Valentine's Party

With the big snow storm that hit our area last week, school was cancelled and Ryan's class Valentine's party was postponed to today.  Because of the change in date, both Phil and I were able to be parent volunteers.  Ryan was so proud to have us there.  He told his friends that we were his parents and many of the kids commented to Ryan about their reaction to having a daddy at the party.  Apparently there have been only mommy volunteers in his class this year.

Before the party his teachers expressed to us how well Ryan is doing.  He is staying focused for the most part and they are impressed with his accomplishments.  We got to see this side of Ryan during the party.  He sat quietly while directions were being given, he waited his turn, and in general he was really calm during the party, despite all of the excitement bubbling in the room.  And during snack time the children lined up to pick out their cupcake, fruit, and pretzels.  Ryan was fine with an alternate gluten free treat rather than eating the cupcake that everyone else had.   It is not often that we get to attend school events during the day, so we were both happy that this worked out and we could be there today for Ryan.

DC

Week 43

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

In the spirit of Valentine's Day and LOVE, here is a video of Ryan with his cousins Amelia and Alyssa singing a song called "I Love My Nonna and My Papa", taught to them by none other than their nonna!  Be careful, if you watch it too many times, the song gets addicting!

And what would a Valentine's celebration be without lots of sweets???

Ryan enjoyed his special cake and cupcakes!

Unfortunately this week was not all sweets and smiles.  Ryan had some tough days.  We received a couple of bad reports from school revolving around Ryan having difficulty following directions.  After reading one of the reports, I asked him about what happened at school and he hit me and ran to sulk in his room.  We noticed "off" behaviors at home as well.  He had difficulty sharing and displayed lots of odd behaviors like running around in a zone, talking to himself, and making weird movements with his hands.  We haven't seen this kind of Ryan in so long and to be honest, it scared me a little bit.  Even his appetite at dinner was not normal and several days during the week his cheeks were red.  This led us to believe that he ate something that he shouldn't have.  But what??? 

I received the following information from the mother of one of my students.  Here is a blurb and a link for an upcoming conference, and also the link to an online newsletter called Autism Spectrum News.

2011 Young Child Expo & Conference brings together top leaders to provide the latest information about essential topics in early childhood development. Early childhood professionals and parents will learn also about services, resources, and products to help all children reach their full potential. In one unique event, this conference integrates learning about typically developing children as well as those with special needs, including autism.  http://www.youngchildexpo.com/

Here's the link to the newsletter: http://www.mhnews-autism.org/

Ryan and Thomas watching a Thomas the Tank video.

Here are some pictures that I took last week but did not post on last week's blog.  I had experimented with making GF bread for the first time. Ryan was so excited as it was baking. He kept asking what the smell was and if he could eat it.

Catching a whiff while it was cooling down.

It was delicious. We had some warm and there was plenty left over to slice and store for Ryan to eat during the week.

Last week I also made a huge GFCF and egg-free chocolate chip cookie for the kids.  I used a recipe from a cookbook I received as a Christmas gift from one of my students.  It's called The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book by Kelly Rudnicki.  The recipes are all dairy, egg, and and nut free.  They are not gluten free but I am able to swap out the flour called for in the recipe with some GF flour varieties and Xantham gum.

DC