Autistic Anger - The Final Frontier

     *sigh*  Well, it's been awhile my AOTA victims, and there's really no valid excuse for it, other than we have been dealing with the mother of all mood swings this last month and a half.  It really has been a nightmare.  Constant anger, hatefulness, violent acting out... it's enough for me to want to be sedated.

     It took us four months to find a new therapist, and after one session with the therapist, Teagan, and I, then a second session with just the therapist and I, the therapist tells me, "You need to help him get his behavior under control before a therapist will be able to deal with his other issues."  Are you f*cking kidding me?  His behavior is WHY we are looking for a therapist.  What the hell are doctors good for if they don't do what they are supposed to do?  It is so f*cking frustrating.  I hate the medical profession, or at least everyone we have dealt with these long, 9 years.
     The therapist's suggestion was to try intensive in-home therapy again.  Now, I haven't regaled you all with my horror stories of our intensive in-home therapy debacle.  In September 2008, Teagan qualified for intensive in-home therapy.  We were so excited, but also very busy at that time, so the in-home sessions actually occurred at my mother's house, because she picked him up from school while we both worked, and we would stop by for the tail-end of the sessions once we got off work.  But, like I said, we were hopeful that this was going to help us develop some new much-needed parenting skills to help deal with disciplining Teagan, as well as just general skills such as public behavior control, etc.  This program was supposed to last a maximum of six months.  Now, the specifics were, three  different therapists, three times a week, every week for six months. 
     Obviously, if I described this point in our life as a horror story, it wasn't how it was supposed to be.  It started out all right.  But about a month into it, we lost one of the therapists, either by dismissal or quitting, we never knew.  Then about a month later, we lost another one.  So now we were down to one therapist, who wanted to focus on marriage counseling, more than parenting.  And then around January 2009, right about the time I was laid off from my job, we lost our remaining therapist.  It was about a month or two before we got another one, and she lasted for exactly one session.  We found out later than the one male therapist we had, who Teagan responded to so favorably that I threatened to kidnap him and take him home with us, because he could get Teagan to do things we never could, had actually had visa issues.  He was from Peru. 
     So, off and on, we struggled getting a therapist, then finally about mid-summer, we got the perfect therapist.  And she stayed!  But we weren't getting the three times per week with three therapists were supposed to, but she did come 2-3 times per week, which was good enough for us.  But then Teagan's hours got cut, and we were moved from intensive in-home therapy to community support, though the "community" part was a joke.  The therapist never took him out into the community, so it was just another lie.  This therapy nightmare finally ended in October 2009, and we swore we would never again put our entire family through it.  It was inconvenient, frustrating, and a complete waste of time.  That is not to say that it wouldn't work for other people with other agencies, but this one (I will not name it, I don't even want to taste the words) was a terrible joke.
     So, here we are, still without a therapist, but there is a little hope.  Part of the school program Teagan is in for behavior, requires all children to attend periodic individual and group therapy sessions, with family sessions optional, which of course, we participate in.  I met with the school therapist about two weeks after I learned we had lost another private therapist, and told her our woes.  She gave me some suggestions, but before I could try any of them, the next day, she met me in Teagan's classroom as I was picking him up, and said that she had spoken to the director, and the director had agreed to sit in with the therapist, Teagan, and I, so she could provide him with more in-depth therapy.  How relieved are we?

My College Papers - New Tab Added

     I have added a new tab to the AOTA blog. It's called "My College Papers", and these are papers that I wrote for college about Teagan and his disabilities. There is a lot of good information in these, and I thought I would share them. Just click on the "My College Papers" for the link or click on the "My College Papers" tab at the top of the blog, then click on the titles to view the actual papers. Please respect my generosity, and do not copy these papers and submit them as your own. Thank you.

Autism & Grief - Take 2?

     On the day I had already posted the "Autism & Grief" post, Teagan had a complete meltdown that came out of nowhere, and not about what you would expect when thinking about the people he normally grieves for.  We were at my mom's house, and we were setting the table for dinner, and I happened to look down into her dog's water bowl and saw a 3 inch millipede, which is just about the ugliest bug ever, by the way.  So, without freaking Teagan out (he hates nearly all bugs and completely freaks out), I had my mom look at it.  We were trying to figure out how it got in there, when Teagan caught wind of something going on, and came in to investigate.  I had already scooped out the bug and put it into the trash, and he saw it in there and starting freaking out, but not in the normal way.  He was crying about it being a "baby millipede orphan" and begging me not to put trash on top of it, so it could breathe.  I explained to him that it was dead, and where I had found it, but he was completely irrational and insistent that I not put trash on it.  He was so distraught over this dead bug, it was really starting to concern both my mom and I. 

     So after about 10 minutes of him crying and fussing over this dead thing, and me trying to tell him it was dead, it wasn't breathing, and him telling me, "You don't have to yell at me," in a sulky voice (I did not yell at him, I was just trying to explain the situation to him), I decided it was time to take the trash out and be rid of this bug for good.  He followed me out crying and begging me not to throw him away, and could we take him home for a pet so he wouldn't be an orphan anymore, and I had had just about enough of this. 

     So I told him I would say a eulogy for him, but then we were going to have to throw the trashbag in the can.  So, the eulogy went something like this, "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to say goodbye to Brother Millipede, whose life was tragically and quickly ended when he tried to take a swim in Abbey's waterbowl, and forgot he couldn't swim.  He is survived by Teagan, who was probably his only friend." 

     Funny to me, but obviously the situation was heart-wrenching for Teagan, and it was just very sad to see him so upset over something so small and insignificant, or at least it was to me.  Needless to say, we are searching for a new therapist for Teagan, because I don't think we are capable of successfully handling these types of situations in a way that he is able to understand.

Autism & Grief

     How do we explain death to Autistic children?  For a child so young, Teagan has known more grief than he should, in my opinion.  His first experience with grief was when his most beloved Great Great Grandmother Libby died when he was 5 years old.  He didn't understand it then, but as he gets older, he understands the loss of his Mamaw, understands that we can't see her anymore, but doesn't really understand why.  Then he lost his first dog, Polo, who had to be put to sleep.  Then, a few months after that, we learned that a year before, his best friend, his very first best friend for 3 years since he was 3 had died by drowning.  He was also Autistic. 

     These losses, especially those of his Mamaw and his friend, Grayson, are really starting to affect him, he cries for them several times a week, and I do not know how to console him or make him understand that death is a part of life, and sometimes we can't keep those we love.

     So how do you explain to an Autistic child the ways of life and death?

What Fresh Hell Is This?

     Yeah, you read it right.  So, Teagan has been having a very, very shitty year.  First, we already discussed the assault by his first bus driver.  Then, we have to pull him from his hateful school, and put him in a behavior program, which he really isn't a behavior problem, but this was their solution instead of continuing to send him home because the teacher did not want to deal with his special needs.
     THEN... the teacher's assistant, who is fond of grabbing Teagan around the upper arm jabs her nail into his baby flesh, making him bleed and leaving an ugly mark.  You know there was hell to pay for that.  However, Teagan tried to confront her, and she called him a liar.  See below about this lying business.
     THEN... some hateful kid at school gets pissed off at him because he tells this kid that he saw him running to class.  The kid tells him to "shut the f*ck up" and lobs his calculator at Teagan.  Teagan says it hit him in the leg, his lying teacher says it missed him.  I'm more apt to believe Teagan.  He does not lie well.  Well, what I mean to say is, he just can't lie.  He doesn't know how to do it and we will never correct that.
     THEN... four days later, this same kid gets pissed off because everyone in class got ice cream as a special treat, and because this kid is the Devil Incarnate, he takes his anger out on the first kid he sees... which just happens to be MY F*CKING KID!  This kid punched Teagan in the face four times and somehow in all of this a very large (like 6 inches wide) bruise appears on his leg the same day, before the three full-time adults in a classroom of 8 children could pull him off of Teagan.  ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?
     THEN... three days later, two girls get into an argument at breakfast and one of them says the other girl made her nose bleed, and Teagan told her he didn't see any blood, she tells him to "shut the hell up" then pinches the shit out of him.  You should have seen the bruises.
     So... I call a meeting of the team leader, the school therapist, and his case worker, and I explain exactly how it is going to be.  I told them I see one more person, adult or child, leave a mark on my child again, I will be filing police reports.  I may still do it against that one kid who punched him.  He is a f*cking menace to society.  And threatened to yank him out of their program, if it happens again, which would result in a loss of funding from his Medicaid.
     You know, there really isn't much more than I can take, before I start throwing punches.  Does my child not have enough going on already?  And I've only given you all half of the story.  He has something more going on, that I cannot even go into, due to the personal nature of it.  Eventually, I may be able to share the last pieces of Teagan's mental puzzle, but for now, suffice it to say that Teagan's mental trauma threshold has been filled to capacity and is nearly overflowing, along with my threshold for patience with everyone.

Hatred of All Things... Educational - Part 5/5

     By mid-January, Teagan was in the classroom... but only for a week.  The next week, he missed the entire week because of the flu, which really sucked, because he was just starting to get used to the new environment.  However, during that first week, Teagan said something we have never heard before, and we thought we had picked up the wrong child from school that day.  I asked him how he liked his new school, and he said, "I like it."  I was like, come again???  I couldn't believe it.  Of course, he still says he hates it, but he already let it slip that he likes it, at least sometimes, so we knew this was a good fit.  I can't say I like his teacher, and I can't stand the assistant teacher, but they seem to be able to do the job.
     However, last week, Teagan showed me a mark on his arm that had scabbed over, and told me the assistant teacher had grabbed him by the arm and made that mark on him.  I had seen her grab him by the arm and drag him all over the place like this, and I wasn't happy about it, but I had kept my mouth shut, until now.  The next day, Teagan told the assistant teacher about it, and she flat out told him he was lying.  Now, let me briefly explain about Teagan and lying.  Teagan cannot do it.  When he tries to lie, he will at first try to do it, but then immediately tell on himself and try to rationalize with you why it was necessary for him to do whatever it was he was trying to lie about.  So, basically, the assistant teacher was full of shit, and trying to cover her own ass.  I e-mailed the teacher (not the assistant), and she called me the next morning to discuss it.  I explained the situation to her, and told her this, "He does have two hands.  Why can she not take him in hand instead of grabbing his arm and gouging her fingernails into his skin?  In the future, to avoid this situation, make her take his hand."  That same day, I asked him how the assistant teacher treated him, and he said she was very nice.  Yeah, very nice because she was afraid of getting her ass handed to her by his bitch mom.  Grrr!!!
     Well, as far as that goes, Teagan seems to be doing well in this program, though he is only in this program until the end of this school year.  Afterwards, they will make a decision where Teagan should be placed.  Teagan still mentally shuts down when he is frustrated, and refuses to do work, but with coaxing or bribes (removal of his therapeutic recreation time/Lion's Den spending taken away) he is able to get enough done that I don't have to come to the school to sit with him.  I can't say what the future holds for him, but I'm sure the battle of the schools is not over.

Hatred of All Things... Educational - Part 4/5

     This was the first year we had let him ride the bus.  I am extremely overprotective of Teagan, as you will eventually see in my posts, and I was scared to death that some older or meaner kid would pick on him, to which I would have to jerk that kid up by his or her ear and set them straight.  Anyway, it took me all summer to talk myself into it, since the school was out of the way for us, and because of finances, a lot of money would go for gas to and from school every day.  I finally allowed him to ride the bus.  About three weeks into the school year, I was sitting at the bus stop waiting to pick up Teagan, when this Hispanic woman, who spoke very little English -- I had spoken to her before about the bus being delayed, and though I am taking Spanish classes, it was difficult even relaying that little bit of information -- came up to me and in her broken English and Spanish told me that the bus driver had assaulted Teagan, and that her own son had told her about it 3 days before.  I was absolutely livid.  So, once the bus came, I went over to get Teagan, and with the mother, talk to the little boy.  I asked him if the bus driver that day was the same one, but he was a substitute.  All I can say is the bus driver in question was very lucky he was not driving the bus that day.  I would have jerked him right off the bus and thrashed him to near death.  Anyway, the boy said that Teagan was talking excessively, which Teagan does when he is overstimulated, and he loved riding the bus.  The bus driver told him to shut up several times, and when Teagan didn't, he went to his seat, jerked him up by the front of his shirt, dragged him down the aisle and shoved him into a seat at the front of the bus.  The little boy was very descriptive, and I was very pissed.  I immediately called the school and told them I was on the way to discuss this matter with them.  I told the principal and assistant principal about it, but I refused to put Teagan back on the bus, and it may be a very, very, very long time before I feel able to do so again.  Because policies had changed, it was now a law that the school had to report any incidents like that to the police, so a police report was filed, the bus driver was fired, and even though I didn't get to beat the daylights out of him, I was marginally satisfied with the results.
     After picking Teagan up many more times after Christmas break, I spoke to the acting principal, the one I can't stand was blissfully out on medical leave.  This woman was a godsend.  Apparently all other school administrators are idiots, or she was the only one in the entire district who had this knowledge, which I find hard to believe.  She informed me there was a behavior program -- now, first I will say that Teagan is not a behavior problem, not in the literal sense of the word.  His problem is lack of motivation and ability to stay focused in class, which stems from multiple diagnoses and lack of services.  Anyway, this behavior class was similar to a self-contained special needs classroom.  There is a teacher, an assistant, and a behaviorist in the classroom at all times.  They also provide individual, group, and if you wanted it, family therapy for every child in the program, as well as adhering to each child's IEP.  Whatever its label, this sounded like the perfect place for Teagan, and we at once set in motion the application process.

Hatred of All Things... Educational - Part 3/5

     Second grade wasn't as bad.  His one hour of resource was bumped up to one and a half hours, I absolutely hated his resource teacher this year more than the one the previous year, but his teacher was amazingly just like me.  LOL  She was firm, kind, but also knew how to make Teagan behave.  Though completing homework was still an issue, I wasn't fighting the school every day, like the year before.  For the most part, this year ended without incident...
     Except for the fact that his school got a grant to build a whole new school just for them.  It was going to be awesome.  They put in a bid for land, they took bids for their current land and school buildings, they found a buyer, they sold!  Then... the bid for the land for the new school fell through, so now the school had no school, no land, and no prospects of building a new school within a year.  So, their solution?  They decided to use all that money to merge with another school and building another building BESIDE the other school, along with a series of outbuildings that North Carolina is so wild about... which are really trailers they shove children in and pretend they are just like regular classrooms.
     During open house last summer, we learned that Teagan was going to be in a classroom the size of my bathroom x 2.  Literally, it was like a broom closet, I started calling him Harry Pottery.  His second grade teacher, always very candid and blunt with me, which I always appreciated, informed me that the other school, we'll call the new one D and the old one L, the L school was closed down until further notice because they found asbestos rampant throughout the entire building.  Like OMFG, right?  So there were these precious little babies attending school in the L building all this time, and they just NOW realized there was asbestos?!?!?!?!?  I was totally freaking out.  Once they got that cleared up, I pointedly asked his new teacher in his new classroom in the old asbestos L building if they got all the asbestos out.  She said she was sure they did, or they wouldn't let the students in there.  I looked at her like she was the stupidest woman on Earth.  Did she forget she had taught in this very classroom for I have no idea how many years with the asbestos in there???  Made me want to smack her on the spot.
     His new teacher was a useless piece of horse dung.  Never have we had so many issues with his teachers, until this year.  When that woman didn't want to deal with Teagan, she would call me to pick him up.  He missed probably half of the first quarter of school because of this bullshit.  It was totally ridiculous.  The week before Christmas break, I went and stayed with him at school all day long.  And guess what?  I didn't have a single issue.  He did his work, he got it all completed, little fuss, no trouble.  I honestly believe that teachers do not want to deal with special needs children, because it takes more effort, and they just don't care.  Now, that isn't to say all teachers, because there are some excellent special needs teachers out there who are angels in disguise.  But, regular education teachers... no, they don't want to be bothered by it.

Hatred of All Things... Educational - Part 2/5

     Teagan received services from a different one-on-one worker, who was nice, but just not the same.  Teagan did very well with her also, but when it came time for Kindergarten in the Exceptional Children's Program, he didn't need his one-on-one worker.  He was doing awesome in the new school, the classroom was great, the teacher and the assistant (we still love them!) were so wonderful, everything seemed perfect, my sweet baby was going to get an awesome education, he was going to grow up to be the little genius we all knew he would be.  The year went so well, that at end-of-year testing, he was academically exactly where he should be.  It went so well...
     We were called into an IEP meeting during that summer, prior to 1st grade.  We were informed that Teagan had done so well on his end-of-year testing that they were going to mainstream him into a regular education classroom, take away his IEP, all his services, and shove him into a classroom with 20 children with two full time teachers, instead of the perfect environment he was in with only 8 students and two full time teachers.  We begged and pleaded and begged again for them not to make this decision.  We knew he was not ready, he needed at least one more year to get the hang of it, even if it was another year in a mainstream Kindergarten class, which at the time they did not suggest.  They said their hands were tied, they had to make this decision based on his test scores.  Total bullshit.
     Enter the 1st grade in a mainstreamed, regular education classroom with a teacher who was too nice that Teagan literally bowled her over with his manipulative behavior and his awesome cuteness.  The assistant teacher, bless her heart, was so nice and loving, Teagan obviously was her favorite little baby, and she did everything she could to help him as much as possible.  Seven days after school started that year, the principal called me.  Her exact words were, "Teagan is struggling, and I have decided to place him back in Kindergarten."  To which I replied, "It's not happening.  We begged the IEP team not to place him in a regular education classroom, they did not listen to us, so now this is your problem, fix it." 
     So, from there, my husband and I spent the next several months fighting the principal and her team of psychologists, social workers, and school administrators who supposedly knew exactly what my son needed in order to achieve mediocre academic success.  We ended up contacting a child advocate who specialized in fighting the school for children with special needs.  She had been a school administrator and teacher for over 20 years, turn advocate, and she was wonderful.  After five months of fighting, we got Teagan back on an IEP, with "services" I wouldn't even discuss, except that wouldn't help me bitch about this school mess.  His "services" consisted of one hour a day of "resource" which was him sitting in a classroom for an hour with 10 other children, all from different grade levels and educational levels, being "taught" by a teacher who didn't do a whole lot of teaching, for the time I sat in her class.  From January to June that year, I spent half a day in Teagan's classroom monitoring him and trying to encourage him to complete his homework, since his regular education teacher and his resource teacher didn't seem to be able to do the job.
 

Hatred of All Things... Educational - Part 1/5

     So, here I thought I would rant and rave a bit about how much I hate the school systems of North Carolina.  This post ended up too long for one entry, such is my hate for the school system, so I separated it into five entries, that will post five consecutive days, so stay tuned for the complete story.
     Our story begins when Teagan was three years old, and he was first diagnosed with ADHD.  He qualified for the Early Childhood Intervention program/Exceptional Children's program, and he was placed into an appropriate pre-Kindergarten classroom.  Wait, did I say appropriate? 
     Of course, we knew that transitioning from playing all day at home to a structured school setting was going to be very difficult for Teagan, and we were prepared for it.  However, we were not prepared for the clinging, sobbing, heart-wrenching pleas not to leave him, could we please just stay with him, or better yet take him home?  But, we persevered, and left him in his big boy classroom with what we thought at the time, to be a very capable, kind, caring, and compassionate teacher and her assistant.
     About two months in, we were told that Teagan would mentally shut down when he did not want to do something, and would lay his head on the table and fall asleep.  This, we were also told, is exactly how the teacher let him stay until the end of the school day, which at that time was only a half-day program.  Seriously?  If I wanted him to sleep all day, I could have left him at home without the headache of juggling work, getting him to/from school, and coordinating with my mother when I wasn't able to take him or pick him up.  We met with the teacher and her assistant (the teacher we realized was a complete idiot and the assistant seemed to hate children, I have no idea why she was even in that line of work).  We explained to them that they were going to have to just wake him up and make him do the work, otherwise, how will he ever learn?  How will he ever get into the routine of school if he's allowed to sleep all day?  That just teaches him that if he doesn't want to do something, he can just shut down, fall asleep, and be left alone.  Needless to say, that first year was a complete nightmare.

     The second year of pre-Kindergarten, he was in the same school with the same teacher and the same assistant, but this time we had fought to get speech and OT therapies included in his IEP, which was no easy feat.  Let me explain the reason why we added these, and why I still hate this teacher to this day.  About this time, Teagan was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, or for those not in the spectrum-know, Autism.  We gave this new diagnosis to his teacher, who promptly informed us that she did not see Autism, and that there was a child (who went on to become my son's very best friend, but also died from drowning 2 years ago  - We miss and love you Grayson!!!)... sorry about that.  Anyway, there was a child in his class who had Autism, and Teagan was nothing like him, and she did not see Autism in Teagan.  I'm sorry, since when do teachers have medical licenses?  If they did, I'm sure they would not be pre-Kindergartner teachers.  Well, she kept telling us that all year, but we got our way anyway, and got the speech and occupational therapy placed in his IEP.  We also got him a one-on-one worker.  One, because the teacher obviously could not or was not willing to try to work with Teagan, and two, to keep an eye on that teacher for me.  The one-on-one worker was a dream come true.  She was so nice and caring, Teagan loved her, we all did.  Sadly, at the end of the school year, she took another position.

Autism, Epilepsy Together Up Death Risk

This is a repost from the website listed below the article.

Individuals suffering from both autism and epilepsy are placed at a greater risk of dying than those who have autism alone, a new study finds.

Autism Speaks Autism Tissue Program (ATP) researchers, who examined data gathered from the California State Department of Developmental Services, found that people with both autism and epilepsy have an 800 percent higher mortality rate than those with autism alone.

Moreover, a study on the donated brain tissues showed that 39 percent of the autistic donors had experienced epilepsy, indicating that the estimated rate of epilepsy is relatively higher among the general autistic population, the researchers wrote in the Journal of Child Neurology.

According to the Autism Speaks, it is well established that epilepsy is a major medical disorder that is often co-morbid with autism in as many as 30 percent of children. As many as one in every 20 children diagnosed with autism by the age 3 may have experienced epilepsy or develop the condition later on in life.

As noted by the ATP more than a decade ago, sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP) sufferers had been identified as a cause of death in autistic individuals. There is, however, relatively little known about the specific risk factors accounting for reported higher-than-expected rate of mortality in this population.

"This study highlights the importance of early identification of epilepsy in children with autism and of autism in children with epilepsy," said Roberto Tuchman, pediatric neurologist at Miami Children's Hospital and member of the Autism Speaks Scientific Advisory Council.

"The findings of this study should motivate the autism and epilepsy communities to increase their understanding of the risk factors and common mechanisms that can lead to epilepsy, autism or both epilepsy and autism. Understanding these early determinants will allow for the development of effective interventions and preventive measures and ultimately better outcomes for children with autism and epilepsy," he added.

"Sudden, unexpected or unexplained death in autism is often, but not always related to epilepsy and we need to use caution when interpreting these data," Clara Lajonchere, vice president of clinical programs at Autism Speaks, added in the news release.

"These findings are important for understanding risk factors that may contribute to early death in individuals with autism and further underscore the need for more accurate and accessible records on cause of death in this population."

SJM/PKH
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175285.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Special Services for Autistic Families

     This is a repost.  There have been several questions about services for Autistic children and adults, and I thought it would be good to repost this for those who may not have seen it, or don't know how to find it.

     I thought I would dedicate this post to special services for Autistic families.  Most Autistic children are diagnosed with other diagnoses, and depending on these diagnoses, your child may qualify for SSI benefits through Social Security.  Depending on your family's income, you may or may not receive a monthly supplemental check, but the real benefit of SSI for Autistic children is the Medicaid.  Medicaid will pay for nearly any and all services your Autistic child may need.  I highly recommend looking into it.     

     Another thing you may want to look into is sedation for simple services like eye and dental exams.  Teagan is very difficult to handle when having these simple exams done, and after many trials and errors, we were finally referred to a local hospital, where they will sedate your child in order to perform these exams.  Yes, I know, sedation is such a scary thing for a parent, especially when it comes to your very precious, special child.  But if you leave a doctor's office more frazzled than you would if you were in the middle of a war, you can imagine the peace of mind these types of services can offer.
     Occupational therapy can do wonders for children with sensory integration issues.  Teagan was in OT for three years, and he went from not being able to slide down a slide, swing, or even step onto grass and sand, to playing like a normally developed child.
     If you are looking for other services that I haven't mentioned, gods know we have been through the gauntlet with Teagan, please feel free to e-mail me and I will try to share what I know.  But I'm sure, eventually, I will post it here. :-)

tiffanywilson@triad.rr.com

Autism - Take 1

     So, obviously new to blogging, but thought it might be a good idea to start putting some thoughts out there for others who may be suffering as our family does.  Obviously, from the title of this blog, we are a family affected by Autism, among other things... 
     I guess I should start from the beginning.  I never wanted children.  I had been a babysitter and nanny since the age of 15, and though I loved other people's children, I didn't want any of my own.  However, once I met my husband, that all seemed to change.  We got married, and 1 1/2 months after our wedding, we were conceiving.  Though I never wanted children, I could never imagine my life without our special little guy, Teagan.
     Teagan was born two weeks early because of complications during pregnancy.  Four months after, he was diagnosed with Infant Torticollis.  Infant Torticollis is defined as, "...prolonged tightening (contraction) of the neck muscles that causes the head to turn to one side."  http://www.ptworkingforyou.com/tort.html  After six months of physical therapy, all was well.  However... when at nearly two years of age, he still was not crawling, we knew something else was wrong.  He was also not speaking.  Eventually the crawling turned into running in a short period of time, but it took six months of speech therapy to go from saying three words, "mama", "dada" and "peas" for please, to speaking like a normally developed three year old. 
     During all this time, we were noticing something else going on with Teagan.  He absolutely loved The Wiggles.  But everytime he would watch one of their videos, something strange would happen, and it appeared he was listening to someone speak in his ear, while his eyes would roll up into his head.  Obviously, we had MRI's and other scans done, but nothing came of them.  To this day, we are still trying to get these diagnosed, but from the research I have done, I have come to the conclusion that these are a type of epileptic seizure induced by music.  There is such a thing called musicogenic epilepsy, but we have not been able to get them diagnosed.  Either way, when he has these episodes, they are always induced by music, which is worrisome, because when he is older and driving a car, it could pose life-threatening.
     Teagan was diagnosed with severe Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of 3.  And believe me when I say severe... the doctor said it was the most severe case she had ever seen in a 3 year old.  Cue the energizer bunny.  On to age 4, when he was diagnosed with high-functioning Autism.  At this point in our lives, our only exposure to Autism was from the movie Rainman.  Obviously, my son is nothing like that man portrayed in the movie, but at the time, we were totally freaking out, wondering how we would be able to deal with this new diagnosis.  I have to say that we are very, very, VERY fortunate that Teagan is high-functioning.  I have met other families who were not so fortunate, and I cannot imagine not being able to hear those precious words, "I love you", spill from his sweet lips. 
     At the age of 5, Teagan was diagnosed with Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder.  For those who do not know what these are, I will briefly explain each.  Oppositional-Defiant Disorder (ODD) is "... an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that seriously interferes with the youngster’s day to day functioning". http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Children+with+Oppositional+Defiant+Disorder&section=Facts+for+Families  Sensory Processing Disorder has many names; Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Sensory Integration Disorder, etc..., and it is defined as "...the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses". http://www.sinetwork.org/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html   By the way, this website has an awesome book available in libraries that really goes into detail about the day-to-day rituals children go through in order to avoid overstimulation from sensory issues.  Teagan is affected by sound, sight, and textures of clothing, food, etc.  Central Auditory Processing Disorder is "...an umbrella term for a variety of disorders that affect the way the brain processes auditory information. It is not a sensory (inner ear) hearing impairment; individuals with APD usually have normal peripheral hearing ability. However, they cannot process the information they hear in the same way as others do, which leads to difficulties in recognizing and interpreting sounds, especially the sounds composing speech". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_processing_disorder
     Later on, he was also diagnosed with Separation Anxiety, which presents itself whenever we leave him at school.  He clings to us and gets visibly and physically upset, fearing we will not return for him, but we always have and always will.  He's had this since pre-k at the age of 3, and now at age 8, still has not outgrown it. 
     So, now that I've gotten all the history and diagnoses out of the way, I thought I'd explain why I started this blog.  It is one part raising awareness for Autism and the other diagnoses Teagan suffers from, one part sharing the daily struggles (or weekly, depending on when I have time to write) that we deal with, and one part the hilarity that is living with Autism.  Yes, you read that right.  There is great humor and entertainment when living with a child with Autism.  Teagan is just about the funniest child ever, and I hope you all enjoy the exploits I write about, as much as I enjoy living them... well, most of the time.  Don't forget that Autism is an ongoing battle and there are many, many struggles both inside and outside the home that we must face on a daily basis.  But, for the most part, it is enjoyable having a child like Teagan, and I wouldn't trade him for the world.