Guest guest Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 > Hey Lady .......glad to hear you're still alive and kicking!!! Chime in a > little more often!!! How's Nana and PB doing? > Margaret > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Beth, Always so good to hear your updates. Happy to hear that Nonni is hanging in there. A little more quiet and a little less excitement around here would be a welcome relief! Seth continues to be the easiest of our five kids. It's those girls that keep me on my toes. LOL Gail :-) Hi Margaret and Everyone, You know, I've enjoyed having some quiet for awhile <G>. Quiet is good. No excitement for awhile is excellent, LOL! Nonni (DH's 92 year old mom) is still living at the nursing home that is close to our house. She has been getting hospice care there since early March, and has now has had three very close calls, when they thought she was actively dying. Each time she would get well enough in two days to sit up and feed herself againÅ So that has been a true roller coaster. The good news is that she is cognizant of what is going on around her, and her personality is still intact. They address any discomfort aggressively, so she isn't in much pain due to her various health problems. The rest of us are really all fine. I have just been enjoying a respite from Pete's testosterone surges that blazed through middle school and finally tapered off last year during his freshman year. He is 16 now, and FINALLY is showing some self control over the impulses that have gotten him into trouble and/or complicated our lives. That, plus having school folk who actually *like* him- a LOT- has made all the difference in the world. We have focused more on Pete being a sociable guy who can go places with lots of different people and worried less about the curriculum content last year. That has paid off for a huge reduction of the screaming/yelling/hitting/scratching that seemed to stamp his middle school years. So, with his teacher reducing stressful situations and loading up on gaining trust, sensory input, more physical activity, more communication, he became more able to stay with a group, control impulses better, and even begin to initiate with other students. This year, he has a male teacher and the aide that spends the most time with him is also a guy. He is attending ASL class with typical peers for about 10 minutes at a time, as well as band. And he has some jobs he does around the school, including assembling first aid packets in the nurse's office so he gets to handle his favorite bandaids frequently, LOL! Pete's spoken communication has been increasing steadily (we considered him non-verbal until about age 12), but few people can understand him. There are also huge gaps in what he seems to want to express and his ability to do so. It took all of last year to figure out what communication device would be best for him. It also took a long time to find a good speech therapist who knows her way around these devices. The good news is that Pete got a Vantage, similar to the Dynovox but made by the Prentke Romich company. This is a communication device that is smaller than a lunch box. The company provides free training for families and school people, and Pete's teacher and I were able to go. He is also is getting speech therapy from an SLP who has had lots of experience with the devices and kids with " behaviors " . She is consulting with our school team. I cannot believe that we finally have people who are willing to work with us to make this happen! One more huge change that has been all to the good- Pete is getting a LOT more quality exercise every day. He runs/walks about a half mile on the track at school most days, and rides a stationary bike up to 7 minutes now. We have a guy who helps out after school who takes Pete to the pool and he has been swimming between 1/4 and 1/2 mile up to three times/week. I think Joe likes the challenge of getting Pete to do a little more each time. Still, I never expected him to be able to handle an extended period of workout like this, but he seems to love it. So this year I am trying to do deep housecleaning and get to the cobwebs that seem to have invaded my brain as well- that time of life, LOL! Know that even though I haven't been writing much, we pray for everyone on the list every day. I can't believe how much this group has grown. Love, Beth Mum to Pete (aka Ben) age 16, Columbus Ohio area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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