I'm back

[Guest guest]

Welcome back girl. Glad to see you again. I know school is rough. But drop a

line here when you can.

-

[Guest guest]

hi sharon, nice to meet you, your son isnt much older than my nathan 8yrs

w/ds pdd, i live in iowa, so a little ways from chicago, but not horrible

long ways. shawna, mom to nathan 8yrs w/ds pdd and nicholas 7yrs.

>From: " Sharon Stephayn " <mamadowns@...>

>Reply-egroups

>egroups

>Subject: I'm Back

>Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 18:26:30 PDT

>

>Hi Everybody: I was around last summer but it has just been too hectic to

>keep up with all of you. My son Tim is 11 yo with a formal dual diagnosis

>of Down and Autism made by none other than Dr. Capone at Hopkins. For

>those of you waiting on diagnosis and hoping and dreading, I have found it

>very freeing to have a label. Before that it seemed the whole world blamed

>his behavior on my spoiling him. Now my family just thinks I should

>institutionalize him. At least I have more faith in my ability as a mother

>now. I will give you more info later on the rest of our story. Just know

>as Dr. Capone said to me when I was first telling him about Tim, " It's not

>your fault.

>

>We live in Niles Michigan a stone's throw from Norte Dame. Margeret I

>think

>we were going to try and meet last year, you are Gareth's mom right? I

>would love to have a group of us meet at Lamb's farm. Anyone else in the

>greater Chicagoland area interested? Maureen are you in the area too? Last

>fall I toured a residence in Indiana called Goldenrod that was being built

>for people with autism. One thing I thought showed great understanding was

>the fact each resident would have their own bedroom. Something that can be

>very important to our loners.

>

>MEDS FOR MOMS!!! If you are depressed or overwhelmed, think about meds

>for

>yourself. They do not make you a drug addict and they can really help you

>deal with your child more easily. If you feel drugged it is not the right

>medicine, but if you are able to realize these helpless feelings will not

>go

>on forever you are headed in the right direction. I am on Prozac and

>Adderall. Knowing what a difference they make in how well I can cope I

>would never deny my son something that could help him in a similar way.

>

> >Subject: Re: Re: Depressed Moms Unite!

> >

> >lmao laura........you make me laugh......dont even tempt me with your

> >leftover zoloft....lolol i keep thinking maybe i should see a shrink to

>get

> >something

>

>Risperdal Rebound

>

> >SOmething is up, and I dont' know what. He

> >started Risperdal about 3 months ago, started at .25 mg at night and

> >upped to .50 mg at night, but no farther. Maybe this is not the right

> >med, or not enough of it? Has anone else with a kid on Risperdal seen a

> >deterioration of their behavior after an improvement?

>

>Tim was doing great on Risperdal for about a year then it seemed to quit

>working. I found a new shrink through another Mom who had the same problem

>with her non-DS son. We have been using Seroquel for almost a year now

>with

>good results. We also added Depokote a few months ago. What a balancing

>act.

>

>This is long but it is good to be back. It is harder to reply in digest

>form but who can keep up otherwise. Sharon from Niles, MI

>

>

>________________________________________________________________________

>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

>

>

>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>@Backup- Protect and Access your data any time, any where on the net.

>Try @Backup FREE and receive 300 points from mypoints.com Install now:

>1/5666/10/_/691668/_/961550792/

>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sharon, yes I am in the Chicago suburbs and would love to get together.

Lamb's Farm sounds good. BTW, we're taking my senior daughter to visit Notre

Dame in July, so we'll be in your area.

I appreciate your comments about meds for moms. I have shared with the list

before that I am on Prozac and it has helped me alot. I don't plan to be on

it forever, but it has been very rough lately and I need to be healthy for

myself and for my kids. It's bad enough that things are so tough with

-- where will our family be if I'm in awful shape too?

Take care,

Maureen

[Guest guest]

Dana, in NC,

Welcome Home!

You two sure have a lot to be proud of! Coming in 10th in her age group,

following the instructions set by others, resisting Tim's interferance, ...

Ava has come a long way, thanks to her devoted mom!!

You didnt mention if you had some down town? Did you get a chance to relax

or were you too worried about Tim to take some time out??

I guess if the future competitions are in Germany and Hawaii you will be

letting Ava practice " obsessively " ? )

Take care, wendy, in canada

________________________________________________________________________

Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

I had plenty of free time and it was great! The coach allows parents to go but

he prefers you don't interfere with the team schedule. The team does everything

together and the older kids are in charge. I shared a room with another mom and

although we got up early (bus left at 6:AM!) with the team to watch the

competitions on Fri., Sat. and Sun. we sat with the other parents, about 3 dads

and 6 moms. I had no real responsibility for Ava at

all! I didn't have to get her up, make sure she ate, keep an eye on her at

Disney etc. Her friends like me so they were arranging who got to sit with me

on rides and on the bus and I did some stuff with the her and the team but I

also: sat by the pool by myself while they had quiet time in their room, went to

various parks with another mom, read 2 books, ate at the adult tables. Ava

would come over to our table to have me tell her friends

funny stories and stuff and she was affectionate and friendly too but if she

started whining or complaining I directed her to her leader.

This is definitely the way to go on a trip! Have lots of kids to keep yours

busy, have NO responsibility for ANY of them, have nice people to hang out with,

enjoy your child as much or as little as you want, sightsee, shop,

sun..............perfect!

I do hope she gets to go on more trips. They do

workshops/demonstrations/performances in the host city. A local person sets it

up. They stay with various local families (I think they're still needing some

places to stay in Hawaii, Kathy!). Sometimes new teams are formed this way.

Dana in NC

W. Birkhan wrote:

> Dana, in NC,

>

> Welcome Home!

>

> You two sure have a lot to be proud of! Coming in 10th in her age group,

> following the instructions set by others, resisting Tim's interferance, ...

> Ava has come a long way, thanks to her devoted mom!!

>

> You didnt mention if you had some down town? Did you get a chance to relax

> or were you too worried about Tim to take some time out??

>

> I guess if the future competitions are in Germany and Hawaii you will be

> letting Ava practice " obsessively " ? )

>

> Take care, wendy, in canada

>

> ________________________________________________________________________

> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and find your ancestors now.

> Search over 550 million names and trace your family tree today. Click here:

> 1/5528/7/_/531051/_/962371590/

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

> You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In the

body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. The Archives, Files,

and Features List for the may be accessed by going to

, enter your email address and password, then point and

click. Subscription issues, problems, or suggestions may be addressed to Louis

Harkins, list owner, at harkins@... .

[Guest guest]

On Fri, 30 Jun 2000 07:39:02 -0400

Dana Carvalho <clayvon@...> wrote:

>

>

>......OCD-wise, Ava did pretty well......I saw a lot of her suppressing

>symptoms though,

>rather than actually fighting them. Like doing things in her head

>(blank look) when she couldn't do them for real....

Hi ..I am new to the list, but your observations about your daughter struck

a chord with me. I am the mother of a 16 year old with OCD and I also suffer

from OCD myself. I suffer mainly from mental obsessions (as well a hoarding

and social phobia) with no outward compulsions. Instead I ruminate, going

over things in my head over and over to cope with my anxiety. I have been

accused many times of blanking out when I was lost in my ruminating. My

point is that when your daughter is unable to perform her outward

rituals/compulsions, she may be ruminating, which is a ritual or compulsion

of its own. Rather than suppressing the need for ritual, she may be just

rechanneling it into rumination. I don't know your daughter, so I only offer

my own experience for possible undestanding. It is important to recognize

all forms of ritual and compulsions when you are trying to help your child

to lesson their reliance on them.

I look forward to getting to know you and others on the list better, and

will post more about myself and my daughter soon.

________________________________________________________________________

Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

HI Dana:

Thanks for the update on your trip. Congratulations to Ava, WOW, 10th in

her age group, that is terrific!

Hope you are not toooooo busy with the laundry. Take care, aloha, Kathy (H)

kathyh@...

At 07:39 AM 06/30/2000 -0400, you wrote:

>Ava and I had a great time at Disney World (for the most part). She did

>pretty well for her first national competition and her team did very

>very well. There were 1000 jumpers from 30 teams all over the country.

>Ava placed 10th in her age group for double dutch pairs speed. She

>really wanted to win in double dutch pairs freestyle but one of the

>girls couldn't come to practice for 2 weeks before the competition and

>she made 2 mistakes. It was interesting to watch the different

>reactions. Some kids cried if they lost or made a mistake or didn't do

>as well as they thought they could. Ava didn't really care, as long as

>she didn't make a mistake.

>

>Her Dad pretty much disregarded everything we had agreed upon when we

>met with the parenting consultant. He put pressure on her to keep him

>informed of her leisure time schedule so he could meet up with her. The

>morning of the competition he told her he'd meet her at the team bus and

>then didn't show, causing her to worry about him rather than focus on

>her event. He kept trying to take her away from her teammates, like for

>dinner and such, which is a big no-no when traveling with this team. It

>was frustrating for me because I didn't want to play the role of the bad

>guy keeping her from her dad but I also know that while the coach won't

>say anything directly at the time, he's watching to see who can follow

>the rules and that helps him decide who goes on the traveling

>performances. The coach and his wife know how Tim is so while they

>won't hold it against Ava it does make it risky traveling with her when

>her Dad is there. They had 26 kids to supervise and having them stay

>together and move together as a team helps in lots of ways. He finally

>left Monday morning and we had the next 2 days, which was nice.

>

>OCD-wise, Ava did pretty well. Some of her more driven behaviors were

>in check because she didn't have as much access to me. The kids either

>move together as a whole or, like when we went to the parks, were put in

>groups of about 6 with one of the older kids in charge. Sometimes I was

>with the group and sometimes not. When Ava would see me and get whiny

>or demanding I would refer her to her leader, for whom she would take no

>for an answer. Also, she understands she has to get along with annoying

>roommates, team members etc. so she had to be tolerant of stuff she

>usually can't stand. I saw a lot of her suppressing symptoms though,

>rather than actually fighting them. Like doing things in her head

>(blank look) when she couldn't do them for real.

>

>She's with her dad at the beach now so I have a bit of a break, not to

>mention mounds of laundry........

>

>Dana in NC

>ps The next 2 trips are to Honolulu in November and Germany in the

>spring so I hope she (we!) get to go!!

[Guest guest]

Jule, in Cleveland

How frustrating people can be!! I remember in a anti-racism class the

professor mentioning that the more educated people are the more likely they

could make racist statements since they 'are smart enough to know they are

inappropriate' and feel they are above common decency!!

Sometimes I get this same 'vibe' when speaking with other mental health

professionals - like you mention! The frustration of these 'professionals'

and their lack of compasion is so reflective of society! I have been told by

clients that when a counsellors starts spitting out jargon they know this

person cant communicate for themselves but are relying on a pre-set role.

That is what I love most about teenagers - they say what is on their mind! )

At least you made some headway in the end. Perhaps over the next year we

can develop a public awareness strategy to distribute to school boards and

such? We can feature a turtle to get our point across about slow, steady,

small steps!

Cant wait to pump your brain in chicago!

see you soon, wendy, in canada

________________________________________________________________________

Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Jule:

What a gift you gave your fellow students and teachers!

Lynn

[Guest guest]

Hi Jule,

Thanks for sharing your experiences at St. ph's with us. You are right about "breaking the silence" step-by-step. It is good to have you back on the list. Hope you and your family are well.

Take care.

Louis

harkins@...

I'm back

Hi all:I have been absent for the list for a few weeks due to school work. I amworking on my masters in nursing, and just returned from a two week residencyprogram at St. ph's College in Maine. It was a wonderful experience meetingother students from all over the country and in all kinds of nursing positions.It was also wonderful being in Maine again. A lot of the recent work I havebeen doing is regarding the needs of children with mental illness in a schoolsetting, and I used many of my individual and group presentations to raiseawareness of this badly neglected issue. I wanted to share a few of myobservations with you.Very early on, I presented my idea paper in research class. Thus, everyone inthe program was aware that I have a child with ocd (and assorted alphabet soup).A few days later, there was laughter and joking about mental illness from anexample used by the instructor (a masters prepared psych nurse, BTW). I voicedmy concern that mental illness was far from a laughing matter and that thisbehavior bothered me, because it perpetuates stigma.One of the last days we were there, mental illness as a joke came up again, butthis time I was too mentally exhausted to stand up and say anything. During thebreak, I kind of fell apart. I expressed my distress to the instructor (thepsych nurse) who later said something to the class, but I don't think they stillhad any understanding.This was made very apparent the next day when another student became veryemotional about kids and cancer. Although I've been aware since Aiden'sdiagnosis that stigma and fear surround those with a mental illness diagnosis,the reaction of the nursing professionals in the room really brought this homeat a gut level. Afterward, everyone hugged Pam and gave her a lot of support.Only one student, whose husband suffers from MD, had supported me.The final Friday, we presented our group presentations in population focusedpractice. My group was presenting to a school board the Breaking the Silencecurriculum from NAMI NYS to be incorporated into the health classes in theschool district. Each of us represented a different person: principal, schoolnurse, teacher, and myself as parent. I gave a two minute speech regarding theimpact my son's diagnosis has on peer relationships: no invitations to birthdayparties, kids not being allowed to come over to play, etc. My roommate, who wasa member of the group, said that I had really hit home, and that there wasdefinitely some consciousness raising going on. A few people commented to methat we had the most effective presentation of the groups, because there wasthis personal view. Putting a face on the faceless, so to speak.Anyway, I thought I would share this with you all. Baby step by baby step wecan "break the silence" and make life better for our kids.Jule in ClevelandYou may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In the body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. The Archives, Files, and Features List for the may be accessed by going to , enter your email address and password, then point and click. Subscription issues, problems, or suggestions may be addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at harkins@... .

[Guest guest]

HI Jule:

Congratulations, what a wonderful job of consciousness raising and stigma

busting. You are so right we get started with small steps. Like you I

find that my openness about mental illness in my family does take many

people aback. You would be surprised how after several contacts someone

will come forward to me and share about the mental illness in their family

and then they become like a buddy for life. Even people with similar

experiences are very discomforted by the openness and take a long time to

respond, so it is not surprising that people with no real

understanding/experience don't get it the first, second, third, etc. time.

I know what that was like as, before Steve's OCD, I was definitely one of

the ones who didn't get it. This, even though I have a very dear friend

with bipolar disorder who told me she had depression and much, much later

(years) told me about taking a mood stabilizer!

Well done with all this advocacy and activism! You are a shining example

for us all. Take care, aloha, Kathy (H)

kathyh@...

P.S. As a person living with cancer I have felt ashamed of the sympathy my

disease can elicit compared with the cluelessness people have around

Steve's OCD. However people living with mentally ill relatives, especially

I have found those who have cancer like me, really get it and are a

marvelous source of support for me. K.

At 08:36 AM 07/27/2000 -0400, you wrote:

>

>

>Hi all:

>

>I have been absent for the list for a few weeks due to school work. I am

>working on my masters in nursing, and just returned from a two week residency

>program at St. ph's College in Maine. It was a wonderful experience

meeting

>other students from all over the country and in all kinds of nursing

positions.

>It was also wonderful being in Maine again. A lot of the recent work I have

>been doing is regarding the needs of children with mental illness in a school

>setting, and I used many of my individual and group presentations to raise

>awareness of this badly neglected issue. I wanted to share a few of my

>observations with you.

>

>Very early on, I presented my idea paper in research class. Thus,

everyone in

>the program was aware that I have a child with ocd (and assorted alphabet

soup).

>A few days later, there was laughter and joking about mental illness from an

>example used by the instructor (a masters prepared psych nurse, BTW). I

voiced

>my concern that mental illness was far from a laughing matter and that this

>behavior bothered me, because it perpetuates stigma.

>

>One of the last days we were there, mental illness as a joke came up

again, but

>this time I was too mentally exhausted to stand up and say anything.

During the

>break, I kind of fell apart. I expressed my distress to the instructor (the

>psych nurse) who later said something to the class, but I don't think they

still

>had any understanding.

>

>This was made very apparent the next day when another student became very

>emotional about kids and cancer. Although I've been aware since Aiden's

>diagnosis that stigma and fear surround those with a mental illness

diagnosis,

>the reaction of the nursing professionals in the room really brought this

home

>at a gut level. Afterward, everyone hugged Pam and gave her a lot of

support.

>Only one student, whose husband suffers from MD, had supported me.

>

>The final Friday, we presented our group presentations in population focused

>practice. My group was presenting to a school board the Breaking the Silence

>curriculum from NAMI NYS to be incorporated into the health classes in the

>school district. Each of us represented a different person: principal,

school

>nurse, teacher, and myself as parent. I gave a two minute speech

regarding the

>impact my son's diagnosis has on peer relationships: no invitations to

birthday

>parties, kids not being allowed to come over to play, etc. My roommate,

who was

>a member of the group, said that I had really hit home, and that there was

>definitely some consciousness raising going on. A few people commented to me

>that we had the most effective presentation of the groups, because there was

>this personal view. Putting a face on the faceless, so to speak.

>

>Anyway, I thought I would share this with you all. Baby step by baby step we

>can " break the silence " and make life better for our kids.

>

>Jule in Cleveland

>

[Guest guest]

Some days I'm so glad I only have two kids.......and other days I wish I could

ship them both off to school. Like I've said before I felt called to homeschool

(10 yrs, DS-ASD-ADHD-ODD) because the public school failed him, not

because I'm some super-mom. I can't wait to get back to Illinois and find a

good school for him. Then it'll just be deciding whether to send him to the

center, which is for " behavior problem " kids and the moderate to severe or to

the satellite school where he'll have partial mainstreaming (self-contained

class and mainstreamed for non-academics). I may still homeschool , but I

have a while to go before I need to make that decision. I do know that I would

prefer (finances permitting) to be a stay at home mom or only have a job while

the kids are in school.

Loriann

who's starting to chatter because she hasn't had an adult to talk to all

day......and it's at least 2 and a half hour before the kids go to bed.

[Guest guest]

I just got a phone call from DH. He's out on a boat tonight, should have been

coming back early tomorrow morning, like 3-5am. He called me from one of the

guy's cell phones. He's not coming home in the morning, maybe not Wednesday

morning, possibly not until Wednesday late afternoon. I have to admit, I've

been spoiled with his Navy career, he's never been gone very long (if you don't

count the 4-1/2 years we were divorced - but then I had family). He told me

right before he hung up, don't worry, March will be here before you know it. I

told him so will January, since I can leave up to 6 months before he

does.......I wouldn't do 6 months, why act like a deployment if I don't have to,

but 2-3 months is looking real attractive.

Loriann

[Guest guest]

My DH is only gone now when he has to go to school. I think the last one was 10

days. When was born, he was gone for a couple of weeks. But that was

when was an infant, before any symptoms of autism were ever dreamed of. I

remember telling my mom, well at least he's not autistic. When I did search out

the diagnosis, it actually came as a relief. He was potty trained at one

point.....he just lost it. I think there was about a year or two somewhere

around when he was 4 to 6 when he actually wore underwear. I remember because I

lived on the very poor part of town, and a neighbor bought a 2 packages of

underwear. He told me he bought it by mistake for his daughter, yea right.

Just happened to be 's size and girl's underwear is so close to what boy's

underwear looks like, right?

Just rambling.......

On the potty train of thought, though, knows where the potty is, and when

I ask him, he grabs the front of his pull-up and then runs for the bathroom. No

more successes though. At least he only grabs his front when I ask him about

the potty......unlike his big brother.....

Loriann

[Guest guest]

Wow, alot has gone on since I've been on vacation.

Leah, I'm so sorry Ashton had to come home early. I'm sure she just missed

her mommy as much as you missed her. See, that's how she went through

withdrawal of you. Every behavior is an act of communication. Maybe next

time it will be a little easier for both of you.

Everyone else who had positive experiences, I'm so happy for, especially

since I will too be doing this next summer.

Welcome all the new comers. Wow, triplets with Down Syndrome? Did I read

that right. I was just skimming through all of my 394 EMails and I might

have missed a bunch. I'm sure Connie has some good stories to tell. We're

here for you and you have come to the right place. I forgot the other new

comers name, but I'll catch up again soon.

got to go to the Kids Activity Club on the cruise ship and they didn't

even bat an eye. I was so impressed with everyone who took him in with open

arms and just gave him so much attention that had him telling me " Kids Club -

Go NOW " all day long. They were only open in the evenings but gave me a much

needed rest and time to gamble and see the show. He danced at their disco

and they had a Pizza Party and they said he entertained everyone dancing.

There were kids from ages 5-12 and of course I said he was 12, whats a year

or so anyway. I was calling down there every 20 minutes until they said they

would call me if there's a problem and that he's just fine. He had a ball.

I ate too much as cruises go and jet lag has set in.

goes in for out patient surgery tomorrow to rule out upper airway

obstruction. I'm a little apprehensive due to our anesthesia alergy, but

know they will take all [precautions and is first surgery at 6:00 am. This

won't help us get over the jet lag but at least he'll be asleep and catching

up I hope. If everything looks oklay, they might be injecting teflon into

his good vocal chord (one is paralyzed) to give him better sound quality. He

talks in a whisper now or sounds like a frog if he strains his voice to be

heard. The tough part about this, is that if they give him too much, he

can't breathe. This is a tough call, but I have a good Dr. and trust him

alot. He's already rebuilt 's upper airway with his rib cartledge when

he was younger.

Well, wish us luck and will check in again in a day or two and let you know

how it went. It's good to be home.

(mom to 13 DS/ASD)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/14/00 7:58:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time, MBrayley@...

writes:

<< If everything looks oklay, they might be injecting teflon into

his good vocal chord (one is paralyzed) to give him better sound quality.

He

talks in a whisper now or sounds like a frog if he strains his voice to be

heard. The tough part about this, is that if they give him too much, he

can't breathe. This is a tough call, but I have a good Dr. and trust him

alot. He's already rebuilt 's upper airway with his rib cartledge when

he was younger. >>

,

Wow! That is scary....Yikes. Glad you had a fun and relaxing time to get

ready for what's coming up.

Gail

[Guest guest]

michelle, sounds like you had a great time adn billy discoed!!!! much prayers

for his hospital visit...... please let us know....take care adn crossing

fingers, toes and body hairs.....

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/14/00 7:47:42 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

dan_hopkins@... writes:

<< Austin and are in a Montessori program. >>

That's wonderful ! I am partial to Montessori schools. I used to teach in

one and my son also attended the program and grew leaps and bounds

because of the teaching methods. Interesting enough, we also had one

student enrolled in the kindergarten class who had autism.

Lupi ( Lupi2Basil@... ),

husband-Steve parents of:

Amy-24 (Ds-ASD), ( -17 (AS), Chris-22 (LD)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/14/00 10:47:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

dan_hopkins@... writes:

<< I can't ever remember my house being as quiet as it was today during

school hours.

Connie >>

Wow Connie,

All day to yourself? Whatever will you do? LOL Dishes, floors, cupboards,

wash etc......take some time to enjoy your peace and quite.

Gail, Mom to; Seth-4, jo-8, Becky-9, -23, Jen-24, Grandma to Errick-4

and wife to -my hero

[Guest guest]

Connie,

You'll learn to treasure these school hours. Enjoy them! Yous ound like you

really dohave your hands full. I had 5 kids , 4 of them are grown and on

their own now. Just have left and he alone keeps me pretty busy so I

give you alot of credit, remembering those days.

[Guest guest]

how you can talk about cleaning......connie, if i had four kids and they were

all gone to school, i would be in a hot tub with tons of bubbles, a bottle of

wine,some godiva, and a good book with kenny g or yanni in background

serenading me to candles....DREAMS OVER, hit the laundry...lmao just kidding,

how on earth do you do it......well then again nancy has five and mary has

how many adn gail you have a gaggle and laura does too.,,,,,,,, boy thank god

i only have two,,,,but feels like ten.....take care all,,,,,,leah-----who is

counting down the days until her homeschooling days are OVER......

[Guest guest]

Lori,

chatter away........there have been days that the walls starting to resemble

human life and answer me back when i talked to them...... you only have what

six or seven months left till you come back to shore........... hang in

there, hopefully you can see some adults soon.....take care, leah----having

party at my house in afteroon

[Guest guest]

i would go for the two to three months.....that would at least give you time

to find a school for david or check them out so you can make your

decision...... since its before teh semester starts back up after

christmas..... plus you can find the place you wanna live....... lmao me and

my dh taste are soooooooo different.... your lucky, like you said except the

four and a half years.... lmao dh has been gone a lot.....26 months out of 36

when we were in germany...long enough to get me pregnant and leave

again...lmao one night.....take caer,leah

[Guest guest]

WOW!!! connie four little ones..... you have a big heart...... and all boys

am i right?????? well enjoy your time alone and saver your sanity.......

[Guest guest]

> >

> Welcome all the new comers. Wow, triplets with Down Syndrome? Did I read

> that right. I was just skimming through all of my 394 EMails and I might

> have missed a bunch. I'm sure Connie has some good stories to tell.

We're

> here for you and you have come to the right place. I forgot the other new

> comers name, but I'll catch up again soon.

>

Yikes!! I do have triplets but only one with DS. The other two did have

some medical and developmental problems but only because they were born 12

weeks early. They have outgrown most of those. Today was their first day

of school. is attending a charter school for children with autism;

Austin and are in a Montessori program. Big brother is in 1st

grade. I can't ever remember my house being as quiet as it was today during

school hours.

Connie