"The Diet" and Hospitalization

We've had a vicious stomach bug making its way through our family.  Son 1 had it a month ago, I had it breifly early in the week, and it hit Son 2 HARD on Tuesday.  He literally went from being fine to me carrying him into the ER in less than 7 hours.  Keep in mind, he's 10 and weighs 87 lbs, and I carried him across a large parking lot.  I felt pretty buff.  Anyway, he was so dehyrated that he was admitted for a two day stint.  I panicked.  Yes, because my baby was super sick, but also because I thought, "Oh crap, how am I going to deal with his allergies and GFCF diet in the hospital??"  Another fun element is that he has asthma, and just a teeny bit of allergen can tighten his airways and make him blue as a squid.  But it really turned out to be totally fine.  I wrote it all out on his paperwork, and made certain that every nurse that came in knew that I was the only one to give him ANYTHING by mouth, and they were totally on board with that.  The phrase "multiple life-threatening food allergies" has a way of garnering attention, to be sure.  It was easier because really the only thing he ate was four gf crackers brought from home.  IV fluids, pedialyte, and Jello are wonderful things.  :)  So are nurses who can overlook some challenging behaviors and see the child, not the autism.  :D

THE Phone Call

Yesterday was interesting.  Son 1 was so sick that we had been at the hospital for the second morning in a row.  Worry combined with sleep deprivation had been working together to devour my sunny disposition and were nibbling at my sanity.  My cell phone rings just before noon, and since it is chiming out the Imperial Death March, there is no doubt who is calling.  I say a few choice words before I answer, knowing that I'm not likely to enjoy this conversation.  "SuperMom, this is Mrs. Principal."  Yes, THAT call.  The one that every autism parent lives in fear of.  "Son 2 has had a rough morning, and well, we've tried working with him and talking to him but he's still pretty upset, so I just wonder if it would be better to remove him from the building and send him home."  The grace I mustered was hand delivered by God at that very moment, I can assure you, as my reply was much more subdued than what I was thinking. "No, no I'm not on board with that."  "Excuse me?  Well, here's what happened....(insert a play-by-play of less than desirable behavior here, complete with teacher reiterating said sequence)."  So I again launch into the mini-training that I find myself giving to whomever the new principal happens to be.  This happens nearly every year, with last year being the glorious exception.  Perhaps I should just make a recording.  "If I pick him up, that is what he wants.  I am not willing to pick him up for behavior because if his pitching a fit gets him sent home, we are going to see nothing but a long downward spiral of worsening behavior.  We've seen it before."  "Well, SuperMom, do you have any suggestions on how we should handle the situation?"   Gee whiz, since I brought up a few months ago that his behavior plan doesn't have a good crisis plan, and you guys all reassured me at the time that there was expertise in the building to deal with this situation should it arise.... "Well, what I do at home isn't necessarily appropriate or effective at school.  I think it's a very good thing that we have a case conference scheduled next week."  "Well I CERTAINLY hope this is an isolated situation."  Good luck with that.....and guess what?  He pulled it out and had a decent afternoon.  Ta-da!!

Grieving for a Stranger

Unless you live under a rock, you know that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, lost his battle with cancer yesterday.  I was surprised at how hard his death has hit me and how I can be grieving for someone I never met.  Why?  Well, every morning, Son 2 gets up and immediately wants to play a game on my iPhone.  This same miraculous device holds his positive behavior system, ABC (antecedent, behavior, consequence) data,  everyone's medical histories, times tables, a PECS (picture exhange communication system) program, a visual schedule, and so much more.  The number of ways in which it has changed our lives for the better is immeasurable.   So many say, "It's just a fancy phone."  No, it's so much more.  It holds our lives and is a window into my son's world that may otherwise have remained closed forever.  It's not a phone, it's a miracle.  God bless you, Mr. Jobs.  Rest in peace, well done!

Sometimes Autism Just Plain Sucks

Don't get me wrong, I've had the joy of seeing the number of gifts that come with being on the spectrum, and there is no question that I am ten if not 100 times the parent and person that I would have been if I had a "normal" life.  But there are still times when autism just plain sucks.  We've been dealing with that lately.  Son 2 has been very sick for almost a whole week.  When he is sick, the nice expressive language that has been cultivated with him all but disappears.  Given that he has pretty severe asthma (in addition to serious food allergies and the autism), this turns me into a full-time detective.  Check his peak flow, check his pulse ox, check his heart rate, listen to his chest, check his temperature, when was the last treatment???  Where as if he could just TELL me that his chest feels tight, I could relax a bit and maybe sleep for more than two hours at a time.  Prayers and Starbucks baby, prayers and Starbucks.....venti double shot nonfat mocha no whip to be specific.