Week 138

Another bus incident.  This time no kids involved, or at least I don't think anyone else was involved.  As is our usual routine, the kids brought me their backpacks and we went through them when they arrived home from school.  Here is what I found in Ryan's bag:

Yes, that is a seat belt buckle from the bus.  Ryan said he found it on the bus.  The next morning I made him return it to the driver.  I don't know any more about how he got the buckle, but he returned it and we left it at that. We need to choose our battles with Ryan, and this seemed so minute compared to other conversations we had to have with him this week about being bossy with other kids at school.  He gets very upset when kids do not do things that he wants them to do.

Speaking of "taking things", the seat belt buckle was not the only thing that made its way home with Ryan this week.  On Thursday I needed to bring Jack to the ENT.  Phil was in class during the appointment time so I had to bring all three kids with me.  Ryan and Julia were being good considering it was a long wait in the office because we were an emergency double booked appointment, and then they had to sit in the doctor's office and watch Jack scream as the doctor performed a nasal endoscopy on him (Ryan covering his ears the whole time, of course).  Ryan and Julia kept asking the doctor if he was going to hurt Jack.  They were very concerned about their brother and wanted to make sure he didn't get any needles.  The doctor was impressed with their maturity and patience, and said that the kids were being so well behaved that they could go in the hallway and choose a prize from the prize box. The nurse met them at the prize box and Ryan asked how many toys they could pick.  She told them one each, and they returned back to the room...Ryan with a toy car and Julia with a slinky.  Later on that night when the kids were putting on their pajamas, Ryan pulls out two more cars from his pants pocket.  He had taken three items and hid the other two from everyone. Phil and I were mortified and really laid it on thick about how that was stealing and wrong.  Had it not been past their bedtime and we didn't live 25 minutes from the doctor's office I would have had him bring all three cars back that night.  We took them away from him and told him that next time he will be bringing them all back and apologizing for what he did.  Ryan is such a rule follower.  I was so surprised that after the nurse told him one prize that he continued to take more than one.  This coming from the boy who just a little while before that scolded a patient sitting in the waiting room for eating snacks when there was a sign on the wall, clear as day, saying no food or drinks in the waiting room.  After we spoke with him it seemed like he was truly sorry for what he did.

On Friday night the kids' school held a Penny Social.  All week there must have been announcements at school because Ryan would come home every day talking about how we have to bring money with us to buy tickets to win prizes at the Penny Social.  And everyday I would tell Ryan that he has gymnastics Friday night and we would not be going to the Penny Social.  It was as if we were trapped in the movie Rain Man all week.  He kept harping on it over and over and over.  Remember in Rain Man when The People's Court was about to begin and Ray was trapped in a car and they had to pull over to a stranger's house to watch the episode?  Ryan came home from school on Friday and when we began to get ready for gymnastics and not the Penny Social, all hell broke loose.  Want to guess who went to the Penny Social after gymnastics??? 

Now on to the good stuff... Ryan and Phil went out and bought a tree today.  Ryan was so excited.  Phil and I didn't really want to go through the trouble of getting another tree (we already have an artificial one up in our family room).  I knew Ryan was looking forward to decorating it, so I posed a question to him and let him decide.  I asked him if he wanted to play video games or do the tree.  He chose the tree.  For him to pass up an opportunity to play a video game solidified to us how important the tree was to him.  And afterwards, we were glad we did it.  (I'm sure if you ask me when it is time to take it down, we may change our minds!)

Jack in front of his first real Christmas tree!

Ryan helping to hang the first ornament on the tree.

Ryan after hanging his Autism puzzle piece ornament.

Unfortunately that smile was short-lived.  Soon after he dropped one of the ornaments and it shattered into a thousand pieces.  It was an ornament that my mom had bought for Phil and I for our first Christmas.  On it was an Irish prayer and it went with one that had an Italian prayer on it.  Ryan grabbed both of them, in an attempt to keep them away from Julia and put both of them up himself, and while trying to hang one he dropped the other.  He immediately began to cry.  He said he was going to miss the ornament.  After some coaxing we got him to join us in hanging ornaments again, and of course he blamed Julia for him dropping the ornament.  But the rest of the decorating went smoothly and another memory was made.

DC

Week 75

Dr. Kolker

Ryan went for his checkup at the ENT.  Dr. Kolker said his ear is healing nicely.  Phil gave Julia his IPhone to keep her occupied during the appointment and here are some pictures she took of Ryan during his check up.

Ryan came home with a story he learned from school about a hen, a mouse, a cat, and a dog.  He colored the paper and cut them out and used the pieces to tell a story about a hen who plants seeds, grows wheat, and turns it into flour to make a cake.  The animals don't want to help the hen do any of the work but all want to participate in the eating of the cake.  Over the course of the week Ryan has proudly told us and others this story.  Each time it changes slightly in regards to the words he uses, but the gist of the story stays the same.  Here's the video on You Tube.





In last week's blog entry Phil talked about the visit to Dr. Cowan and how he showed that Ryan thinks in pictures.  We repeated this activity with my parents this weekend and this time got it on video. 



Ryan's behavior has been up and down this week.  We even got our first "bad" report from Kindergarten that Ryan was unwilling to do his work one morning.  It was the day after an evening soccer practice and Ryan had numerous mosquito bites on his face and he was itchy and fidgety.  However, that very same day when I went to pick up the kids from their afternoon school, his teacher there said Ryan did an excellent job in the writing center that afternoon. 

I think Ryan has been struggling trying to get back into the swing of a routine and he is so busy that he is tired.  I can certainly relate as this past week was a difficult one for me as well having a full week at school with lots going on.  And I don't think it is going to get any easier in October or November as we have numerous events going on each and every weekend.  I guess it is better to be busy than bored, but I don't think any of us would mind a little down time now and again!

And I'll end with what happened at bedtime last night.  Ryan says to me, "Mommy, I love you a lot."  Me: "How much is a lot?"  Ryan, opening his arms wide, "All the way to my back." 

DC

Week 55 - Happy Mother's Day!

What it means to me to be Ryan's mommy...

-Never knowing what mood I will find Ryan in, but always knowing that I can eventually get him to smile.  And what a smile it is!

-Constantly worrying!  Worrying about his well being, worrying if I'm doing everything I can for him, worrying about his future.

-Tired and busy, yet grateful he's in my life.

-Happy and blessed to feel his love.

Mother's Day Tea at Noah's Ark where I was given handmade gifts and homemade treats!

And Ryan came home from PARC with a card with the following statements answered by him. 

My mom's name is: mom
She is special because: she makes me dinner
I like when my mom: tickles my nose
My mom can do many things!  I think she's best at... her paperwork
My mom is really funny!  She always makes me laugh by...making her funny faces
My mom is as pretty as a... mom
My mom is smart!  She even knows... how to talk on the phone
I'd like to tell my mom...I love her!

Some I got such a good chuckle about and I really enjoyed reading it!  But do you want to know what my best gift was?

Remember this picture taken in March?

Taken May 8, 2011 - The BEST Mother's Day gift ever!

I don't think it is one particular thing that has caused this improvement in his skin but rather a combination of things.  For one, Ryan has been taking showers rather than baths lately.  And afterwards we continue coat his legs with the almond oil.  And during the past week we've been using the new supplement called Glutomine Plus Powder that we mentioned in last week's blog, and have not been giving him his B12 injections.  We're happy to see the improvement and feel the improvement... his skin is so much softer!

Ryan had a pretty bad ear infection this week and needs ear drops twice a day for a week.  His tube is still in his left ear where the infection occurred and if it doesn't fall out soon we'll need to have it surgically removed.  He goes back to the ENT in June for another checkup. 

We had a great Mother's Day in the Campbell family!  Here's a picture of one of my gifts... a blue heart glass necklace with sparkled pieces inside of the glass in the shape of puzzle pieces.  It is part of a collection by a jeweler who donates part of the proceeds towards the fight against Autism.

My other gift I am using to type this blog... a new laptop, my very first laptop!  Much needed and appreciated!

Our moms also enjoyed their gifts and spending time with the kids today.

Getting bored of the same old posts each week?  Getting tired of hearing our side of the story?  Well...

We have some special posts coming up this week in honor of Ryan's 5th birthday.  Be sure to check back each day!  And for those of you who own a Ryan Express shirt, please wear it on Thursday, May 12th for Ryan's big day!

DC

Week 15

Self-confidence

It wasn't until this week that I saw a side of Ryan where self-confidence was nonexistent.  In my mind he is always the kid trying out new things and being a dare-devil, especially during physical "rough-housing" activities.  The faster the movement, the more Ryan likes it. 

He was invited on a play date to a local park.  He had no fear on the playground as he climbed all over the place.  He even climbed up sides of the equipment that weren't meant for climbing.  He tried the monkey bars several times, but was unsuccessful.  It didn't seem to bother him and he moved on to his next quest.  It got me thinking that it would be great for Ryan to have something all year round enabling him to exert energy but also develop some focus and self control.  I thought, "What activity could do that better than karate?"

I was very excited with the thought of introducing him to the art of karate.  I brought him to a place that offers karate classes to children Ryan's age.  We were in luck... there was a 3-5 year old class going on at that moment and a second one was going to start in 10 minutes.  I signed Ryan up for a two-week trial and let him observe the class going on.  He watched the kids through the waiting room window and seemed somewhat interested in what they were doing.  I was surprised that he wasn't begging me to allow him to run into the room and join in.  When the class was finished the children waiting in the room lined up to go in for their class.  I told Ryan he could join that class but he didn't want to.  He watched them do warm-ups and some simple stretching activities.  One of the instructors encouraged Ryan to join them several times, as did I, but Ryan's response was to put his head down and say "it's too hard" and "I can't do that". 

I had never seen this side of Ryan.  Physical activities, especially involving gross motor skills, have always been his strong suit.  It was very discouraging and it made me extremely sad to see him that way and to hear the words he was saying.  I think it made other parents in the waiting room sad to see Ryan this way too, and a couple of people sent their children over to Ryan to talk to him about some of the things they do in their karate class. 

Needless to say we left the building without Ryan ever stepping foot into the gym area.  Maybe Ryan was having an off day and he'll want to try it next time.  I will definitely bring him back another day to try again. 

On another note, we had a fairly good week regarding food, supplements, and medicine.  Ryan finished the Gentamycin and is doing well with the Nystatin.  He'll be ready for the B12 injections next week.  We added a new supplement on the list... Iodine.  Within 2 hours of him taking the first dose he was "off the wall".  He was cranky and irritable and not at all himself.  We chalked it up to the introduction of a new supplement and hoped for different results the next time.  And the next day he took the Iodine and was fine with it.  I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know why the Iodine was suggested by Dr. Bock.  He may have mentioned why but I don't remember.  I did a quick search online but wasn't able to make a clear cut connection.  And I tried looking over his lab results but it's all "Chinese" to me. 

We need to get Ryan an appointment with his ENT for a check up with the tubes in his ears.  They may need to be surgically removed since they have not fallen out on their own yet.  Also, Ryan's speech therapist mentioned something about the nasal area and is writing a note for us to share with the ENT at our next appointment.

DC