For those folks who have been reading my blog, I am taking a break.  I hope to come back soon. Read full post »

When I began to research the term, 'autism,' I did not like what I had discovered. The term 'autism' refers to an absorption in fantasy as an escape from reality.  Was Andrew that far removed from the reality of life?  After all, Andrew appeared to have above-average intelligence with a kee… Read full post »

I did not know at that time I was having a severe, panic attack.  Apparently, it was too much for me dealing with Andrew's medical needs along with having two other children.  It was more than stressful.  It was a nightmare!

Fortunately, I never experienced another severe, panic attack… Read full post »

When I first heard Andrew's diagnosis as being 'autistic,' I was more elated than sad.  The labeling was better than 'psychotic.'  After I left the neurologist's office with Andrew, we stopped at a small cafe that served hotdogs near our home.  I remember sitting on a stool trying to r… Read full post »

When the class size increased, Andrew covered his ears to block out the noise.  The instructor did not appreciate Andrew's behavior and encouraged private lessons.  However, I convinced the instructor to work with Andrew first and then dismiss him.  Andrew continued with his lessons fo… Read full post »

During the time period when Andrew was taking swimming lessons, he also took piano lessons.  The swimming would improve his gross motor skills, while the piano was for fine motor skills development.

Since Andrew had sensitive hearing, it was difficult for him to sit in the same room with other s… Read full post »

Once when Andrew knew he could swim the length of the pool, he continued to do so.  After several weeks of Andrew swimming, he began to skip during recess.  His skipping was stiff and mechanical, but he was trying.

Unfortunately, the physical educational teacher found out about Andrew skipp… Read full post »

Since Andrew was not receiving services for his motor skills' deficit, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I enrolled Andrew in a weekly swimming class along with his two sisters.  The girls made continual progress moving from one level to another over the course of five years. &n… Read full post »

It became a constant struggle to enforce the adaptive P.E. for Andrew.  Apparently, the physical education teacher would have to offer a separate class for this.  She was not able to do so or simply did not want to.  Somehow, Andrew's medical letter was always missing from his cumulati… Read full post »

When the neurologist met Andrew and had him do a few physical activities, he immediately told me not to take him back to the psychiatrist.  He believed Andrew's problem was not a mental, but more of a physical one.  He recommended Andrew to have formal testing done by a neuro-psychologist.&… Read full post »

When the parent technician entered my second grade classroom at the end of the day, I knew something was terribly wrong.  She told me the principal needed to see me and that she would cover my class.

As I entered her office, both guidance counselors along with the assistant principal were… Read full post »

Besides having difficulty with gross motor skills, Andrew had problems with holding a pencil and tying his shoes.  Andrew spent most of his time watching the other children play, explore for bugs or simply daydream.

When Andrew was forced to participate, he would growl at or spit on the person o… Read full post »

When Andrew entered kindergarten, he was labeled as being developmentally-delayed and received services for speech.  After repeating kindergarten, he did make some improvements in his speech, such as staying on topic for a short time.  I truly believed Andrew would changed and become the br… Read full post »

One day I went shopping and Andrew was with me.  Suddenly, Andrew exclaimed, "Hey...you've got black on your face," to a group of young adults.  I did not know what to say, so I just kept walking pulling Andrew along.

Looking back at pictures of Andrew taken during that period, I… Read full post »

Andrew began showing signs of strange behavior almost after Ron had left for the Persian Gulf War.  He was nearly four years old and began drooling.  His eyes would roll during a conversation.  Andrew could not stay on a topic of conversation for more than a minute. Ther… Read full post »

I became increasingly aware of how difficult it was for Andrew to adjust to new experiences.  I began to see him show signs of regression, such as with walking, wetting the bed and speaking.  I did not know what caused the change in Andrew's behavior.  At first, I thought he regressed… Read full post »

I was glad Andrew was intelligent.  However, there were two things that annoyed me.  First, was the constant need to replace his shoelaces.  No one seemed to know what he did with them.  I had to buy a huge bag of shoelaces from a wholesaler, since he lost his shoelaces everyday.&… Read full post »

During Andrew's first day at preschool, he figured out how to unlock a door and went outside with the rest of his classmates to play.  His preschool teacher was shocked and angry at Andrew.  I did not know until Andrew in high school that he had been roughly shaken.  His teacher… Read full post »

When Ron had stated about spanking Andrew, I was furious!  I wondered where that thought came from.  I knew Andrew would not do it again, after speaking with him about it.  I had no intention of spanking him, because I had done the same thing myself.  I remembered wondering what w… Read full post »

Andrew had taken off his diapoer and had his hands in the mess.  I do not know how another parent would deal with it, but I knew I needed to get him clean along with the walls.  I was fortunate everyone was sleeping.

After giving him a bath, I put him… Read full post »

Three months before the car accident, we were living in Illinois.  Ron was attending 'A' school for a career in fire safety with the Navy.  Since I had two children at that time, I wanted to stay home rather than teach.  I became a childcare provider and took care of several… Read full post »

Since I was raised in an environment where intuition was a necessary gift needed for survival, I knew Andrew did not have some hidden illness.  I noticed how alert he was with the environment around him.  He would crawl towards anything catching his attention, either by sound or light. … Read full post »

When I entered the first grade, I began the process of learning to read and write.  Everyone was placed into a group based on a quick assessment.  The high achievers were placed into the group known as the "bluebirds."  The average group was the "redbirds" and the slow group the "canar… Read full post »

The first memory of my son was having him lay across my stomach after being stapled.  Andrew was my second, c-section baby.  He appeared "normal" in everyway.  The first thing I remember my husband, Ron, doing was pulling on Andrew's leg.

"See how strong he is!" Ron said proudly.

WOW!&… Read full post »

One thing that was different about my little fellow was that he did not follow a normal pattern.  For example, Lisa belly glide before she learned to crawl. Andrew on the other hand, did not.  I never saw him learning to crawl.  It was like magic!  One day he was not… Read full post »