We're on the road to a diagnosis

We visited a new pediatrician on Friday. She was recommended by Chrissy (my sister-in-law). She was great. I had taken tons of papers from me and LJ's teacher about past and current issues and she read through everything. She observed his actions while we were there. Then when she was done reading, she told me that she is certain that he is autistic. Autism spectrum disorder with ADHD and SPD. I'm so glad to finally have a diagnosis. It's not official yet. We'll be seeing a child psychiatrist for the official diagnosis. Hopefully we'll get in quickly with him.

I started a journal today and I'll document everything I can until we go. Today I walked through the living room and found a line of cars. I just smiled and then grabbed my camera. He's not obsessive with lining things up but yesterday he lined up the chairs at his Nana's house and then today I saw the cars lined up.













We started a positive reinforcement sticker chart today. Chrissy recommended this when I asked her for alternative discipline methods. She first suggested every hour, but then thought every half hour might be better for a few days to get him to realize what the system is about. I gave him a sticker for every 30 minutes that he didn't pitch a fit or throw things. For every 30 minutes that he used his manners and played well with his sisters. I gave him a goal of earning 5 stickers in order to get a prize. I figured he'd earn more and wanted to start small so he'd actually earn a prize today and be rewarded and realize that this is a great thing.

He earned 5 stickers today. It probably should've been 6 or maybe 7 but I lost track of time at one point when we were trying to nap. He had chosen his prize this morning and it was a water gun. So tonight, after his bath and teeth brushing, he got his prize. Thought I'd take a pic of him holding his chart and prize. I hope this will work to reinforce the positive and have him strive to behave better.





I'm also trying a method that combines something I saw on Supernanny and the picture scheduling that works well for autistic children. Using signs for labeling off limit things. I saw the idea for keeping younger kids out of the older kids' rooms by putting up a sign on Supernanny. One sign will have a picture of a STOP sign and a hand knocking on a door. This means: Knock and ask if you can come in. The other sign will have a WELCOME sign on it. This means: Come on in and play! I also printed out some NO signs (you know..the circle with the line through the middle) and placed them on things I don't want LJ to touch. My printer screwed up so I only got it to print two signs, but I stuck one on the stove and the other on the front door. I explained that the signs meant that it was dangerous if he opened these things so it was important to remember not to touch them. I hope it'll work. I'm so tired of telling him to stop opening the oven door. I'm so scared he'll do it while it's hot and burn himself.

Cancer really sucks!

Tomorrow we're celebrating the life of my mother-in-law Deborah. Her birthday is on Monday too! She's a wonderful woman...very kind and loving. I'm so happy to have her as my mother-in-law.

She was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer last year and went through a round of chemotherapy. She did well through the treatments. The doctors told her everything looked good and the cancer was at bay. They didn't expect to see it start growing again for about a year. She went back for a follow up roughly 7 weeks after the good news. She'd been having some pain and was concerned. They found fluid buildup from the cancer. It had not stopped growing as they had originally thought but the fluid was masking the cancer from the scan. She started another round of chemo...this time in a pill form. No going to the office to have it done. She went back for a follow up 3 weeks after starting the new meds. The cell count had stayed the same. She was scheduled to go back 3 weeks later for another check. The news wasn't good. The cell count had gone up which meant the chemo meds weren't working. Her other option was another pill form of chemo. The side effect was constant sickness. She'd already decided that she didn't want to live her life being sick everyday. She wanted to enjoy the time she had with her family and friends. The doctors had told her the alternative pill would only prolong life by a month or two and she didn't feel it was worth it if she wouldn't be able to enjoy the life she had left.
The doctors gave her 5-6 months at best without chemo. We're praying like crazy for a miracle! The world just won't be the same without her!

She wanted me to make her a colon cancer awareness shirt for her birthday. So, the shirt was designed and embroidered and it turned into a family affair. Everyone will wear their shirts tomorrow at the cookout in honor of the world's best Mother-in-law!

Who says boys can't pull off pink?

LJ's rockin some new pink hair!! We went in JoAnns the other day to pick up some thread. LJ spotted this hot pink wig sitting on top of the books on the shelf next to the thread. He wanted to try it on and I just knew it was a picture op! I grabbed my phone and snapped the pic. It's my new wallpaper on my phone. It makes me smile every time I look at it!