Our BIG Star

We had our final parent feedback meeting at the STAR Center today.  Ms. Maura, Blaine's OT, went over Blaine's post-test results (the post test was done last week) and compared results from his pre-test (given last August) with us.

What she presented to us was remarkable.  He has improved in so many areas that we sort of smiled (and cried) our way through the whole meeting.  Maura was more than pleased with what she has seen and we were thrilled to see proof of his improvements (namely in the areas of writing, emotional regulation, and in the school setting.)  I remember sitting in the test room with him last August feeling so helpless and heartbroken for him.  He didn't know all of his letters and when he was asked to draw a picture of himself he needed 100% direction on how to draw a stick figure and what to include.  Last week during the same exercise he was able to draw himself (fingers and all!) with no assistance or prompting, and he asked if he could add grass, the sun, and clouds to the picture which speaks volumes about how he feels about the world around him, what he is observing and is able to communicate now.  Awesome.

There is probably a lot more that I could report but I think this summarizes it:

Ms. Maura writes:
Blaine, I had so much fun playing with you! Thank you for
teaching me so many awesome games!  One of my favorite
games that I will always remember playing with you is
hide & seek in the rainbow room. :) Maura

We went from many difficult sessions in a row (where both Blaine and I would be in tears) to fewer and fewer and then shifting to sessions where Blaine would ask me to leave the gym so he could play alone with Maura (awesome) and finally, in his last session he was playing with an older boy (who was also in therapy) and both therapists.  This was huge and a picture into where he is headed, socially.

The next steps are to find some summer camp options and extracurricular activities that Blaine can call his own, as well as preparing for Kindergarten.  Maura and the STAR Center will continue to be in our lives as much or as little as we want them to be.  They recommend a "booster" series of OT sessions after we take a break, perhaps before Kindergarten in the fall.  But we can call on them if we need anything, which makes moving forward easier.  Blaine received his award from Maura, gave high-fives and we were on our way.

Today was a good day!  

A Whole Week

Tomorrow starts the beginning of our first "real" full week of work and school in almost three weeks.  I think we are all ready.  Ok, maybe it is just me :)

Blaine would rather never go to school.  He tells me every day that he can't (and doesn't) learn anything at school that he can't learn from PBS.org.  And he actually says it just like that.  Some days I think he has a point when I see what kind of homework he has.  This week or next, in fact, I will be visiting a private school here in Broomfield that I hope will turn out to be very beneficial for him.  They have a long wait list but he would spend Kindergarten there if he got in for this upcoming school year.  Our other option is Meridian Elementary, Blaine's home school, where he would spend Kindergarten if we didn't put him in a private school setting.  The school we're looking at is called Bal Swan.  I think Blaine will need some kind of enrichment program this summer too but I am unaware of what is out there so I should start that research now I suppose.

Our time at STAR center is also winding down.  We have sessions through the end of January and then post testing in February which will show us where Blaine improved in certain areas.  The verdict is in (for the most part) though and the areas that we were all hoping would improve drastically for Mister didn't, so in this last month a team of professionals that range from Dr. Lucy Miller (who literally wrote the book on SPD and started the first foundation around SPD) to Blaine's OT and the center's psychologist will be meeting to make one last push towards giving us some answers and support.

I needed a lot of rest this weekend and all of us came down with a cold so Daddy came to the rescue and while I ran a few errands and cooked for the week, he did the kid-centered activities.  Our recreation center is awesome - complete with a rock-climbing wall, huge pool and basketball courts - all of which Blaine played on this weekend with Dad.

Hannah bossed me around the house while her brother was busy climbing walls.  She has added a new line to her list: "Oh my Gosh, MOM!  Are you kidding me?"  She says it about everything now, and it's funny every time.

Now that it is 2013 it is also time to start thinking about a house... our house that we will own instead of rent... before July 1st.  (WOW!)  The person that helps to manage the house we rent now (the owner lives in the Netherlands) is a Realtor and we trust him so we'll start there.  Tomorrow I have to call a few mortgage brokers to see what our first steps should be.  Another exciting year and ANOTHER move.  I can't wait!  (Can you sense my immense sarcasm!?!)  Hey, know a good moving company?  Because there is one based in Texas that we will NOT be using! :)

If this is your first FULL week back... good luck and I hope good days are ahead :)

33 Wonderful Years Plus!

Where has the time gone?  I celebrated a birthday, my mom has been visiting (leaving tomorrow), we've been busy with lots of activities, and we've had multiple meetings at Blaine's school and at the STAR Center.  Same ol' story though - I'm just flat out exhausted at the end of the day so the blog sits and waits.

On the weekend of my birthday (October 27th) nine years ago I was visiting Austin, Texas for the first time.  I was living in Houston at the time and David and I had just had our first date two weeks before.  He invited me to celebrate with him and we never looked back after that.  I had a lot of fun reminiscing and having fun with the kids who wouldn't be here if that relationship hadn't begun almost a decade ago. :)  Of the last 33 years of my life, the last decade has by far been the richest, most blessed I have known (or perhaps I'm just more aware now!)  Thank you to everyone who made my birthday special and full of love.

flowers for my birthday...

 

and snow for my birthday...

Mister super happy about the snow.

GG arrived last Wednesday just in time for Halloween festivities.

Waiting for GG.

Happy to wait :)

Both kids were excited to get dressed up and ask for candy since they rarely get to eat it.  Hannah was scared of D's costume and even though Blaine was nervous to go up to the houses he did super!  We were so proud of him but the best part is that he was more excited about handing out candy than he was about getting it.  In fact he ate one piece of candy and then hasn't asked about it since.  (Victory!  This Mama says :) Hannah, on the other hand, has had her fair share but hasn't cared about it much recently. 

David, my favorite poultry

I always have a list a mile-long when my mom comes - from shopping, to day-trips, to organization, to shopping, more shopping, and more organization... there is never enough time to do it all!  And the kids keep GG on her toes, demanding her attention every moment they can.  We appreciate and love her so much.  Thanks Mom!

 

She helped me make gifts for Ms. Ali and her co-workers...

 

 

She hiked with us in the Rocky Mountain National Park...

 

She helped Hanny and I shop...

She went to Boondocks Fun Center with Blaine to spend his allowance...

She was able to meet and love on our newest family member... Ms. Peyton.  (I am the oldest and Peyton is the youngest grandchild on my mom's side of the family.)

And she just helped us all have a whole lotta fun :)

And now we're all really tired!

 

 

And a lot happening in Blaine's world but I'll have to leave that for another day.  He has finished 11 OT sessions at the STAR center and we're starting to learn more about Sensory Processing Disorder and how it is affecting Blaine specifically.  Life is just sometimes rough for our Mister!  We've had two long and in-depth meetings at Blaine's school and while we're not impressed with our options right now, we're continuing with the public education system because we've invested so much at this point and we're halfway through the year.  The administration has and continues to be diligent and helpful and are seemingly putting Blaine as a top priority.  It's been exhausting to say the least...

 

I've been working on this post for hours now - multitasking at its finest!  Now it's time for bed.   

Change

The one thing that is constant is change. 

Sometimes change is painful and we really don't want to face it at all.

And then other times change is welcomed with open arms.  Our family has been waiting for a change for what seems like forever and lately it really seems like the pieces of the puzzle are really beginning to fall into place for us.  This is big.  Huge.  Amazing. 

It is hard to write about this because so many people have so many opinions and judgements about this topic so I will just get to it.

Blaine is on a new medication and...

It.

Has.

Changed.

Our.

Lives.

I met with two pediatricians last week (Blaine's pediatrician and an ADHD expert that we are consulting with) who helped us put together a treatment plan which we began implementing last Friday.

In just four days we have been amazed at how Mister's life (and our lives) have improved.  He is significantly less aggressive, much more considerate, hyperactivity is down, and attention to detail is improved.  Not to mention his intellect is making appearances all the time now.  Instead of non-verbal action he is communicating with a beautiful vocabulary and he's sharing his knowledge with us.  We're amazed at the change and see now that this will help him achieve so much more in occupational therapy because of this new focus and "calm" he's been given.

Today is a great day.  I actually LOVE being at home now because it's not stressful, frustrating, and constantly challenging. 

And that's a change I can live with :)

Seeing STARS

I've spent the last five days trying to write this post.  I wrote it and erased it, wrote more and changed it and now finally I'm just going to write and click "Publish."

D and I have been processing what we learned at the STAR Center last Thursday evening.  Well, processing and thanking God for the relief and joy we have experienced.  The staff at the STAR Center have begun to change our lives.  We are so grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to work with them.  Over four months ago, Dr. Fasci, Blaine's developmental pediatrician in Austin looked at me in her office and said, "You are moving to the best place in the country, if not the world, to help your son.  Get into the STAR Center and I'm sure they can help you."  Here we are after so many hard years, unexplainable frustration, pain, and too many tears to count and she was exactly right. 

Thursday afternoon we got -

Answers.
Explanations.
Recommendations.
Reports.
Results.
Conclusions.
Plans.

And best of all -

HOPE!

And God came through in a big way this past week.  For the first time in a long time both David and I actually breathed a sigh of relief and felt that there was someone out there that actually knew what Blaine has been dealing with, what we as a family have been coping with, and not only that but they have a plan to help.  The OT, SLP, Psychologist and Pediatrician we're working with are amazing.  Just amazing.

From here I could go into great detail but I think I'll just hit the most important things we learned.

- Blaine does have Sensory Processing Disorder.  Research shows that a very intensive Occupational Therapy and Listening Therapy program can re-train Blaine's brain and help him immensely.  He will begin with the proposed 30 sessions (3 times per week) in a few weeks.

- The pediatrician diagnosed Blaine with ADHD, Combined Type (Both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms) and recommended medication given the severity of his behavior.  After much prayer and discussion with the doctor we are going to move forward with this recommendation.

- Testing shows that Blaine has a very high IQ - in the High/Gifted range in fact.  I started crying when she told us this not because I was surprised but because it was such a relief to hear that what we've sensed for a long time is actually true.  They told us that much of his frustration and problems come from knowing that he should be functioning at higher level, cognitively, but not being able to access the information. 

There.  I did it.  Not really how I wanted to present this very important information but these are the facts. 

Finally, I just started attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and it just so happens that we're going to be studying Genesis for the next 8 months.  Genesis is a Greek word that means "beginning."  The timing of this study and the new beginnings we're experiencing give me goose bumps.  Since July our family has been experiencing a new beginning here in Colorado and in just one meeting at the STAR center we can see a new beginning for Blaine too.  We're so excited for what's to come.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Questions and Answers

Mister on the carousel at the Denver Zoo.
So happy!

It seems like we are constantly living on the edge of big moments here.  We've put all our eggs into one basket, so to speak, and this week we will begin to find out what good will come of that.  Blaine wasn't quite able to finish the last ten minutes of the IQ test they started last week at the STAR Center so we have to make the one hour (one way) drive back down there tomorrow afternoon to complete that.  Then on Thursday we will meet with the team (O.T., Psychologist, Pediatrician, and Speech and Language Therapist) to discuss all their findings and recommendations.  For some reason Blaine calls O.T. his "G.P.S." (which actually makes a lot of sense!) so he asks us everyday when he can go back to his GPS and play :)  Explaining that we have to get through a few things before he can go and play with Ms. Britt (his O.T.), is not what he wants to hear.  Soon, Mister... soon.

B will also begin at a new school this week.  The "hard day" I spoke of last week has altered Blaine's placement a bit.  His hard day required a hard meeting, which is leading into some harder decisions for us, all of which are hopefully moving him closer to a stable, safe, and nurturing learning environment where he can accomplish the one thing he wants more than anything - learning to read - and allow him opportunities to build some positive relationships with other kids.  Thank you to everyone that is praying for our wonderful Mister.

Many other questions were asked this week:

Blaine asked me if we knew when we were going to die.  I told him that we didn't know.  He asked if God knew and I said yes.  Then he asked if he could ask God when he was going to die.  (Death was on this little boy's mind a lot this year.  After losing Keith, Blaine thought about it a lot.  Check out this post and this post.)  I thought for a moment and told him he could certainly ask God - he could ask Him anything - but I wasn't sure if he'd tell him.  I said that since we don't know when we're going to die, it's important to live each day to the fullest and love those around us.  Then he asked for a snack.  I love these conversations!

Hannah has had a question lately too. Picture this: Hannah in a tu-tu, at the zoo...

Then she crosses her arms and leans back and says, "Word up.  What we do now?"  It's one of the funniest things we've ever seen.  That girl is too much sometimes.  We aren't sure where she comes up with her material, but it is good!

I'll update with any answers we find this week or perhaps we will just have more questions... either way - I'm excited for what's to come.

Word up, people. :)