ASD

Now all 4 adopted kiddos have ASD. Still sinking in, my best thoughts are this should improve services if we ever need them I guess, but still sinking in. There is such an overlap of glitches, but the spectrum has such weight with social and communication issues that the language processing issues cannot be determined separately. The thing is that for so long it was only Buzzy, and that was quite evident, then Newby came along and he was pretty obvious- and had that dx. Then Fuzzy, well when you look at the patterns and issues, yep. And now Happy, sure, I guess it fits. She was the last of all six biological siblings then that have ASD. Just seems weird!

Summer school...

He didn't qualify for esy, extended school year. The progress he made was sufficient for someone with his special needs. He didn't have esy previously, likely since the 15 months of residential met those underlying social impairments and he had no advocate to address such concerns. Ya can't win 'me all. I got the, "sit down and shut up," response from the district, in their cordial administrative manners. So, tomorrow I begin transporting to the program he was eligible for. Being him there by 8am!! This is Newby, but Buzzy is glad because I said I will drive him too so he will not have to board esy bus at 710am. Then I signed both of them p to get bussed to a local boys and girls club, hopefully that will serve as awesome as I think it will for our schedules. That way I didn't have to be there to pick Newby up at 11 sharp. If the club serves awesome, they will participate in swimming, games, crafts, kitchen help, and other activities before getting picked up for therapy on a couple days and the 3rd I am lining up rides or will run in to get them too, so looking forward to them having another activity they will enjoy. Even though it is early, I am looking forward to getting out of the house those mornings too! Now you know how sad my life really is;). This should be the last year of him not qualifying though, so that shall be addressed in the school year. Fuzzy and Newby both go to new schools, one up, this year, so that will be exciting for them. We are so blessed and I am so thankful for all my kids and they bring joy to my heart in their strides, leaps, and bounds.

Buddy Program

Buddy Check, as the swimming beach makes you raise hands with your buddy, to minimize a lone kid drowning under the dock. Our buddy check is Lil'Me going on the overnight BD party with Happy. Trying to explain to her that when she makes good choices then she gets more opportunities and better things, as my hands expand into a ball and then when she has trouble making her own choices then there is not as many things available to her. Deer in the headlights. The strange stare that Buzzy gives when he feels jaded about the conceptions and reality of having to be the "bad guy." Happy forgot to pack a sleeping bag even, but of course brought her little puppy that pees. This party is for a friend that graciously invited both girls. Lil'Me has her in class, and so does Happy for the reading intervention program. So a great mix of kids. At my girls party this girl swapped her classmates for the small group of kids, that was her comfort level, playing with the pee pee puppy all night. As much as we dislike sleepovers, as the girls are getting older, it seems inevitable. Not for Happy though; her melding characteristics, vulnerability, and communication/processing delays put her at greater risk of being victimized and we are not going to afford her that. Unfortunately, she will likely never appreciate or understand this favor we will provide for her. Lil'Me, as she asked why we wouldn't let them spend the night and I said because Dad is worried about people being creepy. "mom, I am old enough, I work at the library, I know to scream and get away from someone creepy." The condition being they were both invited and Lil'Me carries the responsibility and maturity card big enough for both of them. They had explicit instructions to sleep too:)

Making it

the emotional energy it takes to raise these kids is crazy. at the end of the day i know God has me in the right place at the right time, but it is mistaken misery at times! we haven't seen the step girls in a long time too. i am just fine with that right now because i have a tendency to want to fix things, and there are so many things i cannot mend from their upbringing by a person i couldn't disagree with more. raising daughters is hard, and i see that with happy, she is vulnerable and melds in any environment she is in. as a parent, i am not just going to shrug my shoulders and watch her be misguided and mislead. i will likely homeschool her after the elementary experience and do my best to influence her and protect her from the harsh realities waiting to devour her. she is naturally drawn to lower functioning peers, which in turn, have lower functioning parents and thus the cycle remains. i cannot force friends, but i can eliminate options. leaning twards 4h, church, and other recreational activities to form relationships with, not her special ed groups at school! i know it must sound horrible, but she is my kid and i have high hopes for her. i have witnessed a lack of identity and grounding. a lack of understanding to the foundation we work so hard to establish here. we have daily Bible studies, listen to primarily Christian music, the kids all recite the 10 Commandments and other verses, but yet deer in the headlights. not sure what path to take. but with God by my side I will not be afraid to do what is right and what is in her best interest. that is why this is so hard! i wish that my battles with disabilities didn't infringe on my relationships with my bio kids, but it does. it creeps into my existence and shadows my thoughts, it hardens my heart at times and wrestles with my desires to have a fun and relaxing home. i need to overcome the burden mindset though and embrace my challenges and obligations to best serve everyone and not be consumed by my emotions. i cannot be captive to where the world has me, as i am not of this world and through Christ i have been set free. amen to that!

wastes of time

autism. egocentric-ism. laziness. one takes the big bag of garbage out to the end of the driveway yet comes back empty handed, determined that it is someone else's turn. the other refused to wear his coat last night, cold january temps, mind you. why you ask? because it wasnt worth it to hang his coat up twice. i will never cease to be amazed at the flawed concepts and processing problems that affect daily decisions and the paths of what we consider normal! there is an odd style of measurements, relations, and conceptual balance among the quad.

Attachment

Reactive attachment disorder is almost like brain damage because the concepts were not formed at infancy, or likely birth to three when such immaculate nature transponder between parents and infants. In relationships, communication, temperature, space, time, and money I can see associations I would contribute to the neglect. The brain damage piece is there is no way to teach these things either. It just really sucks. But, of course I take joy because I have faith my Lord Jesus has great plans for his people. Rad can vary, some extreme cases can really inhibits one ability to be independant. And in the meantime runs a little ragged. Food is the funniest. "oh shoot, I don't have any frosting! Do you think I could just use ketchup?" Thoughtful, brief, intended pause, "sure, yeah.". Serious, the concept is not there in how things associate to one another because that cycle, the Lord parallels many eternal scenarios. It's our job to serve him amidst all this jibber jabber. Oh, and I'm talking about dipping grapes into ranch people! My kids are awesome and I am really blessed to be helping them, I know they will be successful in many things they try. Reactive attachment can be very interesting especially when compared to the needs met and environmental factors makes it even. It is actually an impairment and makes them vulnerable of sorts. Yikes! In it for the long haul, these relationships are blooming and bonding, but getting cheated on that for your child is beyond frustrating. Again, my Rock is out of this world so I shoot for the stars and keep my head up!

Waiting on the call

Got an interesting message from an adoption worker in Iowa this morning. Only to leave her one back and try 3 more times with no contact. I was so flabbergasted I did't write word for word. My take is that a child we have connections to is in placement. Could it be another sibling, now years more of trauma and pain afflicted to them at the mercy of an inadequate adoption worker who placed them in a miserable home years ago? Are we going to get th chance to try and mend the brokennes and wreck? Wouldn't pass up the chance, but waiting til Monday now!?!?

Who is it?
What happened?
What' going on?

Aww the poor babies, will be so mad if my gut is right.