Dec 2012 Update!

Since I haven't posted or updated in a year, I thought I should give everyone a heads-up on where we are.  Life is extremely busy now that my oldest twins are in Junior High (6th grade), Caleb is in 5th grade, and my youngest twins are in 2nd grade.  Every night is something!

Caleb is doing very well!  He is in a regular school, but mostly in a special education room.  However, he is doing 5th grade level work in the core subjects.  Next year will be the transition to Junior High, where he will likely have Daddy as a science or math teacher.  He will still need a resource room and his own aide (which is what he has now).  We are always trying to get him more general education, but with class sizes so high, it's not always that feasible.  We are also looking at getting Caleb started with on-line courses in Social Studies and/or Science to help catch him up in those areas. 

Caleb is now extremely verbal.  He's now usually able to answer most questions, but still can struggle with questions that have a deeper meaning.  He still struggles with behavior at times of frustration, and because he's getting to be a big kid, it can be difficult for teachers to know what to do with the behavior (such as lashing out when he's frustrated).  Caleb has some amazing skills in math, and with building or puzzles.  He can make super amazing creations with just about anything, but his favorite is legos of course!  Somehow we will foster this creativity and spacial thinking with a course of study someday...but we'll see where it leads.

Caleb is involved in soccer, having won the state's soccer kick competition for 10 year old boys this year!  He also is beginning to play the piano, and is involved in Church activities (Junior Youth Group, Bible Memory Camp, Christmas Plays, and others).  I try to be a part of most of these things just in case he has frustration...thus negative behaviors. 

Right now, I am giving Caleb very few supplements or meds.  I give him just a sprinkle of Lithium Orotate in the mornings to help w/ behavior, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and an Omega 3 gummy.  This has been working pretty well lately, but I always know that things only "work" for a time, and once that "hole is filled" , another hole usually pops up in it's place that I have to find the "plug" for.  We still do homeopathy through Rudi Verspoor in Canada, as I always see amazing things through homeopathy.

Overall, Caleb's improved a million percent.  Is he completely "normal".....NO....   but who is?  There are always big challenges, but he meets them every time.  The rewards are so much bigger though!  It's amazing to watch how when he overcomes obstacles, that people were watching and noticing even when you had no idea.  It's wonderful to see that people silently and sometimes openly root for him, even when there's negative behavior.  I've been amazed that sometimes the grumpiest person will be touched by Caleb, and they'll try extra hard with him.  God has allowed this thing called autism to enter our life, not as a punishment, but as a reward; strengthening all who come in contact with it!

Sigh...... What a rough few months!

It has truly been a rough few months. Caleb has been in a "funk" that he just hasn't been able to snap out of. It started around Christmas and is continuing. He will appear to be in a good mood, but then out of the blue he's crying or angry. At school he's hitting the teacher's, but for me at home he rarely gets so out of line. I'm a bit at a loss of what to do. Homeopathy hasn't helped as of yet, and now I'm pulling out the supps, revisiting old stuff. Anyone have any ideas? Today was the second day in a row that I've brought him home due to hitting a teacher.

Hooray....He's back into the General Ed School!

As of yesterday's IEP, Caleb is back to our home school full time! He has come so far in such a short time! Per his ASD room teacher, "The gap between Caleb and the other autistic students is so wide now that it's no longer appropriate to have him here." Music to my ears........... :)

Also, during the IEP we found that he is right on grade level with reading, is passing all of his AR tests on reading, and actually is ahead of the game in a few concepts for math. He still has gaps in his learning that have to be filled in as he understands more concepts, but truly it's been an amazing day!

Caleb is having more general ed this year, with Gym class (which his Daddy teaches :) and Spanish class. We are also looking at gradually increasing his interaction with the Gen Ed students, and we'll see what happens with that.

For all who read....stick with Biomedical, homeopathy, and of course PRAYER! It works!

Revisiting LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone)

We've been dealing with a never-ending cough since about the end of August. Poor Caleb started with a croupy cough in August, then it morphed to a cough with lots of phlegm (which got passed to the rest of us). As the weather stays warm with lots of moisture, the cough just wouldn't go away. Now, after a few months of this I've decided it's time to revisit LDN.

For those that don't know, LDN comes in a cream that we rub on Caleb at night. It is an immune system booster, and Caleb surely is needing that right now. I've noticed that he's begun again to get a bit giddy after eating wheat of any kind. Thus...LDN will become part of our routine through the winter months, or until Caleb shows signs that it is bothering more than helping. When we first tried LDN a few years ago, Caleb benefitted greatly from it. It first cleared up all food reactions, which are a part of a weak immune system. And then, it just kept him from getting every new illness that came along. I thought it also helped him maintain his mood and speech. The only reason I had stopped it before was because it began to cause mood issues after a time. (Which mood is always Caleb's first reaction when something no longer helps). We took it away, and things improved once again for many months. Now, here we are back on this end and adding it back in. I'm just so glad that we know and have access to a program of success for my son!

**The picture is of Caleb (in the blue coat) this week at the pumpkin farm. The bunnies were everyone's favorite! Especially since it was raining out, and the bunnies were in a shed!

First week of School!

We had a great first week of school! Caleb is back into the swing of things. He quite amazed his teachers at how much he'd grown intellectually over the summer. He even began some more general ed. by wanting to take part in the Spanish Class and of course gym (which Daddy is now his teacher for). As for the school fight, it truly has helped to know my rights! They can NOT change his IEP or any type of schooling plan if I don't agree. I have made my presence known this whole week; popping in at different times to make sure he has his normal teacher and is in his normal classroom (the resource--special ed--room). I just want to encourage all who read this to google the special ed. laws in your state. Go over them with a fine tooth comb :) Here in Michigan, the schools CANNOT deny services due to funding, nor can they change a child's individualized education plan without the parent's okay. Basically, they can do nothing without the parent's consent. If they try to, contact the state, an advocate, and the schoolboard. Your child has the right to a free and appropriate education (FERPA) in the school district you live in. For my son, since he is doing so well right where he's at, his least restrictive environment (LRE) is the resource room at the general ed. school. They cannot even begin to say it should be the autism classroom all of the time. Best wishes to a happy, fun school year!

Back to the School Fight...ugh...

Unfortunately, we're back in the fight for my son's schooling. Our new Superintendent doesn't want to have the elementary Special Ed. teacher tied to her room due to having Caleb most of the day (3 days a week), and is thus trying to muscle us out of what Caleb's IEP says. After already having a conversation with her, I can see that she has no intention of giving in. Thus...without some divine intervention....we will be doing a lot of fighting! Thankfully, I now know my way around an IEP. I now know that Caleb's current IEP MUST be in place when school starts (by MI law). I also know that services cannot be cut due to funding/lack thereof reasons. In addition, if the IEP states that a child is to be in a special ed. classroom, as opposed to a gen. ed or other setting, then it must be in place. I plan on talking to this superintendent again tomorrow, and if nothing changes I'll be on the phone with board members, possibly an advocate, etc. If all else fails, all 5 of my children will go somewhere else within county. Let's see how that affects their precious budget!

Our New Puppy!

We've found our puppy! Caleb is thrilled! He finds everything the puppy does hilarious. The great thing about getting the puppy is that he now is totally interested in other animals. He now notices the cats we've had for years, and tries to get them to do similar things as the dog. I woke up this morning to, "Come back kitty!" as he chased them around the yard. Then later he ran in yelling, "band-aid, band-aid..." as I assume his playing didn't go so well :) Caleb even spent a few hours watching the chickens at Great-Grandma's house as he plopped himself right down next to the fence talking to the chickens. He is TOTALLY into animals right now! Here are a few pics of our new puppy!

** On the biomedical note, we've also discovered we need to be treating Caleb with homeopathy for parasites (as I'm assuming he picked up from the dog). Once we started the remedy for worms, his mood again improved amazingly. **