3.06.2010

Autism and the loss of a pet

Today was a very sad day in our house. We said good-bye to a family member, our dear dog Josie who was almost 13 years old. It was time, but it doesn't make it any easier to say good-bye.
This morning I snapped a couple pictures of her before I took her to the vet but in looking at them, it is not how I want to remember her. I want to remember her as the puppy with the giant feet, that grew into a gigantic beast of a dog. A loving beast that my son used to use for a bed (as pictured). She was such a gentle soul, and had no idea of her enormity. But in the end it was her size that got the best of her. She couldn't go up and down the stairs. Her quality of life was suffering and it was time to make the difficult call. I hate myself right now and I feel like a murderer even though I know it was her time. My heart hurts.

My daughter knows that I am sad and she just keeps giving me hugs. She doesn't want me to cry. Alex got upset when I was crying and told me not to cry. Sometimes it seems he is so nonphased by death but I know it is because he truly doesn't understand it (or maybe he does?). This is not the first time we've had to deal with death this year. When my father passed away suddenly the children got a crash course in death, funerals, and heaven. My son still asks on about a weekly basis "Where did Grandpa Tom Go? And where is he?". And we answer that he is in heaven - and sometimes he'll stop with the questions, and other times he will ask more. His little sister recognizes that this is a sad subject for me and when he starts she will tell him to "knock it off" or that "he's pushing it" and "needs to drop it". I see her becoming a little mother to her older brother right before my eyes, and it touches me but tears me up at the same time.

This morning when we asked the kids to say good-bye to the dog - my daughter petted her and said a couple of nice things. She drew a picture today of a big dog with rainbow colors on it and waves and said it is a "rainbow dog" and it is at the beach. She did this all on her own - she just turned 5 years old. She gets it. Meanwhile, Alex just yelled "Good-Bye Josie" while playing with this Nintendo DS and barely looked at the dog. But for him, I know it is just a matter of time before he asks about where she went and we go through another round of questions about Heaven. I know it will take longer for him to sink in and realize that his dear doggie is really gone.

Related:
Saying Good-Bye to Grandpa and can you take an airplane to Heaven
On Autism and a Death in the Family
In a Time of Sadness
Have you thought about all the bunnies?

2.28.2010

Autism on the Ice - Special Needs Hockey

In fall '09 the Brick Hockey Club started something very special, a hockey clinic for children with Special Needs.

I had hoped to enroll my son in the program, but he clearly stated that he wasn't interested. "Alex doesn't like sports. Only Bowling - and sometimes Baseball", he said. After discussing it with my husband - we agreed not to push it. Though we both agreed that the physical activity would be good for him - especially because of his low tone muscles - it didn't seem worth the fight. Surprisingly - my daughter who has vision issues - really wanted to learn to ice skate and try out hockey. She has loved it and looks forward to going week after week - the only girl and the littlest player on the team.

On a few occasions we asked Alex if he would like to come and watch. He was vehement that he didn't want to. Last week they started a new 6 week session and the night before he announced, "Can Wall-E Ice Skate?". I took this as a sign that he was interested in trying to skate - himself. I didn't push it but when he asked again this weekend, "Can Wall-E go ice skating?"... I knew he was interested. So, I asked if he wanted to go to ice skating and he said, "yes!". I told him he could just watch or he could skate if he wanted to. So, this morning.. up and early we got up and I layered him up with warm clothes and warned him that the rink is very cold. I half expected he would bow out along the way - but he didn't. We put Wall-E in the pocket of his vest so that Wall-E could go skating with him.

When we got to the rink he did seem anxious. He was circling a bit in the locker room (the freezer) as I got his sister ready. A teen who volunteers attempted to assist him with getting his gear on but Alex wasn't the most compliant. Once Belle was ready to go, I focused on him and got him started with getting the gear on. I then turned him over to the volunteers who got his knee/shin guards and skates on him - and we found a helmet that would fit his very large head.

They started him out sitting in a chair and then pushing a chair. But, that didn't last long - he saw his little sister was up and skating (scoring goals) and he stood up on his own from the chair and wanted to shoot some goals too. The volunteer took turns having him push a chair and also supporting him to help him skate upright. He was very floppy and fell quite a bit. By the end of the hour he was exhausted and actually laid down on the ice. They helped him skate over to the door and he told me. "I won!". He was very tired, and he cried a little bit, but then he was very happy and said he had fun skating - I think he was just sheer exhausted. Overall it was a very good experience for him and I am hopeful that we'll do it again next week and for the remainder of the program.

Information about Brick Hockey Club Special Needs Hockey can be found at http://www.brickhockeyclub.com

Photos & Video from 2/28/10 Special Needs Hockey

Alex skating with the help of a caring volunteer














Both o
f my kids practicing scoring (Belle is in the purple jersey)














Video of Alex pushing a chair - first time standing up on skates. As you can hear - the ice rink is a loud arena. I fully expected that between the sensory issues that the gear (helmet, pads, skates) and the noise that he would really struggle. Once again, he surprised me.
video


Video of Alex skating with the help of a volunteer. For his first time on skates, I have to hand it to him!

video

For comparison - here is my daughter who started the program in late November. She loves to use the hockey stick!

video

Related Links:
Brick Special Needs Ice Hockey League

Overcoming vision challenges

Amblyopia on Ice

2.27.2010

Bowling Fun, Hurdles and Highs

Well here we are at the close of another season of Challenger bowling for the kids. This is Alex's favorite "sport" brought to us by the Challenger athletic program. The kids really look forward to going to the bowling alley on Saturday mornings, eating snacks with friends, and bowling.


Things that never change:
  • The french fries. Sometimes we are convinced the kids care more about their snacks than bowling itself.
  • Alex always needs the green ball. Isabelle always needs the pink - even if she isn't officially on the roster and is just floating in to take a turn for an absent player - must be pink.
  • 4 - The number of times on average that my son "fires" the loudspeaker announcer each week when they announce a birthday, high score, or other. If we could just get over the loudspeaker announcements, bowling would be a cakewalk.
Obligatory Kid Pics of receiving their trophies presented by Brick Township Mayor Acropolis.

2.20.2010

Hello Kitty Waffles - Gluten and Casein Free!

Years ago my husband got me a Hello Kitty Waffle Maker that I loved and cherished. I used it a lot in the beginning but then put it up and away. The other day the kids were asking for waffles - and since I had a gluten free mix in my pantry I thought I'd pull it out. I did, only to find that it was broken. It was a sad sad day. My husband went out to Target to see if they had a new one in stock - but they didn't as it is an item they usually carry around the holidays. He went online and ordered me one, and I had a new one within days. Of course, that meant one thing - Breakfast for dinner! First, I made gluten and casein free Hello Kitty waffles for Alex using the Maple Grove Farms Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix. You just add - oil, egg, and water to the mix and it makes pretty yummy waffles. Because the Hello Kitty waffler doesn't have a timer on it, you need to kind of play a guessing game on when they are done. If anything, I overcooked these a bit but Alex likes a crispier waffle and they are pretty thick so I wanted to make sure it was cooked all the way through. When done, I made up some non-gfcf Hello Kitty Waffles for the family.

Yummy and fun!

gluten-free hello kitty waffles








hello kitty waffles







Related links:
Hello Kitty Waffle Maker - Epinions.com

Gluten Free Pizza from Boston's

I recently went to Boston's for a much needed Mom's Night Out and found that they offered Gluten Free pizza! So, we headed there a few nights later as a family to give it a try. Alex loves pizza, so he was happy to order a gluten free pizza with sauce, no cheese, and grilled chicken. His individual pizza came to $7.88 and it was gone in about 5 minutes flat. The crust was really thin and crispy and he loved it. Typically he eats the pizza and leaves the crust, but this time he even ate the crust. Both my husband and I commented that it looked really good and if it wasn't so small we would have tried to sample a piece of it. Next time, we need to get him a larger size (the Small) since the kid can eat!

If you have a Boston's in your area, check them out for Gluten Free pizza. We did the "make your own" but they can make many of their signature pizzas on gluten free crust for a very small surcharge ($1.99 more)

2.14.2010

Happy Valentine's Day

Alex came home from school the other day (Tuesday - the only full day they had last week) with this valentine that he made for his sister.



















I don't know if they told him to make it for his sister, or if it was supposed to be for me (usually they have the kids make something for their mother!) I'm not complaining -I love that he made his valentine for his little sister. He does love her, when he isn't fighting with her.

I had made gluten and casein free rice krispie type treats with EnviroKidz Koala Crisp Cereal. But, because of snow days - the kids didn't have school on Friday nor their Valentine's party.

Related Links:
Happy Valentine's Day & Autism
Epinions Review of Glenny's Organic Brown Rice Chocolate Rice Marshmallow Treats

2.13.2010

A Boy and his Nintendo DS [Autism]















Alex loves his Nintendo DS Lite. He bought it with saved up gift cards last Christmas/Birthday shortly after turning 8 years old. Now more than a year later he is still loving it - sometimes maybe too much. We've had to have a few talks about not bringing it to the dinner table and everyplace we go. It pretty much goes in the car with him most times we go out - and is a great occupier through otherwise tough waiting situations.

I love the photo above - he is so "in the zone". In this photo, he was at his sister's birthday party and the little kids were all running around playing games and listening to loud dance type music. An otherwise very difficult environment for him was completely avoided, he sat quietly and played without a complaint.


Related Links:
Epinions Review of Nintendo DS Lite Console
Epinions Review of Nintendo DS Headphones
Epinions Review of Naki G-Pak DS Organizer
Epinions Review of Nintendo DS Lite Car Charger