Our Sensational Kids

Whitworth Update

2013-08-23T15:00:00.000-04:00

It has been a long time since I have written on here. I just checked the number of views and I was pretty amazed it was so high. Anyway, maybe I'll give this a better shot this year.

I thought I would dedicate this post to how our homeschool year went this past year.

The second year in homeschooling went ok. I have to say it was quite the challenge for both the boys and myself. There were a few things with them that I've done pretty consistently this year. I have also changed a few of our daily activities from last year. I have learned that homeschooling is a fluid thing. There is no right or wrong way to do it. You just do what you know is best for your own family. I love homeschooling in Texas b/c we don't have a lot of rules or regulations to follow. It is freeing for me and I am blessed to live and homeschool here.

One thing I've really learned (again) this year is that we homeschool for very different reasons than most of the families I know and have met. I admire those families with children who are memorizing and learning about things that are pretty impressive, but I've learned to accept that's not us. I knew going into homeschooling that we were doing this so the boys could learn at their own pace and not be rushed through the basics of school. I didn't realize I'd be judged for this slower pace in the homeschooling community. I expected it somewhat from parents and friends who put their children into public school. I almost welcomed the debate. But to be judged for not doing a certain type of homeschooling...I did not expect. Thankfully, I have found families who have children who needed homeschooling for the same reason as my boys. They have been a super encouragement to me after a rough start here in Texas. I'm looking forward to 3rd year of homeschooling surrounded by these friends who have been there, done that and have actually graduated some pretty fantastic kids!

I made a few changes to curriculum this year that I thought I would share. Like I said, homeschooling is fluid.

First of all, I have a terrible confession to make...I am HORRIBLE at getting them to read. There, I confessed it. I have always struggled with this. I used to read a lot as a preteen/teen. However, reading to my own children (especially reading out loud) has been difficult. I do not enjoy reading anything out loud. I cringe when asked to read out loud for any reason. In part, I believe this has to do with some of my own learning issues I've been discovering. I have a tendency to skip lines and exclude words. I do this with spelling as well. When I was in elementary school I went to extra classes to help me with reading. As I got older I read more fluently and like I said I enjoyed reading for fun as a preteen/teen. I recognize my detest for reading out loud as a major issue in homeschooling, so this year I have found a few things that help me with this.

First, we purchased each of our boys a Kindle Fire this year. This has been the BEST decision I have ever made for any Christmas gift. There has not been one day since receiving them that I regret having them. They were given the least expensive Kindle Fire. This tablet has helped a great deal with reading. Now, when I want them to read a book we go to Amazon and download it. There are many kindle books that are actually free. The blog Free Homeschool Deals has a list monthly of free kindle books. We have taken advantage of that list several times. In addition having the book on the kindle (no more lost library books...YAY) the kindle also READS it to them! OHHH HAPPPY DAY! So now, I will sit with them and read books with them, but I do not have to read out loud. They also can go and listen to books on their own. It has helped them greatly with their fluency and word recognition.

The second thing we have done is to spend each day working on Istation. I found out about Istation from an online friend. It is free for public and homeschooled students in Texas. It's called Istation. It has been really good for both of the boys. We have consistently done this program since January and it has really helped them. That has been a huge help in knowing their actual reading level and helping with fluency. Istation tests them each month to show their progress and then continues using games to help them improve at their own level. Logan improves each month. It starts at a 3rd grade level (his actual grade last year) and he is still falling below grade level (as he has always tested from the time he started school) however, he shows excellent progress each month. I am noticing it in everyday life with him as well. Cole is also using Istation. He was by grade level in 2nd last year. Istation is technically for 3rd and up, but I felt he could do the work. He is scoring at or just below grade level. Which is encouraging to me. Cole is my reader and he's doing GREAT when I can get him to focus (that's another blog!)

Finally, I've just been more intentional with reading with them in every day life. Logan has recently seen the benefit of knowing how to read signs when he helped me to see some signs at night while I was driving. He also looks on with Whit during church while we are reading from the Bible. His fluency needs work over all, but he's getting the hang of it.

Another change I made was to chuck The Phonics Road and start with a different phonics based book. The book was recommended to me by another homeschooling mom who was also certified as a reading specialist. The book The Ordinary Parents Guide To Reading has been very helpful in giving me a way to systematically teach the boys Phonics. I go through the lesson with them and also pick spelling words from the lessons we are working on for the week. We sometimes find readers that follow whatever rule we are working on. It has been much easier and something I actually keep up with doing.

We are also working through Easy Grammar This has been a good book for all of us! We are, as always, working through both of these books at their pace. We stop for awhile and repeat if necessary.

Math U See continues to be my math choice. Cole has taken a little longer to go through this. We started out a little behind so he's still catching up. Again, this tends to be more of a lack of attention thing vs. an inability to do the work. Logan has done excellent with this series and continues to work through his book.

This past year we didn't do a lot with Science and History in the conventional/traditional sense. We read some books on history and did some Apologia Astronomy Science, but it was difficult to get into a groove with these subjects. We did start receiving Learn Our History DVD's. I see these as a great supplement to what we've been learning. Often after a hard morning with reading and math exercises, we would turn on a history DVD or a Science show on Netflix and just learn something while we ate. The boys enjoy it and I get a little break.

Our 3rd year of homeschooling is about to begin and I'm excited to incorporate some more things into each week. Homeschooling is definitely not for everyone and not for the faint of heart. I think this will be the greatest challenge of my life and I hope one day I not only turn out kids that know a few things, but also kids that respect their elders, are a pleasure to work with and are happy and adjusted. So far, socially, I am seeing great things in my kids. I am super proud to be their mom and take this journey with them.

Homeschooling So far.....

2011-11-08T00:11:00.000-05:00

I have been homeschooling the boys now since the end of July and we are making it. No one has been harmed in the making of most of our days :)

I went to a homeschool convention in Orlando in May and I have to say that was a really eye opening experience for me. I signed up for every "Special Needs" type class I could and researched a lot of curriculums. I enjoyed the time away and the affirmation I felt after being just totall immersed in a homeschool mindset. I'm in this for the long haul!

I have a dear friend Delynn who has been mentoring me along the way. She has 3 boys all older than my boys whom she has always homeschooled. Her middle son has struggled with learning and speech issues and her youngest at times struggles with attention. She has been a great help and encouragement to me. She has provided me with so much information and life experience that it just totally eases my mind and helps me keep focused on my goal with my kids. She has become a great friend in the process! :)

Speaking of the goal....the ultimate goal is to see my boys succeed in school...not just skate through but actually succeed. The goal is to do things at their pace and not slow them down or push them too quickly. The goal is to help them gain confidence in their abilities!

One thing that overwhelmed me with homeschooling was picking the right curriculums. So this is where both Delynn and the Homeschool Convention really came into play for me.

The curriculums I'm using are as follows:

1. Math U See : After speaking so several different types of homeschooling mom's I saw that this curriculum was good for all different types of students. I liked the way it was laid out and that the worksheets were not too overwhelming for my boys. I really liked having a Math DVD that I could learn from and the boys could watch as well. Logan in particular has really done well with this curriculum. Cole has as well, but he tends to be distracted by the blocks. We're working on that, but other than that he gets the concepts. The concepts that Logan is learning in the Alpha book of MUS is supposed to be a review for him, but I have seen he still very much struggles with the concepts (Adding right now) and so I'm thankful we can go at his own pace and work through problems one on one. He gets less frustrated that way.

2. The Phonics Road this curriculum I have mixed feelings about. I heard great reviews of the product and had several friends say they used it. I love it and I hate it. There are videos where they teach the phonics concepts etc. They are really really boring and LOOONG. Too long for even MY attenion span. I don't make the boys watch those...anymore. Too much for them. The curriculum is VERY expensive. It's about $200 for a year and you do get everything you need for a year's worth of work and it's very detailed, however, I don't know that a binder with copied off pages is really worth $200. I was able to land a set on ebay for $50 and I was happy with that. There are lots of long and boring DVD's that go with the lessons. I *think* that as we keep pushing through it will all start to make more sense and it'll work. We are doing spelling lists now and will eventually work up to sentences and paragraph writing etc. They will eventually draw and write their own readers. I was excited about this idea and I hope that it works out as planned. The boys do OK with it, but it's not my favorite.

3. Reading -- I really struggle and have always struggled with reading with my kids. I don't know why....and it makes me feel bad. But I am forcing myself and them to work through this struggle! One thing we read everyday is a Children's Bible called "God's Word for Me!" I just started this and I think so far this is my favorite "Bible Time" thing we've tried. It's not devotions, it's just reading a story straight from a Bible. I read it to them and check periodically for comprehension. Eventually, I may add something to it such as word searches or something internet based that I can print off to go along with whatever Bible story we are on. The other thing I've done recently for reading is purchase the First Readers Series of books from Usborne Books. I recently met a fantastic consultant who has really opened my eyes to how great these books are. They are really high quality readers and I really love them. The First Readers books do not interest Logan though. He's really into books that are non-fiction based. He likes books with scientific facts and things like that. So we are working through some other books about things he likes like Sharks and Trucks. Cole on the other hand loves the First readers and is a GREAT reader! He is working on comprehension and has done very well recently with that. The First Readers from Usborne have Reading Comprehension and ordering built into the book so at the end you can quiz your student about the book. I have also subscribed to Scolastic to receive the Weekly Reader. I haven't had a chance to really work with those yet, but I'm excited to see how those work for the boys. My friend gave me a bunch of them as well so I will work through those as well.

Science -- Right now my choice for Science is an Alpha and Omega curriculum. It's great b/c it doesn't go in order or build on each lesson so you can do any section that interests you. I'm not 100% sure I will continue using this. Delynn gave me this curriculum to try. Logan has enjoyed it!

Social Studies / History -- If anything is my weak spot it is this subject. I really need to purchas a curriculum that will walk me through History Step by Step. I seem to do best when I do that. For now, for Cole I am focusing mostly on the "social" aspect of life in general. I'm just teaching him about manners and social interactions etc to help him sharpen these skills. He's very extroverted, but sometimes struggles with what is and is not appropriate. For Logan we have done some state study about Texas when we learned we were moving there. I believe in January we will start working on a Presential/Government type lessons for the boys. Since 2012 is an election year there will be plenty of opportunities to put real life experience into their studies. Such as going voting with mom or whatever the case may be.

That about sums up the curriculums I'm using. We do have other activities that we are doing through out the week.

First, we started back at PTS doing therapies for the boys during the day. The Private therapy helps them SO MUCH more than the school therapies they did. For now we are able to receive services. I'm not sure what will happen with this after we move. I believe I will enroll Logan in Speech in the public schools out there. It should be a small one on one environment for him and help him. I would love to continue to see Cole receive Occupational therapy. I really think it would be beneficial to him. I guess that's something to seek the Lord and pray about.

Second, we also started participating in Cub Scouts. At first, it was for both of the boys, but right now we just have Logan attending. It is still a little over Cole's head at this point. Logan seems to enjoy it as I believed he would. He loves hands on learning. Once we get to Texas I will work more with him on his Boy Scout requirements and incorporate them into our day.

All in all, it has been a positive experience. We don't homeschool every single day of the week...yet. We have had a lot of things going on since we found out we are moving to Texas. Whit left for Houston in October and so I have been in survival mode trying to do everything here by myself. It has been a struggle, but we are going to get at least 2 solid weeks of homeschool in before Thanksgiving. And we'll hopefully catch up on some math and other things so that we are so behind. We'll likely go to school through out the summer to make up for what we missed, but in Texas we don't have to keep a record of what they've done. The homeschool rules are very very easy. I am thrilled about that for at least the first year. I believe eventually they will catch up and succeed!

Spelling City

2011-11-07T16:02:00.000-05:00

It's been over a year now that I discovered Spelling City on the web. I was in a special needs classroom as a para-educator and we used the site with our students. I loved the format and began using the site at home with my boys to review their weekly spelling lists from school.

We began homeschooling this year and now I use this site daily to help them review their spelling words. I have entered in their lists from another phonics program and they use Spelling City to play games and take their tests. I love the format and the available games. The website is easy to navigate and has many tools to help both student and teacher. I love that I can set up assignments for my boys to complete and that it keeps record of their progress. My boys of course love the games. They forget they are actually learning!

I do highly recommend this site! www.spellingcity.com

SPD Video

2011-09-25T08:46:00.000-04:00

This is a great video about Sensory Processing Disorder

2010-2011 School Year

2011-08-24T14:25:00.000-04:00

Logan and Cole had fantastic teachers the 2010-2011 school year. Both teachers were young and stayed on top of the special needs the boys have.

Logan's teacher recognized with in the first few weeks his anxiety when taking a test and right away had his IEP adjusted. We also started the RTi process of figuring out what exactly will help Logan as he was beginning to get behind in all his sujects. The RTI process is basically a meeting of the teacher, therapists, guidance counselor and parent to determine how to best help the students. They take their time in the process and collect data to help in determining what interventions help. Logan's teacher was diligent in making sure he was getting the help he needed. Everything they suggested for him included smaller, slower paced environments. And he started a program called Spell/Read which really seemed to help him a lot with reading. He still did not like to write or do homework. But we worked through it and did what we could.

Cole's Kindergarten year started out rocky. He had some major behavior issues that his teacher recognized right away as not in the range of 'normal' kindergarten behavior. Once he adjusted to his classroom, he did much better. His teacher stayed on top of his behavior and also keep me updated with his progress. We did start the RTI process with him as well. His teacher focused a lot on his comprehension of the story being told and in understanding sequencing etc.

At the beginning of 2011 I started really thinking and praying for the boys reguarding school. I felt a clear direction to start homeschooling in the 2011-2012 school year. It was a tough decision b/c I didn't know if I could handle them at home all day. But I research Homeschooling Special Needs children and found that it's a popular reason for homeschooling. I found some great resources online and started really searching for curriculum that would help them succeed. I spoke to several friends who were also thinking of homeschooling and friends that have been homeschooling for years. I spoke to Whit about it extensively and I was shocked that he was actually really on board with me homeschooling them. He felt like it would really help them and that I could do it. So, I began preparing myself for the idea of homeschooling them. The teachers at the boys school were supportive and the guidance counselor and principal were also helpful.

Vocabulary Spelling City

2011-08-24T13:49:00.001-04:00

Disclosure:
I've been given a Premium Membership to VocabularySpellingCity.com for a candid, personal, online review.
VocabularySpellingCity.com helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as Vocabulary Test, Unscramble and Word Search. Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site or use any of the dozens of free teaching resources such as compound words and math academic vocabulary. Be sure to come back in three weeks to read about my experience.
There might be more free memberships available for bloggers. If you're interested, find out how you can review VocabularySpellingCity.com

Logan - Kindergarten

2011-06-26T15:42:00.000-04:00

Logan started Kindergarten at his 3rd School. By this time, I felt pretty ready for the teachers, the meetings and the school work to follow. I felt confident in the IEP that they had set up for Logan through Wagner Elementary.

Per his IEP Logan would have 40% of his week in a Resource Classroom and 60% in a typical Kindergarten classroom. This was to aide in keeping him in a quieter environment for the harder subjects like Reading and Math. It would also give him time to take tests etc.

We had a re-evaluation of his IEP in October around his birthday. At this time, his K teacher and Resource teacher and Speech Therapist met with me to discuss how well Logan was doing. I was thrilled to hear that he was doing well, but I also was aware that he had just completed 3 years of PK plus a summer of VPK in which he reviewed all the skills for Early kindergarten. They discussed with me that they didn't think that Logan needed the pull out resource time to complete his schoolwork and also mentioned that it was difficult for the K teacher to see how he was doing since he was gone so often. They worked very hard to convince me to remove the resource model from his IEP and place him in a regular class. They assured me that it could be put back into place if needed. I was very adament about it and told them that I would try it, but to please keep me informed. (I would later, of course, regret the decision and later found out that it was more of a political move as they were trying to get rid of the resource teacher or the need for her class)

As Logan's Kindergarten year continued he struggled a lot with homework. His teacher assured me that it was ok if he didn't complete all of it etc. However, I was worried b/c he refused to write for me at home. As the year progressed I would ask questions about how he was doing in class and his teacher would assure me that he was doing well. However, one email his teacher said she saw him struggling a little bit, but she felt he was just being a "little lazy". Actually, here's her email:

"Logan is keeping pace with the class but since Christmas it has gotten a little harder to keep him focused. He is able to keep up when we are at the carpet and he can answer verbally but in writing especially he is lagging. He can verbally make a complete sentence that addresses a specific topic but when it comes to writing it he wants to either write one word or draw a picture. I feel this is because it stretches him a little and he is a little lazy"

Later in the email she said that he had a para working with him and another student to finish work. I responded and requested an OT evalatuion to see if that would help with writing. After several months, the OT did an evalatuion, but felt that he didn't need the extra help with writing. Around this time, I started working full time so my attention to things at school was divided. I didn't follow up as much as I should have, but ultimately Logan passed Kindergarten just fine.

He had a fun summer on his own with me and Mikayla while Cole was in VPK. He really enjoyed VBS at Cornerstone and interacted well with the church leaders and other children.

VPK - Cole

2011-05-08T18:58:00.001-04:00

After a successful year in ESE PK at Roberts Elementary, I decided that it would be a good experience for Cole to go through the VPK program like Logan. The days for VPK are very long from 8 am - 5 pm. Even the teachers don't stay all day long! They go 4 days a week for 6 weeks.

Cole had a rough start to the summer. He typically has not done well with a change in routine. He has a hard time adjusting. The first week of school I received several reports from his teacher that he was removing socks and shoes, not listening to his teachers and being disruptive. One day I went in to bring him lunch and he had a completely melt down when I went to leave. One Friday, when he didn't have school, I thought I would take them to see a Reptile Show at the local Library. He refused to go into the Library or get out of the van. When he FINALLY did get out of the van, he kicked and screamed the entire time. It was a very difficult day. After about a 2 week adjustment period he started to do better in school. He was doing well with all his Kindergarten readiness skills. He made it through the summer VPK ok. On Fridays, we kept it casual and he played outside in the pool with his sibs and enjoyed a duck family that came to visit us.

Cole also enjoyed going to Cornerstone Baptist Church's VBS program. We visited Egypt and he had a great time. He still listens to the music.

VPK and Summer Surgery - Logan

2011-01-25T09:32:00.000-05:00

Logan made it through his 9x7 PK class pretty well. At the beginning of the year he struggled but by January he blossomed and started doing better. They prepared his IEP with a Resource model (More than 40%, but less than or equal to 79% with non ESE students). This meant that 40% of the time Logan would work with an ESE teacher in a smaller class for Math and Reading. The rest of his time would be spent in a regular Ed class. They felt strongly that he would perform better in a smaller classroom environment. I agreed and felt this was a good solution for Logan.

His PK teachers recommended that he attend Voluntary Pre Kindergarten during the summer before he entered Kindergarten. I believe I was given an application for VPK at school. But you can also go through Polk County School Board to find out more. Or if you are out of state, you can check with your local public school to find out what type of Voluntary Pre Kindergarten classes they have. This is a free program for any student.

We moved towards the end of the school year to another school district and so Logan started VPK in another school (already his 3rd school....poor guy). I believe that to be enrolled in VPK the students have to be going into a regular Kindergarten class. Logan had an IEP and so they questioned me at first as to whether he could be in the VPK class, but b/c his delays were only speech related they let him attend.

VPK was a long and exhausting day for Logan. They started bright and early at 8 am and went until 5:00 pm Monday through Thursday for I believe 6 weeks during the summer. It was good for Logan and his teachers actually wondered why he had an IEP. It was at this point I realized that not all the teachers have access to his IEP documentation. So I went ahead and made copies of his IEP so they could see what he had on there and also get some good background information for him. Logan continued to do well. He has never been a behavior problem so all the teachers love him. It's a good thing, but also a bad thing at times b/c he was so quiet he would not ask for help. I made sure that the teachers were aware of his trait of not asking for help.

Logan before surgery.

Logan right after surgery.

During the summer after VPK was over we took Logan back to his ENT (Dr. Raam Lakhani). When Logan had his tongue tie surgery he told us that Logan had very large tonsils and that eventually it would be good to have them removed. We also had his ears checked by an audiologist who said that he had a mild hearing loss issue in his right ear. We had Dr. Lakhani check that out and he suggested that Logan have tubes put into his ears as well. So, we took Logan in for another surgery with Dr. Lakhani. He removed his tonsils and put in tubes. It was planned that Logan's adnoids would be removed as well, however, before Dr. Lakhani started to remove them he noticed that Logan has what is called a Bifid Uvula basically the Uvula in the back of the throat is split. It is in the same family as a cleft palate. The bifid uvual can cause issues with speech. It can cause additional problems with speech if the adnoids are completely removed. This article explains how removing the adnoids completely can cause additional issues with speech. Thankfully, Dr. Lakhani knew that and only removed a portion of his adnoids. This also explained some of Logan's speech delay and low muscle tone in his mouth.

You are the Best Mom.....for them!

2011-01-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

God allows us each to have trials in our lives to test our faith and to teach us patience. I love what the Bible says in James 1 about trials :

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

As a mom, it is tough to watch your children struggle. It doesn't matter what their struggle is from learning issues to medical issues to emotional issues. They are all struggles, but God knows that when we face these things in HIS strength it produces something good. Even a trial or struggle is a gift from God....but in our humaness it's hard to understand it. We all want to ask "Why me, God?" "Why do MY boys have to struggle to communicate with me?", "Why do my kids have this disease?", "Why does my daughter struggle with an eating disorder" etc. But these are the very trials in our lives and the lives of our kids that will shape them into the person that God wants them to be.

Someone once said to me, "You are the best Mom for your sons. God chose you to be their mom b/c he knew you would know how to take care of them." That still brings tears to my eyes. To know that I am specially chosen for Logan and Cole and Mikayla is important to me. I may not always have the answer for them and I may not always respond just right to a meltdown, but I know that no matter what God chose me to be their mom!

How God Prepared Me

2011-01-17T14:41:00.000-05:00

In my walk as a Christian, God has taken me down many roads....but all roads lead to people with Special Needs!

I was a Spanish Education major in college and one of the first Ed classes I took was a class that introduced me to Special Education. During that semester of college I realized I badly needed a good job with medical benefits. During one of my classes a company called Toward Independence Incorporated came to talk to us about working with adults with disabilities. I never considered that as a job and in fact had a pretty verbal conversation with God about NOT wanting to do that. But, I decided that a job that fit in with a college schedule and had benefits was a good thing so I applied.

TII taught me so much about working with individuals with special needs. It was a challenging job at times, but I found that I really did well with the residents I worked with. During that time I bonded strongly with a lady named Nancy. Nancy was about 40. She was full of sarcasm and charm and I loved her to death. We took several vacations together and enjoyed hanging out. She was a challenge...often times SUPER stubburn. Often times is really not accurate....she was ALWAYS stubborn. She had a touch of OCD which is typical for people with Down Syndrome. This is where I first encountered someone who didn't like the feel of certain types of clothes. Now that I think about it, it sounds more like a sensory issue! LOL Anyway, every morning when I went to get her ready for work she would stand in front of the mirror and pull on her moo moo dress neck. She refused to wear any type of underwear. And most of the time she refused to do anything, unless there was a POP in it for her :) I didn't care about all these little traits though, she was my favorite! I worked for awhile in another house with another man named Duane. He was in his 50's at the time. He was so funny and had personality coming out his ears. When he introduced himself he would stick out his hand and say "Duwhitty Walter". You might have heard my fake curse word "piggy". This was something I picked up from Duwhitty. Anyway, Duane didn't know when to stop being silly sometimes and several times with him I found myself in a bear hug that I didn't want to be in. He was pretty rough...but he laughed and smiled the whole time I was screaming my head off for him to let me go. Since working with both Nancy and Duane, I have always had an attachment with people with special needs and especially those with Down Syndrome. I have often said that I would like to adopt a child with DS, but so far that has not happened maybe one day in the future.

I took a break from working with adults with special needs for about 2 years after I moved to Florida. Then in the spring of 2002, I felt lead to seek a job at Florida Baptist Children's Homes . My first year at FBCH was spent working in a Group Home and Adult Day Program with adults with disabilities. As always, I enjoyed this time with the people and learned a lot. The last 3 years I worked at FBCH were spent working with foster children ages 6-17 in the Girls Shelter. This was a whole new experience for me. It was in the girls shelter where I learned more about emotional disorders and learning issues that were not as severe as the adults special needs. I also learned a lot about discipline and how to manage severe behavior problems and also the importance of routine in the life of children. There were several girls I would have loved to bring home with me. I worked at the Children's Home until I began to see the need for my full attention on my boys and the issues that were popping up with them.

As I look back, it amazes me how God's hand was there guiding me through. I remember having very verbal conversations/prayers about working at these jobs. I never thought I could handle working with the adults or with the teens, but in the end they were just what I needed to prepare for my boys.

Meltdown Mayhem

2011-01-15T00:11:00.001-05:00

Meltdown, temper tantrum, screaming, fighting, throwing, crying, yelling......exhaustion. Yeah, it's all apart of our journey. One time I was venting to Marcia and telling her about some frustration with a meltdown. And she said, "You feel like you are fighting a battle everyday, because you are. A typical child has a battle once a week, but you fight the battles EVERYDAY!" (it's easy to see why she changed my life, right? she GOT IT)

Logan and Cole are very good boys. Logan always receives praise for being the perfect, quiet, rule following kid. Cole is most of the time described as sunshine or funny or happy. I don't want to give the idea in the next few stories I tell that I'm putting them down in any way. But here are a few of my "favorite" meltdown stories.

I was in the grocery store with Logan and Cole (walmart, bad idea) and Logan was walking next to the cart and begging and begging for a candy bar. I said no. He started to whine. I said no more firmly. He started to cry saying "I want a candy bar". I said no again more in his face and he began a melt down. Now, this may be typical for a 2 or 3 year old, but he was about 4 or so when this happened. The meltdown didn't just happen for a few minutes while we waited to check out...but it got increasingly worse as we waited (walmart....baaaad idea long lines!). As we waited a "nice" little old lady said "I think someone is spoiled." to which I replied "HE IS NOT SPOILED". (uhhh, that still makes my blood boil). Ok, so this looks like bad behavior and it was. He was being unreasonable. I have since come to realize that at times he didn't know if I was understanding what he wanted, which caused BIG meltdowns. I also have recently realized that Logan doesn't process what he hears like an average kid. So it takes him a few minutes to get what I am saying. Not only that, but for whatever reason some SPD kids have an issue with waiting in line. And likely, the little shopping trip was completely out of his routine which from the beginning set him off in a bad mood. It's not that I'm excusing bad behavior with SPD b/c I'm not...he was punished for the bad behavior (no candy bar and time out in the cart). But as I look back now, I can see why he was on edge and that "no" at the end of the shopping trip--in the noisy store, probably wearing the pants he didn't want to wear, outside of his normal routine--was too much for the little 4 year old!

Logan's epic meltdowns were many times over not wanting to wear a jacket or long pants. I can remember completely dressing him while he was kicking and fighting and crying, driving him 20 minutes to school....while he still cried and screamed and arriving a school with a red faced, teary eyed boy. Luckily, both Ms. Scott and Ms. Wendy were good about helping us through that. He still gets antsy over that kind of stuff, but it's not the meltdowns it was in the past...now he just whines and repeats over and over what he wants or doesn't want.

Cole has also had some epic meltdowns. His in the beginning didn't seem as bad to me (maybe b/c I was dealing with Logan's at the same time) but to other people his meltdowns were worse. He calmed down with me, but if I wasn't there to calm him then he would be a pistol for whoever was taking care of him. It came to where I couldn't go with him to PT or Speech b/c he would not work for the therapist while I was in the room. Ironically, he was ok with me being there in OT (probably b/c she was working directly with his sensory needs). Anyway, many of Cole's epic meltdowns happened with other people at first! One time he refused to walk back to class from the playground with his Physical Therapist. She said he cried all the way back (it was quite a hike too) and she had to carry him like a football b/c he refused to walk. Another one of Cole's famous things to do is just sit down. He will cry and sit down and refuse to go anywhere. Which when he was little I'd just pick him up and we'd go, but as he gets bigger it gets harder. Cole has sat down in the middle of stores, therapy, church you name it. We even had to implement a little technique for helping his sit ins. (basically....hold his hand up above his head, gently take a step forward, prompt one time to stand, and do not respond to screaming) That is very hard to do while standing in the middle of a store with people staring at you....just saying.

Cole doesn't always make a good first impression, which breaks my heart b/c once you get to know him he's a great kid! In a new situation such as a new classroom, or teacher he goes through a time of readjusting to the new person/environment. Mommy forgets that he has this issue with new people/situations so the first week is always bad. It usually takes him a few weeks to get a good routine going and then he is fine and adjusts. But of course, this makes a terrible first impression on his teachers. We still struggle with this issue and I have yet to find something that works to get him through it. Cole was doing well at school with Ms. Ana following a pictorial schedule so we made a folder for church that had the schedule that the teacher could show to him. She used boardmaker to make the little squares and that seemed to work ok. I am recently contemplating going with him the first week to get him adjusted, but b/c he clings to me so much I am hesitant to try it. Maybe easing him into a big change would be better, but we are not always given that opportunity (in the case of a substitute). Hmmm, I will have to think more on this for an upcoming change from Cubbies to Sparks at church! !!!

In order to make an attempt to balance all these negatives out, let me just share that both of my boys have truly great personalities, they have bad days but they are not bad kids by any means. Logan is my serious, rule follower. He likes order and his routine. He also likes to play with Legos (you can be his best friend if you play with Legos...it's really not too difficult) He is super protective of his sister and he loves her and loves to play with her. He loves to play with Cole and wrestle and have fun. He loves to please and make people happy and he loves praise. Cole is my lovable little monkey. He loves to laugh and have fun. He LOVES cars to this day he plays with cars daily. His cars do great things and talk to each other (it's much more fun to listen to now that he uses real words...lol) He's a great pretender and he's always "happy". He also thrives on praise!

I try to remember to focus on the positives about my boys rather than their issues with SPD. I verbally praise their accomplishments often. I think it's so important to keep praising them. There are times when I fail and I'm frustrated with their behavior. But it helps to remember those cute little stories too....you know, the ones for the scrapbook :)

Hypothyroid and Developmental Delay

2011-01-14T15:49:00.000-05:00

During my pregnancy with Logan I had gestational diabetes which was treated with diet as it wasn't severe. About 6 months after his birth I was feeling very drained, irritable and had been gaining more weight. I decided to see my doctor to see if I had type 2 diabetes as I understood (from my "Dr. Google" research) that those were some symptoms. Some might have brushed those symptoms off on being a new mom too. But, I come from a long line of hypochondriacts so I went to the doctor! :) I am glad I went b/c my doctor noted that I had a goiter in my neck around my thyroid. He asked me if I had ever been diagnosed with thyroid issues. WAAAY back in college the doctors tested me for hypothyroid, but results came back as everything being normal. So my doctor sent me for some labs and a ultra sound of my neck. When the labs came back it showed that I had severe hypothyroid. So my doctor started me on medication right away. Hypothyroid actually explained a lot of other medical issues that I had in the past as well. Such as heavy periods, irregular periods, weight gain, difficulty getting pregnant, irritability, dry patches of skin, hair loss etc. Hypothyroid basically messes with all your hormones....as if we women don't have enough problems with hormones!

Even while I felt better on the medication, for some irresponsible reason I didn't take my thyroid medication that next year like I should have. I waited long periods between refills etc. But it did work well enough b/c about 4 months after I started taking the medication I got pregnant again!! That's when God blessed us with Cole! :) Through out Cole's pregnancy I continued my irresponsible way of taking the medication. My OB tested me twice to be sure that my thyroid levels were ok but the last time he checked them were half way through the pregnancy.

Fast Forward>>>>>

After discovering my boys delays I started researching (Dr. Google at it again) things on the internet about developmental delay. Somewhere in the midst of this Dr. Googling I found an article that connected untreated Hypothyroidism w/ Developmental Delay. This was interesting and eye opening for me! NO ONE told me that there could be any type of connection between my untreated Hypothyroidism and my kids Developmental Delay. I finally went to see an endocronologist about it. I basically went to just ask him this question "Can my untreated hypothyroidism be connected to my children's developmental issues?". His answer was laid back and he pretty much brushed it off saying, "Hypothyroid CAN cause a delay, but it would only be a 'slight' delay like the difference between an A and C student". My mom pointed out that what if you have a student who is normally a "C" student! So yes, it can be a cause for their developmental delay. This article explains the connection. I became finally more diligent about taking my medication.

Fast Forward >>>>

In 2008 I found out I was pregnant with my 3rd child. I was so excited and armed with the information about the connection between hypothyroid and developmental delay I was diligent in taking my medication and making sure my levels were right during my pregnancy. My pregnancy was pretty normal (despite early signs of gall bladder issues...blah) and gestational diabetes and being older! Mikayla was born January of 2009! She is growing and developing totally on target. She amazes me in what she says at 2 years old! I feel like it's somehow proof that untreated hypothyroid is connected.

The thing with hypothyroid is that it doesn't always show up until after a pregnancy. I'm not sure of the medical reason for that. But I've heard that over and over again. So I guess my advice to anyone trying to get pregnant is that you have your thyroid checked to be sure your levels are right. And always take your medication as prescribed!

ESE PK - Cole

2011-01-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

A year and a half after I dropped my 3 year old Logan off to school, I dropped of my 3 year old Cole as well. It was much easier the second time as I was confident in the process. Cole toddled off to PK in April right after his 3 birthday. He ended up in Logan's class with Ms. Wendy for that brief time and it was good for him to get used to the school day with his brother there to help him out. It was interesting to talk to their teachers about their interactions during the day. We all agreed that the brief nature of the arrangement was good. Siblings in the same class is usually not a great idea, but it worked for those few months.

Cole had OT, PT and Speech and Vision Therapy services on his IEP. So an OT and PT came to visit him during his class time. OT in the school district is different than the OT that he was getting at PTS. At PTS he received a lot of Sensory type therapy. OT in the school district was more based on his delay in fine motor skills. Because of this we continued to pay for OT at PTS for another 8 months so that Marcia could work with Cole using Sensory strategies.

Cole's first FULL year of ESE PK was different in a sense than Logan's was. Wendy left to teach college students and get her doctorate for free. So Cole had a new teacher. Ms. Ana was a wonderful lady and teacher. She worked hard with Cole and she worked hard to learn about Cole and sensory issues. Academically, with Ms. Ana Cole did very well. But at 3.5-4 he was having a lot of difficulty with behavior problems and refusing to do things. He would have melt downs at school and at home. That time period for us was very difficult. Ms. Ana did help us with potty training Cole and he was almost completely potty trained by the end of his year with her. Ms. Ana kept me informed and spoke to me often about Cole's progress.

We moved to another school district at the end of of Cole's first full year of ESE PK. So he had to start over at another school the following year. Mrs. Shannon Moats was Cole's teacher at NE Roberts Elementary. She was wonderful with Cole and b/c she understood sensory issues integrated a lot of sensory breaks into Cole's day automatically. Cole's behavior was excellent for her and she adored him. At Roberts I was unable to visit the kid's classes like I had at Wagner and the boys rode the bus, so I felt more disconnected. I got some response from Ms. Moats through out the year and over all he was improving and doing very well. Cole continued to struggle at home with some behavior problems. We saw somethings at church where he would be defiant with a new teacher for Sunday School etc.

Over all, Cole saw much improvement during his time in ESE PK. From barely talking his first year at Wagner to singing a song at the end of his school year at Roberts. The change in him was great and I could definitely see how all these people worked together to help him succeed!

ESE PK - Logan

2011-01-14T14:02:00.002-05:00

Like I have mentioned Early Intervention services end at age 3 and at that time the children are referred to the public school system for evaluation and then support. Both Logan and Cole qualified for the ESE PK program.

When I first learned for the ESE PK program I was hesitant to send Logan. The program is an all day program during normal Elementary School hours. I thought that it would be too much for him. I worried about our zoned school district and didn't want him to attend that school. I learned that I could pull him out of school half way through the day if I wanted to. I also learned that I could apply for another school for him to attend if I saw the need. So I decided that sending him to ESE PK would be a good decision. I attended his first IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting where I met his teacher and several other specialist to determine his goals etc. His teacher, Ms. Scott, took me to her classroom and toured me around the school etc. She was so sweet, I decided that I could move him to another school. That ended up being a good decision. And so began Logan's experience with ESE PK. He started about a week after his 3rd birthday.

Logan was still not potty trained when he entered PK, but that was ok. Ms. Scott worked hard at getting him mostly potty trained that year and working on his speech and vocabulary and social skills. It was the best thing for him to be in a situation where he HAD to use his words all day long.

We moved to another part of town towards the end of the school year. The following school year Logan was put in another ESE PK class at a new school. His teacher was Ms. Wendy Bradshaw and she is another person that I say helped change my life. One day when Logan was eating at lunch they noticed he had a hard time clearing his mouth. Then her para (assistant teacher) asked him to lift his tongue and they discovered that he was "tongue tied". This was a huge discovery for Logan b/c it really explained why he had trouble forming words and using his tongue! We couldn't believe that we hadn't noticed it before.....the tongue tie explained everything from the trouble I had nursing him to his speech delay! We quickly went to see an ENT, Dr. Raam Lakhani and he did the very quick surgery to clip the frenulum under his tongue. After that we saw a huge improvement in the way Logan spoke, however, he still needed some work!

About half way through the first quarter of school Wendy informed me that they were going to split up the ESE kids in her class and Logan would be zoned for yet another school after Christmas break. I was not happy about this decision as I knew that Wendy was an excellent teacher and I knew that Cole would be attending the school next year and hopefully have her as well. Wendy also planned for Logan to be put into the 9x7 PK class the following year which was only at Wagner. So I made a "concerned mom" call to the Principal and requested to keep Logan (and eventually Cole) at Wagner for the rest of the year and for the following year. Luckily, she was merciful and allowed Logan to stay. That was my first experience having to go to the top on an issue in school. It was a good learning experience and I don't regret that decision to follow through at all. I could have been a push over and let the district shuffle my kid in the middle of the school year, but I determined that I was the best advocate for my child and I should be the one to determine if it's ok.

Because of Logan's birthday he was able to have pretty much 3 full years of ESE PK. His 3rd year of PK was in a class which was a class that was split between average 4/5 year olds and delayed 4/5 year olds. It was called a 9x7 class or an 8x8 class. There were two teachers and one para (teacher assistant). Ms. Wendy Bradshaw made sure to recommend this class type for Logan in his previous year's IEP. This ended up being a great choice for Logan. It did stretch him both in his learning skills and social skills. During his first evaluation in October for his IEP his teacher was very worried about his scoring and social skills. By the following January he had blossomed and was doing well with academics and socially. I never really worried about Logan's social skills. I attribute much of his quiet nature to his personality. He has the same personality as his Daddy! Logan has one or two friends that he thoroughly loves and knows how to talk to other kids if he has to, but most of the time he chooses not to! :) As his vocabulary and knowledge increase so did his confidence in talking to other kids.

That sums up most of Logan's experience with ESE PK. It was a good and positive choice for him and I'm glad that I started him early.

Sensory Processing Disorder

2011-01-14T13:11:00.001-05:00

Discovering that Cole had Sensory Processing Disorder was a huge answer to all of his delays and his nystagmus. Previous to the diagnosis, none of it really made sense or fit together. It was frustrating to me to not have an answer, but when it came it made perfect sense! As Logan continued in his speech therapy we started to see some things that related to Sensory issues as well. Logan went to school at 3 so he wasn't diagnosed with SPD. That's another blog.

I am by no means an expert on SPD. All I can share is what I have learned thus far in my journey with my boys. I did a lot of reading online and google searching of SPD. I found a few websites that were helpful including Sensory-Processing-Disorder.com. Marcia told me about the book The Out of Sync Child. Also the book Sensational Kids really helped me. Actually, Sensational Kids is probably the best resource for a parent that I have found. It is written by an OT and gives examples and ways to help your kids. I refer to it often still and try and recommend it to all parents I meet who have kids with sensory issues....or think they have kids with sensory issues. Sensational Kids lead me to the SPDNetwork website. Which is also a great resource. It also helped that Marcia was specially trained in recognizing Sensory Processing Disorder. Not all OT's have the knowledge they should about SPD. That is something to be aware of when working with an OT. Marcia and the other resources really helped answer a lot of my questions.

That being said, SPD is an answer, but not a diagnosis YET. The SPDFoundation is working hard on getting SPD recognized by the DSM. You can read about it here. This comes into play with insurance coverage. My boys therapy was covered until they were 3 by Early Intervention. They had the diagnosis of "Developmental Delay". After 3, they are referred to the public school system ESE Pre Kindergarten. (see ESE PK Blog) From their the public school system aids in their therapy, but insurance does not cover anything if the only diagnosis is "Sensory Processing Disorder".

SPD looks different in all kids. Logan and Cole have different struggles with SPD. Logan's we saw as more of a hyper-sensitivity. He was OVER sensitive to things like long pants, coats, and was very particular about what he wore (for awhile he liked only shirts with stripes....that was fun). He was so sensitive that he would have a screaming, crying, over the top, temper tantrum if I made him wear long pants or his coat when it was cold. (good thing we live in FL!) He was also OVER sensitive to sound...in loud, confusing environments he would have meltdowns. I saw this when we went to a church and the music was loud. He had such a fit, that Whit gave him some headphones to wear. That fixed it and he was fine as long as he had those headphones on. Logan has learned to cope with a lot of these sensitivities. Every year when it gets cold we have the same fight about pants, but the temper tantrums are replaced by whining. He gets home from school and immediately finds some "little pants" to wear and he's happy. It takes him awhile to get used to wearing long sleeves, but he likes it now. He did destroy his long sleeve shirt last year by chewing the sleeve cuffs to pieces....maybe some hidden aggravation with that sensation on his arms....or stress from school. (that's another blog too) He still does not like loud sounds but has learned to cover his ears....for some reason the sound of bath water really bugs him at times. And he likes to inform his Sound Engineer Daddy that "it's not too loud now" when we are in church. So, hopefully, now that he is older he is learning to cope with these sensitivities. But when he was younger 3-4 range it was a nightmare that I would rather not live through again!

Cole has struggled with a few different things. Mostly he was Hypo-sensitive or under sensitive to his environment. When Marcia first started working with him he was completely unaware of the size of his environment. His favorite thing to do was lay on the floor and play with cars but he only played in a small area. Marcia started working with him to expand his appreciation for the vastness of his environment. Of course, she used cars to get him to have fun! :) Cole was also terrified of swinging and moving. Marcia did a lot of swinging and spinning with him. We learned that when Cole was having a temper tantrum a quick spin in Mommy's arms did wonders. (My cousins daughters, who I babysat the summer we worked through this, were my expert spinners :) Soon, he loved and craved the spinning and swinging. With the therapy his nystagmus was steadily decreasing and we were seeing less and less of his head tilt/null spot look. The first time I realized that SPD truly fit Cole was when he had a double ear infection and he literally tipped over (like I'm a little teapot). He could not stand to walk and was so dizzy. It hit me hard, but also confirmed things that Marcia was saying about the Vestibular system and Nystagmus being connected. Cole made HUGE improvements with Marcia and I will NEVER regret having him evaluated so early!

Therapy Begins!

2011-01-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

Logan and Cole began their various therapies in January of 2006. We discovered that Logan was quite delayed with his speech which was still a surprise for us. Nikki from PTS was a God-send to us. Not only was she very helpful to Logan in teaching him new words and working with his low tone in his cheeks, she also became a good friend to me. As a mom it's difficult to watch your child go through something so hard. It's didiscouraging and when they are so young you wonder what the future holds for them. Nikki was great at listening to my fears and encouraging me that I was doing a good job as his mom. So, in a sense, she was also my therapist! ;)

Logan's speech therapy looked a lot like play time. She worked with him on words and vocabulary. She also used things like frozen pops and whistles and bubbles to teach him to use his mouth muscles. Logan enjoyed therapy for the most part. Nikki didn't hesitate to push Logan so that he would be challenged. Nikki was probably one of the few people who got to see Logan have a temper tantrum like what I would see at home.

When Cole was evaluated by the Early Intervention specialists, we discovered he was very delayed with meeting his milestones and especially his gross motor skills. In January, Cole started Physical therapy with Leah. His therapy also looked like play most of the time. Leah was very gentle and loving with Cole, but he cried a lot of times when he had to do something. Cole was 8 months old when he started therapy and at 8 months he was still not rolling over. So we first working on rolling, then sitting, standing and walking etc.

After attending Logan's speech therapy sessions, I asked about Cole and his speech development. We had some struggles with feeding him food. So Nikki evaluated Cole for me and found that he qualified for speech therapy as well. Finally, Leah also recommended that we get Cole evaluated for Occupational Therapy.

Cole's first Occupational Therapist wasn't very good. But she was quickly replaced by someone who literally changed my life. I say that often and I hope it's not giving her too much credit or exaggerating, but this OT answered all the questions I had for Cole. Up until meeting Marcia, we didn't have any sort of idea about why Cole was so delayed in so many areas of his development and we didn't know why he had the nystagmus. Marcia worked with Cole twice a week for over a year. During that time we saw huge improvements with Cole. Marcia explained that Cole had signs of Sensory Processing Disorder or Sensory Integration Disorder.
His problems stemmed from a problem with his Vestibular System. In fact, one of the ways that you diagnose a problem with the vestibular system is by looking to see what type of EYE movement the patient has. EYE MOVEMENT or NYSTAGMUS! This was a light bulb moment for me. From there I tried to learn more about SPD and all that it includes.

How it all Began

2011-01-14T10:27:00.000-05:00

I keep telling people that I don't blog. My other blog was updated in 2009. But, recently I have been asked a lot about some of the learning issues my boys Logan and Cole are working through. I thought I would start a blog dedicated to it so I can get all my thoughts into one place.

Our journey started when several people mentioned they didn't think that Cole was focusing with his eyes. The photographer that took this first picture was the first to mention it. She said she couldn't get him to look at her. After that my Grandma and Mother in law mentioned that they noticed something off. I took Cole to his 3 month check up and casually mentioned to the doctor their concerns. (I wasn't too concerned) He said that he saw something called Nystagmus which is involuntary eye movement. He recommended that we go and see a pediatric Ophthalmologist right away. He made a call to Dr. Bruce Hess . The pediatrician also told me that Nystagmus can mean many different things and basically don't go online and freak myself out. We went to see Dr. Hess the next week. He looked at Cole and said "Well, he does have Nystagmus, however, I don't see anything causing it like cancer". I was glad I didn't read that Nystagmus could be caused by a tumor. Dr. Hess ordered a cat scan which basically confirmed there were no tumors. As Whit likes to say in his best Arnold Swartzenagger voice "it's not a tumor". That was good and we were thankful for that all joking aside. Dr. Hess wanted to see us every 6 months so we made the hike to St. Pete to see him. One thing with nystagmus that we saw with Cole was that often times people with it will have what is called a null spot or a head tilt. Here's a good picture that shows this in Cole. Dr. Hess never saw a reason for Cole's nystagmus so he called it "Congenital Nystagmus" After doing my best "Dr. Google" exploring I found some parent websites and yahoo groups that helped explain it to me. One of the warnings that parents gave over and over in these groups was that often children w/ nystagmus have other various delays in development. So based on the advice of these parent groups I scheduled Cole to be evaluated by Early Steps Early Intervention.

At the same time as I was working on figuring things out with Cole, I started to wonder if Logan was on track with his speech. Being a new Mom, it was hard to know if he was on track b/c I really didn't have the experience to know what was typical for a 2 year old. Other mom friends of mine said "oh, don't worry he'll catch up." But I continued to have a feeling that something wasn't quite right. An acquaintance of mine was a speech therapist, so I called her and asked for her opinion on what Logan was doing with speech. She said that by the time a child is 2 they should be able to make at least 2 - word sentences. I was shocked b/c Logan was only saying a few one word phrases. So I called the Early Steps office again and made an appointment for Logan to be evaluated by them as well. Let me just say this here....had I brushed off my "mom" feelings and listened to my uneducated friends trying to make me feel better, I would have been making a huge mistake. Mom instincts are very strong and should be listened to! (you will see this plays into our story ongoing)

Our Early Steps Caseworker, Karen Childress, evaluated Logan and Cole with a group of other specialist. They determined that both boys qualified for Early Intervention services. These services are provided at no cost for children under 3. In January of 2006, Karen scheduled us to go to Pediatric Therapy Services in Lakeland.