Just call me the BRADvocate
Two posts in one day?!?!
Making up for lost time, I suppose ;)
Two months ago I shared with yall that my Bradley Boy was officially diagnosed with High Functioning Autism (formerly referred to as Aspergers).
So I wanted to give you a little update in what's been going on with that!
We had another 504 Meeting at the school to adjust some of his accommodations in the classrooms. He is in need of more one on one teaching. He gets off task way too easily and needs some one to kind of stay on him and keep him focused. His tendency then becomes to just rush through is work so he can get to what he is really wanting to do, which usually involves his Chromebook at school. He is also so tech savvy that he has found ways to get around the settings to access websites and things that are usually blocked to the students. So that is another issue we are having to address. Brad struggles with motor skills, as most Aspie kids do, and so his handwriting is really not legible. He is supposed to be allowed to do long assignments on a computer so they can at least be read to be graded (even though he is still pretty slow, due to his motor skills), but that presents a dilemma with distractions in using that Chromebook. Access to the web and games and other things on there. So we are working out a way to handle that.
Since he returned back to school after Christmas Break, he has kind of reverted in his progress. He began to act "babyish" at school, and just flat out not cooperating or finishing his work. His grades began to drop and he started having a lot of schoolwork being sent home so he could complete it and still pass his classes. This caused issues with us at home, and he became extremely hateful and resentful toward me because I was making him do work at home, and he didn't understand why. In his world, work at school, free time at home as a reward for getting through the day. I tried to explain to him that because he didn't apply himself fully at school, he now had to complete his work at home. This, of course, didn't work. However, despite his horrible attitude, he eventually completed the work and got caught up before Spring Break.
This week was his first week back at school since Spring Break, and I have seen a big change in attitude. I haven't had any feedback from teachers as far as how he is doing in completing his work in the classroom, but no feedback is usually a good sign! He doesn't dread getting up and ready in the morning. We don't battle to take his medicine and brush his teeth. Its wonderful! I'm not sure what to attribute the change to, but I will say that we upped one of his meds over Spring Break and I hope that it is a positive change overall. He struggles with some pretty harsh side effects if we get his dosage too high, so sometimes we have to weigh how the medicine positively effects him vs the negative side effects. Its a constant adjustment I feel like, Anyway, the change in medicine seems to have had a positive effect, and I also think just the much needed Spring Break. We stayed home and had a little but of structure, but once they finished their daily jobs (house cleaning to get ready for 2 birthday parties!!) they had free time, which is his favorite thing ever. Over Spring Break he seemed to renew his love for Minecraft, which I love. He has been on a major obsession of watching You Tube videos of other people playing games, and I much prefer him to actually play them. To use his mind, his amazing creativity, and problem solving skills. He has also started to take better care of his body. One of his biggest struggles, up until now, has been self care. Taking baths, brushing teeth, wearing clean clothes, fixing his hair. But now, he is aware of himself more and has done so excellent with it! (I think my 2 Goddaughters, who are his age and older have a big influence on this. They have a big role in his life and one of them recently fixed his hair for him while he was over. He has done it the same way ever since!)
So with all these positive changes recently, I have to say there are a few concerns I have. In other areas, he seems to be going backwards, or maybe not backwards, but just getting more severe in some of his habits? His sleeping is getting out of whack again. He wakes up multiple times a night to check our house alarm. His great fear of someone breaking in is really affecting his ability to sleep. Even when he is sleeping, he dreams that it is happening. My husband tens to need to make nightly errand runs, because its hard for me to do them during the day with my busy schedule, and the kids. So every night, we put the kids to bed, and usually Dan has to run somewhere. B hears the door beep, comes out, resets the alarm (because HE has to do it to be sure) and asks me to stay up until Daddy comes home. Almost every night. And a lot of times, in the middle of the night when he checks the alarm, he ends up in our bed. He also in more adamant that he sleeps with someone else. He hates to sleep in his room by himself. our 2 year old shares a room with him, but he almost never sleeps in his bedroom. (Yes, we often co-sleep with him, no judgment please. It lets us get a little more sleep!) So B usually ends up in his sisters' room, sleeping in the big bed with his little sister.
And other than the sleeping issues, he has started to pace a lot more. He started this new thing where he tries to walk on the arms and backs of our couches and bounces from couch to couch. It drives me crazy! He is tearing up our couches, and every time he does it, I remind him he shouldn't do that because it isn't good for the couches and he could get hurt, which he has before, and when he gets hurts it is very extreme for him. He also seems to have become more possessive and fixated on his Duplo Legos. They are his "fidgets" I guess. He always has to have some to manipulate and he is always moving them around and making sounds with them. When any of the other kids try to play with them (because not all of them are Brad's) he flips. And our 2 year old stuck a few of them in a hole, never to be seen again over Spring Break, and Brad had a serious meltdown. He explained it to me that he cared about his Legos like his children, and it feels like his baby died when they are lost and gone forever. WOW.
And I can't even get into the bedwetting, and accidents during the day. It frustrates me to no end, because I already have enough laundry to do. And it is so embarrassing to him, but I guess not enough to be able to control it? I don't know.
There are so many unknowns and changes and new things and just stuff. Please pray for my boy, and all of us as we learn and deal with everything.
My darling, first born, my Precious Bradley. I will forever fight for you to have the best life. Along with all of your siblings. We will get through all of this together. I will forever be your Bradvocate. :)
Love Love Love, to all of you reading this. Thanks for all of your support and love!!!
Making up for lost time, I suppose ;)
Two months ago I shared with yall that my Bradley Boy was officially diagnosed with High Functioning Autism (formerly referred to as Aspergers).
So I wanted to give you a little update in what's been going on with that!
We had another 504 Meeting at the school to adjust some of his accommodations in the classrooms. He is in need of more one on one teaching. He gets off task way too easily and needs some one to kind of stay on him and keep him focused. His tendency then becomes to just rush through is work so he can get to what he is really wanting to do, which usually involves his Chromebook at school. He is also so tech savvy that he has found ways to get around the settings to access websites and things that are usually blocked to the students. So that is another issue we are having to address. Brad struggles with motor skills, as most Aspie kids do, and so his handwriting is really not legible. He is supposed to be allowed to do long assignments on a computer so they can at least be read to be graded (even though he is still pretty slow, due to his motor skills), but that presents a dilemma with distractions in using that Chromebook. Access to the web and games and other things on there. So we are working out a way to handle that.
Since he returned back to school after Christmas Break, he has kind of reverted in his progress. He began to act "babyish" at school, and just flat out not cooperating or finishing his work. His grades began to drop and he started having a lot of schoolwork being sent home so he could complete it and still pass his classes. This caused issues with us at home, and he became extremely hateful and resentful toward me because I was making him do work at home, and he didn't understand why. In his world, work at school, free time at home as a reward for getting through the day. I tried to explain to him that because he didn't apply himself fully at school, he now had to complete his work at home. This, of course, didn't work. However, despite his horrible attitude, he eventually completed the work and got caught up before Spring Break.
This week was his first week back at school since Spring Break, and I have seen a big change in attitude. I haven't had any feedback from teachers as far as how he is doing in completing his work in the classroom, but no feedback is usually a good sign! He doesn't dread getting up and ready in the morning. We don't battle to take his medicine and brush his teeth. Its wonderful! I'm not sure what to attribute the change to, but I will say that we upped one of his meds over Spring Break and I hope that it is a positive change overall. He struggles with some pretty harsh side effects if we get his dosage too high, so sometimes we have to weigh how the medicine positively effects him vs the negative side effects. Its a constant adjustment I feel like, Anyway, the change in medicine seems to have had a positive effect, and I also think just the much needed Spring Break. We stayed home and had a little but of structure, but once they finished their daily jobs (house cleaning to get ready for 2 birthday parties!!) they had free time, which is his favorite thing ever. Over Spring Break he seemed to renew his love for Minecraft, which I love. He has been on a major obsession of watching You Tube videos of other people playing games, and I much prefer him to actually play them. To use his mind, his amazing creativity, and problem solving skills. He has also started to take better care of his body. One of his biggest struggles, up until now, has been self care. Taking baths, brushing teeth, wearing clean clothes, fixing his hair. But now, he is aware of himself more and has done so excellent with it! (I think my 2 Goddaughters, who are his age and older have a big influence on this. They have a big role in his life and one of them recently fixed his hair for him while he was over. He has done it the same way ever since!)
So with all these positive changes recently, I have to say there are a few concerns I have. In other areas, he seems to be going backwards, or maybe not backwards, but just getting more severe in some of his habits? His sleeping is getting out of whack again. He wakes up multiple times a night to check our house alarm. His great fear of someone breaking in is really affecting his ability to sleep. Even when he is sleeping, he dreams that it is happening. My husband tens to need to make nightly errand runs, because its hard for me to do them during the day with my busy schedule, and the kids. So every night, we put the kids to bed, and usually Dan has to run somewhere. B hears the door beep, comes out, resets the alarm (because HE has to do it to be sure) and asks me to stay up until Daddy comes home. Almost every night. And a lot of times, in the middle of the night when he checks the alarm, he ends up in our bed. He also in more adamant that he sleeps with someone else. He hates to sleep in his room by himself. our 2 year old shares a room with him, but he almost never sleeps in his bedroom. (Yes, we often co-sleep with him, no judgment please. It lets us get a little more sleep!) So B usually ends up in his sisters' room, sleeping in the big bed with his little sister.
And other than the sleeping issues, he has started to pace a lot more. He started this new thing where he tries to walk on the arms and backs of our couches and bounces from couch to couch. It drives me crazy! He is tearing up our couches, and every time he does it, I remind him he shouldn't do that because it isn't good for the couches and he could get hurt, which he has before, and when he gets hurts it is very extreme for him. He also seems to have become more possessive and fixated on his Duplo Legos. They are his "fidgets" I guess. He always has to have some to manipulate and he is always moving them around and making sounds with them. When any of the other kids try to play with them (because not all of them are Brad's) he flips. And our 2 year old stuck a few of them in a hole, never to be seen again over Spring Break, and Brad had a serious meltdown. He explained it to me that he cared about his Legos like his children, and it feels like his baby died when they are lost and gone forever. WOW.
And I can't even get into the bedwetting, and accidents during the day. It frustrates me to no end, because I already have enough laundry to do. And it is so embarrassing to him, but I guess not enough to be able to control it? I don't know.
There are so many unknowns and changes and new things and just stuff. Please pray for my boy, and all of us as we learn and deal with everything.
My darling, first born, my Precious Bradley. I will forever fight for you to have the best life. Along with all of your siblings. We will get through all of this together. I will forever be your Bradvocate. :)
Love Love Love, to all of you reading this. Thanks for all of your support and love!!!
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