Single Moms Raising Autistic Sons


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Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Playing In A Soccer Game

Here's Griffin playing soccer, he kept his eye on the ball the whole game, running at times but always watching the ball. I think that he actually got to kick it a few times but the most important part is that he made it through the entire game from 5:30 - 7:00. I couldn't stop smiling even when my face started hurting. I am so proud of him, he has come such a long way in such a short period of time although he did not pay any attention to his fellow players, just for him to enjoy playing was a big deal.

One of Griffin's OTs told me today that he did very well at therapy, on Monday, with his group (of boys) during his session. They went outside and played on an obstacle course and each one had to come up with ideas on how to change things around when they were first in line. She said that Griffin did an excellent job interacting with the other boys which is so exciting to me, I think that the group has been very good for him because there is so many boys and both Speech and his OT are present.

Home schooling is going great still, we studied a lot of science this week and combined it with art which turned out really well. Art is a wonderful medium for him to work on his fine motor skills, his cognitive skills (science through art), and his emotional expression. He is a kinesthetic/visual learner so every time that we can combine our studies with art we go for it! One day I will put a picture of one of his pieces on here so that you can see how amazing an artist he is. It seems that each time he creates a piece, everything that we studied he commits to memory and it is set in stone and the information is there to stay. He can recall ever bit of information when asked after only going over it one time.

It is helping me to overcome the bitterness and anger that I felt about how he was abused at the school because I know that there is no way that he would have progressed in such an environment and now he is so much happier. At least this is how I cope with the guilt that I feel for sending him into a place that was causing him so much confusion and mental and emotional pain.

Apparently, I do not have his meds tweaked properly because he is still a bit too sleepy during the first part of the day and into the afternoon, he wakes up in the evening and makes up for lost time. Today he did go swimming and he always loves it and is showing great improvement there as well. He may act sleepy before we get there but once he is in the pool he is just fine and after he is finished his energy level is up also. Griffin dislikes going out of the house and going to appointments and/or running errands so he tends to be or act sleepy/tired then the most. If only there was a way, that I knew of, for me to help increase his energy level through proprioceptive or vestibular input while we are out. Guess that I need to ask the OT about it because while he is at home he does it himself by jumping on the mini tramp and swinging but he has no means to do it by himself while we are away.

I have been having bouts of horrid anxiety and mania for several weeks now and they are so severe that I cannot not otherwise function. I usually have them about every two days, a product of rapid cycling Bipolar Disorder. Finally today I went to see my doctor and got some meds specifically for anxiety and boy am I grateful! Severe anxiety is like being jailed inside one's own body and struggling to get out because it feels like someone has a remote control and is hitting fast forward constantly. It feels so uncomfortable to be in one's own skin especially if there is fatigue (from lack of sleep) and feeling as if on speed all at the same time. My body hurts like hell the next day and I sleep for about 12-14 hours because of the Fibromyalgia and sheer exhaustion from the whole situation. I am so grateful that my mom is around to help me out by watching/entertaining when necessary, and feeding Griffin.

That's about it, I bragged about my special and wonderfully brilliant little guy and complained about my health..............all in a day's work! Hope you all are doing well and enjoying life!

1 comment:

KC's Blog said...

Way to go Griffin! Just look at him! He's in the game Lora! He looks so adorable!
I hope you are feeling better, I know how it is to feel manic. It is the worst feeling. I hate to even think about it. Can I ask what med did the doctor prescribe? Maybe it would help me too.
Have you ever been to a message therapist Lora?