Day 35- Road Trip #2

The hotel we stayed at was about two blocks away from one of Tanner's favorite places.
Coors field, home to the Colorado Rockies! Not that he had ever been there before, but has several baseball field books that he has memorized. We had to take a picture that was exactly like a picture he had seen in a book.

It took several tries but here is the shot we FINALLY got....



I think the thing that amazes me about this is we did not have this book with us. He remembered in his mind what the picture was suppose to look like. He remembered the angle, the color, the fact that it was horizontal... he remembered it all. And he was NOT able to settle for a picture that was anything less than the one in the book.

He thinks in pictures. Everything he sees, he takes a little picture and files it away in that amazing mind of his for a later date.

Two years ago this would have frustrated me to no end.

But now, I know, this is Tanner and I have accepted it and love it and even embrace it!

Day 34- Road Trip #1

Right after we got the news from the therapist of the possibility of PDD-NOS, we left and went to see family more than 22 hours away. My mother, my brother, the three boys and I all piled into my mini van and headed that way!

We spent two days getting there, stopping halfway in Denver, Colorado to spend the night and eat at one of our favorite places, Casa Bonita. Also known to our family as Costco Bonita, as Tanner has named it. This is a Mexican food restaurant that is not famous for it's food, but rather it's atmosphere.

With the band aid ripped off and my wound of a expectation of my child exposed we went to eat there. They have cliff divers, pinata's being broken, a gun fight and many other stimulating activities. Not sure what to expect from him, I'll admit, I was nervous.

The first time we had gone, it had not gone well and we ended up losing him in the crowd. A scared moment for both Mom and child, he was only about three years old and didn't know what to do, so he just started screaming. At the time, I was completely embarrassed by his actions, but thinking back on it, I should be thankful that he did and we were able to locate him fairly quickly.

We got our food and sat down in a corner of a fairly quite room and ate our dinner. During that time we were able to get up a couple of times and see the cliff divers, but were also hidden when the gun fight came out.

Then it came time for the pinata breaking.

My brother took both boys down to see it and I finished up my dinner for a few minutes. Then I joined them. When I walked down, Tanner was clinging to my brother with his hands over his ears anticipating a loud noise. Before, I would have taken his hands down and forced him to listen to it. It would have result in him screaming his head off, anticipating this loud noise that we all know won't happen, but because I was aware of the possibility of a diagnosis, I was able to shrug it off and know that it made him feel safe in a world that he has little control over.

We had great dinner! One of the best we have ever had!

For me this was the first time I was able to let loose and know that the little things aren't important and they make him feel safe and I was the one who needed to change, not him.

Day 33- Review of "Dear John"

A dear friend of mine brought me a book a couple of days ago to read. It was the book "Dear John" by Nicolas Sparks. She had seen the movie, bought the book and read it and thought of me. If you haven't read the book and don't want the plot to be spoiled, I encourage you NOT to read this blog until after you have read the book.

For those of you who have read the book (or maybe have even seen the movie), you might have a clue what this is about. I haven't seen the movie, so I don't know yet if the same plot is evident in it.

My friend had encouraged me to read it saying that Asperger's was in the plot. So I picked the book up to read and within the first ten pages I knew which character had Asperger's.

The main plot of the book is about a guy who was going no where in live signing up for the army. When he was on his first leave, he went back to his hometown where he met and fell in love with a woman. Typical love story, but not the point of the blog. Had I not been familiar with Asperger's and interested in the plot I would not have been so intrigued by this book.

This man named John Tyree is estranged from his father. He finds that they have nothing to talk about and feels that his father doesn't care about his life and what he does. His father has eaten the same breakfast for as long as he could remember. He leaves for work the same time everyday. And my favorite... his father is obsessed with coins. Has been for years. While John is contemplating why his father has all these weird quirks, I am screaming at the book, "HE HAS ASPERGER'S!!!!!!"

Their relationship is strained at best. John knows exactly what to expect from his father by way of emotions and that is not a whole lot. He asks him questions about his day and gets unsociable answers of "It was fine" or my favorite "It's okay." John's dad tries to ask questions about John's life, but doesn't seem to be interested in the answers. This frustrates John to no end.

Then John meets Savannah. She is a special education major for a few hours away. She is spending the summer in his town working on a couple of homes for habitat of humanity. They immediately have a connection and spend a lot of time together during his leave. One of the things she asks to do is meet his dad. He is reluctant, but she insists. So they spend a few evenings with his dad. She seems to enjoy being around him, asking questions about his coin collection and keeping with his schedule. John seems pleased that she is so interested in him.

But then a couple of nights before he is set to go back, she sets his world spinning. She offers the idea that his father might have Asperger's and wants him to read this book. After a huge argument, he leaves her standing there crying, wishing she had not said a word. Feeling awful for the way he treated her and after spending most of the night up in anguish, he reluctantly starts reading the book. In almost and instant he realizes she was right and his whole perception of his father changes. He begins to realized why his father acts the way he does and doesn't act the way John wants him to.

He apologizes to Savannah and their relationship moves on.

However, the relationship that he builds with his dad becomes priceless. After realizing that all his dad knows is coins, he once again allows himself to be interested in the stories that he has heard millions of times. This is what his dad knows and while it doesn't mean much to him, it means the world to his dad.


Towards the end of the book, his father dies. But before that happens, John is given the opportunity to tell him that he loves him and that he was the greatest father in the world. To which the father replies, "I love you too."

I cried throughout the book. Not because he dies, or because the relationship between John and Savannah is ended, but because this man was never diagnosed. He simply went through life and adjusted. He was 'strange' to the people around him. Living in his own world he didn't care. But I have to wonder what more he could have had out of life, had he been given the tools to succeed.

I do recommend reading this book, not because of the predictable love story, but because you are given the opportunity to see how an adult with Asperger's might live.

I can only pray that by knowing that Tanner has it, working with him on his social skills and giving him what we think will help him, he can have a more social adult life than this man did.

Day 32 -May 29, 2009

The kids got out of school early that day. We went with some friends and ate at a local burger joint that has a sandbox playground. That night we were set to have a baseball game. In the middle of the playoffs, this game was for advancement to the championship or third place. It was a bright and sunny day. The kids should have been outside playing all afternoon. But instead we were stuck in a therapy building. I had spilled a 32 oz drink all over myself at lunch and with no time to go home and change, I still had on my wet capri pants.

We were set to meet with the director of the therapy services. She had come recommended to us by my friend. She wanted to personally meet with us and see if there was something we could do to help this child. My husband had to work that day, but luckily had gotten off earlier than expected. Looking back, I realize that God didn't want me to be alone.

She took Tanner back for a few minutes to observe him, while I waited for my husband to get there. Our older son had gone home with some friends, so I only had the baby at the time. As my husband walked in there was this feeling of hopelessness that fell between us. We didn't know what else we could do to help him and it seemed this was our last option. We were both praying they would have answers for us. Was it Sensory Integration? Was he just a bad kid? Did he have Oppositional Defiant Disorder?

The owner called us back and we nervously walked through a hallway, back into a room. We sat down in two child size chairs. Looking back and forth at each other I made eye contact with her and she started asking questions.

How was he developmentally (did he rollover, crawl, walk, talk on time)? Tell me about his outbursts at school? Does he have the same outbursts at home? All questions we seemed to think she should be asking.... then came the questions that blew us away....

Can he dress himself? Does he wet the bed? Tie his shoes? What does he like to eat?

My husband and I looked at each other in confusion... why was she asking these question? What did these have to do with his behavior?

After about thirty minutes of grilling us and us staring at her wide eyed in confusion but wonderment she told us what she was thinking....

"Do you know what Pervasive Developmental Disorder is?"

"No?"

She explained that PDD was an autism spectrum disorder and that all of the symptoms he was displaying were that of a child with PDD. He was possibly getting over stimulated right before his outbursts and doesn't quite know what to do... so he acts out. I tried to soak up as much information as I could. She told us that he would start Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy as soon as we got back from vacation (about two weeks later) and that throughout the summer we would get him on track so he could have a productive school year.

I walked out of the building and called my mother. She was the first person I knew that would help me find all I need to find.

Within 24 hours my mom met me at Barnes and Noble, we bought every autism spectrum disorder book they had.

I knew this was going to be a summer I would never forget. Not because it was fun, but because I was going to become educated on everything spectrum related...

and I was NEVER going to give up finding the answers to help him.

Day 31- Early Signs #1

As much as I fight it, I find myself remembering things that happened at an early age that I should have "caught". I am an educated woman who was raised around special needs children. I should know that my child is not quite like everyone else.

However, I think I was blinded as a mother. My child was perfect, there was nothing wrong with him. I also know that several people tried to tell us. Some days I wish they would have grabbed me by the arms and shook me until I listened to them. One of them was my grandmother. She very subtlety told me things throughout the years. Even when she was sick she tried to tell me. I remember one day in the hospital she made me promise not to ever give up on him or his older brother, "They are great kids," she said, "They just need you to help them."

As I was walking through the hallway tonight something caught my eye. We have pictures of the boys at all stages of life lining the hallway. When Austin was around 4 and Tanner was just barely 1, a local photography place did 'pond pictures'. Great idea I thought! We will take the boys in rolled up overalls with no shirts on and take some 'little boy' pond pictures. I spent forty dollars on overalls and 10 dollars on a setting fee. Got to the store, dressed the boys up and we went into the pond room. First picture we were going to take, on a pier with our feet in the water. The water, though inside in the middle of summer, was cool. Tanner REFUSED to sit down and put his feet in the water. He screamed when I put him down and in it. Ok, no biggie, we'll take a couple of Austin and move on. Not so. Every pose I tried to place him in he didn't want any part of. He hated that water, he hated the boat that was unstable, he hated it all.

Tonight, I was once again reminded that I got one picture of Tanner that day. He was standing next to a window above the pond. His face so red and eyes blood shot from crying. The look on his face is one of pain and agony. He looks like he wants to crawl out of his body because it's bothering him so much he doesn't know what to do.

I had never had a problem with him before taking pictures, so at the time, I just figured he was having a bad day, was tired and didn't want his picture taken at all.

But walking through the hallway tonight and seeing those pictures, I just had to break down and cry. Once more that was a sensory issue that I should have picked up on. I feel like a failure as a parent. I should have known. This child depends on me to help him and for five years, I couldn't figure out how. How much time have we lost in finding his potential, because I failed to see all the signs?

I will never know the answers to that question. I just need to press on and be thankful that we know now and we know what to do to help him.

Day 30- Personal Space

Currently Tanner's speech therapist has him working on personal space. He has a hard time understanding that people do not want him standing right up against them, or sitting on their laps when sitting together one a couch. But at the same time he doesn't like it when people enter his personal space. He feels crowded and almost claustrophobic.

At first this was a fun concept for him to try. He is suppose to keep a hula hoop between him and anyone else he is around. I have never heard of the 'hula hoop' concept, but think it would be very useful in more cases than just Tanner's. I find myself reminding my nine year old he needs to 'respect the hula hoop.'

Once again, I talked to his teacher about what we are working on and she is helping us with it. I think at school the big problem is touching people when we are walking in the line down to music or PE or lunch. So we are applying the hula hoop concept and though it appears he may be lagging in line, he is just trying to keep the hula hoop distance from his peers.

After about two or three weeks we start getting this conversation:

"Tanner remember, personal space."

(In a whinny voice) "UHHH, I am SO over personal space."

I think that this is our clue to move on to the next social issue.

Day 29- Sensory Intergration- Music

I think by far, this is one of the issues that baffles me the most. It's not the loud noises, it's not soft noises, it's not specific genres of songs that will set him off. It's listen on his terms and at the decibel he wants to.

Wedding Music... As I talked about in an earlier blog, soft wedding music set him off. This could be from number of things. My belief is that it was not JUST the music that caused the meltdown. It was the soft music (that to him was boring music) along with the overload of people. I took a lot of information from that day. I am still processing it all and working with him to figure out exactly what we can do to make those occasions better for him.

Music class at school... we suffer in there a lot. Once again, it's a combination of things. While we don't have as many problems in there as we did last year, every once in a while he refuses to cope with it. It's a boring class to him. He hates to do things he doesn't like on other peoples terms. He hates being called out when he is unsure of the answer and this is a class in which he could be unsure. And most importantly, he hates people watching him. In music class, this is an easy perception for him to get. They sit in a "U" shape on risers. Kids look all over the place during class, it's unavoidable. So, one child looking in the direction of Tanner can cause him to perceive that child is "looking at him" and "making fun of him." He comes home everyday and tells me they played a boring game. And to be quite honest, I am surprised he doesn't have more problems in there.

Music during church... when I was a kid we went to Sunday School. We MAYBE sang a couple of bible songs and did a craft and had a story. NOT NOW! These kids are given sensory overload in the form of music, lights, and body movements! This is a great concept, except that they seem to have forgotten some kids being over stimulated is not a good thing. Mine in particular. Most of the time he does well, however, this was one of the big problems we had in the beginning, when we did not know how to help him. I have figured out that he needs to go to church first thing in the morning, before he goes anywhere else and we have a close relationship with the volunteers and staff at the church we go to. They know what to do with him and can even recognize when it needs to be done!

Concerts... he loves to go, but when we get there they are too loud. He solution to this is to hold onto Mom for the entire time. This is great exercise for me, holding a 50 lb sack of potatoes for two and a half hours. But soon it will not be. We have a set of earplugs for him to wear, but he only wears them about half of the time and still hangs on me. The last concert we went to was a Christian hard rock and I caught him on several of the songs 'feeling' the beat through my body and his. It's a feeling I think I take for granted, but he appreciated.

Car.... he doesn't seem to be bothered by the car noise most of the time. However, Mom and Dad have a hard time with the music in the car, because we can't hear his soft voice in the back of the van when he is asking a question (which he does A LOT).

MP3 Player... by far his favorite. He cranks it up so loud we can hear it and plays "Big House" over and over and over and over and over and over again. It's currently the only song on his player. I think this is cool because I remember rocking out to "Big House" when I was in junior high. I think it's strange that he chooses and rockin' song as his favorite to calm him down. He asks all the time to listen to it.

Commercials... (insert Olympics Theme here).... he LOVES THIS SONG! Spends hours a day imitating it. Right now the Olympics are going on, so naturally he is hearing it quite a bit. But last night, with everyone in bed, in the silence of the house I heard him humming it to calm him down. He picks up on contemporary songs that are on commercials also. I catch him singing songs I didn't know he had heard. "Tanner, where did you hear that song?" "It was on the (insert commercial product here) commercial the other day."

For now this is all the data I have collected on music. It's a continuing process as we will enter the world of choir and band in a couple of years. The state of Texas has some mandates on taking these classes so it may be one of the future modifications we will have to make for him.

For now, I hope it brightens your day every time you hear "It's a big, big house, with lots and lots of rooms." Know that Tanner is rockin' out with you!

Day 28- Refocusing of Blog

It's been a while since I have posted something. I have had lots of thoughts and ideas on what to write, but I can't seem to get them down and make the look good. So, I have prayed the past week on the organization of this blog.

When I started out on January 1st, I wanted to blog every single day for one year. I had thought about it for a while and figured it wouldn't be that hard to do. Right?

Wrong!

Taking all the thoughts and feelings I have and putting them down on paper (or the internet) is turning out to be harder than I thought. I currently have five unpublished blogs that I am working on. I have so many thoughts and feelings, I can't get the first one written down the way I want it to be and there is a second scenario that comes up.

There are also some major changes going on in our lives right now. We are as a family holding strong, but the period of uncertainty has caused me to fall back and work on more important things than this blog. That is all the information I am willing to share about our situation at this point. Just know that everyone in the family is healthy and happy and as a family we are healthy and happy. When the uncertainty of it all is certain, then I will share our journey with you.

So with all of this, I am refocusing my blog. Instead of publishing a blog every day, I will be publishing as I become ready too. But I still have the goal of having 365 individual posts by the end of the year. Sometimes you won't hear from me at all for a while, then there might be one day I will publish five at a time. To keep them organized so I know how many days, I will be publishing a "Day" in front of all the titles.

On that note here is a funny for the day....

Valentine's Parties are going on at school today. I have to bounce between Tanner's and Austin's. I get to Tanner's and they are playing Bingo. Tanner is playing Bingo, talking to me and eating candy at the same time. He is eating a 'Lik a Stic'. He looks at me and out of no where says...

"Kids and sugar do go together. Mrs. T agrees with me."

Sure Tanner, if you say so!

Day 27- Sensory Integration-Toilets

Tanner has a huge problem with auditory sensory integration. Simply stated, the child hates loud noises.

Today, we went to the pediatrician's office for a check up. While waiting on the doctor to get to us, Tanner has the need to use the bathroom. For most children that's not a big deal. Mom or Dad can lead them to the proper bathroom and simply wait for them to go in, take care of their business and come out.

Our family is not that simple. Mom has to go into the bathroom with Tanner. I can't go into the men's restroom with him, but he is also getting to the age that he really doesn't need to go into the lady's restroom. So what do we do? Right now, I pray for a 'family' restroom. Today, my prayers were answered.

So, we go in....

Tanner turns the light on, makes sure that I am following him in and closes the door behind us. He takes care of his business and goes to wash his hands.

"Tanner, don't forget to flush the toilet."

"I CAN'T FLUSH IT MOM! YOU KNOW THAT!"

"Tanner you need to flush the toilet."

"NO MOM DON'T MAKE ME! PLEASE!"

He puts his hands over his ears to muffle the sound.

"Mom, will you please flush the toilet for me?"

What's a Mom to do? Do I stand my ground and keep telling him to flush the toilet in order to teach him what is appropriate behavior? If I do that, there is a strong possibility we could end up on the public bathroom floor crouched down in the fetal position crying in anticipation of the noise of the toilet.

Or do I just simply allow him to back into a corner with his ears covered and eyes squeezed shut, waiting for Mom to flush the toilet so he can get out of there?

Yes, this is a strange reality of my life. I can't believe that I have to fight my child to flush a toilet. Sometimes, I think it's all a dream I will wake up from. It's a simple request, no different than washing your hands or putting up your glass when you are done drinking. But even still, I am at odds with myself because I know it's truly not a defiant act, but instead it's motivated by a sensor in his brain that doesn't function properly. And a noise that we hear multiple times a day, sets his brain into a frenzy. And he doesn't know what to do with himself!

My solution to the problem...

I remind him every time that he needs to flush the toilet, after all it's the correct action to take after using the restroom. However, once he asks nicely if I will do it for him (something we have been working on instead of throwing a fit)....

I just simply flush the toilet for him and silently laugh about it, knowing that we will go through this same situation tomorrow.

Day 26- Short Funnies

Throughout the year I will collect small stories that happen each day. They are too small to place into a seperate blog, but once I collect a few I will publish them. These have been for the month of January. Mainly within the last week. I am trying hard to remember the stories, but it's been hard. I think I have found a system and will have more for you next month!!!!

______________________________
One afternoon in the car out of the blue...

"Mom, I think Cindy wants to be my girlfriend."

"Tanner, what makes you think that?"

"Because she says I am funny, smart and cute. And don't you say I am cute!"

"Tanner, I think Cindy is right, you are funny, smart and cute."

*Rolleyes* "Women."

____________________________

Older brother working on finishing his homework...midway through first grade....

"Mom, how do you spell penguin?"

While Mom is trying to make sure she tells him right she hears out of Tanner's mouth....

"P-E-N-G-U-I-N."

____________________________
Sitting in the living room watching Tv. Progressive commercial comes on. (The one with Flo the saleswoman who is so perky)

Tanner says, "Mom, when those executives for Progressive get together for a meeting, I sure hope they fire her."

Mom wondering how he understands the concept of 'executives firing someone", inquires, "Tanner why would they fire her?"

"Because she is so annoying."

_____________________________
Watching the Nutri System commercial....

"Hey Mom if you eat that healthy food your body will get skinnier."

"Tanner, do you think Mom's body needs to be skinnier?"

"Sure wouldn't hurt you any to loose all that fat."

Day 25- Trapped in the House... Need to Get Out

We have been snowed inside our house for two days now. School has been canceled for two days. The last time I remember school being out that long for snow was in 1987. Yes that's right, 1987. So, take two days of no school and add two days of the weekend and you have one crazy Momma!!!!!

We have passed the time by playing the Wii, watching hours and hours of Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, baking, playing games and just simply driving each other nuts!

Late this afternoon we decided to try to go sledding. The boys had attempted to do it this morning, but Daddy's car was stuck and they couldn't get it out. So, after nap time we decided the entire family would try to take Mom's van out and go sledding!

I didn't realize we would be in for such an adventure!

Tanner is really good at back seat driving. Mom says he gets it from Dad and Dad says he gets it from Mom.

Dad had spent thirty minutes shoveling the driveway. We had 12 inches of snow in our backyard (not counting the drifts), so having a north facing driveway this was quite a feat. We also have a rear entry garage, so this meant we had to brave the alley to get out.

We piled into the van. All five of us! Trey wasn't quite sure why we had stuffed him in all those clothes and he was in obvious discomfort sitting in his car seat, but in the back I hear, "Hey Trey, you are going to have so much fun sledding!"

On the way, the snow is piled everywhere. We drive down the road and we hear "Hey Dad! Be careful! Don't pass that car. You are going to fast. Dad, you are going to lose control of the car. Be careful, Dad."

Ok, that's it, we are implementing a no talking policy in the car! Once that happens, I hear... "I'm not talking, I'm singing."

Oh Boy! Are we sure we needed to get out?!?!?!

The roads are nasty and it does take us a while to get to the park, but getting there is priceless for the boys!

They pile out of the car before we can get Trey untrapped from his car seat and are gone! We look around to see Tanner flying down the hill on his sled!

He is laughing and enjoying himself! After being cooped up in the house for two days he is out and loving it!

Down the hill for about ten minutes and Trey is getting cold, so I load him up and turn the car on for heat. This is quickly followed by Austin who can't feel his hands.

But not Tanner. This kid stays out there with Dad for over thirty minutes! He is having so much fun gliding down the hill and traveling back up. I can see him going up and down the hill and really quickly notice that he is red in the face and covered head to toe with snow all over his body. This kid has got to be freezing!!!

As the time goes by he ends up spending 45 minutes sledding down a hill. I think he likes it.

Zach has to bring him to the car crying because he doesn't want to go home.

On the way home once again we hear, "Hey Dad! Be careful! Don't pass that car. You are going to fast. Dad, you are going to lose control of the car. Be careful, Dad." Got it Tanner, Dad's being careful.

When we pull into the alley, it's slow and steady the entire way down. Then we get to our driveway. Dad has only shoveled off the half that the car needs to come out of and with an inch of ice underneath the snow it's still pretty slippery. We struggle to get up the small embankment. Back and forth we rock trying to get into the garage. All of a sudden we hear in the back, "Hey Dad, why don't you try to back up and just gun it?"

Gun it? Where did that come from?

Giving it one more try before we pile the family out and try to push the car into the garage, Zach backs up about fifteen feet in the alley and guns it! As we travel up, we have the feeling that this one is going to make it! And what do we hear in the back....

"Go Dad, Go Dad, Go Dad, Go Dad." Tanner is cheering Dad on!

As we begin to drive into the garage we hear. "YEAH DAD!" Tanner is the back seat clapping and cheering because we made it!

For us the simple things in life often go by without being noticed. But for Tanner, something as simple as getting into a garage on a snowy day can be turned into an experience he will never forget.

I guarantee, this child will be talking about the day we went sledding and almost got stuck in the alley for a long time!

Day 24- Developed Relationships

Tanner came home today with a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book. He told me that he had to read twenty pages of it tonight for homework. Not a big deal in our house, he does that a lot. He enjoys reading and thrives on being challenged by higher level books. (This particular book is a fifth grade level book.)

When Austin found out that he had checked out this book from the library I hear, "HEY THERE'S A WAITING LIST FOR THAT! HOW DID YOU GET IT SO SOON?"

Tanner's answer, "Mrs. Librarian loves me. She lets me have any book I want."

"NO FAIR!" screamed Austin.

I told Austin I was sorry, but that he and Mrs. Librarian were really good friends and he probably asked nicely for it and she gave it to him.

Little did I know, she had SAVED the book for him.

The librarian lets Tanner go help her as a reward. She, along with a few other adults at school, have taken a vested interest in helping him succeed. They treat him with respect, understand that he has different needs, they get his sense of humor (even when Mom and Dad don't) and they love to see him everyday. And the feeling is mutual. He adores them!

We are facing a huge snowstorm tonight. I asked him if he wants to get an extra day off from school or if he wants the snow to go away. He told me he would like to play in the snow, but would miss everyone at school if he had an extra day off.

And I am sure they would all miss him too.

Day 23- Kindergarten Part 3

When we got Tanner home he knew we were upset. He cried for what seemed like hours. It wasn't that he knew he was going to get into trouble, he was crying because to him it wasn't fair.

His story was simple. There was a little girl in his PE class who had a headband on. They were sitting in line and she had taken that headband off and was tapping him on the shoulders with it.

"Mom, it was bothering me."

We had been working with him on letting the teachers know when something was bothering him so he could be removed from that situation, so using his words, he got up out of line and went to tell the teacher that he was being bothered by this girl. The teacher simply told him to stop tattling and get back into line. At that point, left with no choice to get out of the situation he walked back to his spot on the floor.

I have often imagined what he looked like on that walk back to his spot. His shoulders slumped over, head hung down, sad look in his eyes, a feeling of failure because in his smart little mind he knew what was coming next. He knew that his little body had taken as much over stimulation as it could and that he had no other outlets to let out his frustration.

To this day, every time I think about the next words that came out of his mouth, I weep.

"I got back in my spot and she started poking me again." Sobbing uncontrollably, he goes on, "I just couldn't take it anymore, I had to get her to stop. Dad I know you tell me not to hit girls, but she wouldn't leave me alone. What was I suppose to do?"

He had no control over how that small little headband hitting his body felt. For a neuro-typical person it's not a good feeling. But for someone whose body feels so different, he had taken all he could stand of that plastic headband tapping into his senses. And the only way he knew how to get her to quit was to punch her in the stomach until someone stopped him.

I wept for days not knowing what to do. The first thing I did was talk to a dear friend of ours whose son has Sensory Integration Disorder (SI). It seemed like Tanner was getting over stimulated and that was causing his anger, rage and uncontrollable crying. They had taken their son to a couple of places in town and had even gone to Denver the SI mecca. She gave me three books to read and also told me to call a therapy place here in town to get him evaluated and to call a local child psychiatrist. I called both that day to get him in as soon as possible.

This was in the beginning of May and the fastest appointment the therapy place had was on May 29th. The last day of school... I told them we would be there. This was too important to miss.

And with that our new journey began.

No Matter What...

Day 22- Thankfulness

In the 22 short days that I have been writing this blog I have already had a stream of compliments, requests, and concerns for family and friends that don't have answers. While I am extremely appreciative of the compliments, the concerns are what move me the most.

I am by no means an expert in the ASD field. I am, however, a mother, who knew deep inside that there was something more severely wrong with my child than him 'just being a boy' or a 'discipline problem' or a 'spoiled brat.' I knew we had tried everything from disciplinary procedures to reward systems. I knew that he didn't simply 'just need to be spanked every once in a while.' When people come to me to ask questions the first thing I hope they understand is that my heart breaks for them. If they are asking then I know they have that feeling too. The feeling that something is not quite right. They are scared, anxious, hopeful and above all concerned that this is something bigger than they know how to handle.

The first thing I offer is a phone number. My phone number. If they need any advice on where to go, what to do, or just simply need a shoulder to cry on, I am there. I have been in their situation, felt that feeling. It nags at you from down in the bottom of your heart. It makes you sick to your stomach. I want everyone that could possibly be in this situation to know that I am available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

After that, I carefully try to answer the questions they ask to the best of my knowledge. If they are in my town I can offer places to go, people to talk to, support groups to join. I repeat over and over that I am NOT AN EXPERT, just simply a Mom. But I also believe that Mom's intuition is greater than any expert saying 'this is typical, he'll grow out of it.'

If you are reading this and have had questions that you are afraid to ask, please don't hesitate. If you know of someone who will benefit from this blog, feel free to share it. My goal is to raise awareness. A short goal has been met, but I want to change the way this world views ASD's.

I apologize that it has taken me so many days to write out our story. This has been extremely hard for me to relive and for me to make sure I didn't leave anything out. From the time he was born until this very day, there is so much to share. I only hope that I will be able to get all of it in before the year is up.

Thank you to everyone who takes time out of their day to read this blog.

Day 21- Kindergarten Part 2

We made it through Christmas with no big problems. But when we got back to school things seemed to really change. I was up at the school three times a week most of the time. His problems seemed to be starting in PE or Music, but would continue in the classroom. As a parent I was at my breaking point of not knowing what to do. I am sure the school was the same way.

We started a behavior chart for him and it worked for a couple of weeks, then we were right back to square one. The disciplinary principal was trying all sorts of rewards. He would get to go to the office everyday and pick out a candy, then at the end of the week if he had so many good days he would get a free movie pass (one of his favorite things to do). But each reward we tried only lasted for a little bit.

He continued to see the psychologist who prescribed Concerta for him. We were hoping to take away the depression and keep the behavior under control. It did the exact opposite. His teacher said from the time he walked in the classroom until about 10:00am in the morning (approximately two hours) he would just sit like a zombie, no expression whatsoever. Then about 10 he would liven up a bit and spend the rest of the day unable to control his behavior.

This went on for a few months. None of us knew what to do, but nothing we were doing was working. I was going to bed every night crying. I didn't know what to do with him. I felt so alone.

He was getting in trouble in PE and the punishment is to do jumping jacks. T his is when his huge blow ups would happen. It seemed as though it was an act of defiance, but I finally asked him why he wouldn't do the jumping jacks and he said the other kids laughed at him when he did them. He was insecure. So we talked to the PE teacher and tried to get her to change the choice of punishment. She refused to do so unless we had something in writing.

Then in May we had a huge blowup. I got a call from the school that he had beaten up a little girl in his PE class. I drove up to the school in tears. What had gone so wrong that he felt the need to hurt another student in his class, let alone a little girl?

I got up to the school and Tanner could see that I had been crying. He immediately started crying too. He knew he had made me sad and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

The story from the teachers... For absolutely no reason whatsoever Tanner had waylaid (actually word used by the teacher) on a little girl that never does anything wrong. To the point that she was in the nurse's office when I got there. His PE teacher went on and on about how this little girl never gets into trouble and she always does what she is asked and there was no possible reason that Tanner should have waylaid on her like that. The PE teacher was extremely concerned that Tanner owed her some jumping jacks for the incident and wanted to make sure that he was going to give them to her. I was too distressed at that point in time to say anything.

They asked that I take him home for the day. This was the first time all year he got sent home. So we discussed what punishments he would have when he got back to school, made sure he understood them and I took him home. He didn't have any emotion the whole way home. He knew what he needed to do when he got home, he went straight to his bedroom. After we gathered our wits and I explained everything they had told me to my husband, we then went into Tanner's room to talk to him about the incident.

His account of the incident changed our entire outlook on his situation and it was then that we realized he had no control over his behavior....

Day 20- Kindergarten Part 1

Kindergarten was by far the worst year we have had with Tanner. I am not sure why the year was so hard. He did have a lot of changes right before he started school so I am sure that had something to do with it.

His older brother took five days to be in the principal's office when he started school. It took Tanner three. I got my first call and knew it was going to be a year. After about three weeks, I was in the office talking about the track we were on and he was headed to DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Program). That's when we took serious action.

The first thing I did was call our pediatrician for an appointment. He put Tanner on Adderall (which was the same medication his older brother was on at the time). That worked for a while, but then we decided to up the dose to get a little more control out of it and that sent him into a frenzy.

Severe depression, a five year old who cried on the smallest things. I remember one time we were sitting at supper eating hotdogs and his fell apart. He sobbed uncontrollably for several minutes. I finally had to make him a new dog for him to calm down and eat. Kids were making fun of him as school for crying and unable to control his anger at them, he started beating them up. Most of his incidents were happening during the PE or Music period and we could not figure out why?

We started seeing a psychologist who worked with his pediatrician to help find a medication for him. The doctors believed it was ADHD just like his older brother. I told everyone that's what it was, but deep down inside I knew we weren't getting any better. There were too many factors that weren't adding up. I was just so overwhelmed, I didn't know where to go.

In November, we seemed to have things lined out again. His teacher and I were in constant communication to make sure that days went smoothly. And I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Then came Christmas....

Day 19- Photographic Memory

I was quickly reminded this morning that one of Tanner's strengths is his photographic memory.

When I dropped him off at school he could not find his book in his backpack. He told me he had given it to me in the car on Thursday and it was still there. I didn't believe him, but escorted him back to the car to look for it. We searched in the back where he sits and couldn't find it. So, we went back into school. His teacher asked him to look in a couple of places that it could possibly be. The entire time, I could see the look on his face, he knew what he had done with it. He knew that on Thursday, on the way to the concert, he had indeed given me the book.

After about five minutes of looking in the classroom his teacher offered him a solution for the day. Mom would look for it as soon as she got home and for that day he would read another book. Ok, all is well.

Mom when back to the car and thought of one more place that she might have put it when he showed it to me.

BINGO! There it was in the middle of my bible study book bag. I ran back into the school to give it to him. And got another one of his strengths.

pure honesty...

"MOM! I told you I gave it to you in the car on the way to the concert!"

Day 18- Simple Things Cause Meltdowns

Tonight was time for us to cut finger nails. Let's face it, no one likes it. But for us, it's World War III.

I have tried several different ways of handling it and I have yet to find something that works. We always end up with my legs wrapped around him holding him down trying to cut his fingers with the clippers. I try every time to explain to him if he would just be still it wouldn't hurt.

Why does it hurt?

Because he kicks and screams and throws a fit! I feel like he hurts himself more with the anxiety of it all. If he would sit down let me take care of it, like I do all of his brothers, then it would be over and he could move on.

I just would much rather them grow out long and break off. But I know I can't do that. I do however let them get a little longer than I would like, just to avoid the emotional drama of it all.

I know it's a sensory issue. He is crawling out of his skin to get away from the feeling of the clippers. Just like he can't stand the vacuum sound or getting his hair cut.

Sensory issues.... we all have them... but ours cause meltdowns.

Day 17- Soocer Weekend

We had soccer for Tanner all weekend. He plays soft soccer, indoor soccer with a nerf ball. This will be the last year he can play and I am not sure he can handle 'real soccer.' Running around on a basketball court is a little different than running around a full length soccer field.

His first game was interesting. We have had two practices, but for six year olds there really isn't a whole lot to practice. So we are lined up to get warmed up before the game and a couple of boys are messing around. Normally, he is in the middle of it, but today I hear, "Guys, you gotta settle down or somebody is going to get hurt," coming out of his mouth. I took a second glance look to make sure that came out of his mouth? My son? Talking about safety? Not my son?

The game starts off great. He is running around kicking the ball trying to participate, but about halfway through the game we notice he is trying to slide on purpose. That is a huge no-no in this league. We have spent three years trying to get him to understand this, but every year he spends quite a bit of time on the floor. The ref warns the kids in general, but Tanner continues. We made it through the game ok, but I am worried that he won't remember he can't slide and eventually he will get 'ejected' from the game.

Today he had his second game. There was a little more pushing and shoving and I can tell he is getting worked up. I always worry that one child who pushes him over the edge will get tripped or pushed down. I am constantly watching his face to see how he is responding to the aggressiveness of the game. He at one point today looked like he was out for revenge. He got tripped and skinned his knee. He seemed not to even realize at first, but when he saw the blood his face got red and he started pointing at the kid that had tripped him. Luckily, the coach pulled him out to rest for the remainder of the game. She saved me a huge embarrassment in trying to explain once again why he does what he does.

He is not a bad kid, just needs help remembering what's appropriate behavior.

It was a good weekend I would say. He is having a great time! He is learning the names of the boys on his team and seems to be enjoying the game.

Three more weekends to get through! We can do this! He will love it!

Day 16-The First Five Years

I decided today that two weeks into this I might need to start giving you a background into how we figured out what was going on.

When he was little he was an extreme behavior problem. He started out getting 'kicked out' of two different day cares. He was kicking, hitting, biting the little kids at an early age. We had moderate control over him at home and didn't see the same behavior they saw, so we simply had no answers.

He was, however, developmentally on track. He rolled over, crawled, walked and talked at appropriate ages. There was never any cause for concern. The child had more vocabulary than his brother at an early age and was very inquisitive. The only developmental problem we had was potty training. He was extremely stubborn as boys tend to be, so we didn't worry about it to much.

When he was three we placed him in a Montessori school. Hoping that they would have the structure that he needed. We knew he was a routine child who thrived on knowing what was going to happen everyday. For the first few months he was ok. Not to many problems. But spring of his first year is when we started seeing problems again.

We kept thinking changes in his life were causing this. Mom's job changed, change in houses. We weren't real sure. We tried different methods of discipline. Spanking didn't work, time outs didn't work, taking privileges away from him didn't work. He simply didn't care that we were doing all of this?

We spent two years in Montessori trying different reward systems and different punishments. The school worked hard with us trying different systems that we asked, suggesting things to do. Although he was excelling academically, he simply was having behavioral issues that were uncontrollable.

The second year of Montessori, I became pregnant with our third child. During that pregnancy I became extremely ill. I spent several weeks on bed rest. This sent him over the edge. What we thought had been rock bottom was no where near. He was being sent home two to three times a week for throwing chairs, kicking teachers, running away from teachers. We were at our end. Had no idea what to do!

We had several things going on at that time, so we were simply trying to get through one day at a time, not thinking that there is anything wrong. He was just having a difficult time with the upcoming birth of a baby in the family, his great-grandmother that he loved and adored dearly was sick and he couldn't understand what was going on. That's all. He will be fine once we get through all of this. We kept telling ourselves over and over again. He would be fine.

July of 2008 his little life changed forever. His great-grandmother passed away after a short but grueling illness. He lost his weekends away from Dad and Mom. To this day, I am not sure exactly what all he got to do when he was at her house. She always told him to keep it a secret, but I get bits and pieces and they include, staying up as late as he wanted, getting up and going to get doughnuts in his pajamas, eating the exact kind of pizza he wanted, going to McDonald's to get happy meals, coloring all day long, watching what movies he wanted. The list goes on and on. He looked forward to going to her house because he knew she loved him no matter what and would give him whatever he wanted. This was a safe place for him to go and have the time of his life.

Ten days after he attended her funeral, his life changed again. He was now no longer 'the baby' of the family. His little brother came into this world whether he was ready for him or not.

This child had a rough first part of 2008.

His life had changed in ways that no one could imagine.

And in August 2008 it changed once more.

He started Kindergarten.....