Merry Christmas George

Today was our family gathering for Christmas at my mothers house for breakfast. Jake was in a particularly good mood, very social and VERY loud. Everything he said had to be screamed, but at least he didn't hide in the next room like he can do sometimes with groups of people. Jake has finally figured out the concept of "opening presents" and was excited to do so.



My aunt Carol definitely gets the prize for best presents this year, even if we had to do a little trading out. For Jake there was a Fishing Puzzle with Fishing Pole just like one that Cindy uses at OT. Also Curious George at the Aquarium book which Jake instantly asked Steve to read, then me. Jake loves George AND the Aquarium. Jake also got a plush clown fish puppet, however he wasn't really interested in that. Manny got some wonderful pajamas (he really needed some) and a Curious George stuffed toy. Hmm... can you guess what Jake's favorite present was? You guessed it: the George monkey meant for Manny (don't worry, Aunt Carol, the fish puppet made a great trade and makes Manny laugh and giggle).

I guess it might not be such a big deal about George the monkey, however, unlike typical children, Jake has never formed an attachment to many "appropriate" toys. His attachments are less socially acceptable and are to things like stopsigns and spatulas. Children practice appropriate social behaviors with toys like dolls and stuffed animals and that is why pretend play is so important. Jake has rarely if ever hugged a doll, made a toy dog run across the room going "woof woof" and actually only recently has played with cars or trains other than to spin the wheels or flip open moving parts.

George monkey had to ride home in Jake's lap on the way home, and was missed when we left him in the car. He was presented to me to give a kiss. Daddy was asked to make a portriat of Jake, George and me. Then it was neccessary to dress George in pajamas (two different sets, as the first one wasn't quite right), and then George was put to bed and covered with a blanket.




We never know when these little miracles might happen, or where they come from. I just hope that the Buzz Lightyear doll that we got for Jake doesn't thwart George monkey out of the limelight just like he did Woody in "A Toy Story" (Jake's current favorite film, and a possible catalyst to his recent interest in playing with toys in a more normal way).




Jake and Manny also received two different leapfrog games from my Mom. The one for Jake is still a little old for him (as is the V-smile I got for him a year ago), but both children are loving the reading turtle that Mom got for Manny. I'll have plenty of video games put away for when either child asks for a system.

It was a nice Christmas celebration and it even fell on the Solstice. Thanks family.

Three days after solstice we will be leaving for South Georgia to stay with friends who have similar ideals and holiday practices to our own. I think it may just be one of the best winter holidays ever.

A breakthrough or two

I've expressed my frustration with Jake's pinching and such quite a bit here, but let me describe it a little more, just to give a good picture. I call it "pinching" but it was way beyond that. If I got a hug from Jake he would dig his fingers hard into my ribs. He would often run up and grab my arm and dig his fingers into me and sniff or lick my arm. If he was on the floor he might rake his fingers across the top of my foot. While riding in the shopping cart, if he becomes impatient, he might scratch the tops of my hands until they bled. While holding hands he would screw his forefinger and thumb around so that he could pinch the littlest bit of skin on my palm (if Dad and I were walking side by side holding his hands, he would only do it to my hand, not Dads). If he became frustrated with blocks he would run over and dig all of his nails into my upper arm and rake them downward.. even if I was at the computer and not involved in his game. As I've said before, he was doing this maybe 20-30 times in a 10 minute period (thats every 20 or 30 seconds or so) if we were playing together or working closely on a task. If he was playing alone and I was working, he would "only" do it every 4 or 5 minutes. He seemed to be "sneaky" about it, and sometimes I would yell out and Steve.. standing right there, would have no idea what had just happened, as Jake would slip his hands behind me or under my legs if I were sitting, or ask for a "hug" then sneak attack with his digging fingernails.

It was maddening. I had tried to do things suggested by his therapist, but had pretty much resorted to slapping his hands, yelling "no" and "stop it." The more I tried to make him stop, the worse it would become. I was avoiding playing with him. When he would come towards me for a hug I would turn my back. If he ran at me while I was standing, I would put my knee out so that he ran into it with his chest. He would still "get me" but my jeans would get the worst of it. I was at a total loss as to what to do. I tried to ask Dr. Dunbar about it, but never really got that far.

So, yesterday, I was playing on Jake's bed with both boys. I was using some of the play tactics that we learned from Dr. Dunbar and having just an amazing time. Following Jake in his various vocalizations. Trying to "take part" in everything he said or did, even if it seemed meaningless or if it were stimming behavior. I didn't try to do an activity at all, we were just sitting on the bunkbed and I was jabbering like an idiot and being loud and overly expressive over every single word he said. He was laughing and giving me constant feedback and eye contact, yet was still going after me with his hands, mouth, feet and I was THIS close to getting frustrating and ending this wonderful interaction we were having before I lost my temper. Suddenly he grabbed my arm with both pinchy digging fingers, shoved his nose hard into my arm and sniffed loudly.

I did it back.. I grabbed his arm, dug my fingers in with matched ferocity and sniffed his arm.

He was very perplexed. Seconds later he dug his fingernails into the backs of my hands and scratched. I did it back. He actually paused, gave me good eye contact and a very unusual look. For the next half hour, every time he dug his fingers into the back of my knee, my ribcage, my crotch, I did the exact same thing back, trying to match the location and intensisty the best that I could. Some of it he didn't like. Sometimes he modeled me and said "STop it! stop pinching me." and sometimes he giggled if it were a really tickly spot, but he didn't seem to like it at all, and his reaction was very unusual.

Near the end of the playtime we were laying down next to each other pretending "sleep." I was tired of over-acting and my ability to smile constantly was coming to an end. Jake was doing his sweet, yet painful activity of digging his pinchy fingers into my mouth and cheeks and trying to get me to smile. I was doing it back with equally pinchy and pokey fingers. He was laughing, but somewhat uncomfortably. Something inside of that amazing brain of his was turning in a new way.

He's stopped doing it... almost completely. He touches me appropriatly. He still seems to have the need to touch me, but it is more pats and gently rubbing, not awful pinching. I cried real tears of joy later in the evening.

What made him stop? I have no idea. Did he think that I wasn't feeling anything when he did it? Did he think that I was yelling and acting nuts for no reason? Did he not even notice or know that he was doing it? I have no idea, but I just pray that it keeps working.

So.. in the last two days I am learning how to play with my child for the first time, and really enjoying because I am no longer under physical attack. Praise the universe.

Our visit with Dr. Deborah Dunbar, Ph.D.

This morning the house was awake at 5:15 AM, as usual. Manny woke up for a spell, which awakened Jake... Manny would have gone back to sleep only his brother was up and ready to rock. Steve was kind enough to stay up with the kids while I went back to bed. Steve usually falls asleep earlier than I do, while I stay up late working on my business and otherwise winding down. So, in this way we've managed to develop a lifestyle that keeps us from going completely insane with kids who get up long before we would like them to. It also pretty much keeps us from having any quality one on one (cough*phsycial) time together, unless we try really hard (which we do when we can).

We left for Atlanta at 10 AM, stopped for a quick fast food lunch and arrived at Dr. Dunbar's office just on time.

Dr. Dunbar greeted us personally in the waiting room. The first thing she told us was to just play with Jake in our normal way while she watched. Oh my, I feel the most inadequate when I try to play with Jake, I honestly just don't know how. Manny was making too much noise for her to hear Jake's voice, and, as usual with any appointment that is "for Jake" Manny gets the crap end of the stick because he can just be in the way. Steve took him out for a little while and Dr. Dunbar and I continued the assessment. Later on, I was able to put Manny in the SSC on my back and he hung out happily while Steve and I could both glean the benifits of the visit.

Dr. Dunbar gave us so much to think about. She showed us many ways to play with Jake that will eventually overcome his lack of engagement. She told us not to worry about his speech, as she feels that his speech is just fine and that his ability to label, his reading, writing, numbers, and other skills will always be there, and that we can always be proud of those. However we need focus on teaching him to engage others. He is only learning scripted language. The "real" language will come once he learns to engage a variety of people in a variety of situations.

There are 100 questions that I'd like to ask any expert with as much experience as Dr Dunbar for instance: will he ever potty train?, why is he pinching me?, what will he be like when he's older? Will he be able to live on his own without me? However, after we'd spent a lot of time playing and talking, Dr. Dunbar said "I have about 15-20 minutes, please tell me what you wish to accomplish with this visit and we will concentrate on that." We were made to realize that our very expensive therapy time was coming to an end. Lets cut to the chase.

I, as usual, choked back tears and asked "Please tell us how to play with our kid." I explained that I have been told that I must "engage" Jake for many many hours out of the day yet, I have no idea how to do that. Dr. Dunbar had already shown us examples of different approaches, and we were blown away. We were truly given some powerful tools today.

She went on to express (just like Cindy and other people who have worked with Jake have done) that we need to recruit other family members, friends, neighborhood teenagers, anybody on earth that can come and engage Jake besides us. She mentioned examples of funny and fun grandparents, cousins, uncles or other family members that might bring him special joy. I saw true dismay on Steve's face during this part of her assessment. Dr. Dunbar points out that, even though we do as much as we can, Jake must be exposed to different people in different situations on a ONE-ON-ONE basis. Something has to be done so that Jake has a variety of people in his everyday life. Not just his family here at home, and his teachers at school.

This evening I began putting out advertisements on craigslist and other forums for a part-time Nanny or babysitter. It would be worth the financial strain to get Jake the socialization that he needs. We are also hoping for Steve's parents to sell their house out-of-state and move here very soon. We have discussed our needs with Steve's mother and she seems to be on board to help us. Hopefully they can beat the market and sell their home. Jake seemed to benifit so much from her last visit. He truly has a connection with her even though she lives so far away.

All in all it was a wonderful day. After the visit with Dr. Dunbar we went to the Dekalb airport and watched the small planes take off and played on the playground. Everybody (including me) slept in the car while Steve drove back to Dalton. We went to the local sushi restaurant where both kids ate like crazy. Jake even uses his (kid adjusted) chopsticks like a pro and pigged out on seaweed salad, tempura shrimp and sweet potatoes. Both came home worn out and went to sleep.

We have a lot to think about. Steve seems to be absolutely thrilled with the knowledge that he gained today. I am equally thrilled to feel "on the same page" as my husband. I look forward to Jake's OT with Cindy as well as another visit with Dr. Dunbar in a few months.

P.S concerning Manny: Dr. Dunbar, though trying to "ignore" Manny because the session was "for Jake" kept using Manny's appropriate behavior as an example. That makes us feel very good about Manny's development. Between that and Manny's recent check-up with Dr. Michaels...I have decided not to worry so much about Manny's development as I have been (yeah right, easier blogged than done).

Thanksgiving

We have a lot to be thankful for, especially the fact that we survived Thanksgiving. Steve and the boys were sick with a cold earlier in the week but seemed to be recovering. I came down with the cold on Wednesday morning and felt really crappy Thursday morning. I just had a bad feeling about Thanksgiving lunch with my family and called my mom to let her know that we weren't coming. My mommy gut instinct was dead on, because Jake started vomiting around noon. Manny fell sick later that evening. We had a scare with Manny passing a white stool (sign of liver distress) and I ended up calling T.C. Thompsons triage nurse to get some reassurance that I needn't rush him right in.

Friday was just more of the same.. puking, pooping, whining, and Mommy and Daddy feeling OK, so we ate the food that we had cooked and some that was brought to us by my Dad from the big Thanksgiving dinner. Friday afternoon the weather was nice, so Manny was allowed the treat of playing on the back porch while Mom and Dad watched and Jake slept. Manny's back was to us, so we didn't know what he was so interested in, a leaf or a stick? But no, it was a red wasp, warmed up from the sun, and the stupid thing stung him right on his index finger. After a dose of benadryl and a couple of hours of me hovering absolutely terrified that he'd have a reaction (my father and I are allergic to different degrees) he recovered and slept off the benadryl.

Today we packed up a still-somewhat-lethargic Manny, and an absolutely stir-crazy Jake and headed to St. Elmo for a quick run through at a small craft fair, then we headed to Greenlife Grocery to buy some yummies for dinner. Jake and Manny munched on a piece of pizza on the way home. I was just glad that they were finally eating.

Jake's days lately have been quite interesting. When he was sick he was quiet and cuddly, and when he had bouts of feeling well he has pinched and scratched me to the point of distraction. For some reason he needs "sensory input" (Cindy's words) and to get that he has to constantly touch, pinch, scratch and otherwise dig his fingers into my flesh. Cindy taught me to get his arms and shake or give firm "input" before he can dig at me to help control this, but it has backfired. Now he comes at me at different angles, digging into my calves, my buttocks, the tops of my feet if he is sitting on the floor. I have counted him doing this 20 or 30 times in a 10 minute period. If I sit or lay on the floor he throws his entire body at me. Cindy says that he does it to "regulate himself." I just really don't know what that means. But I do know that he seems to need to torture me in order to feel OK inside of his body. We also swing him, bounce him on a ball, throw him on the couch, built a ball-pit for him to roll around in and have otherwise tried to create "sensory input" therapy for him at home, with very limited success.

This weekend I made him a big batch of playdough to give him something else to pinch. It may have helped some, I really can't tell. I sit here and type, and he has been asleep for a few hours, and I can still feel the places where his nails have bitten into the tops of my hands. He also grabs my fingers and bends them back, something not so pleasant to someone with a bit of carpal tunnel from sewing/grooming/typing. I was very displeased this week when I remembered that Jake had no OT with Cindy. I want to beg her to help me with a way to MAKE HIM STOP this behaviour, yet, I have a feeling that I will be disappointed when she starts vaguely referring to a "sensory diet" and (being the truly sweet and understanding person that she is) offering her sympathy at my situation. I just want him to quit pinching me, and I sometimes just can't constrain myself and end up slapping at his hands all day and yelling at him to "STOP IT!"

Jake is such a sweet and loving little dude, and when I yell at him and slap at his hands he looks so hurt and whines and echos back "stooopp! stooop it!" and "no hurt the mommy." "mommy hug" and other things that otherwise make my heart ache. I want so bad to break into that head of his, but I just can't. I try to act hurt and "cry" when he hurts me.. hell, sometimes I DO cry, but usually only after losing my temper. The things he does that physically hurt me seem almost to be like an addiction or a drug to him. He used to grab and pull and hurt other people and children, grab strange adults and touch them inappropriately, and I thought it was a miracle when he finally stopped doing this as much. His teachers notice none of the behavior that I describe, and according to Mrs. K. he never scratches or pulls on anyone. All of that extra "regulating" energy is now focused on me. Steve even says that he experiences very little of it, but can see it as Jake pokes and scratches me. Part of me just feels like I should be grateful and accept the abuse as a blessing that I no longer have to constantly apologize or get kicked out of playgroups, but my own dislike of being touched outside of my comfort area is hard to ignore.

In case this post isn't long enough, I want to talk about Manny for just a moment. At 15 months he shows no signs of walking, has low muscle tone that seemed to appear all of the sudden over the past 2 months, and I am not sure that he is meeting his milestones. This past weekend, granted, he was sick, but he has also taken a liking to laying on his back and looking at objects (a la Jake) and though he has a word or two and more socially appropriate behavior than Jake did at the same age, I have noticed some skills that have appeared then disappeared. Jake had issues from a very early age and did not meet any milestones on time that I can remember and I do not believe that Jake has or had "regressive" type autism, from what I have been reading and researching. However, how can a mom of a child like Jake not be aware of the possibility that her second son may well regress? In all honesty, I believe that Manny will show more and more sensory issues as the next few months unfold. I write this now only becuase I WILL NOT go through being told that he "is fine, don't worry about it" again, when my gut says otherwise. I will be the happiest mommy alive if I am wrong. I WANT to be wrong. But I also want to get the right care as soon as possible if Manny needs it.

I didn't make a post on Thanksgiving day because I was too busy doing pukey laundry, but I want say that:

I am thankful for my husband, Steve, who came into my life at the exact perfect time and made me realize that Love wasn't a force to be reckoned with, it was just something that happens when its true.

I am thankful that my children are physically healthy and can smile and play and that they too know what love is, even if they don't say it out loud a lot.

I am thankful that we have good food, a house, cars that run well, places to go to have fun and friends to share with.

I am thankful for the internet for helping me gain knowledge that will help my family cope with whatever situations are thrown our way, have friendships that would not otherwise happen, and to keep up with family who would otherwise be remote and unreachable.

Looking Ahead

Again I've been tempted to erase some of my comments from my last blog, however I feel that its important to document the intense feelings that come with being a parent in general, not just he parent of a special needs child.

Lately I worry about Manny's low muscle tone more than anything, and spend a lot of time researching. Again, I am not very hopeful that he will not end up requiring some sort of early intervention. I have my eyes peeled.

This weekend we had some very special guests. A lady that I have been friends with for 3 years, but only online and through yahoo IM. We had not even talked on the phone until last week. Jake and I picked them up at the airport and he had a grand time there. She brought her youngest daughter with her, who is close to Jake's age and they had a heckuva time together. He asked about her tonight because he went to school and did not get to say goodbye. After I explained that she had gone he said and signed, "Bye bye, Lauren friend airport." It is the first time I've seen him sign "friend."

Today Jake's notebook from school said:

"Jake talked a lot today. He used more than one complete sentence "I don't want to do puzzles." [smile face] He really seems to enjoy school. I would keep trying to get him into St. Marks- if not this year, next year. He would love it."

I am hoping that this means that Jake's teachers are seeing Jake as having potential to perform in a more "typical" preschool environment. I met a few of his classmates at the fair fieldtrip and did notice that there were many children who seemed to have more severe disabilities than Jake seems to have. Bless the children that I met who are going to have a harder go at it, but I can't help but hope that this little note means that Jake might be "graduating" a bit from special education. He would still be able to receive speech therapy and we would continue Occupational Therapy as long as needed. Or.. maybe I'm reading too much into this little note :-)

Anyhow, I'm looking forward, and the future looks bright.

I am officially the worst mother in the world

Well, not really, but I'm sure someone would think so. Today was quite a day. Steve is off work this week so we took my van to the shop (door fell off track and will be fixed to the tune of $500) first thing this morning, then it was off to Cindy's for OT at 8:30. Last night Steve and I hung an eye bolt for making a baby sling swing for Jake to use as part of his "sensory diet." We brought the swing along with us to show Cindy. She was delighted and wants one for herself. The session went well, and I was glad that Steve was able to go with me so that he could ask some questions of his own and get answers first-hand from Cindy.

After OT it was time to cross the parking lot to go see Dr. Michaels for re-checks on both boys. As usual, there was over an hour wait in the lobby, followed by half that in the room, but sometimes it is worth it to see a very good Doctor, which Dr. Micheals certainly is. My hands shook and I had a hard time keeping it together in the waiting room. I didn't want to discuss vaccinations....

Dum dum dummmmmmmm....(enter the worst mother in the world)

Last night I spent a couple of hours crying and tearing myself up about vaccinations for Manny. Honestly, I really don't THINK that vaccines cause autism, however I am living with the guilt and the what-ifs that go with that. When Manny got his single shot of dtap, I drove home with terror in my heart, shaking, nauseated, basically saying to myself, "What have I done? What if it hurts him. What if I fucked him up? What if.. what if..." The problem is, children sometimes ARE hurt by vaccines. I am terrified, and my fear isn't just some irrational, uneducated drama caused by reading articles by Jennie McCarthy. I've seen vaccine reactions in animals when I was a vet tech. I've seen animals drop dead after a parvo shot. There are anti-vaccine people (I'm not one of them, I promise) out there who would probably say "How could you? How could you just give Jake 30something shots without thinking about it? How can you be such a cow? Are you the worst mother in the world?" Maybe?

On the other hand, there are terrible diseases out there that my son could catch. Dr. Michaels made several very well thought out, very intelligent points that, while I'm standing there, make perfect sense. He is OK with a delayed schedule, he is OK with Manny getting one shot at a time, hell, he's OK with no vaccinations at all. "I am here to help you make a decision, not to sway you one way or the other." But he also points out that children catch Meningitis and die or end up in a wheelchair. There are many many people who might say "How can you just ignore that these diseases are out there and risk these terrible terrible things that could happen to your child? Are you an uneducated hillbilly? Are you the worst mother in the world?" Yeah, dammit, probably.

Manny received no vaccinations today.

Dr. Michaels agreed with me in thinking that Manny's tone is a bit low. I didn't really want to hear that, even though I already knew it. To me Manny shows signs of sensory issues, but I haven't noticed any autistic symptoms yet. When Jake was Manny's age he had plenty of symptoms, and more and more were manifesting every day.

During the exam Dr. Michaels was concerned about Manny's spots. Manny was born with several birthmarks, very similar in size, shape and color to one I have on my ankle. More birthmarks appeared probably during the first 6 months of his life. He said that this was something to watch as a symptom of a disease called Neurofibromatosis. I thanked him for giving me something new to obsess over. I guess I didn't realize the seriousness of this disease until I came home and did some reading. This is a disease that you can not test for, but that manifests itself over the course of many years, sometimes not until puberty or early adulthood, and can range from mild to severe to life-threatening. It can cause disfigurement, pain, blindness, deafness, learning disabilities, tumors in any part of the body, and death. Of course, he could just have birthmarks. Up until today I have always loved his birthmarks, thinking that they were just the cutest thing I've ever seen. I am proud of them and tend to show them to people because they are so darned cute. A child with 5 or more cafe au lait spots should be watched very closely. He has many, even in the groin and armpit areas, areas of special concern. I don't have a good feeling about this. I have lost my ability to have an "it won't happen to me" attitude or an "ignore it and it will go away" outlook. Worrying about my baby for the next 20 years, or seeing symptoms show up, I wonder how I will stay afloat. A couple of people have already said "Oh, don't worry too much about it." Steve says that he just isn't the type to worry about that kind of thing until something happens with it. I will probably cease to talk about it much anymore. But I will probably think about it every day, and spend a few more minutes inspecting him every day. And, of course, it could just be birthmarks.


Moving on, we discussed Jake's current progress and the next steps. All of the blood tests were non-indicative of any metabolic disorders. We may end up doing genetic testing at a later time, and I told Dr. M that Jake will see Dr. Dunbar. He seemed satisfied with our course of action.

I feel like I am breathing underwater and fending off a nervous breakdown at this point. I sat around kind of pissed off and numb today. When I sit around and frown, Jake crawls into my lap and uses his pokey little fingers to shove the corners of my mouth up and says "Smile, Mommy!" I tried but eventually just told him to shove off. I blew off bellydance class and most of my nightly socializing for sheer lack of mental energy. I'm sort of surprised I wrote all of this. I yelled at my kids and made them cry because I just couldn't stand it any more. Whether or not I vaccinate really doesn't make me the worst mother in the world. Wishing sometimes that I had skipped the whole motherhood thing altogether does.

How its all good.

The day I realized that I could not deny Jake's symptoms any longer and also the day that I realized that he truly was autistic was the day I learned what stimming was. I learned, of all things, while browsing youtube. I had just read a page on PDD-NOS on the JanyaGirl Website. It was late at night and I had been reading and reading and finally it looked like I was on the right track. Being on the right track wasn't making me happy at all, and I had this awful sinking feeling in my stomach, a feeling I've become quite familiar with these past three years. I started typing things into youtube and came across several videos that showed children who exhibited symptoms similar to Jake's. Then I came across this video of a boy stimming. My whole body went numb. It stayed that way for several weeks. I knew then not only that Jake was definitely autistic, but that I had the proof I needed to convince Steve. Manny was a newborn and "overwhelmed" doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.

A few weeks later, after I had collected my thoughts, I showed my husband a collection of the videos that I had found. I think the effect on him was similar, but I was finally able to convince him that we needed to move forward with diagnosing Jake and getting him some help.

Jake stims daily and sometimes all day, and I know that I complain about it quite a bit, simply because it is annoying, worrisome, and a constant reminder that Jake has neurological issues. But, truth be told, he usually does it when he is tired, bored, overstimulated or basically has nothing else to do. Its hard to make people who only see him when he's out in the world, playing and having fun, understand how weird and scary these behaviors can be to a parent. Watching him do this makes me want to live inside of his head for just a little while and see how he views the world, and what makes him do these things. I am beginning to be able to spot objects and circumstances that I know will make him start stimming, and avoid them. I collected a few video clips and made a little movie so that you can see what Jake's stimming looks like. Different kids do different things, and this is only an example of a few of Jake's many stereotyped behaviors.



I don't know what other people feel when they watch those videos. Pity? Fright? Maybe they say "I don't get it.. he's doing what? He looks fine to me." But it doesn't bother me a whole lot to watch the videos, since I see him do it every single day. Just like I said at the beginning of the video, its important for you to know that the stimming isn't everything that there is to my boy. There's so much more.

Today his note from his teacher sums up a lot of who Jake really is:

"I believe he is the happiest child that has ever come to my class! The friendliest too. He smiles at and talks to everyone here. Today he made a leaf book, worked on puzzles, played a shape and color game on the computer, and played with some student helpers from the middle school He had a great morning - lots of words. -KH"

You just can't know how proud that makes me. Jake really is a happy kid who loves life and so many things about it.

I have have been trying to teach Jake to be polite in many places and teaching him the appropriate times to say Please and Thank you and other niceties. Almost every time I have to prompt him either with sign language or by saying "Jake, say 'thank you.'" or "Jake.. please say 'I'm sorry." It was a big accomplishment for him to ever respond to the command "Say....." and it has been about a year since I started working on this. Today before he left the lunch table he said "All done. Thank you Mommy." without being prompted at all. My little boy is learning to be polite.

Polite, kind, nice, and happy. These are really the basics of a successful life as far as I am concerned. I am so proud of my son I can't stand it. He has worked hard.