Long overdue update

I haven't been on to update in a LONG time. The boys are doing very well. Dominic is in 1st Grade this year and so far everything is going well. He's still got a few things to work on with keeping his hands to himself and his emotions but other than that he's doing very well with everything else. He's average compared to his peers but he still does need a Para to keep him on task. As far as speech, he is doing so much better. We are at 2 weekly 20 minute sessions.

Damien has done a 180 turn around on his speech. The apraxia is still there, we won't be rid of it for a long time. He still has some slobber issues but he's got words and sentences now! Everything continues to begin with a D but that's ok. I won't lie, we are still struggling to understand and get REALLY frustrated on both ends but we're understanding some of his wants and needs. He is getting speech 3 days a week 20 minutes each session.

We should have our IEP's coming in the next month so I should have more to update then.

Dominic's new IEP

Today is a day I dread every year. To have to do it twice (once with Dominic, and then with Damien) is even more of a pain. Dominic's is always in April, Damien's in May. I hope today goes well. I think for the most part Dominic completed his goals well this year. Nothing has been said about medication although I have expressed that I would rather not put him on ADHD medicine. The only thing that had been said this year was that Dominic may have PDD's of Autism which we have been hearing since he was in 3 yr old preschool.

So hopefully it will go well and we'll get some good goals or better yet maybe he'll graduate! That would be awesome! I doubt though but as he goes through each year he has grown greatly by the end. It will be interesting to see the goals they have thought up for him!

It's been awhile!

I haven't updated in forever on here. There's been alot going on with the boys. I'll start with Dominic.

A few months back we had parent-teacher conferences. His teacher wanted to tell us something but as she said she didn't know exactly how to put it. Dominic did "things" that are different than the other kids and she wanted to bring it to our attention. She went on to say that she didn't want to say he was autistic by any means but carries some autistic traits. I flat out told her not to feel standoff ish about informing us because I have been aware for 3 years. She was really worried to say anything. I told her in Early Intervention that they had classified him as PDD~NOS but we have never done the actual testing for it. He has done SID and ADHD testing which showed he has both. She said at this time she didn't think we should have him tested because another label isn't going to do him any good which I agree really! Just more crap for the school to say something about. His sensory issues have been mild lately except for nearly ripping off his skin due to certain fabric feels. Sounds are still bugging him alot too. Sometimes it gets way too loud in our house which can cause him to act up or cry. He cries alot over just about everything. It's so hard with him. You have to watch what you say.

Dominic had his tonsils taken out a few weeks ago and I was told this could fix his attention, behavior, bed wetting, and snoring. It's fixed 2 out of 4 so it did do some good for us! He's no longer snoring or wetting the bed!

Damien is doing better at speech but still way behind. He's starting to learn little one words like dog, cat, ball. He still does alot of sound effects for certain things instead of calling them by name. His tongue thrust is less but still there each and every day. His speech apraxia is getting alittle better as well. He finally potty trained at 3 1/2 year old which is a major deal!!

In all things are going well!

Why Is It

That kids learn much better learning in a school enviroment? Damien had no interest in learning signs but now 4 weeks into the school year the kid has come home signing to me after I tried doing ASL here with him at home.

Signs so far:

Hungry
Milk
More
Please

I hope this continues and I can learn more with him. This has been awesome. Much better than the charades we usually have to play to figure out what his needs are.

Quirks

Dominic's teacher sent home a note the other day saying he refuses to use and then gets very upset over the fact that he does not have the same crayons as the other kids in his class so she's supplying him with Crayolas until I can buy him some. According to her, he can see a difference in the color between Roseart and Crayola. I have no clue and he won't tell me. Anyways it's a bit frustrating!

Change Is NOT Good

My life with Dominic could be described as anxious you could say. Every school year the first few weeks I am a worrying mess about if anything is going to trigger him, if a teacher isn't going to understand his needs, etc. Overstimulation is one of the biggest problems we have with Dom and I feel like we are always walking a tight rope.

School has been in session for about 3 weeks now. Dominic has came home upset nearly daily about 2 of those weeks. (sigh) Come to find out there are 2..count them....1....2....Dominic's in his class this year. The teacher informed me before school started that she was going to have to come up with some way to call the boys' name. Well her answer was to call Dominic "D." Yes just the letter D and he's not taking it well at all. He comes home very upset with tears welling up in his eyes (he is super sensitive) screaming or pounding on the table, "I'm not 'D' I'm Dominic!!!!" He talks about the other Dominick in an evil tone clearly despising there is another kid with this name in school. I'm afraid he may just take action and try ridding class of the other Dominick.

I wrote his teacher a note trying to explain he does not adapt well with change which is part of his IEP situation since he's been diagnosised with SID. I asked for her very nicely if she could please try to find another way to call Dominic rather than "D" because it's too much of a change for him and he's really not liking it. She wrote back she noticed that he was pretty upset with it and that she would try to figure something else out. I think the worst part is that the kids in his class have started doing it except for 2 that were in his class last year and he's probably screaming "my name's Dominic, not D!!!!" It's all very upsetting to him.

Hopefully she figures something out because it's little things like this that can really screw up the year. We've had several instances of just the slightest change that will throw him off such as having to move from a blue chair to a red or not sitting on the Dinosaur in circle time anymore. These little things can ruin him for weeks if it's not solved quickly. He's got a Para sitting with him and hopefully she can help him by calling him Dominic since she's dealing only with him (part of his IEP for the ADHD and SID)

Dee Dee!!

Just a quick post. I plan on posting a new video of Damien soon on his speech progress. The past month or so he has been trying to say some new things. It's pretty incredible. I love how Dominic and Alex's eyes get real big when they realize he just said a word! Then they come screaming to me what he said which in turn makes Damien try saying it again. Sometimes we get a word, sometimes we get a spitting tongue thrust. His biggest word right now is dee-dee (baby) He says dee-dee and pats my tummy or lays his head on it. He's quick to say dee-dee in public and point to my belly showing everyone mommy is pregnant. lol

On the 18th he will be starting school leaving here at 7:30 and coming home at noon M-F. I am so hoping with this intense school routine and therapy we will have more words soon. We had a teacher meet and greet this week and come to find out there is some boy who is deaf in class so they will do a LOT of signing. I've worked with him on some signs but hopefully he will learn more and understand that we know what he means with these gestures. Gestures right now is a sound or a charade to let us know what he needs or wants.