Whoops, nothing since August! We have been busy and trying to figure things out

It has been a big transition from K to 1 and K has had his ups and downs so far.  He wrapped up his Fast ForWord program right before school started and we got his pre-post evaluation in mid-September.  He responded REALLY well to the program.  Some deficit areas are now considered WNL (within normal limits) and others improved pretty significantly.  All great news!

He started the year with his FM Transmitter in the classroom.  We have been fortunate in our teacher for this year.  She has used an FM transmitter before and has no issue with it...double thumbs up.  Secondly, she has an excellent energy level and loves the rowdy boys she has in her class.  And let me tell you, she has some rowdies!!!  She seems to 'get' K most days and works with him quite well letting him have his space when he needs it.  She has observed his coping mechanisms kicking in and runs with it in a manner that helps him yet keeps the class on track.

All of this said, with the improvements in APD and ongoing OT and now the start up with ST, we are really struggling with attention, behavior, fidgeting, ability to sit still, concentration, etc.  He falls out of his chair at school!  We had discussed ADHD quite a bit over the summer, M and I that is, and have had it on the radar.  We have never been fans of meds but as of this morning we are eating our words (never say never folks) and K is starting Focalin XR.  We reached a point where we felt that if there is something we can do, we owe it to him to try it.  He has enough challenges with APD, the essential tremor, SPD, gross motor delays, and fine motor delays that we owe it to him to try.

He did great with it this morning, a single spoonful of applesauce with the contents of the capsule sprinkled on it with a water chaser.

So, here we go!

Back to school has already come!

Wow, how did that happen?  Where did summer go?  Seriously, where did it go?

Things wrapped up well.  K completed Fast ForWord and the initial word from his evaluation with the Speech and Hearing Center is that he is still presenting with deficits but he has improved overall.  That is always a relief when you invest a lot of time and money into a program.  He goes for his language re-evaluation in about 10 days.

The FM transmitter has officially been purchased and is being used in the classroom.  There is another boy in K's class who has APD who does not have the transmitter so I encouraged the teacher to seat them together.  I had a fantastic meeting with the Dean of Students and K's teacher before school started.  She is new to the school but has been teaching for a while.  She has a great attitude, asked great questions and has even used an FM transmitter in her classrooms previously.  All good news!

We have met with a Child Psychologist a few times to work on family dynamics, discipline, and tantrums post APD diagnosis.  We have been struggling to figure out where to draw the line, where to cut slack, what are reasonable expectations, etc.  She has recommended a couple of books that we have found interesting...Quirky Kids by Peri Klass and Explosive Child by Ross Greene.  Like all such books not 100% applicable but enough nuggets and ideas to help us along the path as a family.

T started 2 day a week preschool last week.  I thought he would cry and make a scene at drop-off like he does at nursery when we go to church.  For some reason he did great!  Don't interpret that as complaint ;-)  We are relieved and excited.  He has also started potty training which is mind boggling for us considering K didn't really show any progress in that until after 3 1/2.  Another one of those moments where we realize how many signs we missed when K was younger.

I'm busy with work but that is par for the course.  Great projects, great work, just busy.

Random thoughts, mostly about K

Short business trips always end up being a time of some introspection. Longer trips I really start missing my guys, but shorter trips allow me some time to stop and think about things for a bit without getting lonely. Time with my thoughts is fleeting so I love the chance. One of my co-workers always stimulates positive thinking for me and helps me remember what is important, what to focus on, and how to keep all the balls in the air.

I’m really not sure where things are headed with K. The APD diagnosis gives us something to work with over the summer. There are other things still on the table that I have moments of worry about but then it passes too. We may still be dealing with ADHD or with Asperger’s. I have mixed feelings about both but know ‘what’ it is doesn’t matter, the love I feel for him is the same. I just want to know how to best support and help him develop. We have to work on the APD first to see if that helps the symptoms of the others.

Today was a big day for us. It was the last day of school. K has done well enough that he isn’t being held back so we are officially the parents of a first grader. I’m not sure how that has come to pass. Seven years ago this week I found out I was pregnant with K. Now he is a first grader. Somehow it seems like it was just a little while ago I saw that second line of the test.

T starts two day a week preschool in August. It will be the start of a transition. He is growing and developing so quickly. It really makes M and I step back and realize how much we missed with K. T is so much more verbal, knows many shapes, identifies letters, and counts. All stuff that K didn’t do until far later. Layer on top T’s physical strengths and abilities and boy do we feel like cruddy parents who missed a lot of signs that K was struggling. That said, nothing we can do to change that so keep working to help and support him as much as possible.

Work has been busy. Good busy, but crazy busy. M is going to come with me to EVO in Park City later this month. It is nice when work and life briefly coincide. The kids will stay here but we are really looking forward to the time together. Work is sponsoring the conference so that part will also be very interesting. I’m hoping to get a clue about blogging while I’m there and this will hopefully be a better place to visit come July.

The weekend after EVO we are visiting my brother and his family in NY and we are VERY, VERY excited about that. The cousins have a blast together. Stay tuned for pictures.

Food allergies suck!

There is no delicate way to phrase it. One child’s favorite food can kill my son. People who haven’t experienced food allergies find it ridiculous, alarmist, and ridiculous. Really? Alarmist? Do we let kids bring guns to school? No! Why would we allow something we KNOW can kill someone into the school and seemingly endorse said thing?

I’ve been battling K’s school this year. They are not a peanut free school and they don’t have a stated policy regarding food brought into the school. I get not claiming to be peanut free, and honestly, even as a food allergy parent I’m not a fan of peanut free schools as I feel they create a false sense of security.

For their Thanksgiving feast they INSISTED on Chick-fil-a chicken minis. Gee, lets let 50 Kindergarteners cover their hands with a known allergen. The solution was to put K at the head of the seating arrangement with stuffed animals on either side of him as buffer from the other kids. I offered to pay for an alternative food but they wouldn’t do it. What is so special about Chick-fil-a that they have to have it?

That leads to today. My phone rang at 1:03pm. I was on the phone with M at the time. The clinic nurse quickly passed me to K’s Teachers Aide and I could hear the fear and panic in her voice. K had eaten popcorn at the student-teacher volleyball game and it had been popped in peanut oil. Is this the 1950’s? Seriously? What the heck is the school thinking serving 600+ people something made with one of the deadliest allergens?

Oh, that is right, research shows that a very low percentage of people react to nut oils. Gee, thanks for the statistics, but my kid is one of the few that is the exception.

The response from the school:

I am very sorry for what occurred this afternoon. The popcorn was not brought from an outside source, rather it was made in our school concession stand. Certainly, we should have known that the popcorn was made in peanut oil, however we had parent volunteers making the popcorn.

In our correspondence concerning Catholic Schools Week sent out through the Friday Folder, January 22, we stated that the children would be served popcorn on Thursday-School Spirit Day.

We are thankful that K had no adverse reaction to the popcorn. As soon as Mrs. M learned that the popcorn had been popped using peanut oil, she responded quickly and appropriately. And we are grateful to you for bringing him an alternative snack.

Thank you for expressing your concern. We will continue to strive to do our best in safeguarding children with allergies.

Yeah, thanks. No adverse reaction? It took two doses of Benadryl to clear his face. Layer on top of that the fact that he was afraid to eat dinner tonight because it might not be safe. He has apologized at least 10 times that I’ve heard today for eating something with nuts. It has brought tears to my eyes so many times. He thinks it is his fault. He thinks it is his fault rather than the idiotic school policies.

Stupid freaking school. Why is it so hard to not have snacks at school functions? Why must every celebration be accompanied by food? Why can we so willingly and KNOWINGLY put kids at risk but then freak out about much smaller things?

I don’t get it. I don’t think I ever will. I do feel confident that God blessed me with K for a reason. Someone who 'gets it', embraces it and will advocate for him.