Atropa Belladonna~ Raven (a.k.a. Nightshade)'s Weblog ~
These are the ARCHIVES of May 2005. For more archives, visit the Archives page. For the current Weblog entries, check the Main page.
Atropa Belladonna| Tues, May 31, 2005 (11:00am, spelling & edits at 7:15pm) The Connor Report - Month in Review (May 2005) This Connor report brings us around to a full year of therapy, Connor-time, Connor Reports, and generally accepting that there's a handicapped kid in the house. It's been quite the year, I tell ya. He has improved so much, and yet there's still so much room for improvement. Connor's eye contact with family and familiar people is doing great. He's still a little disinclined to make eye contact, but you don't have to work hard to get it. And sometimes, when you're playing a favorite game with him, he'll maintain eye contact for a minute or more at a time, several times in a row. He's still shy about making eye contact with strangers, but it will happen, infrequently. We're continuing to use repetition, PECS, sign language, and anything else that will encourange communication with him. He says 5 - 10 words per day that I'm aware of, but his school tells me they're getting words regularly every day, too. He even sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (that first line only) for his teacher, at circle time. ("Twinka tinka mim mim staw..." but with the right tune and everything.) His most common method of communication is to take your hand and lead you places, but it's way more "communication" now that it used to be. Before, it was an attempt to drag you to the correct location and hope you figured out what he wants. Now, he'll deliberately lead you, and place your hand on the fridge door while putting his (empty) sippy cup of juice on the counter. Then he waits, usually making some eye contact, because he knows that this system works. Connor's receptive communication skills are also improving. About a third of the time, he'll react to his name or to spoken commands ("Connor, get down from the table!") I've even seem him react/turn his head/look in my direction when I use his name in conversation to someone else which shows he is listening more often than just when being spoken to directly. Social greetings are going well. About 1 time out of 2 or 3, he'll wave or say Hi or Bye. Joint attention is less good - sometimes he'll do it, but more often he'd prefer to ignore the person playing with him and just look at the object being played with. We had an audiology test last friday. Connor again showed up as having "mild conductive hearing loss" which the tech told us was nothing to worry about - probably just some fluid in the middle ear due to a recent ear infection or cold - but since this is the 3rd test in a row which has showed a little conductive hearing loss, they're wondering whether it is a permanent thing, or whether he just has so many colds that he's always plugged up, or what. We've got another test in 3 months for follow-up. If that one shows the same thing, we may be referred to a specialist. Yesterday I went to Connor's FSCD hearing - the government thingie where a bunch of people get together to decide if he'll be approved for funding and get an in-home worker, plus grant our family some respite care, and access to handicapped day camps and stuff. The final signatures aren't done, but everything looks pretty positive. |
| Mon, May 30, 2005 (10:55am) When the doctor asks you for advice... We are regularly reminded at our clinic that staff are not supposed to ask the doctors for medical advice, personally (asking about our patients is another matter). If we need medical advice, we can either see our own doctor, or sign in as a patient when we are off shift, and wait to see the doctor like anyone else. So what do you do when the doctor comes up and asks, "Do you have a moment? I need some advice." In this particular instance, we were both just ending our shifts. So I asked if he could wait a minute, finished my paperwork, and asked what matter he needed advice on. Digital photography, apparently. He knows that I am computer literate (I think perhaps 2 other staff members use a personal computer, and neither with any great prowess) and that I also take photos. So he asked if I knew anything about digital cameras, image files, and how to print photos. We had an interesting conversation about things like compression algorithms, and optical zooms, and click-to-capture times. I think I was able to answer a few of his questions intelligently, and I admit, it felt kinda good to be able to give advice to a doctor for a change. - - - A Connor Report Didn't get a chance to write this last week, but I wanted to post it still. At school, and also at home to a limited degree, Connor uses a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to ask for certain things that he wants. For example, when given a few velcro "stickers" with pictures of Chips, Juice, Pocorn, and one which says "I want", Connor knows how to take the "I want" and match it up with his choice of food, to get a special snack, at snacktime. At school, they've begun a velcro binder to keep his various "words" in. During activities one day, Connor got hungry, and wandered away from his desk (a common occurence with all the kids in his class. They're 3 yr olds, after all). Without the teacher's assistance, he went to where his word binder was stored, got out the symbols for "I Want Popcorn", velcro'd them onto a blank page, and brought it over to the teacher. I think we're going to get a velcro book for home, too. I would really like Connor to be able to use that sort of communication here. My arm is getting a little sore from being pulled everywhere. |
| Sat, May 28, 2005 (7:05pm) "Tu as besoin des sutures" Had an interesting day at work today. I got to try to explain, in my rather rusty French, that a young Quebecois man who came to our clinic was going to need stitches. Sadly, they don't teach you the important stuff in French class... stuff like, "The freezing may sting" or "Are your immunizations up to date?". I do know some practical French, but how often do you need to say, "Le joint coulasse c'est casse'", in a medical clinic? "0.3 cc Epi, STAT!" We also had a young lady come in, having an allergic reaction. That happens often enough, and is usually not an emergency... we give a shot of Benadryl and the mild rash/itch/hives generally go down, and the patient goes home. But this girl set off alarm bells in my mind the moment I saw her. We got her into a treatment room, and I pulled the doctor out of the room he was in, to assess her immediately. While he was assessing, I was already prepping a couple injections. Sure enough, it was Benadryl, Epinephrine (Adrenaline), and oxygen, monitoring blood pressure every 5 minutes, and get ready to call 911 in case she started to go into full anaphylactic shock. Luckily, the call to 911 wasn't necessary, as she pulled around with the treatments. But that's exactly the sort of situation where it's essential to get appropriate medical care on time. Minutes do count. (And the quick assessment skills learned in my Anaphylaxis Protocols course last month came in very handy, I'm glad to say.) "Perhaps you should wear a helmet, sir." Moments before my shift ended, we had another bad case walk in. Or rather, be dragged in, by some kind Samaritan who found the guy by the roadside, after a cycling accident. We had to clean up a lot of blood just to see how bad the injuries were, and by the time that was done, it was pretty obvious that we weren't going to be able to treat injuries that extensive at our clinic - especially since head injuries often mean X-rays and scans. So, the doctor, who was also off shift, asked me to call 911, and get him transfered to an actual ER. I had to stay an extra half hour to see that through, but it was rather amusing to see the paramedics come in and say, "So (insert name), had another cycling accident, hey?" Apparently it wasn't his first, nor even second time, in this situation. So we gave him some bicycle safety tips on his way out of the clinic... like: Wear a Helmet. Oh yeah, and: Don't Cycle Drunk. |
| Mon, May 23, 2005 (6:45pm) Shades is off to Toronto for a week, to learn up some l337 printer-disassembly skillz. So, for the next while, I'm a single parent. The kids have been good lately, though. Jase is cute enough to make up for the banshee screams, Kale is learning to read simple words ("Boo! A rat is in the can!"), and Connor said, "Mm, Ba-con" this morning. It's been raining for the last few days. and the air is so refreshingly breathable. I have CSI Season Two to watch, courtesy of a good friend (Sorry for not meeting you at BP's, D. I appreciate that you sent the DVDs along via friends) so I imagine I'll have a pretty good week. Enjoy your time in Toronto, Shades. |
Tues, May 17, 2005 (4:45pm)
|
| Mon, May 16, 2005 (5:45pm) Why I keep a Weblog I've heard the debate before, about whether weblogs are worth the electrons they're stored on. Some people think they're great therapy, or forms of artistic expression, or the only true uncensored media outlet remaining. Others have called them self-centered, egotistical, and rubbish. Leaving aside the fact that many people don't update their weblogs often enough to keep an audience, and that some are not even 'logs' (diaries/journals) at all, I think that there are many valid reasons to maintain an online journal. My primary reason is this:
- - - Okay. Now that that's out of the way, on we go with today's entry... On the weekend, I discovered something fascinating: The whole waking-up-to-a-vengeful-Ex-trying-to-Do-You-In thing isn't just something off TV. In somepeople's lives, this stuff really does happen. Like being woken by a golf club to the head, after a night of (how did he put it) "socializing" in the bar. Talk about having a wicked hangover headache! Also talk about X-rays to rule out skull fracture! And while we're at it, let's talk about 'pressing charges'? - - - A Connor Report At Sunday supper last night, I had a chance to see just how far Connor has come, socially. When we started his therapy a year ago, he used to spend most of Sunday dinner in his bedroom, or trying to sneak away from the supper table when we tried to make him sit and eat. Yesterday, however, he sat with everyone, right in the middle of an elbow-to-elbow crowd. He ate, he babbled, he made eye contact with realatives. And when supper was over, he was still hanging around, standing on his chair, making broad gestures and strange noises to get people's attention. He was one of the last people to leave the table, in fact. I think he was really enjoying having all these people around. - - - BTW, for any who care about such things, I had a needlestick accident at work yesterday. Thus, I am once again going through the frikkin' routine of blood tests to check my titres, and then half a year of monitoring for possible Hep B, Hep C, and HIV. The odds are low, and I'm not worried, but having to go through another half a year of blood tests and condoms just sucks. |
| Thurs, May 12, 2005 (2:40pm) Things to be Happy About Today
|
| Wed, May 11, 2005 (10:10am) Okay, I received some cryptic comments late last night, and since they were both marked 'public' they shall now be posted for all to see. - - - Anna has this Public comment:- - - Don has this Public comment:- - - Thank you for that much needed surreality in my life. |
| Sun, May 8, 2005 (5:15pm) Happy Birthday, Mom - and Happy Mother's Day, too! And CONGRATULATIONS to my Sister, who got married yesterday! Yep. If there's any loyal readers of her weblog who weren't at the wedding but want confirmation of the fact, I can personally attest that Damon and Jodi stood at the front of the Church, and promised to love and support and nurture eachother until "the end of me, the end of you." That last quote ("The end of me, the end of you") is apparently from a recent NIN recording. But the way the Pastor pronounced it (during the rehearsal, at least) it sounded like "To the end of May, to the end of June." Not the sentiment they were looking for, I suspect. Luckily that was clarified before the wedding itself. From there, everything seemed to go smoothly. Other wedding highlights (which I will post here and thus spoil any surprise which Jo may have intended for her weblog readers) included the amazing medieval-looking gowns which the bridesmaids wore (and which were custom made by my Mom), The stunning empire waistline wedding gown (also made by Mom), the vows to be eachother's "answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything", and the Recessional music being The Imperial March. The Reception was also amazing. They went totally non-traditional on this: It was like hanging out at a combination Pub and Reitveld-BoxingDay-Fondue party. There was fondue, and munchies, and cheese fondue, and nibblies, and chocolate fondue, and snacks, and board games to play (Catan, Scrabble, LotR, etc.) and puzzles, and the PlayStation with large-screen TV, and free wine on the tables, and more food, and 2 free drink tickets per person for the bar, and yet more food. There was also dancing (once they got the CD/speaker system to work properly) and goofing off, and the usual socializing which occur when hybrid SCA crowd gets together (Most common question asked during the evening: "So what's your real name?") T'was lots of fun. - - - A Connor Report Connor has been getting better at drawing our attention to things by taking a parent's hand and placing it on the item he wants (a toy, a door, etc.) Today, he placed my hand on the baby-gate at the top of the stairs, as he has many times in the last week, to explain that he wanted to go down to the font door. I let him through, but wouldn't allow him out of the house. So he played around in the porch a bit, and then started getting agitated. He obviously wanted something or was excited about something, but couldn't communicate it. I looked around to see what it was, but there was nothing unusual. Finally, Connor pointed to the ledge above our basement stairs. He pointed! I reached up and got one of the rubber skulls which sit there, and handed it to him. He smiled, and went off to play with the skull. Wow. Effective communication. I hope we see more of that. And, Yay! My son wanted to play with a skull! |
| Thurs, May 5, 2005 (5:30pm) The Connor Report - Month in Review (April '05) Good month. Connor's eye contact is increasing. When we're doing therapy (swinging, or mirror games) I can get pretty much sustained eye-contact for the duration of the excercie (even when it's 5 minutes long) with only brief glances away. Now and then, he'll even smile, or give other facial expressions, during eye contact. (Normally just making eye contact is stressful enough that he doesn't have the ability to cope with intentional facial expressions.) His vocabulary is expanding again. Both at home and at school, he has used the rare two-word sentance. Now, I know I've given earlier examples of 2 or 3 word phrases he's used, but those have been mostly echoed and said as though they were one word. What he's doing now is saying stuff like "More swing" or "want toy". He's pairing words up to communicate a more complicated concept. Infrequently, but it's there. Receptive communication is also increasing. He'll sometimes answer "Es! Es!" if I say "Do you want to play outside?", or run to the bathroom when I say "Bath time!" He'll even (sometimes) respond to simple commands like "Sit down!" or "No no!" when he knows he's doing something inappropriate like standing on his chair or hitting the fish tank. Connor has also become more insistent with his communication attempts. In the March review I said he's been putting a blanket in a grown-up's hand to request a swinging game, or that he'll take you by the hand to bring you to something he wants. Now, he'll almost pull you off your chair if you don't pay attention to his first request. Or he'll repeatedly drag you to the door and put your hand on the door handle to show he wants to go outside. We see this kind of behaviour every day now! He's very persistent - and also getting a bit annoying. But that's a good thing right? Social Greetings are still a main focus. Sometimes Connor will wave just a little bit to people at the door. Sometimes (especially if it's for Daddy) Connor will run to the gate and smile when a parent comes in the front door. One evening, he evening gave the baby a goodnight kiss. In mid-april, I went with Star to a workshop on Sensory Integration Therapy and learned a bunch more neat stuff about how the human mind works and what sorts of therapies are being used to help autistic and FASD kids. After that, I hung up a cool swing in our livingroom, and began incorporating that into our therapy time. Wow - the increase in eye contact is amazing! And his teachers have been commenting about how well he's doing in school. They say he just seems so "turned on", and that's the feeling I'm getting at home, too. Things are clicking in my little guy's brain! I don't think it''s solely because of the swing, of course. We've been really combining a lot of useful stuff to help him to learn more efficiently, and he's become so much more fun to be with! It's a lot easier to interact with a kid who smiles, and who requests games, and who pulls you out of your chair if you ignore him for too long. Speaking of which... this entry is coming to an end. I can't type so well while my arm is being pulled out of its socket. I think the Con-Man seeds some attentiooooooo - |
| Thurs, May 5, 2005 (5:20pm) The Connor Report - Month in Review (Mar '05) This month has been difficult, mostly trying to get things back on track after the wreck that was February. Connor has been a little less verbal this month. He still comes out with 5 - 10 words/ day (mostly echolalia) but it's mostly all stuff he's done before, so I've stopped keeping a monthly vocab list. (Actually, I stopped doing the list because he says so many words now! I just can't write them down all the time... and he's definitely made progress since the days when he'd say only 3 words/month). He's still answering the odd question with "Es! yes!" or shaking his head for no, but not too often. Eye contact is remaining pretty good. When we're doing therapy, I can get excellent eye contact - 10 to 30 seconds with brief blinks away - and he'll make eye contact pretty easily through the rest of the day, too (at least with people he likes). For sensory integration, we've recently started playing a game we call Squish. Connor will borrow under some pillows, or under the couch cushions, and I'll sit on him . He loves it. No - really, this is therapy! It's stimulating the proprioreceptors, which register things like deep pressure and joint position. Lots of autistic kids find deep pressure very calming, and it's supposed to help them organize their brains. It mustbe doing something good for him, because he keeps asking for more, and will actually grab your hand to pull you over to the couch if he wants you play the game with him. Did ya see what I just said? He'll pull you by the hand, to ask for a game! He also will bring things (like his favorite blanket, for a swinging game) and put it in your hands, to communicate that he wants a swing. This is great! He's actually making intentional communication gestures instead of crying and letting us guess what he wants. We've been doing a lot of work, recently, on social greetings. That's things like saying good morning, or waving Hi and Bye to friends. Connor generally doesn't care when people come or go, so this is a bit tough, but we're trying to help him wave to everyone who comes to the door (apologies to all those people who are unwittingly drafted into Connor's therapy simply by walking in our front door). Not much else to say. We're still in the middle of government paperwork to get Connor some services through Family Support for Children with Disabilies, and that's moving slowly. But at least it's moving. I think. |
| Sun, May 1st, 2005 (12:35pm) Raven: You can't have everything you want, Kalen. Kalen: Yes, I can! I'll use my powers. I'll use the special powers in my brain! Raven: Oooooh! Does my daughter have special powers? I want special powers, too! Kalen: Sorry, Mom. Your brain is too full of silliness. There's no room in your brain for powers. |
