doctor asking me what words he was saying. I said, “Well, he used to say Dadda and Thank You very clearly, but he doesn’t anymore.” To this day, I still remember the look on the doctors face. It wasn’t the “oh, that’s normal” look. It was the “hmm… not so normal” look. He continued to ask other questions like, “does he point to things” – “no”, “does he interact with his brother and sister” – “no”. The next few minutes really ran together and I really didn’t believe what he was suggesting. Right away he said that we need to have Chase evaluated with Early Intervention services of Chester County. Then, the words that ring in my head even today, “When we hear of a child loosing words and not really communicating in other ways, we consider the possibility of Autism.” My thoughts, “no, not Chase, this really can’t be”. So I went into the mode of we’ll do whatever he needs to get through this. What a long road we ended up having that I never dreamed of at that time. I came home and told Steve what the doctor said. He immediately got really upset and then I guess that’s when it really sunk in for me. We both cried. Thinking of how much more challenging the world will be for Chase if he really is Autistic.
He was evaluted be a team of psycologists, teachers, occupational therapist, speech therapist, behavior therapist and physical therapist. I remember them sitting in our living and trying to see what Chase could do. They then told us how delayed he really was. 11 month old level for this, 9 month old level for that, etc, etc. Then they all looked at each other and said that they suggest he get’s evaluated by the CATCH team (Childhood Autism Team Check). A team made up of more professionals and doctors from CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) that test children for Autism. Of course, if we wanted to. Right away we said of course! We wanted Chase to get all the help possible now, so that hopefully as he got older he’d be “better” than today. At that time, there was a waiting list of a year to get an evaluation by CHOP. But by going through the CATCH team, it wouldn’t take nearly as long. I can’t imagine how more Chase would have drifted into Autism had he not gotten his diagnosis right away.
All of his services started within a month and he slowly started making improvements. He started out just sitting and playing by himself 100% of the time. He wouldn’t join in to play with Julian or Casey when they were playing “games” together. He wouldn’t come to us and ask for anything. He loved to stare out the window and watch the cars for 20-25 minute intervals at a time, which is VERY abnormal for a 15-16 month old. I still remember the first “big” improvement he made. He had found a plasitc Easter egg in the toy box and had been trying very hard to open the egg. He had a delay with fine motor skills, so this was especially hard for him. He came over to me and handed me the egg and just gazed into my eyes. He still didn’t have words, but I FINALLY knew what he wanted! He was “asking” me to help him open the egg. (I feel the tears in my eyes now) At that moment, something inside me knew that he wasn’t going to fade into the depths of Autism.
He continued to progress. He’d start to look at Julian and Casey and be interested in what they were doing. He’d “ask” more and more for things. At 18 months, we knew that the boys needed to get into a pre-school program. Especially for Chase, who needed a structured environment where he played with various different activities and was kept focused and alert. Steve decided to take a position at Silver Sound as the general manager. God sure knew why we needed that job. The boys started daycare and it was a rocky road for a while. Chase would bite other kids 6-7 times every week. Most times for no reason. He was also a lot bigger and he’d walk right on top of kids, push them over, etc. There were many days that I’d walk into daycare waiting for them to tell me that they can’t handle him there anymore. Thank goodness we had teachers that understood and were compassionate.
By the time he reached 2 years old, he had come SO far! He talked more and more every day and interacted with kids much better too. The more he could talk, the more his “behaviors” diminished. At 2 years old, the county had a TOT program for 2 year olds with an Autism diagnosis. The class had a ST, PT, OT and specialized teacher. This class helped him SO much right away! By 2 1/2, I could tell the teacher wasn’t really thinking that he needed the class anymore. They only allowed 4 children in the class at a time. So, there were obviously other children waiting to get in. About 3-4 months before he turned 3, they graduated him from the class. There really wasn’t anything more that they could challenge him with in the class. Which was a good thing!
In June of 2007, his doctor at CHOP decided that he no longer fit under the PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), which is on the Autism spectrum. Was he considered not Autistic at all? Well, that’s really left to be determined. When he turned 3, his services went from Early Intervention to the Intermediate Unit of Chester County. They of course, did all their tests and the educational psycologist came to our house and spoke to me of their findings. They found him to be on the border of Autism. They asked me what I thought. I decided to keep him on the spectrum educationally, as I still had some concerns. They thought it was a good idea. He’s also evaluated by a psycologist through his behavior agency, T.W. Ponessa. We recently had an evaluation done and he still has him as “high functioning Autistic”, but mentioned that he may soon move to a diagnosis of something like Asperger’s Disorder. He attends a specialized pre-school at the IU in the mornings and receives all his therapies there. He can stay there until Kindergarten. He sees his CHOP doctor every 6 months and is evaluated by his psycologist every 3 months. His behavior therapist sees him once a month and his case manager every 2-3 months. I feel that we are doing all that is possibly out there for him – and it shows in his continued improvements! And what really helps, is the fact that he was diagnosed as Autistic at an early age and he qualified for Medical Assistance, just with his diagnosis alone. So, everything is covered and we don’t even pay copays! So some ask, do you really think all of this was necessary? What if one day they decide he’s 100% not on the spectrum, were some of the things they put you through over-kill? Absolutely not!! The #1 thing to do when a doctor even suggests the possbility of Autism, is to start getting services as soon as you possibly can. The earlier a child get’s help, the sooner you can start pulling them out of the claws of Autism. We wouldn’t change a thing!
So today… Chase would appear to most as a “normal” three year old, ADORABLE little boy, with maybe a little clumsiness and somewhat hyperactive. But as you look closer, you may notice that he doesn’t spend much time looking you in the eye. You may see him walk on his tip toes and jump in place a lot. You also may see him open and close his hands quickly (this provides sensory input). BUT, you’ll also hear sentences and laughter. And he’ll ask you to read him a book, count in Spanish, repeat some Spanish words, say his ABCs, point out all 26 letters, count to 20, give really big hugs, seek out his simblings to play, invent some games to play with others, talk about all his friends that he played with that day and tell you “I love you!”
I can’t imagine a world where my little boy didn’t speak or didn’t give me hugs. I thank God that he helped Chase so much during these past 2 years.
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