Weekly update August 12- 17th/Brendan 15 1/2 months

                      I just really want to thank everybody for all the comments and support you have shared for my family. It truly means the world to us. I am just doing what I believe every parent naturally does which is give your kid the best opportunity to succeed in life.
                       I can't say this enough but I want everyone to remind themselves that you are not only a parent but you are the voice of your children. If you have any kind of suspicion or gut feeling something isn't right about your child you can take action. Don't let your doctor, grandma, or mom tell you, "oh there is nothing wrong with your child." "Your brother and sisters didn't talk until they were 3 or boys are just late talkers." Don't settle. Getting an evaluation can never hurt your child. The best case would be is the expert therapist saying your child is in normal range for their age. Then you can never have regrets later of not getting them evaluated. Most of the stories I read from parents with autistic kids say there child didn't get diagnosed until they were 2.5,3 years old. But most of them can look back and remember when they were babies or toddlers and they all had some inclination that some of their characteristics were different. There is a online test that you can take to just give you an idea of the things you should be concerned about. Its called childbrain.com/PDD assessment scale

                      Right now Brendan has a break from therapy on Mondays. He had physical therapy but he was just recently released because he is now at a physical level that is an appropriate age level. So Monday's are my days that I try and get normal life things accomplished. lol. Or I just let Brendan stay home and play and enjoy a normal sleep schedule. It makes me feel so bad that during the week I have to wake him up to get him to therapy during his morning nap and then his afternoon nap is usually done in the car because it is at the same time we pick Haley up from school. Brendan didn't sleep through the night until he was 12 months old. I would watch him in the video monitor when he would try and go to sleep and he would crash and bury his head from corner to corner. He always looked liked he couldn't get comfortable. Then he would just get frustrated and cry. When we first started therapy I would explain his sleep patterns to his therapist. They all started to explain to me that he was seeking pressure for his body. I really didn't understand what they were staying. They gave the suggestion to get a weighted blanket to put in his crib. I started googling weighted blankets. Well I knew Brendan wouldn't use just any blanket, he is super attached to his little giraffe blanket. So I got creative and bought a weighted blanket and then got a big little giraffe blanket and sewed them together.  Well my mom sewed them! The blanket is supposed to weigh 10% of their body weight. Well just after a couple of nights of having the weighted blanket in his crib he started sleeping through the night. It is amazing how something so simple can help the sensory processing disorder that so many of the autistic kids have. So after 12 months of waking up multiple times a night with him he finally gets some good sleep during the night. His day time naps are so random. Sometimes he sleeps an hour to two hours and then other times he takes 20 minute naps.
                   Brendan also has sensory processing disorder which falls in the giant circle of autism spectrum disorder. He will have days where he just wants to hang out in the smallest corner of the house, or under a table or he will try and fit behind something so small its just not possible for him to fit. This is him seeking pressure that he can't get from just a simple hug or squeeze. Sometime I will put a compression shirt on him. This is like a swim shirt but it's like 5 sizes to small. It does give him some of that pressure he is looking for. Before I understood any of this watching him run around squeezing into small spaces was what I think an addict looks like who wants a drink but can't have one. He would cry and just have this confused and lost look on his face. Again without his therapist I wouldn't know how to help him. He has many tents and tunnels in the house now to escape to. He likes to go in them and just get away from reality. Sometimes I wish I could join him.
                      One thing his therapist are really trying to work on with him his just getting him to give good eye contact. They are also working with him so he can sit still and actually play with a toy the proper way. In ordered for them to attempt these with him he needs a lot of stimulation to his body. Meaning they put him in a swing and have him swing for about 20-30 minutes. The motion of the swing calms him and gets him to be able to focus for a short time. They also do music therapy which he hates. They put large ear phones on him and play modulate music. He screams and runs away when they try and put the head phones on him. So most of the time they play the music over the speakers for him. We now have put in a indoor therapy swing in our playroom for him. Anytime he starts to have a moment of no self control I put him in the swing and he just relaxes. He loves the swing and now he will put his cars in it and then come to my legs and that is his way of telling me he wants in the swing. I try and do whatever I can at home to incorporate what they do at therapy.
                         So far the beginning of this week he has done pretty good at therapy.  He is starting to play for longer lengths of time with a toy. However he will just play with himself and he won't make any sounds or any kind of facial expressions or interact with anybody. But its a step in the right direction. He had his 15 month well check appointment on Wednesday and he is 33.5 inches tall and in the 98% and then weight he is 26lbs 7oz in the 90%. It absolutely amazes his pediatrician that he is the size he is without eating very much at all. She says she has kids that come in and they are in the 15% of weight and the moms swear that all their kid does is eat. So you just never know and shouldn't ever judge when a baby or toddler is skinny or chubby. My daughter Haley was always off the charts in weight and people would say the meanest things to me. They would say things like,"wow she hasn't missed a meal." It was horrible because I wasn't feeding her anything different than any other kid. But after you have your second child you tend to not let things get to you as much as you do with your first child. Haley is 6 and is still in the 96% of weight. So I have big kids! Haley and I will be sharing clothes before I know it. So this week Brendan and I are trying to get used to his schedule with his therapy and Haley going back to school. So far in the last two day Brendan has only slept for 45 minutes for a total from both days combined during the day. We were at gymboree today and his teacher pointed out that his eyes were blood shot and I said its because he hasn't been sleeping. But he still ran around like a crazy man at gymboree. He has started to do a lot of spinning in circles around himself. He will just spin until he gets so dizzy he falls down. Then he has started to shack his head no but he isn't actually saying or responding to no he just shakes it to stimulate himself. This week he has been eating really good. It is so nice to see him eat and see that he looks like he is enjoying his food. But this week he hasn't been sleeping day or night. He has been waking up a lot during the night and then during the day he just hasn't wanted to sleep. So this is where I say he will take 2 steps forward and then 5 steps back on something else. Saturday he spent the day with Brian and Haley while I was a work. Brian loves getting to spend time with kids since he works so much its not something he gets to do often. So fingers crossed he gets back to sleeping better next week.