Eating Issues

Griffin and I went over to my sister's house for Thanksgiving and had a great time. It was good to see her, my two nieces, Marty and Marvin too. Pictured here are Griffin and myself of course and my sister with my youngest niece Emma who is 5 years old. She and Griffin played the Wii game, Griffin had never played before. The ones that he was able to play were fishing and bowling but he got frustrated with the bowling and had to be encouraged to continue on or else he would have just given up before really trying it. I don't think that it would be worthwhile to get him one even if I could afford it because he is just not that interested in playing.

We had a lovely meal that my sister prepared but Griffin did not try anything except the turkey and declared that he liked the skin but that was all. So he ate the pizza that I had brought for him and I know that he has got me trained because he is so picky but as my friend Amy put it, that food is the one thing in his life that is comfort for him that he can count on being the same all the time. And if he has other challenges in his life then it is best that he keep his diet as it is and not be expected to try new foods all the time. I am not completely convinced of this but for now it works for me and since I don't cook big meals for me, because I eat so little, it works out that he eats what he does. Griffin just refuses to try new foods each time that I buy something new for him to try it ends up as just another obstacle that we have yet to overcome.

I have a menu for him and he chooses from it what he wants to eat for each meal and I prepare it for him. I told the doctor about how he eats and she said that as long as he has a good multi-vitamin then he should be all right. Mostly Griffin eats carbs with some protein with fruits and hardly any veggies. I have talked to his OT about working on getting him to try new foods and it is part of his goals but is in the future as she is focusing on fine motor skills. Perhaps one day we will get to the point of eating more veggies and getting more nutrition into his body but for now he is healthy and I am so grateful for that alone.

I Am Thankful

I am thankful for having the most precious child that I could have ever imagined having who gives me unconditional love each and everyday. I am grateful for the time that we have had and the time that we have now and I cherish each moment. Everyday that I awaken I appreciate the fact that I have one more day on this earth and I get to spend it with Griffin. The joy that he brings me is beyond comparison and I am in awe of how much love I feel in my heart for this gentle and loving little guy. Oftentimes I can't believe that we have made it this far, over 8 years and still going strong all on our own!

I have my parents to thank and who I am grateful for because they have given me so much support through the years. I talk to them on the phone everyday but wish that we still lived close together. We miss seeing them everyday and sharing good times together. I am grateful for my Facebook friends and for my friends who I have here on the blog because without your support I would be in a bad way because you are all I have as my social network and that is what gets me through the day. I do get lonely because I don't really have any friends here and don't go out and do things socially but all in all I am grateful for what I have and count my blessings everyday. I don't complain because there's nothing to complain about only blessings that have been bestowed upon me.

OT and Sensory Issues

I was rubbing Griffin's back tonight and gave him a quick massage and asked him if he liked it and he quickly said "no" and then he told me to stop rubbing and patting him. I found this hard to do since it is second nature for me to do this as he is going to sleep when we snuggle but I stopped of course. He soon went to sleep but it made me wonder if he has ever tolerated me rubbing or patting his back because it is mommy's way of showing affection. I guess that I will just have to ask him tomorrow if he has always disliked it or if he just disliked it last night. Does an autistic child tolerate sensory difficulties just to get through the day or do they automatically have behavior issues if they are having sensory issues? I guess it depends on the individual and that is why it is a spectrum disorder but I hate the thought of Griffin tolerating things that have bothered him and he hasn't spoken up, I just hope that's not the case.

He has been hitting quite often lately but not hard just enough to get the point across and one of the Occupational Therapists showed me this trick called the hand press where you press both hands together with the child's hands when they are hitting and it gives them that sensory input that they need. Griffin has been bored at OT lately, I say this because I observe him and he has been having behaviors which he doesn't have during Speech and Speech is very challenging for him.  I am hoping that she changes things a bit in order to challenge him in OT in order to curb these behaviors like screaming, kicking, and throwing things.

6 Hour EEG/Constipation Issues

Griffin saw the neurologist today and after talking to me and conducting his physical exam he decided to go ahead and order the 6 hour EEG for absence seizures. He said that the spells of him staring out into space could be behavioral or from the medication but after talking to me about how he responds after the spells he said that it makes him more suspicious of the seizures. I told him that after the spells he is disoriented and forgets where he was when he had stopped talking to me in mid sentence. The doctor said that if we didn't do the EEG and he is having the seizures that he is at risk for grand mal seizures. We don't know if Griffin will in fact tolerate the 6 hour EEG being connected to all those wires and not able to move around the room, having to sit in one spot for so very long but we've got to try.

As far as Griffin's constipation goes I told him today that he does not get computer time until he goes and does not hold it in. If I catch him holding it from now on and not going then he automatically gets his computer time taken away so he is to sit on the toilet each afternoon after school and try to go and if he does then he will be rewarded with computer time. Just like Jazzygal said I have to take this seriously and I have got to teach him now that holding it in is not healthy and it is totally unacceptable. And if he comes home and tells me that he went at school then I will believe him because Griffin is not a liar, he does not understand the concept, and he will justly be rewarded for going at school since that would be a very big deal. I sit here and chuckle to myself because he is in the bathroom right now trying to go because he wants to get on this computer so badly. I may have struck gold on this one and found the magic pill to make it all work out nicely.

I Can't Make Up My Mind

It seems that all the time I am switching back and forth between,"He is autistic and he can't do that by himself" and,"He should be able to do that by himself he is 8 years old for Pete's sake!" Does anyone else have that dilemma? I just can't seem to make up my mind whether or not my child can do things for himself or not, maybe it is the autism and my lack of ability to determine whether or not Griffin is capable of executing a task on his own without my assistance. For the most part I let him try to do things on his own but I have to be careful because I don't want him to become frustrated if it doesn't work out right and then have a meltdown.
I have trouble with communication with Griffin and it creates a problem when it comes to diffusing a potential meltdown so I am careful to avoid them as much as possible.

Sometimes I wonder about myself and worry that I am not as good of a parent than I would like to be and I know that I am hard on myself because people have told me that but I aspire to be the best that I can be because it is my child who I am shaping here not a dog or a cat. I have an above average IQ so it's not that I am not intelligent enough to do what I set out to do and I just can't help but to think that having autism has a lot to do with how I go about making the choices that I do when it comes to raising Griffin and oftentimes it is an obstacle  challenge for me. Frequently I feel overwhelmed and I start to shut down and sometimes I make rash decisions because I am so confused at the moment. Then I wonder if I made the right decision and doubt myself sometimes changing my mind again. It is a quandary and I don't suppose that things will ever change because it is all part of my DNA.

Making Alphabet Cookies

I didn't take a picture but now I wish that I had because it was such hard work making those alphabet cookies. The dough got warm by the time I got all the letters onto the cookie sheet and they began to melt, as it were, and it was impossible to get them out in one piece. Anyhow, we got to the letter M and I told Griffin that was it...he was having fun rolling out the dough and pressing out the letters but mommy was doing the hard part and the time consuming part but it was well worth it and I am glad that we did it. I had to go to the craft store to get the cookie cutters which I felt was a bargain because there was 101 cutters of different shapes plus the alphabet and  all the numbers for only $14.99. He can use them with his play doh and make more cookies after the dough gets cold and mommy has built up some more patience.

Griffin has been constipated because he holds it in when he has to go and he won't go at school so he goes days before having a BM. This time it was 5 days before he finally went (yesterday) and the only reason that he did finally go is because I kept giving him Mirilax. In fact he went 4 times today because of the Mirilax but better that then being all stopped up. I just don't know how to get him to stop holding it in when he needs to go. The Mirilax helps him have the urge to go but if he holds it in then he creates the problem. If anyone has any ideas I am open to them. Any suggestions?

My Little Artist

Griffin does not watch Family Guy but he likes the main character Peter Griffin and he wanted to learn how to draw him properly so he looked up the YouTube video of the actual cartoonist drawing the character. And this is the final copy of Griffin's artwork where he did exactly what the artist drew.  I am so proud of him because he did such an amazing job with this and not only that but I think that he was a little genius to look up the video in the first place. I never would have even thought of doing that but I shouldn't be surprised because if Griffin wants something he finds it on the Internet no matter what it is.

Repetition

The weather has been so perfect for going out and feeding the ducks and geese, I couldn't ask for weather more beautiful. We spent nearly 2 hours at the lake because we were having such a good time and it was so relaxing.

Griffin has been playing the same program over and over again for weeks now and it wouldn't be so bad except that it is just obnoxious! I guess that anything over and over again is obnoxious but this guy's voice in the show is so irritating but alas......he loves it and it brings him joy so what else should I do but to let him watch it. Besides, if I didn't let him watch it I would risk a meltdown and it isn't worth that, I couldn't explain to him that it is getting on mommy's last nerve and she just can't take it anymore. To his credit, he does watch other shows now and then thank goodness and I am grateful for it!

Speaking of meltdowns, Griffin doesn't have that many so much anymore, I really think that he is outgrowing them. He has learned to adjust to his environment and to change so well that he just doesn't breakdown and lose it anymore for the most part. Granted there are some now and then but they are short lived and minor compared to what they used to be. I am so proud of him because he is really growing up and learning more and more about the world around him and adjusting to it.