Beautiful Veterans Day Ceremony

We had the honor of attending a Veteran's Day ceremony at a local nursing home, where several Veterans were residents. This event was magnificently topped off by the presence of the NAM Knights and The Saluting Marine (if nothing else, watch the video on at the end of this entry) , Marine Sergeant Tim Chambers who, in 2002, took it upon himself to salute, in full uniform, each and every Veteran on motorcycle riding into Rolling Thunder held around Memorial Day each year in Washington, DC. Ssgt. Chambers holds his salute the entire time, with this past year's entry lasting 4 hours!

Here are some pictures from the event.

Sergeant Chambers giving a speech

Army member (can't remember his name!), who sang the National
Anthem, standing during the Army Hymn.

Air Force Vets standing during their Hymn, so moving
seeing them stand up out of their chairs

The one Marine Vet (aside from Ssgt Chambers)
standing during the Marine Hymn.

My kids went around after to shake hands
and say Thank You. Proud Mama moments

This picture definitely paints a thousand words.

One of the Nam Knights greets a Vet

Mr. Chambers spoke with every one of our kids and gave them
a personalized motivational message

Our group with Ssgt. Chambers

Just had to capture these balloons at the end of the
event, drifting away.

Here is the video I watched over and over again before the event about Ssgt Chambers

Read more about the ceremony on the Burlington County Times Website

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Talking as a "stim"?

I am very used to chatty children, after all 2 of my 4 are girls! Even my older son, the quietest of all of the kids, would have times of verbal diarrhea. (like that? I just came up with it!) Youngest (Z) has his excessive verbage moments just like the other kids. But sometimes, it is different....

...especially in the car. Last night we were riding home from his cousin's birthday party; he had had a really great time, but any social occasion is just that, SOCIAL.

 Social=STRESS,

and stress=ASD flareups. Of course there is a back story here, there had been several triggers leading into this weekend: a few things had Z pretty worried or nervous or sad, but most were good things, however triggers are triggers and ASD doesn't really allow for differentiating. Z gets on these talking jags in the car and I am certain it is stimming. Stimming is "Stereotypy, or self-stimulatory behavior, refers to repetitive body movements or repetitive movement of objects. This behavior is common in many individuals with developmental disabilities; however, it appears to be more common in autism." (Stephen M. Edelson, PhD, http://www.autism-help.org/behavior-stimming-autism.htm ) He talked the entire ride home.

Twenty. Minutes. Straight.

Well, not fully 20 minutes. There were some breaks, some as long as 4 seconds, but mostly 1-2 seconds maximum between. He was talking about anything and everything, much of it was repetitive and scripted speech, which he doesn't usually use around us unless stress levels are running high. M (my daughter, his big sis--the younger of the 2 olders) is so amazingly patient and calm with him, she amazes me--but even she got a little impatient after the third or fourth recitation of  "isn't it so awesome how Captain Jack always has guns."

I believe he uses talking as a calmer in the car because I've worked so hard with him to not drum/flap/snap/hum/growl in the car that he had to find something else. It's just another way for him to quiet all the noise he is hearing and feeling, another way for him to place himself back into control of his atmosphere.

One of the wonderful occasions this past week was getting to meet back up with "Rookie J, The Doggie Llama", and I will update with a separate entry for the magical effects this little dog has on Zachary. Here's one picture to preview :)

He can't help but smile when he sees Rookie J, even just a pic!

Fever Days

For several years I have what I have termed "fever days". I wake up in general pain all over and usually a headache is present and without fail my temperature will be around 99 degrees. It will go as high as 100, but never higher, and never below 99, and usually is gone by the end of the day though occasionally it will last 2 days. Once the fever did stay with me for about 2 weeks and, when I also woke up to almost every part of my body swollen (including my NOSE, yes seriously!), I went to the doctor. I was tested for Lyme, the testing came back positive several weeks later, but my symptoms were gone and we did not treat. I will forever wonder about that decision and if it further contributed to my ongoing issues since then.

I have had so many health mysteries over the past years like the aforementioned fevers, 2 weeks in the hospital for asthma, body swelling now and then, deep aches and pains (fibromyalgia was diagnosed in 2005), unexplained rashes, hair shedding, massive dental problems, inexplicable swollen lymph nodes, at times crazy low Vitamin D levels (have been as low as 7, now "up" to 17)...could it all be due to Celiac (antibodies present blood results just found a couple days ago)? Is it Lupus? Is it neither, or both plus fibro? I'm just tired of it all! I'm glad it seems that together with my doctor, we are finally putting the pieces together but I am just tired of all of it. I'm not a big complainer, and I hold back on expressing my pain levels because, well, I'm a mom and I'm a single mom and down days aren't an option, or at least that's what I've convinced myself lol. Every now and then though I just want to YELL and whine and complain and today is one of those days. I also find it can not only benefit me but also maybe others that are also searching for answers, so you are very welcome ;) Seriously, if any of these things are familiar to you, share with me! 

Back to your regularly scheduled positive, insightful, and occasionally funny but always sarcastic blog entries. And with Mama cooking primarily whole foods and gluten-free, there will be plenty of sarcastic stories to share about my kids and their LOVE of our new eating lifestyle. :-D

Help Raise Awareness of Neurofibromatosis!

NF1 can cause a multitude of physical anomalies and maladies. This genetic disorder also causes behavior and developmental problems that mimic autism and adhd. While Ella charms adults, many kids have a hard time "getting" her and she is just beginning to understand this. Watch her sing her heart out and share the video to let her know she is loved for exactly who she is! Visit www.facebook.com/HopeforElla to stay up to date on all that HopeforElla is doing to make the world a better place.

WORDS

Autism. Mainstream. Inclusive. Non-inclusive. Integrated. High-functioning. Verbal. Non-verbal. ABA. RDI. IEP.

Words, all just words, and lately I find people increasingly focusing on the words of diagnoses and I'm frustrated. These words put so many ASD kids in a box that isn't easy to escape, through no fault of their own and the best of intentions of the community at large. Awareness is crucial but unfortunately with such large numbers of kids being diagnosed, with much of the awareness comes stereotyping and generalizing. There is no clear standard as to what works with autistic children and adults. People will argue about which therapy works best and colleges and universities teach future educators specific therapies as the be-all/end-all. STOP!

Don't box them in, get to know them. Pay attention to what she's saying but where her eyes are following. Notice his hand-flapping but see the fear in the furrow of his brows. See the jumping but embrace the joy in the smile on her face. The world sounds and feels so different to him and while he reacts differently then "typical" people, don't presume he isn't thinking like Socrates. Take the time to know them and patiently help the thoughts cross from mind to expression of words. 

Patience. Try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised with your world.