Operation Rescue Ryan

I'm reading a book about a family fighting autism and the little boy in the story is also named Ryan. I copied their operation name "operation rescue Ryan" A few days ago I checked out just about every book the library had on autism. I have been reading every chance I get and my brain hurts! I've decided not to give up on getting ABA therapy so soon. It seems so many children have been recovered using it. I have launched my own Operation Rescue Ryan to find a good ABA program and find the funding for it. So far I have found some promising funding options and have stayed up tonight until after 2am to put together a packet to apply to the Division of Developmental Disabilities, they say they may pay if Ryan qualifies. I'm also looking into social security income for disabled children and have called about DSHS (we already have a coupon but there are no guarantees for this type of intervention. Unfortunately almost no insurance will pay even though it is the top recommended treatment for autism. I found a resource online that provides you training and a plan for your child at a much lower price. They will train you and any person or therapist. I've heard you can sometimes find college students willing to work with your child for college credit. I'm going to work with Ryan as much as I can at home and his progress in school is already amazing. He is saying a small sentence just about every day now! Thank God for all he already has in the way of therapy. He starts occupational therapy on Thursday, I think he will love that. Well I ask for your prayers for funding for an ABA program for Ryan and a waiting list thats not too long. I put him on one today thats a year long (but am putting him on all the lists to see who can take him first)! I won't stop until he gets the best help possible if I have to go to the ends of the earth! Every child with autism deserves to have the best therapy options available.

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to you Mom, Rita, and Johnnie. You are all wonderful!! Rory and the kids bought me a brand new picnic basket and Rory made everyone lunch. After mass we went over to Wildwood park for a picnic. It was perfect, I had a great time and we played a great game of watch the flowers go down the stream under the bridge and over the waterfall, kind of like pooh sticks. Ryan and Daddy started the game and then all the kids, including a friend Kaylie made at the park, had a great time playing. The winner of our last flower race was Jon and I don't think he cheated this time :)
Here are some pics of our day

Autism

Today Ryan was diagnosed by Dr.Tripp as having autism. It really did confirm what I had already suspected so it really wasn't a shock but still I feel a bit overwhelmed by it, like I have to soak it in a bit before I can understand the way I feel. I am very glad he is going to have so much help and there is so much hope for him. The Dr. said that 30 years ago if you were diagnosed with autism, there was no hope for change, however now it can be completely reversible. Ryan will be getting more specialized treatment at school now. Dr. Tripp said that school is the best place for him right now. He thinks when Ryan's speech improves, his whole world is going to open up. I feel very blessed to live in a country that will provide Ryan with so much therapy in public school free of charge. I did ask about ABA therapy but right now it is just about out of reach for just about everyone. Insurance companies will not pay for it and there are not enough therapists out there to perform it. It is amazingly expensive about $30,000 a year. We are hoping for change in the future.
I didn't realize it but early intervention is actually from age 3 to 6, so Ryan is just starting on time. He is in a window of opportunity right now. I plan to look up as much as I can about how I can also work with him at home. Ryan is improving already in many areas we discussed today and is really very social in some ways. He does give good eye contact though it is sometimes infrequent. He is always wanting someone to play with him and he does have a sense of humor and a beautiful smile that draws you in when he is happy. He is having separation anxiety from me and the dr. said that is a good sign that he is forming attachments. When he was a baby he was less attatched than his siblings. Dr.Tripp says that all this sort of development will come, but later than usual. We are going to do everything possible to reverse his autism and bring him to as much success as we can. He deserves that.
We were all very tired this morning on the way to Ryan's appt. Last night around 1 am Kaylie woke up gasping for breath. She had terrible croup/asthma. I tried steam and her nebulizer but nothing worked well enough and poor Kaylie was so scared and worked up. Rory got Bella from her crib and I nursed her quickly and put her in the car seat. Kaylie, Bella and I headed out just before 2am and Rory, who was already exhausted from service calls and getting home late, stayed with the other kids. We are a bit used to this. Jon, Kaylie, and Ryan all have narrow airways and many many times get croup when they have a simple common cold. Often our only warning is a bit of a runny nose the day before. We had a fun day with Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday, the kids played outside almost all day, it was a nice warm spring day. I was just telling my mom that Kaylie hadn't used her nebulizer for a year. I spoke too soon! She is doing well now after her steroid and breathing treatments. Bella did so well at the emergency room. She sat in her carseat and watched Kaylie until she fell asleep and didn't wake up until we got home at 5am. Kaylie did well too at the hospital and was much more calmed down. As soon as we started heading back to bed Rory's alarm went off! I snuck in about an hour of sleep and then had to get ready for Ryan's appt. in Tacoma. Rory took us to lunch at McDonalds then he had to go back to work after the appt. so I drove home and thank God Ryan and Bella fell asleep and stayed asleep after being removed from the car so we all took a long afternoon nap. Well its back to the normal routine tomorrow.

Connecting

I just want to say how wonderful it is to connect with all of you. I wasn't sure if I wanted to start a blog because I always seem to be worried about saying the wrong thing but it is great to be able to share a bit of my life with you. Thanks for all the support.
Rory got home late last night after two calls and left this morning on another one. He hasn't been home yet but hes had to go on two more. This will be good for our finances even though we miss hanging out with him. We are just having a quiet (okay sort of quiet) day at home. Jessi went to her friends play in Tacoma this morning and Jon and Kaylie are playing with their friends, going back and forth between houses. Bella has a little bit of a cold and so is napping more than usual today, poor little thing. Its her first real cold or sickness of any kind. I just have to say I am very happy to be nursing her because I just found out that almost all the major formula brands use genetically engineered ingredients. If you use formula buy organic. I will get on my soapbox sometime soon and rant and rave about nutrition and how horrible it is that 75% of processed food in America has GMO ingredients. I think I may have found a career choice. I want to go back to college to become a nutritionist. Anyway Ryan is having a pretty good day, we played playdough, colored, and watched movies today, some of his favorites.
I was also thinking today about how wonderful it is to have a baby in the house. Yes, it can be hard trying to juggle housework, cooking, and all the kids needs but it is so worth it to have this little person to take care of and get to know. I am having a hard time thinking that this will be my last baby. We are not planning to have any more because of medical reasons. I am really enjoying my little Bella right now. I love it when she "talks" to me from her crib everyday, smiles from ear to ear, and discovers new things to look at or play with. Thank heaven for little girls!

Great Day!

Ryan had a great first day at Wildwood today! His wonderful teacher sent me a 1 1/2 page note about what he did. She said he came in with a smile on his face, ready to learn. He asked for snack in two word phrases and enjoyed playing in the rice table and with the letters. He had one meltdown over not being allowed to stand on the table but there was no crying today! GREAT JOB RYAN! Thanks for your prayers everyone.
In other news Rory is on call this weekend so we have no idea how much we'll actually see him. Thanks for your hard work Daddy. Jon mailed in a picture of an original Lego creation he made in the hopes of getting it printed in Lego magazine. He is a great builder and creator. There is no way I could make the things he does! Jessi is in the process of making a My Little Pony design to send into a contest. She wants to win a trip to New York City. I hope you win Jess. My mom and dad are planning to take atrip over to visit us on Sunday. Everyone is looking forward to the visit! I'll have some more pictures shortly I'm experiencing technical difficulties with my camera! I need my husband to help me when he gets home!

My best helpers : Jessi, Jon, Kaylie My wonderful husband: Rory

Ups and Downs

There seem to be so many ups and downs in life. Especially if you have a child that may have autism. Ryan has good days, days where I suspect he knows so much more than he can communicate, where he is so sweet to everyone and pats his baby sisters head gently saying, "Nice, nice." And there are the bad days... he is sometimes so hard to handle that I think some days that I cannot do it anymore. But then I find strength and I do it anyway. He can wriggle so hard as he flails his arms and legs around that I can barely hold him when he throws a fit or tries to run away outside, and hes only three and 32 lbs! I want so much to have a real conversation with him at times, get to know him, what he thinks about things, his opinions, but mostly I feel I do know him by his actions what he likes to play with, what makes him smile. We have an appt with Dr. Tripp on Monday (finally after months of waiting). I don't know if he will be able to diagnose Ryan right away or if we will have more tests. Right now I will take my neighbor, and mother of an autistic teenager's, advice and take one day at a time, Lord help me. And I'll remember each day how fortunate I am to have my Ry guy here to cuddle or keep me on my toes.
It turns out Ryan is switching preschools already. We wanted him closer to home and they had an opening at Wildwood elementary. He would be there today but he woke up with a bad croupy cough and runny nose so regretfully he had to miss his first day. We went to the classroom to visit and I was so thankful for the teacher he has. We recognized each other from the childfind testing Ryan went through. She is wonderful and I think Ryan will improve in her class when he is able to get adjusted to going to school. He had really been having a hard time the second week in the other school. They even had to call me at one point for ideas on how to make him feel better. How sad, my poor baby! but I have to remind myself how this is all very good for him. Any and all prayers for him are appreciated.
Isabella got a new jumper and her little feet don't quite reach the bottom yet but she likes it and its so cute to see her using her hands to play with the toys. She is amazingly fond of looking at books just like her sister Jessica used to be at her age. Now she is trying to hold them herself-so cute!
I just want to say thank you today for my wonderful helpers Jessi, Jon,and Kaylie. Where would I be without your help? You help me with Bella, Ryan, and the cleaning and cooking. Thanks so much- Mom loves you! I want to thank my wonderful husband for all your hard work for our family. You go out everyday and work long hours to keep us all going. I love you!