What Autism Looks Like...

I wrote this little article a few weeks back for a Contest being held by Parents magazine. It obviously didn't win, but I wrote it more for myself to get my feelings out. So, I thought I would share. What Autism Looks like in my family, from a Mommy's perspective. My son was diagnosed with Autism on November, 2012. The diagnosis not only changed the help we received, it also changed our parenting styles. I really was not well informed about Autism and how prevalent it is in so many homes. I treated my son just like my older son, had the same expectations and really wondered why he wasn't "listening" to me. NOW I know he wasn't ignoring me or choosing to disobey he was just struggling to interpret and process the things I was saying. As a baby Cohen was always sweet and laid back, but also quite loud. When he began to crawl he found ways to always find his way to the train table and would NOT leave. That was his thing and did not want anyone else to touch it. Play time as a toddler was always lining things up, playing legos, or playing trains. Everything he did was about Trains (Thomas) or solving problems. Again as time progressed we noticed more and more things were difficult. He would throw really bad tantrums when having to leave his favorite activities or random times we didn't know why. The tantrums would be fairly violent, throwing himself on the floor, kicking, stiffening his entire body. Finding a calming agent was usually a Thomas show if we were home. I began choosing not to do things as a family such as restaurants or parks, or parties just because I did not understand what was bringing on all of the tantrums. To skip ahead a bit at Cohen's 3 year old check up we went for his regular checkup and the Doctor recommended we have him tested for Autism. We did just that, and after much paperwork and meetings the Diagnosis of Autism was given to us. There were No tears. I was filled with such relief that there was an Answer to what was happening and that help was on the way. Wow! I can't tell you how many people have supported us and cheered us on through this process. I forgot to mention that Cohen's vocabulary at age 3 was absolutely non existent. He would always hum his words, and even get the right syllabols but not the word. We began to read a lot of information on Autism, and found that an I pad could be very useful for children with disabilities. Because Cohen could not use a crayon or would not use his hands to put pressure on things I was not sure how it would work. Almost immediately he took to it, was very stimulated by the Ipad and learned it and began using it by himself. After a week he was picking out the apps he wanted to use and flying through it. Words began to come, by repeating what he was hearing on these games. What??? Yes, he was so stimulated by this computer that he was responding to it. Occupational therapy and speech therapy came next. We began taking Cohen to 1 hour a week of each, which have been absolutely Amazing!! Now, a preschool 2 1/2 hours a day. Cohen is now repeating almost everything he hears and has several phrases to ask for things he wants or needs. So, to sum this all up I think Autism looks very different in every family. We have been so Blessed to have so much help and I feel like Autism is just a word to describe what we are treating our son for, but it's not who he is. Cohen is a funny, smart, endearing, loving 3 year old little boy that fills our lives with endless Joy! There are many many struggles through our days and weeks but our lives couldn't be more fulfilling. I couldn't imagine him any different. Autism has changed our lives for the better. It has opened my eyes and my heart to others with disabilities. Next time I see a child in a store breaking down I will not judge, I will help! I hope my families story and our daily struggles can maybe be an inspiration to others. Life is hard but it does get better, and what God brings to you and he will help you through!

Gizdich Ranch

We visited a new place this past weekend that we really enjoyed. It's a big Apple Farm where you can "pick your own" apples. Apples are not in season so we weren't able to do that this time, but it was fun to walk around and look at the trees. I walked around an antique shop and then we got fresh apple juice and a yummy pie! I love the endless amount of places to visit all around us!!

Easter

One of the most difficult things about living in California is being away from family. I love getting together with all of the extended family having meals, playing games, and eating some more! My kids don't like all of the typical holiday foods so I didn't bother making all of the fixings for just us. Kind of sad, I think I might just do it next year anyway, just for traditions sake. We thought it was going to rain on Easter so we did our main Easter egg hunt on Saturday. All 3 kids did great! I loved watching them all participate. Cooper of course had his basket loaded and the babies had a select few, so he had to re hide them for the little 2 to find. They loved it. Cohen stopped and opened his eggs every time he found one and ate the candy out, then left the egg where he found it. :) The Easter Bunny showed up Sunday morning with lots of goodies and the kids loved that. Cooper was shocked that the Easter bunny didn't bring much candy, mainly toys. Hmmm...that smart bunny! We went to the Easter service and I loved it when we were on the way home and Cooper told the Easter story to us, very nicely. He had many more details in there than I had explained to him. We did color eggs and make Easter cupcakes. Fun times and Great memories being made!

St. Patrick's Day Party

Cooper's K-5 Class loves to party and celebrate every occasion! I haven't done a great job of posting pictures of each one, (I know I should). They even celebrated Chinese New Year! I try to make it to all of the parties, I love to see them sing songs, and what hat they have made for each party! The kids all had a Treasure hunt for St. Patrick's day and searched for Gold. So, Cooper is really into "treasure" now. They had a green milkshake, some cool jello treats and cookies for their party!

What Cohen Wishes We Knew

I am reading a back About 10 Things Your Autistic Child Wishes you Knew. Very interesting stuff. I have a link with the 10 points listed out with a brief summary. http://www.ellennotbohm.com/article-archive/ten-things-every-child-with-autism-wishes-you-knew/ I thought this would be good for some of my friends and family that want to better understand Cohen or any kids with Autism. I didn't know much about Autism before Cohen was diagnosed and I still have a LOT to learn. I think it's good to be informed about these things, you never know when you will come across a situation where you "wish" you had a better understanding. I have several people that have said to me that Cohen doesn't "look" like he has Autism. Hmmm... Well, I would be more offended if I thought they were trying to offend me. Cohen is a little boy, and there is not a certain look he has to have to have struggles. Just some thoughts!! :)

Cohen...

Ok so I promise we have been doing plenty around here, I have just been a major slacker with the blogging. Life has been super busy, but in good ways! My baby boy, Cohen is just progressing by leaps and bounds. We are amazed everyday by the progress we are seeing with him. The phrases are increasing. They are short and sweet but he is able to communicate with us. Some things that I have seen this past month that have progressed are him taking off clothes (by himself) and attempting to dress himself. Some of the outfits are pretty funny. He always chooses shorts and tries them on upside down, but atleast he tries :). Clay and I thought for a while now that Cohen has had an obsession with Apples. He does love to eat them, but he is always saying "My Apple, My Apple." So, we give him an apple of course. Break through...I now know he is talking about the I-pad because there is an apple on it. :) No wonder he looked at us like we were crazy always feeding him apples. Help has arrived and we are ever so thankful. My schedule has filled up so much, it's a little over whelming. Oh well for the Bible study group I wanted to join..mornings are filling Super Fast. Cohen will be starting school next week across town. He will go 5 days a week for 2 1/2 hours a day. I met his teacher last week and saw his classroom. It is Amazing. Lots of centers, scheduled very well, music, and even therapies. He will love it I am sure. We will still have his Occupational and Speech therapies 2 days a week in the mornings. And now we will be starting in home help with the Easter Seals. They will be coming to help me with teaching and working with Cohen 6 hours a week. We are so blessed and feel so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives!

Update

I have not made the time for blogs lately, so I am just going to do an update on our Family! This is my one consolidated catch-up and I will try to do better. :) My Mom came recently to stay with us to celebrate Christmas. We were not able to travel this year, I just don't know how we will do that again for a while. :( We planned to take Mom to do several new things but of course this is CA rainy season so we didn't have a lot of nice days. We did go to a Winery, which was nice, see some Redwoods and go to the Children's Museum. Christmas was nice and somewhat relaxed. It was nice to kind of create some of our traditions. Clay and I have been trying to do some updates on the house during the not so sunny days. It's feeling so much more like home with our personal touch's. The house isn't huge but the layout is Great and is just perfect for us! We are planning on painting the kitchen cabinets and my armoire in the Great Room...I will post pictures when there is some progress. The kids are all happy and healthy! Yay!!! Cooper was out of school for 2 weeks and just went back today. He was ready and I think we were all ready for a schedule again. We worked on his reading some over the break so I am hoping things will progress for him in this next half of the year. He is so so Close!! Favorite things are video games, super heros and any type of ball sport! Also, he just loves to help me bake! Cohen is back in his routine with 2 therapies a week and improving daily!! I just love all his sweet words, and the fact that he is understanding more and more of what we are saying to him. We find out on the 18th what his evaluation results are and what program they will put him in for preschool. I think he will LOVE school. Favorite things for him to do at home are legos, trains (of course), and puzzles. Cenley Grace is 2 going on 6. She thinks she is a Big girl! Cenley has been in a big girl bed since 17 months (mainly because of our moving), refused to even sit in a booster seat now for 6 months, has her 3 year molars. Cenley is fun loving, sassy, tomboy that loves to do what Cooper is doing. Throwing rocks, playing in the dirt while wearing a princess dress. But, she also likes to follow me around and do what I do. She likes to clean, wear cute clothes, and carry a "bop bop." Clay is loving his job more than ever, enjoying to run and bike! Even talking about doing a triathalon. I am keeping him busy with projects around the house but he spends lots of time with the kiddos..especially with the X box Kinect! :) I am busy! :) I didn't think I would be happy in CA but I am. Now that we are out of San Jose and into more of a rural area I love it. I am happy that my family is happy. I do miss Alabama though, and hope to go back eventually. There are so many adventures to be made here and I am up for it. Especially with Cohen thriving with all the help he is getting.