1200 + Miles Later

Musings and random thoughts about a long, yet quick trip

Thursday, I drove 600+ miles south to get my daughter from an extended visit with her grandparents. Friday, she and I drove 600+ miles north to home.

I'm PooPed. I've never traveled there in one day and traveled back the next. Driving the entire time means I can't switch positions, can't cross my legs, uncross them, recross them the other way. My driving leg, foot, and heel became very tired at points. Cruise control is a help, but not in heavy traffic where speeds vary from minute to minute.

I almost always score a find for my homeschooler in a Cracker Barrel gift shop that we can use for fun, learning, and "therapy". During this trip, I found a new-to-me coloring book by Dover, with a "what's wrong with the picture?" theme.

My mom gave me another cool item that fits the fun, learning, and "therapy" category: jumbo straws from the Big Lots store. These neon colored plastic drinking straws are 20" tall, great for the HANDLE crazy straw activity, for blowing feathers or cotton balls across a table, or for drinking from a glass on the floor (while we are outdoors).

A spider bite (likely a brown recluse) at the base of an index finger is painful to the person bitten and scary to everyone close to that person. My mother's index finger was apparently bitten by a spider, which involved a midnight trip to the ER and a trip to the doctor in the following daytime hours. The multiple medications she was given seem to be controlling the reaction and the pain.

Inclusion body myositis stinks. Watching my dad's condition decline from a distance is difficult. One one hand, I'm spared the day-to-day challenges that my sister and mom see. On the other hand, the changes are more dramatic when I don't see him as often. One of the disadvantages to being a day's drive away is that I can't be there to help very often. How will my mom care for my dad while her hand is healing? She's a wonder woman, that's for sure.

I had never made the day-long drive alone before Thursday. My younger daughter, the one whom I homeschool, the one with an autism spectrum disorder, has been whiny and dysregulated lately. Getting a break from her was good. Sort of. She was sick and feverish when I left her at home with her dad and brother, though, and leaving her was difficult for me. (Now that I'm back home, she's not sleeping through the night, is even more dysregulated, both indications that she's still sick, and I'm ready to take another drive because her whiny-ness and dysregulation is almost on my last nerve already.)

I wish I'd burned more Schoolhouse Expo sessions onto CD to listen to on that long drive. I could have easily listened to nine or 10 of them. I'm kicking myself because I didn't get more of them burned onto CD. I listened to Diana Waring's session about learning styles on the way down and Rebecca Keller's session about critical thinking on the way home with my daughter. Now I want to read Waring's books about teaching, homeschooling, learning styles and am looking at Keller's science programs on-line. Keller introduces chemistry and physics from the get-go, at Pre-K levels. I'm intrigued.

I saw a jaw-dropping first on the trip back home. Outside of Dayton, Ohio, in a traffic jam during afteroon rush hour, big clear drops of what I thought were raindrops plopped onto my windshield. Except no one else on either side of me was getting the drops on their windshields. Could rain be falling on just my windshield, I wondered? And then I realized something. The drops weren't rain at all. The plops were PooP. Bird PooP. A bird was Pooping on just my windshield. Pooping. Again and again. I've never seen anything like it, so many hits in such a short period of time. Here's one of the photographs my daughter captured in the aftermath. We had to stop at a gas station and scrub the windshield because the marks from the PooP bombs were too annoying.

I ate a lot of wheat during the two days. I had foods I haven't had in ages while I was on the road. Now, I'm thinkin' I made some really poor choices and feel the consequences of my choices right now. You see, I completely eliminated gluten for six weeks beginning May 1st, and have occasionally had a hamburger on a bun or bowl of wheat-free cereal (but not gluten free) while maintaining an almost-gluten-free diet. Two days of gluten at every meal has my eye inflamed and eczema worsened. I feel sluggish and my limbs feel heavy, and losing sleep with a sleepless girl last night did not help the situation.

Interdependence

As always, Kathie Snow at Disability is Natural has wise words for us. The newsletter I received today is about INTERDEPENDENCE. When we made the switch to a relationship approach to autism intervention, I realized the importance of INTERdependence, something we'd sacrificed on the altar of independence.

Kathie, I wish I'd read this when we were heavy in our behavioral intervention and work on INdependence (although I drank that kool-ade and was firmly entrenched in it, maybe I wouldn't have heard you).

The newsletter is HERE.

And in past blog entries of mine, I talked about some of my reflections on interdependence HERE, and HERE, and HERE.

Journal Pad - sale alert

Passing along a find that might interest you, too:

Spotted at Michaels, a Journal Pad by K&Company, was $4.99, on clearance for $1.99 over the weekend.
The journal prompts are made for scrapbookers, but this homeschooler is going to use them. The colorful and fun rectangles are inviting. There are two or three to a 4.75" x 6.75" page, with a variety of journal prompts throughout the little pad. The small size of the die cuts and thus small space to fill will lesson performance anxiety and be less intimidating to my homeschooler than a big, plain, white sheet of paper, I hope.

The sentence starters and journal prompts are excellent, too.

I wish I'd had this little Journal Pad while we were on our trip.

Weekend update, a belated thank you, and an apology

My girls and I headed south two weeks ago to see family. Hubby and son stayed here because of work and baseball obligations. While the girls and I were gone, a sweet family offered to have our son during the day not one, but THREE days, while hubby was at work. Jen is a saint! ;)

By the time I got home with a severe ear infection in both ears that had the doctor chastizing me for waiting so long to see him, Jen and her sweet family had headed south on vacation.

So, the first time I saw them again was yesterday at our loooooooooong back-to-back tournament games on a hot Saturday afternoon. And my mind was elsewhere.

Doesn't help that I have an ear infection in both ears. I've been on antibiotics since Tuesday night (almost five days) and, while the infections are improving, I still feel like I'm trying to hear through water and am still experiencing a little bit of pain with fatigue.

I'd like for my attention at my son's baseball games to be primarily focused on my son and the baseball game. That's a goal, anyway.

For the tournament that began two days ago, I had no sitter for my son's twin sister, who is on the autism spectrum. Entertaining herself at one baseball game is a challenge for her; I usually wind up leaving the game for home or spending more time at the ball park play scape than watching the game. I see other children who are younger than she who are able to entertain themselves while their siblings play baseball and I try not to compare, try not to feel frustrated, try not to host a pity party for Penny right there.

When I don't have a sitter and I choose to try to bring my autie along to the game, I feel like I'm walking on eggshells at a baseball game. My attention is so divided.

Friday's back-to-back games were earlier in the day and I chose to skip the first game and take the girl to the second game. As I settled in to watch the game, I met some parents who have known my husband and son through baseball since last fall who told me they had never seen the wife and mother (me). Now they know why. I was able to park in the shade by the field and take advantage of the entertainment system in the van. It kept my girl busy so I could watch baseball.

Saturday, I didn't have the luxury of parking the van close to the baseball diamond, which means I lost the use of the entertainment system in the van to help her pass the time. We arrived about a half hour after the start of the first game, and I had low expectations, was ready to leave if necessary. We did hit at office supply store early Saturday and found some neat Crayola Color Wonder (princesses and glitter! oh my!) and markers to buy, and to my astonishment, my girl used them to keep herself entertained through not one, but TWO baseball games. We went to the play scape twice, but not for huge chunks of time.

There were other little girls around who might have enjoyed sitting on the blanket with my girl and coloring, but I was afraid to invite them, afraid it would upset my daughter so much that we'd have to leave. What a dilemma. I said nothing, hoping that something natural would happen. I probably appeared to be rude to the other parents.

Anyway, this morning, I was rejoicing in the fact that while more of my attention was on my daughter and the egg shells (hoping she wouldn't scream or screech when she was at her limit there), that a good portion of my attention was able to be focused on watching the game, on my son for almost TWO entire games.

And then in the middle of my little celebration for this big accomplishment, I realized one horribly embarassing thought.

Yesterday afternoon and evening, when we were watching our sons playing ball together, petting her dog, chatting about their family vacation, I failed to mention, acknowledge, or thank Jen for entertaining my son for three days while I was gone to see my parents. She took him to a movie, bowling, and I don't know what else - without her, I wouldn't have been able to leave town. My son had a ball with them. And with all the other stuff on my mind (ear infections, baseball, twin w/ asd), remembering that and thanking Jen didn't cross my mind - until this morning.

And thoughtless me, didn't even say a "thank you" in person. What kind of neighbor am I?

I have to repair that.

Shirt Slogan Saturday

Yes it is!

Our boys played back-to-back games yesterday

and today

with no break in between.

We won the first three games.

3 wins, 1 loss.

Not bad.

Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2010-2011 by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons

Keeping up with the latest in autism intervention is a full time job for a parent. Our local ASA chapter used to hold a weekend-long biomedical conference once a year, which helped us to stay current. Now, we have to travel to Autism One, an AMAB conference or a DAN! conference to hear the latest and greatest, or rely on audio recordings after the fact.

I remember a year or so ago, our DAN! doctor asked me if I'd considered biofilm. I, the autism mom who keeps up with all things autism, did not know about biofilm. Talk about feeling behind!

How is a mom to keep up? There are too many interventions to read about, research and consider. And not just biomedical puzzle pieces, but sensory, educational, developmental puzzle pieces, too. I know we have more puzzle pieces to find at our house, but keeping up with the latest information on puzzle pieces is time consuming. There are as many or more puzzle pieces that are not for us - how do find out about them all and how do I sort through them all, particularly the new ones?

Late one Friday afternoon, I arrived from my son's baseball game to see a package on the front porch, and one of the books inside is this gem: Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2010-2011 by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons. It is priced at $17.95.

It's sort of like a magazine and an almanac and an encyclopedia and a Clif notes all wrapped up together in a hefty 511 page paperback book that introduces readers to almost all things autism. Siri and Lyons have compiled articles by the professionals with experience in the trenches, and I recognize many of the names because I've seen them present in person. Peek here to see a list of some of the authors and topics inside. The book covers developmental issues, sensory issues, educational strategies, biomedical treatments, alternative/complimentary medicine treatments, and much more.

The behaviors that add up to what we label "autism" have different roots in different individuals. My child seems to have a viral component. Her "autism" worsens with illness. There's an allergy component. There's a heavy metal component. She has components, or puzzle pieces, that other children don't have, and other children have components, contributors to the "autism" that my daughter doesn't have.

Parents of children on the autism spectrum have to wade through ALL of the information with their doctors to find the pieces relevent to each individual child.

This book is a really nice resource for helping us begin to wade through information. I consider it a starting point for research on one of the topics inside. Does it mention everything? No. It's still an excellent resource - just know it is missing some topics that I consider important.

I don't think any book could include every intervention or therapy because the book would be too big. This one covers a LOT of intervention material. What's it missing? I can tell you that I don't see Dr James MacDonald and Communicating Partners inside, although other developmental therapies are included (RDI; Son Rise; DIR; HANDLE), and I don't see Miller Method; or any of the work being done with The Importance of Reflexes in Developmental Delays by Sally Goddard - and as I dig deeper into developmental approaches, those are important in my opinion. April Choulat is doing an incredible amount of work and study in the area of developmental approaches; she'd be an excellent choice for a contributor to a book like this one. I'd like to see a chapter on Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment. Dr Feuerstein himself might write a chapter. I'd like to see information on LDA immunotherapy. Dr. Wycoff in Michigan is seeing success with this treatment for allergies. I'm researching that right now. And I don't see a chapter on defining, diagnosing, and treating PANDAS, although I see it mentioned in at least one chapter.

The lack of an index keeps me from being able to reference subjects from the back of the book, which is an annoyance to me (the index is one of my favorite parts of a book like this one).

I am a borrow-the-book-from-the-library-first-before-deciding-to-buy-kind-of-girl. Honestly, seeing the book as I tore into the package, I'm pretty sure that this is a book that I would have gotten from the library, even going to the trouble to get it through interlibrary loan if my library didn't own a copy, and realized immediately that I needed to purchase it for myself so that I could read and reread sections of it and mark up with a highlighter and some sticky notes. It's a book to take with me to waiting rooms (or on an airplane, if you travel a lot). The chapters are brief, yet the book is jam-packed with information about almost all things autism.

As we uncover new layers, this is one of the books I'll pick up again and again, as I seek out a next step, or series of next steps.

I have a feeling I'll have a few new puzzle pieces to research in greater detail as I finish this book, puzzle pieces to ask our DAN! doctor about, and maybe a trip to a DAN! conference because of it, as we continue to seek and play our daughter's puzzle pieces.

I would appreciate the addition of an index on-line so that I could reference topics that way. I also have some suggestions for material for the next edition.

Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2010-2011 is an excellent book to have as one resource for families who have a member with an autism diagnosis.

Skyhorse Publishing sent me a copy of Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism 2010-2011 by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons to review on this blog. I am not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

The Autism Cookbook, 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes

Based upon reviews at online book sellers that I read after I posted my first thoughts about this cookbook, I have opted to remove this post until I have cooked from it. I've not experienced problems with a cookbook that I previewed here before cooking from it, but this time, I suspect I might.

Here's the preview in a nutshell: At first glance, it is a beautiful book filled with simple recipes that fit the way we cook - I'll have to make no or limited modifications to recipe ingredients.

Celebration Special (with freebies)

1776 was a spectacular year, and it's a smashing, save-more-money price! Grab your subscription to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine during their four-day Fourth of July sale, and check out the craziest price on July 1 only! Receive a 2-year subscription, free Homeschooling with Heart tote bag, and five FREE E-Books for just $17.76! While supplies last. U.S. and Canadian residents. July 2 through July 4 the unprecedented savings continue. The sparks are flying at TOS Magazine . . . join in the celebration and savings! Get the details here.

This happens to be my favorite homeschool magazine. I am not an affiliate of TOS Magazine or Store at this time. I do not profit if you click through from my blog to subscribe.

ALERT: Mercury in prescription ear drops

I have an ear infection in each ear.

I went to the doctor today.

He prescribed ear drops. I told him "no thimerosal". He didn't know that there is thimerosal (toxic, poisonous, deadly, nerve-damaging, never-NOT-a-neurotoxin-mercury) in prescription ear drops. (Yes, he knows the seriousness of mercury; he is close to autism.)

Of course, I get to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription and YES, he has written me a prescription for an ear drop that contains thimerosal. The employee behind the counter had to pick up the box and read the list of ingredients to answer my question. They don't KNOW there's a neurotoxin added to the drops that are intended to be put in your ear. *gasp*

Excuse me while I scream.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

There is a similar product, the pharmacists tell me, that is not a suspension (sidebar: a suspension, which my doctor prescribed, is the version which must be shaken, probably to properly distribute the heavy metal mercury perservative in each dose); it's a SOLUTION, and it does not contain thimerosal.

I came home to look up the ingredients on both to make sure the pharmacists were telling me the truth. And now I have a new dilemma.

I'm shocked to read that one of the ingredients, neomycin, is associated with HEARING LOSS. And they all want me to put this IN MY EARS?

What's a girl to do???

Y'all, mercury is still in our prescriptions and vaccinations, and people think it's not. Neither our doctors nor our pharmacists memorize this information. Read labels, package inserts, and ask questions of your doctors and pharmacy staff. No one does that for us these days.

Losing It With Jillian

I enjoy watching reality TV shows. Some people do not (hubby does not, unless you consider sporting events reality shows). I'm the fat girl who watches "Biggest Loser" while eating something I shouldn't be eating.

A new show to NBC this season features trainer Jillian Michaels in "Losing It With Jillian". Tomorrow night's show at 8 pm EDT features a precious family we know in real life:

We moved so far away from home that we haven't seen the Vivios in years. I love hearing LaVern's voice in the commercial. I enjoy seeing the boys all grown up (well, almost). I hate that we're so far away from our families.

And I'm green with envy. I need someone to light a fire under my tail in the shape-up-weight-loss department. Maybe tomorrow night's show will be just the inspiration I need to really get started.