Single Moms Raising Autistic Sons


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Friday, September 26, 2008

Some Positive News, We're All Happy Here!


This is my new blog, you will find there the first of many reports that his teacher sent home with him and it will be apparent that she was punishing him for his autistic tendencies and that she didn't know what she was doing. If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment, especially if you think that I am way off base and that there is no foundation for seeing things the way that I have.

Griffin is doing great with homeschooling and is learning a great deal. I have found ways to get him to work on his handwriting so he has improved a great deal and he doesn't seem to mind or he is so excited about the content of what he is writing so much that he simply doesn't pay attention to that part. What I do is to get him to write in his journal what he wants as a reward for when he gets enough stickers for doing various tasks. So, he writes all about it, forming his own sentences (and learning about punctuation) and often he will write far more than I thought that he might. Half the page is blank so on top he draws and colors, with colored pencils, exactly what he wishes for. His artwork is so advanced and it is the only thing that he attends to without distraction so I make sure that he gets to do some each day whether it is task related or just for fun. Since he has access to lots of paper then usually he will just sit down and start drawing on his own, I have saved much of it and it is already apparent that there is a rapid progression in his abilities. Since I have been an artist for nearly my entire life, I am pretty excited about Griffin's love for drawing and painting and for what the future might hold.

Griffin started taking Abilify about a month ago and it has helped him tremendously, he complains of being tired quite often but it is usually when he doesn't want to do something (imagine that!). When he has free time he is running around, swinging, and jumping on the trampoline but he is far more stable than I have ever seen him and his meltdowns are non-existent now! He will start to get upset but it is very short lived and it is far easier to talk to him and to get him to cooperate and comply. He doesn't have the same "manic" energy anymore and it is not necessary to try to get him to calm down therefore he attends much better during most of his activities/tasks.

I had a procedure done on my uvula and since it was done with a laser it gave me second degree burns in my throat so I had a week of intense pain, insomnia, and feeling like there was never going to be an end to it but I am nearly healed now. The ENT told me that if the problem occurs again then I will have to have my tonsils out..............not looking forward to that because I believe that it is going to turn out that way things look right now (it is already happening again). I am due to see him again in a month so I will keep you posted.

Loving this weather, it is my favorite time of year no matter where I have lived throughout the years, just wish that it lasted longer. I hope to catch up on reading blogs and letting you all know that I am thinking of you, I do miss my blogging friends and would love to know how you are doing.

2 comments:

KC's Blog said...

Hey there girl friend,

Griffin is adorable in the photo! He looks so happy and is quite the artist! I hope you are feeling better, I am going to check out your new blog!

Hugs!

kristi said...

Hey girl. I am going to check out your new blog. Glad to hear you two are good, hope your throat feels better soon.