My Fears and Griffin's Safety

This a post about my greatest fears and one of them is me losing grasp of his hand and having him run off into traffic or getting lost. That is why, shown here, Griffin has on this harness with a leash. When we go out in public and he is not in a cart like in the grocery store, then I put this harness on him just in case. He is quick and when he has gotten loose from me I could barely catch up to him. I don't even care what people comment on when they see him in it or what they think because his safety is way too important for me to care about them. Another one of my fears is if we had a fire in our apartment and even though his bedroom is right next to mine I often wonder if I would be able to find him. What if he became disoriented and began to wander about or crawled under something. It really really scares me because he has no sense of fear himself, he doesn't understand danger at all.
As with any other caring and concerned parent I wonder about these things and hope to protect my child the best that I can. However, there are times when I feel helpless at the thought of something happening. I have put 2 extra smoke/fire alarms up, one in each bedroom in order to better help warn me in the event of a fire but I sure wish that there was something else that I could do to help me feel that he/we are safer. I even put an information packet on the front door explaining Griffin's autism so that the first responders would know, and hopefully are properly trained, that an autistic child is inside and how to best deal with the situation. I also have all the emergency information posted on the inside of the front door with phone numbers of those to contact in case of an emergency. It also states that Griffin may run away from someone offering help, he doesn't understand danger , and that he may fight with someone offering help. Are these fears rational? Or am I just a wacko lunatic who happens to be paranoid? Regardless of all my fears I try hard to allow Griffin his freedom and as much independence as possible because I know how important that is for his development.
If anyone has a comment or you have words of support to help alleviate my fears then I say "Bring it on" please, by all means. Love to you all and hugs :)

Remembering the Love

Isn't it such a beautiful thing to watch your child sleeping? They are so angelic and peaceful. I don't know which I like better, taking pictures of him laughing and playing or sleeping. I guess that they each have their own appeal because they are both so precious in their own way. With every photo that I take I fall in love with him over and over again. The photos remind me of how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful child and within each image there lies the essence of what life is all about, the beauty of this innocent soul. I count my blessings each and every day and do my best to not take him or his unconditional love for granted. When Griffin has undesirable behaviors I tend to forget temporarily that he is the reason I live and breathe that he is the epitome of why life is so precious and worth living but I always snap out of it and remember why I love him so and why I was put on the face of this earth. There lies a part of me that I can always love and care for no matter how frustrated I might become at times with him. I have a friend who is struggling with her child's autism and how badly it effects him and boy do I feel for her because I do recall hating autism and what it caused my child to do like hurting himself. There have been times when I not only hated his autism but hated being Bipolar and what it has done to me. It was a challenge for me for years but now I have come to accept it, of course being on the right medications has made all the difference in the world for me. I would like to tell my friend that it's okay to be angry and hate the autism because it is a natural response to what she is experiencing with her child. Also that it may pass in time and she may come to accept it as part of their lives but in the meantime I encourage her to continue being the wonderful mommy that she is and never forget to give herself credit for taking such wonderful care of her son. For those of you who are going through the stage of hatred and anger just remember to do as my friend does and keep the focus on the child and not the autism. Also remember that there is hope for things to be different in the future. Griffin is a living example of how far children with autism can grow and develop. He has come a long way but it has taken time, it didn't happen overnight. I attribute his success to the remarkable therapies that he has had and the education he gets at school. I think that what has made the biggest difference is the Early Intervention that he has had since age 15 months until 3 years old. It gave him the head start that he needed to grow and learn and have the structure and routine that he needed to help him develop.

I have had 10,408 visits to the blog since November 10, 2005 and I would like to say thank you to everyone who visits this blog. I hope that you are enjoying reading about Griffin and myself and all the experiences that we have each week. Hopefully you are able to take something with you from this blog that is useful to you in some way. Take care my dear friends and have a great day!

The Picnic and A Tub of Water

Yesterday we went to the "end of school" picnic for the autism classroom. There was the families, the staff, and friends there and I even met a former student of Kathleen's (the teacher) who I couldn't even tell that he's autistic or even ever was autistic. He seemed like a regular NT kiddo to me, he was about 7 or 8 yrs. of age and quite articulate. His mother reported proudly that he didn't start talking until age 5 yrs and now he is as verbal as any other child his age. It was encouraging to see this child doing so well, it seemed that the only major issue they faced was that he is a very picky eater and still has issues with food. At least that was the only issue at the moment. It was nice to be around so many other parents of autistic children and connect with them. Makes me wish that there was a picnic like every 3 months or so or some kind of meeting so that we could support each other and share our stories. Kathleen is an awesome teacher and Karen as well as Ed are pretty darn incredible as teacher's assistants. Together they make for happy and successful classroom of students including and especially my Griffin Blaise.

I think that this picture came out pretty cool looking. It's of Griffin in a tub of water that I had made for him because it was hot outside and we didn't have a kiddie pool for him to play in. I thought about getting on of those inflatable kind but they are kind of expensive for our budget and the summer just doesn't last that long here to make it worth it to spend that kind of money.I can't get one of the cheapy kinds because I don't have a vehicle to haul it in nor do I know someone who has a truck. Anyhow, if I can find a way to splurge then I will get him a pool but for now he enjoys having the tub of water (it's actually a storage container) to splash in and cool off. He doesn't seem to mind that it is rather small just as long as there's enough water in it to cover his little body when he sits down in it.

O.T. with Gayle

Griffin is in his Tuesday O.T. at the pool and he is really relaxed and trusts Gayle completely, He doesn't even mind when he accidently goes underwater even if he is coughing. I am so proud of him and of how great he's been doing. Thanks to Gayle for doing such an incredible job with Griffin and for being so patient and compassionate in dealing with him. He has grown in leaps and bounds since he has been working with her. There are so many different ways in which he has excelled, one of which is while he is in the water. At home he has shown me that his self help skills are improving greatly and needs little motivation to get things done. Griffin needs only to be asked once to do something such as with cleaning up and he happily complies. He is growing up so fast.

This is Griffin in O.T. with Gayle and you can tell that he is having a great time which is almost always the case, it is rare that he doesn't want to cooperate with her. Gayle is so great with him and seems to know exactly how to deal with Griffin so that he has fun and learns at the same time. Here he is kind of goofing off on the rope ladder by sitting down and taking a break but he loves climbing on it and it is really good for his gross motor skills.

Nancy Lake

Yesterday we went to Nancy Lake with Kathleen and her husband Carl and had a blast especially Griffin. The above picture is of them on the raft behind the boat Griffin loved that of course.

Here Griffin is in a kayak and it looks as though he knows what he is doing and I don't know where he learned to do it 'cause it wasn't from me. I am thinking that he remembered seeing it on his Zoboomafoo video where Martin and Chris are in kayaks. It was a beautiful day and we are grateful to Kathleen and Carl for taking us and to Ed and Lori for having us. It made an otherwise boring weekend into a really nice time away from the apartment. That's about it folks, hope that you had a great weekend and that you are having a good day today.

This is a wizard that I sculpted from clay years ago when I was pregnant with Griffin, he is about 6 inches tall. I wish that you could see the detail in his face and hands. Anyhow, I have posted this picture of him because I have started sculpting again and wanted my friends to see what I have done and for them to give me their opinions on what they think of him. I would like your opinion too. Tell me what you think of the wizard and maybe give me a suggestion of what I should make next. I am thinking along the lines of a mermaid or an old crone. I like creating pieces with lots of detail so keep that in mind when you give me your suggestions. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

In other news, the weather in Anchorage is absolutely gorgeous! It has been in the 70's with a nice breeze blowing and everything is so green and plush. So, for those of you who think that it is only cold up here all the time remember that we have far more sunlight than the lower 48 states which means that it gets quite warm. Anchoraage is in southcentral Alaska and the weather stays relatively mild compared to the more northern parts of the state, like Fairbanks that can reach temperatures in the high 90's and above and the sun will stay out for 24 hours on summer solstice. Enough of the useless facts about Alaska that you may have not even have been interested in in the first place.

My Baby Is Growing Up

Doesn't he look so mature here? Griffin is growing up so fast it is just unbelievable. It makes me cry just to think of it. As I have said before, he becomes less autistic every day it seems or should I say that he shows more signs of being NT as time goes on? It just amazes me the things that he comes up with. Kathleen told me that he saw a Coke sign behind where he was sitting at Mc Donald's and it said in big letters "Ice Cold". Griffin turned around and read it and looked at Kathleen and said, "I'm not ice cold". Now is that incredible or what? I had no idea that he could come up with such a statement, that he would understand what the sign meant and state that he wasn't ice cold. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of things that he does that are autistic but such things as meltdowns and sensory issues are becoming less and less common as time goes on. If it sounds like I am bragging then you would be right! I am so perfectly proud of my litlle guy all I want to do is boast about him. OH yea, and another biggie is that today I heard the toilet seat slam, I ran in there and he had taken off his pants and diaper and put his potty seat on the toilet seat and got up on there to go potty all by himself. I had stepped out of the bathroom momentarily to get a diaper and Griffin came to get me to show me what he had done in the potty and he was just beaming. He was so darn proud of himself. Way to go Griffin, you big boy you!

School Is Almost Out

The end of school is near and I am trying to think about what the heck I am going to do with Griffin to fill our days. Since he doesn't necessarily like the playground and doesn't play on the equipment even if I play with him, then I am left wondering what we will be doing. We take Abby for a walk twice a day now and try to do as much outdoors when the weather is nice but there is only so much one can do with a 4 year old who likes to run off. I have one of those harnesses with a leash that I strap on him if I want to go for a walk with him because if I don't he will take off and be out in the road in no time and I am not fast enough to catch up with him. When we go to take Abby for a walk I put him in the stroller because I can't handle a dog and a 4 year old all at once. There are things that we can work on inside but each activity only takes a few minutes to complete, we have music to sing and dance to but I was wondering if anyone else has any suggestions on what to do. In the meantime I will be in search of new things for us to do.

Two Great Pictures

This is Griffin using Pisgah as a pillow. Poor ol' Pisgah is so tolerant and patient with Griffin he has got to be the best cat that I have ever had because he is such a trooper.Oh, and by the way, Griffin doesn't hurt Pisgah I watch them carefully when they are together so that both of them are safe. Then there is the other picture where Griffin was putting the telephone up to Elmo and pretending that Elmo was talking on the phone. Just thought that I would share a couple of pictures that I got the other day that I thought were exceptionally good. Hope that you enjoy them too. What's the latest with us? Well, Griffin is still getting up at 5:00 in the morning even though he went to bed last night at 9:00 and had taken his melatonin too 5 mg. It seems to knock him out but he isn't sleeping as long maybe because that is about the time that the sun comes out and he is sensitive to the little bit of light that comes through the window. I have a couple of blankets over the window in order to make it as dark as possible in there but it isn't perfect, I guess that I need to staple the blankets to the wall in order to keep ALL of the sunlight out. In other news, I am sculpting again and am actually quite surprised at how well it is coming along. The last time I had my hands in clay was when I was pregnant 4 years ago, almost 5 . As soon as I have completed my project I will post a picture of it. Griffin has been quite mellow lately and has not had a meltdown since our flight to Anchorage from Minneapolis back in the middle of April and heaven knows that he certainly did have the right to have one then. The poor lil' guy had a fever, felt horrible I'm sure, had already been flying for a few hours and had frankly had enough of all the outside stimultation. Anyhow, it has been a month and no meltdowns! What a great lil' guy he is and such a happy camper. He is doing well in school, at speech, and at O.T. which I will post about soon. Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!

At The Playground

This is Griffin at the playground that's in the park where we go to walk Abby each day. He usually doesn't go down the slide but he does enjoy the vestibular activity where he goes around in circles at a relatively high rate of speed. I turn him around and around and he never gets dizzy nor does he ever want to stop. When he gets off of it he doesn't stumble or act like he has lost his balance, it is truly amazing. Griffin often asks to go to the playground but doesn't play for very long which is a good thing for me in the summer heat since I am allergic to the sun and have to stay out of it as much as possible. Right now, it is perfect weather for me because it is in the 50's and I just love it. It is so nice and cool with a nice breeze going some days and after walking for a bit I warm up and feel just fine. I was wondering if anyone else's child(ren) goes to the playground but doesn't seem to want to play? Some days he will just kind of wanders around aimlessly and I feel as though our trip has been wasted. Maybe you could share some of your experiences of the playground with me so that I might understand why Griffin doesn't really want to play.

Thanks To My Mother

As Mother's Day approaches I think of all that I am grateful for having such a wonderful mother that I do. I begin to remember the tough times as well as the most beautiful ones and it gives me pause to think how fortunate I really am. My earliest memories are of times of comfort and affection, receiving hugs at night and a sweet kiss on the forehead and I just knew that I was truly loved. I recall a time when I was really sick as a child and had to be hospitalized because the doctors didn't know why I had been vomiting and although I don't remember many details I do recall that it wasn't a bad time for me because my mother was always right there by my side. There was the times that us kids were probably quite annoying to my mom, after all there was three of us and at times we didn't want to leave her alone. Once when my mom wanted to go to the grocery store and us kids were hounding her to go with her and I remember her saying something to the effect of, "Can't I go anywhere without you kids?" at the time I didn't understand and it hurt my feelings but I do understand now because my mom must have felt overwhelmed and needed some space especially since she was with us 24/7 every day of the year without a break. I know what it's like to need space and time alone and how essential it is to good mental health. My mom must have desperately needed some time alone and we weren't about to give it to her so easily. Now I can laugh about times like these and relish the memories of the more pleasant times because being a mom myself I can relate to what my mother must have been going through. During the day of honor to our mother's I would like to say that I could never had a better mother than the one that I was so blessed with and even though I may not have understood why things were the way they were at the time, I do understand now that my mother was the most caring, affectionate, loving, and generous mom that I could have ever imagined having. I realize that it's not Mother's Day yet but I ask, why must it be just one day out of the entire year? My mother deserves praise and adoration throughout the year so here's three cheers for my mom and all that she has done for me from the discipline to the sweet kisses on the forehead she is my #1 and I just want to say "Thank You" and that I hope that I can be as good a mother as she has been to me.

Griffin's Haircut

Not much to report but I did want to at least post a picture of Griffin's haircut. Isn't he a cutie? Griffin has been sucking on the neckline of his shirts constantly and I don't know what to do to get him to stop. Gayle, the O.T. and I tried the NUK oral thingy(don't know what it's called) but he chewed it up into bits. We have tried chewing gum and he has lost interest in it and only licks it now. She has mentioned chewy tubes which might work at least temporarily. I hope so. Here in the photo you can tell that his shirt is wet and that's why. Nothing else going on, no news is good news. We are doing great and life is good.

Griffin's First Train Ride

Today we went to ride the train and Kathleen, Griffin's teacher, came along. It was a free trip because the railroad was having an open house today and even though it was rather short it was still pretty neat. Griffin seemed to like it as he was looking out the window but what he liked the most was the free balloon and popcorn. Before the trip on the train Kathleen and I took Griffin to get his hair cut at the barber's shop. The barber was really good as he worked as quickly as he could in getting it done. Griffin screamed a little and squirmed here and there a bit but for the most part I think that he did a good job sitting still. It took about half an hour and cost $15.00. I don't know if that is the going rate for little boys' haircuts but it seemed pretty fair considering what the man had to tolerate while cutting Griffin's hair. I am sure that it takes a tremendous amount of patience to not only to cut his hair but to deal with two women trying to hold him all at the same time. He looks so cute/adorable with his new short hair, I will post a picture of him in the next post. Meanwhile, I am going to go and read my favorite blogs.

Update on the Ears

Well, I figured out why Griffin was holding his ears and it wasn't a sensory issue or a medical issue. He was doing it to manipulate mommy. I learned that he was doing it to manipulate me when Stephanie (the respite provider) and I put him to the test. I turned on my TV and left his TV on and Stephanie distracted him by playing with him while I sat at the computer. He held his ears briefly but as soon as he was having fun he stopped. When he stopped I gave him lots of attention and praise and it hasn't happened since. Now he goes on his merry way while I have my TV on in the kitchen and there's no more covering of the ears. Everything remains the same as before so I can't see how it could have been a sensory issue. Also, I spoke with my friend Amy who said that her son, Noah, used to do the same thing. If Griffin had continued to hold his ears I would have taken him in to see the doctor but now I don't think that it is necessary. Besides, I think that if he was in a lot of pain that his behavior would have changed and that wasn't the case. Anyhow, I think that he is fine and I make sure that he gets plenty of attention while I am watching my TV and /or I am on the computer and it seems to be the right remedy for the situation. In other news, I am reading "Parenting Your Complex Child" and it is one of the most informative and insightful books I have ever read. So far one of my favorite parts is chapter 14 , Creating A Community For Your Child. It is about how it can be made easier for you and your child to be out in public and how to deal with those individuals that seem to stare and the ones who make comments. It also shows you how to deal with restaurants, grocery stores and even how to deal with haircuts plus so much more than that. I felt so connected to the author, Peggy Lou Morgan, that I began to shed some tears and get a lump in my throat. By the way that she writes it is as if you are in those shoes, she knows exactly what we go through with our 'extraordinary needs' (as she puts it) children. The way that it is all explained is easy to understand and quite clear to the reader with the solution being an easy one for each and every situation. Please check out the link above and then go out and get a copy for yourself or you can order it online though Amazon.com

The Petting Zoo, Swimming, and Ears

This is Griffin petting a sheep at the petting zoo the other day. As you can tell he loves to have contact with all kinds of animals. I am going to check into the program that they have here for children with special needs and horseback riding. I don't know at what age he can start but I am sure excited for him to be able to ride a horse. I used to ride horses when I was quite young and they were all that I cared about and loved. Griffin went to O.T. today to the swimming pool as he always does on Tuesdays. He is making lots of progress by communicating with Gayle much better. There is a ledge in the pool where Griffin can stand wiith his head well above the water but if he jumps then he goes into the deep part. He is supposed to let Gayle know that he is jumping off and wait for her to say, "I'm ready" so that he knows that it is safe to jump. Well, he did not and plunged into the water and Gayle caught him but not before his head went under. Boy, what a look of shock on his face and oh what a lesson he learned in that brief moment. But of course, he ended up smiling and laughing after the shock wore off. Now, I am wondering about his ears because he has been holding his hands over his ears lately and I don't know if it means that they are hurting or if it is a sensory issue. I wonder because he is mostly doing it whenever I turn on my TV but he isn't bothered by the sound of his TV or DVD player even when they are going on at the same time. One might even guess that it is a control issue that he is just trying to jerk mommy around but I don't think so. I think that he genuinely is bothered by my TV being on somehow. He will cover his ears and say "No no no no!!!!!" and even begin crying if I refuse to turn it off. Please tell me what you think it might be. Do you think that it is A. His ears are hurting or the sound is hurting his ears. B. It is a control issue or a power struggle/ manipulation on his part C. It is totally a sensory issue and the sound is causing some confusion or genuine irritation. I am taking him into the doctor tomorrow for his ears to be checked just in case it has something to do with the tubes in his ears. I am probably taking him to the pediatrician but will also make an appointment for the ear, nose, and throat doctor too. Please let me know what you think about this issue and maybe any experience that you have had that is similar to this one.

Autism and K.C.

Autism and K.C. is a blog that you will want to visit over and over again because Tina writes so well about the life and times of K.C. and his Big Brother. Join me in welcoming her back and letting her know that we care and are interested in what goes on in their lives. It is fascinating the progress that K.C. has made lately and it's fun to hear all the stories of Big Brother's great imagination and intellect. Go and check out their blog, you'll be glad that you did.

Here is Griffin with Gayle in O.T, he is climbing the rope ladder. He seemed to do okay while going up the ladder but going down was too much of a challenge for him apparently because he would just laugh, let go, and fall down to the mat. While climbing up he was a bit more serious and seemed to really want to make it to the top. In this photo Griffin is getting help from Gayle in helping him down the ladder, it is a lot of work for anyone to climb and desend a ladder like that much less a little 4 year old. I think that he did a great job. Griffin went to the zoo with his class on Friday and I went along as well. I am so proud of him because he did so well. He was the only child out of all the students 8 (I think) who wasn't crying. Griffin was his usual happy camper self and just seemed to have a blast watching all the animals. He especially had fun at the petting zoo of course. I just think that it is amazing that he didn't become overwhelmed with his surroundings because there are so many different sights, sounds, and odors too. So, I understand how the other children became upset probably from sensory overload. It was pretty chilly outside too, my hands were freezing, I am sure that it was a contributing factor in the whole situation. Today is really nice and we are about to go out and take Griffiin's service dog, Abby for a walk Hugs to all of you and have a great day!

Griffin Loves Animals

Griffin absolutely adores animals. When he is around them it is like magic. His favorite animal is our cat "Pisgah" and of course he loves his service dog, "Abby". Griffin is an affectionate little guy with me and other people like my family but he is most affectionate with the animals. He is always giving big hugs to Pisgah and petting him so nicely. Here you can see the sheer joy on Griffin's face as he pets the horse. My mom is holding him and of course she is thrilled, as was I, that he enjoyed feeding the horses carrots and petting them. He is definately like his mommy because I have always loved animals ever since I can remember and have always had them in my life. I highly recommend , if you are able to do it, that any of you who have a child with autism that you consider getting a service dog or even just a pet of some kind because it can make a world of difference with your child's behavior. Before we got Abby, Griffin would bang his head all the time especially when we were out in public. He had many negetive behaviors that seemed to just disappear once Abby came along. Now, Abby goes with us everywhere and she wasn't even professionally trained. I trained her myself and she is absolutely awesome. I don't know about other states but in Alaska it is not necessary for a service dog to be trained professionally. All that matters is that the dog is well behaved in public and of course it is necessary for the dog to be gentle and to have never shown any signs of aggression or having been protective in any way. I know that I have probably written about Abby before but I just want everyone to know about how wonderful a service dog can be for a child/individual with autism. Griffin had speech today and he did okay . Lisa worked on sequencing which he is not quite ready for so mostly he observed her doing it herself. Then they worked on opposites and he did okay with that with a little help. Lisa got him to answer some "wh" questions such as: What goes here? and What else is green? etc.... She said that even though the sequencing is a bit advanced for him that it is good that he is getting exposed to them anyhow. Griffin got a case of the sillies for awhile which usually means that he needs a break, Lisa is really good at recognizing this and he recovered nicely after his break. Tomorrow, Griffin has O.T. with Gayle at the clinic and he had swimming on Tuesday which went really really well of course. Gayle is so good with him, she taught him to say"I'm jumping" so that she would know that he is about to jump off the ledge that is in the kid's swimming pool. Once he jumped without her knowing he was going to and he plunged under the water and caught them both by surprise. I think that it scared him just enough to help teach him a lesson but at the same time he had a smile on his face as he was coughing. Thanks a bunch Gayle and Lisa for all your hard work and dedication. We love ya!

I Miss My Family

I miss my family so very much. I know that I keep going on about it but it just breaks my heart that Griffin bonded with them so well and now he cannot see them anymore. It is also hard for me because I am so close with them and I can't have their support, the kind that I need, so far away. I have little to no support up here because the friends that I do have do not help me watch Griffin on a regular basis only in emergency situations. Therefore, I am without support and the closeness that I need so much. I am sure that I will adjust with time and learn to be alone again like I have been for so many years. I know that it sounds as if I am complaining and I don't mean for it to be that way. I love the people who are up here who care about me and Griffin, they are very special to me and I know that they are always there for me if I need them in a pinch. I only wish that I could spend more time with them. There have been opportunities for me to meet new people but I am just not the kind of social creature who likes to meet new people. The friends that I do have don't have children so we don't get together to do play dates. I have searched for groups of moms who have children Griffin's age and are autistic but have had no luck because there are no groups that have been formed. Maybe one day I will take the iniciative and try to put together a bunch of moms with autistic children but for now it is not on my agenda. I sure do hope that this publishes because I have had problems with Blogger the past two days. I have composed several posts and once I click on Publish Post my entire post just disappeared. So, I am taking a chance and trying once more. Speaking of, I don't want to make this too terribly long just in case it does disappear this time. That way I won't be quite as upset if the post is not that long. Here's hoping that it works. Oh yes, and the picture above is of my brother and Griffin. My brother is 5 years younger than I and my sister is 1 yr. older which makes me the middle child :) and that is another story in itself :)

Griffin's IEP Meeting

Griffin is watching one of his favorite DVD's here with his cousin Emma and Auntie Lisa in S.C. Today Griffin woke up and said, " Let's go see NaNa." and it made me shed some tears as I told him that he could not. I don't know if he understood but I explained to him that it will be awhile before we would be able to see NaNa and PaPa again. I am pretty sure that it bothered me much more than it did him. I met with Griffin's teacher, Kathleen, and his SLP, Marcia, at the school today for his IEP meeting and to sign the papers for the ESY( extended school year/summer school). Marcia said that Griffin has made excellent progress. The Progress Report reads as follows: Although Griffin continues to verbalize often without the intent to communicate, he is demonstrating an increase in his spontaneous, meaningful utterances. These utterances also include emerging use of varied communication intentions. In a recent 39 utterance sample, he responded appropriately to 2 conversational questions; made a comment ("upside down") while looking at a picture; and called adult's attention to an item of interest by saying, "Look" and pointing. We are trying to teach him to say "Look" or something similar rather than, "Hi" to initially gain attention. However, his desire to bring attention to himself and to items of interest is a sign of growth in his communication competence. There is so much on the IEP-Progress Report that is positive and shows excellent progress but I don't have the energy to type it all out tonight, perhaps I will continue with more tomorrow. I am just happy to say that I am so very proud of my little guy and that I am very fortunate because I have heard so many stories of how awful some IEP meetings can be yet I have always had wonderful IEP meetings. Thanks in large part to the fact that Griffin has had wonderful teachers and O.T.'s and SLP's throughout his time in school. I say "Thank you ladies for all that you have done for my beautiful child Griffin." You have made our lives so much more fulfilled and enriched.

Griffin and Hayley

Griffin really bonded with his cousin Hayley. Here they are after playing really hard in the hotel room the night before we left to come home. It is such a sweet picture but it makes me feel like crying because I know how much she must miss him and how much I miss her and the rest of my family. I am hoping that perhaps we will be able to visit them again in the fall because it is just too hard to be away from them even though I know it is for the best, for Griffin's sake. I have checked into some of the schools that are private in Western North Carolina and I simply would not be able to afford sending Griffin to one. I am considering moving to Wisconsin where my friend Amy lives. She has sent me information on the school system and the services available to children with autism there. So far it seems to be really good but I'll have to see if they are comparable to the system here in Alaska.
Griffin just got home from school is he is a wild boy today! He is running around in circles and laughing his little head off while watching Zoboomafoo. It seems that the trip has had little to no effect on him and that really makes me glad. He never stopped being himself the entire time that we were gone and is still the same ol' happy little camper that he usually is. Check back again soon, maybe tomorrow even, because I will be posting more pictures from the trip.