Hand Flapping and Asperger's/Autism

One of the classic symptoms of autism is "stimming," a repetitive movement of some sort that stimulates the brain of the person with autism. Some of us without autism do this without thinking of it, but with the autistic person, it's on a grand scale rather than petite. The most common type seems to be hand flapping. Have you ever seen someone get excited and start flapping his or her hands? With the autistic person, this can happen on a regular basis.

For us, Bethany never did a classic hand flap. However, she used to do what we called, "strumming." She'd have her hands bent as if she were going to strum a guitar (with either one or both hands at a time), then "strum" them on her tummy. I'm of the mind that this stimming behavior tends to cause the person to go more "into their own little world," so my choice was to gently stop this behavior. Some professionals would agree that stopping is the best thing to do, while others would say to let them do this. I'm the mom, so I get the choice here!

Recently, Bethany has asked about hand flapping and we've discussed that it is a common trait in people with various degrees of autism. Okay, that sounds like you can get a B.A. or Doctorate in autism! I mean people at various places along the autism spectrum.

I may have mentioned that both my kids have a sense of humor. We like to laugh. A lot. The other day Bethany came down stairs holding something in her hand and shaking her hand rapidly as she stood there. I asked, "Why are you doing that?" Without missing a beat she said, "Because I'm autistic." I about came unglued with laughter, which wasn't a good thing as this was not long after my kidney stone surgery & it HURT to laugh! Then I realized she had a small pen in her hand and was shaking it to get the ink down to the bottom. You've gotta love an Aspie girl with a sense of humor!

2 currently cutest kids in the world

My 2 great nieces both had pics posted on facebook today so I have to show them off.

Emery at the rodeo with her grandparents. Look how close they are to the horses!

Karis all ready for Valentine's Day. Can you say ADORABLE???

WHICH one has the "normal" diagnosis?

In the world of neurological alphabet soup there are 2 letters that mean "normal" to the rest of the world. They are N.T. They do not mean New Testament nor Nose & Throat. They mean "Neuro-Typical." It means that neurologically the person's brain is in the "typical" category, or as most of us would say "Normal." I am of the belief that normal is a setting on your dryer and has nothing to do with people. Which may explain a lot about me.

I have 2 children. 2 girls. Actually, they both have some "alphabet soup" after their names, but for the most part, one is considered N.T. The other is autistic. Asperger Syndrome, to be specific. High functioning autism. Can you guess which one is the N.T. one?

Which just goes to prove you cannot tell the face of autism, but the face of ADHD is WAY easier to pick out! LOL!

BTW, girls are still in p.j.'s & somewhat embarrassed that I'd post these publicly. They should've thought of that before entering my room. Bwahahahahahaha!

Having another Kid!

I'm guessing anyone reading my blog (hello.........is anyone out there in blog land after my long hiatus?) already knows that I am having "TWINS." If you don't know, don't get excited. They aren't the kind of twins anyone WANTS to have. They are kids....sort of. I have kidney stones.

I suspect I've had them moving around for months. I had lower back pain several months ago at night but by morning the pain was gone. Since I have fibromyalgia, I tend to attribute pain like that to my muscles. Then, in late October, I had something unusual go along with it. NOTE: If you haven't had a kidney stone this may be TMI (too much information). I started having blood in my urine. Not normal.

I went to the doctor's office and had a urine test done. I saw a nurse practicioner who put me on antibiotics for a urinary tract infection and said to let her know if it wasn't better in 10 days or something. I took the pills. The bleeding stopped, but about a month later started up again. The pain continued to come on & off at night. Since I've had a kidney stone (albeit 18 years ago), I kept thinking lower back pain with some pain in the pelvic area sounded like a kidney stone, not a UTI. I mentioned this to the Nurse Practicioner, who again said to take another round of antibiotics for this, but if it was better, then we knew that was the problem. And I did. And it did get better. For awhile.

About 2 weeks ago the pain and the bleeding started up again. I called the clinic and they told me to come in and see a nurse. They did the urine sample. The doctor read the results & back on an antibiotic. I told the nurse I suspected a kidney stone. She said....you know...call us if it doesn't get better. She also said I'd have to see a doctor to ask about getting a referral to a specialist. Ugh. Why didn't they schedule me with a doctor when I called?

Here is the problem with kidney stones and diagnosing them: they only hurt when they are moving. They can be in your kidneys just relaxing having a good ol' time and you never know it. Then one day you go from feeling fine to being in labor without an epidural. With my first stone, I'd never had a baby & the man doctor said this pain was worse than labor. Apparently he'd never had a baby either. I had no epidural with my first born. I didn't even get demmorhal (spelling very likely way off there). I got Nubane. I'm not sure what it is but I'm guessing it's Tylenol with a $50 price tag. With the kidney stone, they gave me demmorhal & I was HAPPY!

Back to this stone, or stones. That was on a Thursday that I saw the nurse. I took my 7 days of bactrim. Mind you, I've been on so many rounds of antibiotics for upper respiratory crud that there is no way my immune system can handle much more of this. On Saturday, a week after I saw the nurse, I woke up around 4 or 5 with really bad lower back pain. I KNEW this time it was a kidney stone. I also knew that there was nothing I could do about it, so I just took ibuprofen. I also knew my husband had not been out of the house is weeks except to go to work and was hoping to ride his motorcycle for a bit that day, so I didn't tell him I was hurting in the morning. Really, I wasn't to the point of tears, but it was bad enough that I could not rest. When he got home I was still about the same, so had him take me to the ER. Several hours later, a CT scan, 4 pokes to find a vein that would give blood, and I was sent home with the diagnosis of 2 kidney stones on the left side that are moving and 2 on the right side that are just in the kidney not obstructing anything. They also gave me some Lortab (hydrocodone, like Vicodin, but it has part of my name in it--LOL). And if I wasn't already feeling like an old man with urinary issues and kidney stones, they put me on FloMax. You know, the stuff they advertise for older men to help with those issues. And another round of Bactrim, because guess what? I was STILL infected!

It's been a week. I had pain on Sunday after coming home from the hospital, but it subsided until Friday. I had slight pain on Friday. Today I've had some sharp pains on my right side, more like where my ovary is. The Lortab isn't doing much for that, but maybe at bedtime it will. I've also spent the week doing some more TMI stuff (such as having to strain my urine, which means....well, I'll let you figure out what it means!).

Sounds like I'm complaining. Maybe I am, but I don't mean it to sound that way, really. I will take having a kidney stone over what several of my dear friends have gone through with cancer just this past year. It is painful. It isn't fun, but it isn't going to make me go through chemo, I'm not going to lose my hair and throw up daily from it, and it won't take my life. And really, the time to just be at home is kind of nice! Thankful for good friends who've helped tote my kids when they needed to be toted and to my parents for toting ME when I needed to be toted!

I haven't named the twins yet. I guess I should say quads, but since I'm only planning to birth 2 at a time, I'll go with twins. Open to suggestions. ha, ha! I see the urologist on Wednesday, so if I haven't birthed them by then, I hope he will figure out what to do next.

Wishing you a kidney stone free kind of day!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Okay, that was a LONG break for someone who is trying to "post daily." Sorry! I am nearly feeling human TODAY, but we shall see tomorrow. I have a gazillion things I need to do so I will keep this short & sweet. I just have to share a "Bethany-ism" with you. Bethany has a mild form of autism and can say things in the funniest way. She also has a quick wit, so sometimes she actually intends things to sound funny. As a VERY young child I remember her telling her sister, "Natalie, people without any hair are called Head Balls." She heard "baldheaded" and thought they were head balls! She also "educated" her sister on shopping, "Natalie, Old Navy is where old soldiers go to buy their clothes." I've learned from Natalie that she thought Bethany was ALWAYS right since she was the big sister and followed her lead in things. Chances are that's true. Thus we had a kitchen floor painted red. And Natalie had continual loss of chunks of hair. From playing Beauty Shop. Except only Bethany got to be the haircutter. Though there was that ONE time Natalie chased B. with scissors and got a good chunk, but that's a different story.

Anyway, tonight Bethany came up with a great one. I was looking at grocery ads & rather mindlessly asked, "Bethany, do we like tangelos?" She said, "I like oranges," then paused and added, "I like tangerines and I like buffaloes, but I don't know if I like tangelos." LOL! Yeah, Bethany, a tangelo is a mix between tangerine & buffalo. THAT'S it. ha, ha! She's so silly.

Not to be left out, Natalie has always had a quick wit & most the time means to be funny. She suggested for Valentine's day we have a "Pink Elephant" exchange at co-op, like a White Elephant exchange, but call it pink. I told some moms this & one asked her, "So, can you get me a pink elephant?" Natalie, "Sure. What kind do you want?" She went on & on about the types & where to find them. And last time my parents went out of town and the girls didn't know, she said something like, "They never tell us anything anymore!" So my dad called yesterday to tell her he was going out of town! ha, ha!

NEVER a dull moment here.

"Mystery Post"

My friend Kathy cracks me up. She commented that she's waiting for the "Mystery Post." It makes it sound so, well, mysterious! It's really not. I just have more thoughts on homeschooling to share. I know some people read what homeschoolers share as sounding condemning of anyone who doesn't homeschool. I want to clarify that by sharing the PRO's of homeschooling I am doing just that: sharing the pro's of homeschooling. A list of what's good about one thing doesn't automatically mean you are tossing out another thing. It would be like me sharing the pro's of living in Texas. It would not mean anyone who lives in Florida or Wisconsin or Timbuktu is wrong. So the "Mystery Post" I'm thinking of is going to be pro's AND con's of homeschooling. Why should I write about homeschooling? Well, because it's what I do.

I have not taught in PUBLIC school in 20 years. Does that mean I have no clue what is happening there? No....and yes. I do know that there are still 20 plus kids per class. I DO know that teachers are expected to make sure kids pass a standardize test. I DO know that there are parents who are a teacher's best friend and there are parents who are a teacher's worst nightmare. I'm pretty sure that in the midst of having some sort of classroom management they are also supposed to teach subject matter. I DON'T know exactly what curriculum is being used, how math is taught, or if they have kids in one class all day for elementary or not. I DO know that teachers send the kids home at the end of the school day and get paid for doing their jobs (and for what they do they should get paid more).

I'm fairly certain that teachers cannot: lead students in prayer, teach the Bible as Truth, sing praise songs in class, have class in pj's, on the couch, with snacks and a drink. It's just a fact. Honestly, if I put my kids in school & a teacher came into school with pj's on & wanted to sit close to my kids on a couch I'd be SCARED! There just ARE differences that aren't always good or bad. They just ARE.

So, while I'm dreaming up the rest of my mystery post, I'd be glad to take input from others on pro's & con's of homeschooling. I have ideas in my head, but would love to hear from you. Thanks!

The Diagnosis of the Day

In our house we could make knew episodes of "Mystery Diagnosis." Except, I think in that show the patient always died, so we'd have to totally revise it to make it family friendly! Natalie is feeling a LOT better but still, um, needing mucinex. My mom's family used to joke that you could tell you were part of the family because of all the throat scratching/clearing noises due to allergies. Let's just say she's part of the family.

Phil was feeling bad last week, but this week he's just tired. He's not been able to get out on his motorcycle, but "tis the season" for unpredictable weather. It's raining & cold this weekend.

Bethany seems to be the healthiest of the bunch. She had that bit of a sore throat after Christmas, but now is just merrily moving along with life. How can someone that tiny stay so healthy? It IS a mystery!

Then there is Mama. After this last round of Biaxin (very strong antibiotic that made me feel nauseous the whole time I took it), I've now developed a urinary tract infection & am on meds for that. I know I need to get cranberry tablets to take. I HATE cranberry juice. The tablets I can tolerate. Just haven't been out. And I need to get back on the probiotics to be sure I DON'T get another infection. I asked the rheumatologist (I see him for my fibromyalgia) about any test that might be done to see why I get sick so often or if there is something in general causing me to have all these issues. He said, "I don't see any unifying factor here. You just happen to have a bunch of auto-immune disorders." Oh, boy! LOL!

Right now I feel as if I'm in early stage labor except the pain doesn't come in waves/contractions. It just is there. And there's no baby at the end. ha, ha!

Now you know why I missed posting a few days. Am thinking of something new to post about but it will wait. I know all 3 of my readers are waiting anxiously! : )