2012...the Year of the Lion!

Well, we are 2 months and 15 days into this new year. Boy, has it been a doozy…but when living with Aspies, isn’t everyday really a doozy?! We are fortunate to have found out in the last few weeks, just how dishonest the Food Lion corporation is…luckily for us, Chris has found greener pastures with Harris Teeter. Training is long & difficult, but well worth it in the end…so we insist on believing! As Aspie moms know, finding time to “blog” is just not normally in the schedule, which is evident by the lapse of time since my last entry…keeping a consistent diary was also never a strong point of mine, growing up, you should probably know. This year, I am making a conscious effort to be more consistent…who knows, I may just be able to offer a glimmer of inspiration to another Aspie mom who may be out there & feel like they, too, are often just treading water, while waiting impatiently for someone to toss her a life-preserver! After years, and I mean YEARS!, of aimlessly floating in the Sea of Gloom & Dispair with Aaron, and his pain issues, his physical therapists determined that he had “reached a plateau”, and would better benefit from Biomedical Feedback Therapy…aka, acupuncture & meds for pain management…which we collectively decided against, since our insurance didn’t cover the procedures! Duh!!! Well, after showing Aaron’s x-rays to the BEST Doctor in the world, Dr. Ed Thornton, from Texas, he determined right off that Aaron has “Scheuermann’s Disease”…like he didn’t already have enough! Furthermore, it is genetic…and runs right thru the main street of our familial DNA! My great-grandfather had it, and Ed does too! (btw, he is my cousin J) So…our family dr, Carrie Smith, PA, here in Grifton is studying up on it, so we can form a plan of attack against all the bad juju Aaron lives with daily! Hooray, we finally have the answer to the 50 Million Dolla Question! Now…to tackle the laziness??? (that’s reserved for another blog entry!)

Medical Update

Well...it has certainly been a while since I have been able to post. Life is so busy, especially with 2 special-needs children...but all 3 of the boys are incredibly special! To summarize our summer...all 3 boys, once again, made the All-Star Baseball Teams. Aaron, however, was pulled from his team after their 1st tourney game by his father. It seems that the words he & Aaron's coach had were not kind, and although the coach acknowledged that Aaron was the best Catcher, he still would be playing the other child instead (even though he stank & was injured!)...we personally feel that the coach was intimidated by the other boy's daddy...he was scary. It broke my heart to see Aaron, just sit there waiting to play the game he had so faithfully been practicing for, not to mention, I was missing Matthew's games. Please let this be a lesson to all...don't "baby" or treat special needs children different because of their diagnosis, but treat them fair, because of their uniqueness & awesome talents they have! The boys' tourneys went well....then to Fall Baseball. Aaron had one of the 2 BEST coaches in the world! And get this...the boys on the team actually learned some fundamental basics! Yippee!! Chris was Matthew's coach, after being done very dirty by a "friend", but it ended up being the most amazing Fall season we have ever had! Super team, parents, coaches & players!!! (Especially the Scorekeeper...me! LOL) Zack found out this Fall that he can PITCH & CATCH! So now, he truly is a "Utility Player"...and is able to play any position his coach needs him to...although he prefers to NOT play 'sitting on the bench'. Almost forgot...Zack & Aaron went to Camp @ The WILDS in Brevard, NC...and had a wonderful time. Aaron went this year un-medicated! We tried to give him & Matthew's bodies a break from meds this summer. Their EOG test results were by far the most impressive yet, so this homeschool thing must be making some progress! LOL...Zack & Matthew both scored well, in the 90%s, and Aaron made the highest possible score the IOWA Standardized Test can issue! Thank God for their intelligence! Moving right along to the present... It is now November. For the past 6-8 weeks, Aaron has become more and more reclusive, yet more aggressive, violent, & volcanic, to say the least. The sad thing is, he no longer cares to whom he lashes out at. His violent tendencies are becoming not only more increasing, but sometimes seem to be constant some days. He calls us names & curses, using words that I was an adult before I even knew what they meant. He throws objects, hits, punches, kicks, pinches...and would make the Tasmanian Devil look like Tinkerbell! His obsession with weapons is at an all-time high, thus leaving us with no other choice, but to remove them from the house, until we can afford a sizable safe with a combo lock. Weekly, we have to stop him from trying to jump out of the 2nd story window, or climbing onto the roof. We have to search under his mattress and remove razors, knives, matches, lighters, & anything else he turns into a weapon of mass destruction, as we refer to them. We have had to remove the baseballs & bats from inside, so he doesn't bash anyone's head in...it is a daily struggle that has taken it's toll the past couple of months. And school?! No such luck! I work about once a week with him, usually one-on-one, to get him caught up, but he is just not interested...even in the fun things! I know he is bored & I try to skip things that he truly knows, but can't skip 5th Grade, until I know he has what he needs to advance. Matthew, too, is struggling with school, but mainly because of distractions within the harmony of our home. He is super smart & really is more independent with his studies than I give him credit for. I just love teaching him new things...what can I say? However, nothing ever strikes him as "new"...he just somehow already knows what I am talking about. Great student! Zack's school is going well...9th Grade homeschool is not as intimidating as it sounds! He is an excellent, independent learner, as well. A little lazy, but aren't we all, from time to time?! He adores Marine Biology & Oceanic Studies...and I am fostering that...just in case the MLB makes an unwise decision by not signing him as soon as they can! Back to Aaron--yesterday, we went to his psychiatric counselor, who is like one of our family now. She is as deeply concerned about him as we are, in fact, she reminded him that she prays for him every night...but Aaron didn't seem to find any comfort in that, at least not outwardly. She is leaning toward him having Schizophrenia, by the recent decline in his mental health. There is only 1 person in Pitt Co. that does these kinds of health assessments, and it is extremely costly...but my God shall supply all my needs, according to what my Bible says. We are also fortunate that she was able to get Aaron in with the other doctor @ her practice on Monday! Talk about a miracle! She got out "insurance issues" straightened out as well! Needless to say...she not only on the Christmas card list...but on our Gift list, too! LOL So...that is where we are...idle until Monday afternoon @ 4pm...Lord willing, Aaron will not do anyone any bodily harm until then. He did shut himself in the dryer this morning...but we have a smart appliance that will not start with an unusually heavy load inside. Thank God for another blessing! So...will try to update as quickly as I can, once we return from the doctor Monday...and more often, as we venture into a new realm of psychiatric adventures. Please keep our family in your prayers, that we might be used of God, to be witnesses for Him in all we do, for His glory, not our own.

Aaron's Tree Follies

We have a big old tree in the backyard that has a climbing rope attatched. Aaron has just learned, after a year of trying, to climb up the rope to get into the tree. I told him that he doesn't need to climb any farther that the bottom branch, which is about 9-10ft. high, because he could fall, and if he did then he definately would get hurt, or break a bone. In Aaron's logically sound mind, he decided to us the climbing rope as his safety gear, after all that's what repellers do! So he tied the rope around his waist (thank God!) and started to climb up to the 2nd branch...mind you he's outside alone...bad choice in itself! He slips and is left to hang on for dear life! Luckily, we had just returned about an hour earlier from a visit with g'parents, so things were still being retrieved from vehicle. When husband went back for another load, he heard Aaron screaming for help...to which he put off as Aaron playing...baiting him to come check on him & then jumping out to scare him...so Chris played along & went to see Aaron, instead of a joke, he found Aaron almost breathless and hanging on for dear life, while the rope continues to tighten around Aaron's chest (& lungs). Poor Aaron had rope burns & bruises completely around him...Aaron called it his equator. Needless to say, Aaron is no longer allowed outside, even remotely near the tree without adult (30+) supervision! And the moral to this story...Don't let Aaron watch any more documentaries about repelling, while giving thanks to God for not letting the rope slip around his neck! Life with Aaron......it's always something!

And He Smiles...

This week wehave begun a new medicine along with the Lamictal & Concerta. Respidone. It's still in a small dose, to be increased within the next week. He popped his 1/2 pill Friday night & went to bed, we were clueless as to what to expect, if anything at all. Let me say when Aaron awoke Saturday morning, it was the first morning in a very long time that he had a genuine smile on his face. He came to hug me & he just smiled & clung to me & kept telling me, "I love you mommy." Then came the quick rememberence that it was Saturday...Kite Flying Day & Easter Egg Hunt @ church & into orbit he shot...but it was still a more peaceable orbitation. He was also excited to be going to g'parents house because at his old church the visiting Easter Preacher is Tim Lee http://timleeministries.com Him & Aaron go way back. He'll never pass up the opportunity to see his buddy. Like I'm sure you already know, if you know someone with Asperger's, they either love you or despise you...there is no middle ground. Aaron also gets to visit his old buddies from church that he grew up with in his earlier years. All in all I am looking at Respidone or Respidal to be a good thing for us...but as with everything else with AS, it's a wait & see game.