OK, so it has been a long time since I have blogged about what is going on in our life. We are very busy these days. Bryce is 31/2 yrs old, Brayden is 2 yrs and 4 mo old, and Brenna is 14 mo old. I sometimes feel like I am raising triplets because of how close in age they are. Nick is still working full time at Stag Parkway in Elkhart, IN. He is busy and a very hard worker. We are praying for him to be able to advance in his job, or in another job someday. We are still living with Nick's parents. Which can be very hard on every one's patience. But we are grateful for the roof over our heads. I am looking for a part-time job in the evenings. So far nothing is opening up.
Brenna learned how to walk when she turned 13 mo. She has been on the go since. She is no longer in First Steps. She met all her goals and is doing great. She talks a lot! Hmmmm who does she take after? haha She has wavy brown hair and beautiful blue eyes with long eyelashes. That she gets from her father. However, she is also learning about her independence. She is turning 2 early I think. When she is good she is golden and when she is bad she is horrible. But none the less, she is my baby girl and I love her so much.
Brayden, what can I say he's my little buddy. Then again he's every body's little buddy. He is a lover for sure. Cuddle bug extraordinaire! He is so funny too. He talks a ton now. He is still in First Steps and it has really helped with his speech. We will be working on gross motor skills soon. Brayden has straight thick dark brown hair and grayish blue eyes. Nick always says he is going to be a lady killer. He is a little cutie for sure. Of course I am partial since I am his mother. He can throw a ball on target. Nick is teaching him how to kick a soccer ball. I think he will be our little sports player. He is learning to pick on his little sister like Bryce picks on him. He tries to wrestle Brenna like Bryce wrestles him. Brenna isn't too fond of it. It is funny sometimes until it gets out of control. Regardless he is still my little lover and sweetheart.
Bryce, this is gonna be as quick and as clear as possible. He is the one that keeps us all centered. He is who reminds us that we are human and that life is full of surprises. He has school 3 times a week at Oxbow Elementary in the REACH program. That is a special needs program for those that are ages 3-5. It is only 3 hours a day. But, he has an Occupational Therapist (OT) and a Speech Therapist (ST) He is also getting therapy twice a week in South Bend at Memorial. It is adjacent to the Memorial Hospital. So we have a busy week. mon, wed, and fri are school. Mon. and Thurs. is therapy @ Memorial. So I have one day a week to get everything done. Bryce loves school. He runs to the bus, and has just learned to say "bus". It thrills my heart that he loves school. I would feel terrible if he cried every time he got on the bus. His bus driver and her helper are great. Bryce doesn't see himself as different. He is always so happy and loves life.
So that is it! I tried to keep this blog short, sweet and to the point. I will try to blog again soon!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Family News
Hello all!
I have more news on our family to update everyone on.
Nick is doing well, finally getting over the cold that has plagued his body for 2 1/2 weeks. He is looking forward to softball season coming up. He has been trying to work out quite a bit and get into shape. He thinks he is terribly out of shape, I keep telling him he looks great. His work has picked up a little now. He was going in at 8am and they put him back on starting at 7am for 3 days a week Mon. - Wed., and 8 am Thurs. and Fri. He works most days til 4pm but occasionally on Fridays they were letting him go by noon. That might still be the case. Other than that tidbit of information, nothing else is new with Nick.
I have been very busy with the kids. Between therapy and School for Bryce, My days are full. I am thinking and praying about going to school for Occupational Therapy still. I have proactively searched the Internet for schools and there is only one in the area that carries the OT program. I have heard mixed reviews about the program and the school. So I am looking at classes online. I too have been struggling with this cold now for 2 weeks and hoping it leaves me soon. I am having some other physical issues that I will see my midwife about in a few weeks. No, I am not pregnant. I will get that out there right now. I will let you know more when I know more what is going on. Pampered Chef is still keeping me busy. I am looking forward to a couple of shows this month. We really need the $$. I am in my best friends wedding on April 24th. Tina is one of my dearest and closest friends here in IN. She always encourages me in the word of God and my personal walk with Him. She is marrying Nick's cousin Adam. They a have been dating for years now. I hope that I can be a blessing to her on her wedding day. I can't wait to see the Lord unite these two in marriage. Nick is an usher in the wedding as well, so no kids that night!!!!
Bryce started school last week Tuesday March 31st. I put him on the bus , watched as it pulled away, then I cried. I was holding Brayden and he was crying too. I think he was crying because he wanted to go on the big bus like his big brother. Bryce did well that day with a great report from his teacher Mrs. Laramie Keim. Bryce goes to school twice a week Tues. and Thurs. from 1-3:30pm I put him on the bus at 12:30 and he doesn't get home til 4:30. We are all glad to see him when he gets home. This week is spring break, so he will go next week again for 5 more weeks then school is done for the year. He did great last week and I hope to continue to see good reports from the teacher. We are having issues with him this week and his behavior. H kicked me so hard and repeatedly on Mon. that I have a huge bruise on my leg. But that is life with and Autistic child.
Brayden had an evaluation this week with First Steps. I was concerned that he was not where he should be developmentally. With all that has been going on with Bryce, I think poor Brayden was left to himself to learn. They were able to tell me that my concerns were valid and they believe he will benefit from early intervention. They are confident that he will catch up quickly and assured me it was probably because of all that keeps me busy with Bryce and Brenna.
Speaking of Brenna, she is doing better in her therapy. We are using a baby grinder for her food now to help introduce texture foods to her. She is taking a bottle better now. She tested positive to Sensory Integration Disorder or SID. SID is not sudden infant death syndrome, that is called SIDS. SID is Sensory Integration Disorder. It has to do with textures and things that feel ok to us do not feel the same to her. I think. and so does her OT, that with the proper therapy Brenna will not need to worry about this later on in life.
Ok so that is it in a nut shell. I am trying to be better about blogging. Feel free to comment or e-mail with any questions. Thank you for your prayers, they have been uplifting.
Praising God for His Grace,
The Clarks
I have more news on our family to update everyone on.
Nick is doing well, finally getting over the cold that has plagued his body for 2 1/2 weeks. He is looking forward to softball season coming up. He has been trying to work out quite a bit and get into shape. He thinks he is terribly out of shape, I keep telling him he looks great. His work has picked up a little now. He was going in at 8am and they put him back on starting at 7am for 3 days a week Mon. - Wed., and 8 am Thurs. and Fri. He works most days til 4pm but occasionally on Fridays they were letting him go by noon. That might still be the case. Other than that tidbit of information, nothing else is new with Nick.
I have been very busy with the kids. Between therapy and School for Bryce, My days are full. I am thinking and praying about going to school for Occupational Therapy still. I have proactively searched the Internet for schools and there is only one in the area that carries the OT program. I have heard mixed reviews about the program and the school. So I am looking at classes online. I too have been struggling with this cold now for 2 weeks and hoping it leaves me soon. I am having some other physical issues that I will see my midwife about in a few weeks. No, I am not pregnant. I will get that out there right now. I will let you know more when I know more what is going on. Pampered Chef is still keeping me busy. I am looking forward to a couple of shows this month. We really need the $$. I am in my best friends wedding on April 24th. Tina is one of my dearest and closest friends here in IN. She always encourages me in the word of God and my personal walk with Him. She is marrying Nick's cousin Adam. They a have been dating for years now. I hope that I can be a blessing to her on her wedding day. I can't wait to see the Lord unite these two in marriage. Nick is an usher in the wedding as well, so no kids that night!!!!
Bryce started school last week Tuesday March 31st. I put him on the bus , watched as it pulled away, then I cried. I was holding Brayden and he was crying too. I think he was crying because he wanted to go on the big bus like his big brother. Bryce did well that day with a great report from his teacher Mrs. Laramie Keim. Bryce goes to school twice a week Tues. and Thurs. from 1-3:30pm I put him on the bus at 12:30 and he doesn't get home til 4:30. We are all glad to see him when he gets home. This week is spring break, so he will go next week again for 5 more weeks then school is done for the year. He did great last week and I hope to continue to see good reports from the teacher. We are having issues with him this week and his behavior. H kicked me so hard and repeatedly on Mon. that I have a huge bruise on my leg. But that is life with and Autistic child.
Brayden had an evaluation this week with First Steps. I was concerned that he was not where he should be developmentally. With all that has been going on with Bryce, I think poor Brayden was left to himself to learn. They were able to tell me that my concerns were valid and they believe he will benefit from early intervention. They are confident that he will catch up quickly and assured me it was probably because of all that keeps me busy with Bryce and Brenna.
Speaking of Brenna, she is doing better in her therapy. We are using a baby grinder for her food now to help introduce texture foods to her. She is taking a bottle better now. She tested positive to Sensory Integration Disorder or SID. SID is not sudden infant death syndrome, that is called SIDS. SID is Sensory Integration Disorder. It has to do with textures and things that feel ok to us do not feel the same to her. I think. and so does her OT, that with the proper therapy Brenna will not need to worry about this later on in life.
Ok so that is it in a nut shell. I am trying to be better about blogging. Feel free to comment or e-mail with any questions. Thank you for your prayers, they have been uplifting.
Praising God for His Grace,
The Clarks
Thursday, March 26, 2009
More Info on Bryce
Okay so we are very busy once again getting everything ready for Bryce as he turns 3 on April 1st. And no that is not a joke, I am not fooling you, He was really born on April 1st 2006. Bryce will be going to preschool 2 days a week for the next 7 wks or so. He qualified for the ECSEC program in our school district. It is a special education curriculum designed for early intervention. I must say that I never thought I would be one of the moms freaking out over sending my child on a bus to school. But I must admit, I am freaking out. I know he will be safe in the bus, I have been reassured that he will be fine. They have an aide on the bus as well as the bus driver. They also have the 5-point harnesses for the kids. It is not a matter of him being physically safe it is more my worry over him and his emotional state. I fear that he will freak out and not like it. My fears will be either made real or dismissed in a few short days.
This weekend I need to go look for a backpack small enough for him and has anyone noticed it is not that season? I am sure I can find something. Bryce starts preschool with Mrs Keim on March 31st. She is a very kind and gentle teacher whom I had the privilege to meet last week. Bryce and I went to see his classroom. He loved being there, but did not enjoy being made to sit for circle time.
We have not started Bryce on any special diets yet, it is just too much change right now and we already have so much going on. Plus the diet is expensive. We also have not put him on any meds as of yet. We are still researching it. He is on daily vitamins with Iron and we briefly put him on a detox to clean out his system. While we were detoxing him he got sick with the flu again. That is the 3rd time this year. So he went off the detox. We are looking into doing it again, however he now has a cold and I am going to wait til he is over that. Detoxing can be expensive as well, but I feel it is important to get the junk out.
We had quite the ordeal with getting his blood drawn on Tuesday. Bryce's developmental pediatrician order several tests and we dreading taking him to get the blood drawn. A little background as to why we didn't rush in... At Christmas time Bryce got the flu so bad that he had to be hospitalized for dehydration. They tried 3 or 4 times to get an IV in to give him fluids, finally on the 4th try they got it in but not in is arm , they had to put it in his hand. He was also given a catheter. So you can imagine the trauma the poor boy went through. So we took him in tues. at 7:45 am and when he saw the chair he started getting really nervous. Nick went with us and took Bryce and held him. It took forever for the lab tech to get his tests all sorted out. Finally they started to blood draw. They put the needle in and Bryce started kicking and screaming. I could tell it really hurt. Plus the blood draw was a true draw. It went from the needle into a syringe which they later put into the vials that were specifying each test. After the draw, he wanted me to hold him, which I was thrilled to do. As he sobbed in my arms, I was grateful for my husbands help and support. Poor Nick felt like the bad guy and he so isn't. As I held Bryce I was waiting for them to say something like you are done or hold one minute while we sort through all the tests. But the tech wasn't saying anything. Finally I asked if we were done or if we needed to stay or what was going on. The tech finally turned around and said that she wasn't sure that they got enough blood for all the tests. Imagine the feeling I had in me. I was not looking forward to another blood draw. So I asked when they would know if they had enough. She sort of didn't really answer at first. So I asked if it would be today, tomorrow, or next week. I was just trying to get a general idea. She then assured me that it wouldn't be that day. So we left. On our way home we stopped and got McDonalds breakfast for the boys, my mother-in-law who was home with Brayden and Brenna, Nick and myself. We got home stepped in the door only to hear that the hospital called and wanted us to come back in for more blood because they indeed did not have enough. Can you imagine my frustration and anger? Nick was more upset than I was. He is not one to get upset easily. He had to get to work, so his mom offered to stay with the kids a little longer while I took Bryce back to the hospital. So we ate then went to the hosp. When we got there he knew where he was. He was poked in the other arm and it blew the vein, so they had to go back to the arm they pulled from the first time and re-poke that arm. My poor baby! His little arms are bruised. It was a rough day. The supervisor was the one that did the second draw, and I asked why they didn't know how much blood they needed to start with. She then told me that the tech said that we were in a hurry to leave. MAD!!! yes I was. The supervisor told me she didn't believe the reason from the tech when she was told it. They gave us a Wal-Mart gift card and told us that she would be reported. I assured them that it is not about $$. It is about traumatizing this poor child. Most children would not do well with that situation, but an Autistic child going through all that is 10 times worse. I was not trying to get her in trouble, but I did want them to know this was not a minor incident. They assured me they knew it wasn't and apologized profusely for the inconvenience.
Bryce also just saw his developmental pediatrician. She was very impressed with his progress in spite of not using the meds. I was glad because I am not sure I want Bryce on the meds she prescribed. It is an anti - psychotic drug and I really think he is fine without it at this time. She wants to look at putting him on it in the 2nd week of June. We will see. I am praying for other remedies. The last time the DP (developmental Pediatrician) saw Bryce he was only saying 5 words. He is now up to about 14 or 15. God is good. We are praising him for this progress in just 4 weeks. He also stacked up blocks for the first time in his visit with her. I was so proud of him. Yes, it is the little things that we get excited over, but trust me if your child was Autistic you too would be excited.
Brayden and Brenna are doing good. We are all getting over colds. Yuck! Brenna is still in First Steps and Brayden will be evaluated soon just to make sure he is where he needs to be. Brenna reverted a little the past few weeks. She won't take the bottle and now does not want to eat from the spoon. She is going to be tested for Sensory Integration Disorder soon. I will let you know the outcome of that when we know something.
Nick has been staying busy with work and I have decided to stick with Pampered Chef. I am looking into taking classes for OT which is Occupational Therapy. I feel it would be beneficial for my family with all their issues. I am praying for funding.
Well that is enough writing. My hand is now cramping. lol I will try to be a little more consistant with my blog so as to keep you posted. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts.
The Clark Family
This weekend I need to go look for a backpack small enough for him and has anyone noticed it is not that season? I am sure I can find something. Bryce starts preschool with Mrs Keim on March 31st. She is a very kind and gentle teacher whom I had the privilege to meet last week. Bryce and I went to see his classroom. He loved being there, but did not enjoy being made to sit for circle time.
We have not started Bryce on any special diets yet, it is just too much change right now and we already have so much going on. Plus the diet is expensive. We also have not put him on any meds as of yet. We are still researching it. He is on daily vitamins with Iron and we briefly put him on a detox to clean out his system. While we were detoxing him he got sick with the flu again. That is the 3rd time this year. So he went off the detox. We are looking into doing it again, however he now has a cold and I am going to wait til he is over that. Detoxing can be expensive as well, but I feel it is important to get the junk out.
We had quite the ordeal with getting his blood drawn on Tuesday. Bryce's developmental pediatrician order several tests and we dreading taking him to get the blood drawn. A little background as to why we didn't rush in... At Christmas time Bryce got the flu so bad that he had to be hospitalized for dehydration. They tried 3 or 4 times to get an IV in to give him fluids, finally on the 4th try they got it in but not in is arm , they had to put it in his hand. He was also given a catheter. So you can imagine the trauma the poor boy went through. So we took him in tues. at 7:45 am and when he saw the chair he started getting really nervous. Nick went with us and took Bryce and held him. It took forever for the lab tech to get his tests all sorted out. Finally they started to blood draw. They put the needle in and Bryce started kicking and screaming. I could tell it really hurt. Plus the blood draw was a true draw. It went from the needle into a syringe which they later put into the vials that were specifying each test. After the draw, he wanted me to hold him, which I was thrilled to do. As he sobbed in my arms, I was grateful for my husbands help and support. Poor Nick felt like the bad guy and he so isn't. As I held Bryce I was waiting for them to say something like you are done or hold one minute while we sort through all the tests. But the tech wasn't saying anything. Finally I asked if we were done or if we needed to stay or what was going on. The tech finally turned around and said that she wasn't sure that they got enough blood for all the tests. Imagine the feeling I had in me. I was not looking forward to another blood draw. So I asked when they would know if they had enough. She sort of didn't really answer at first. So I asked if it would be today, tomorrow, or next week. I was just trying to get a general idea. She then assured me that it wouldn't be that day. So we left. On our way home we stopped and got McDonalds breakfast for the boys, my mother-in-law who was home with Brayden and Brenna, Nick and myself. We got home stepped in the door only to hear that the hospital called and wanted us to come back in for more blood because they indeed did not have enough. Can you imagine my frustration and anger? Nick was more upset than I was. He is not one to get upset easily. He had to get to work, so his mom offered to stay with the kids a little longer while I took Bryce back to the hospital. So we ate then went to the hosp. When we got there he knew where he was. He was poked in the other arm and it blew the vein, so they had to go back to the arm they pulled from the first time and re-poke that arm. My poor baby! His little arms are bruised. It was a rough day. The supervisor was the one that did the second draw, and I asked why they didn't know how much blood they needed to start with. She then told me that the tech said that we were in a hurry to leave. MAD!!! yes I was. The supervisor told me she didn't believe the reason from the tech when she was told it. They gave us a Wal-Mart gift card and told us that she would be reported. I assured them that it is not about $$. It is about traumatizing this poor child. Most children would not do well with that situation, but an Autistic child going through all that is 10 times worse. I was not trying to get her in trouble, but I did want them to know this was not a minor incident. They assured me they knew it wasn't and apologized profusely for the inconvenience.
Bryce also just saw his developmental pediatrician. She was very impressed with his progress in spite of not using the meds. I was glad because I am not sure I want Bryce on the meds she prescribed. It is an anti - psychotic drug and I really think he is fine without it at this time. She wants to look at putting him on it in the 2nd week of June. We will see. I am praying for other remedies. The last time the DP (developmental Pediatrician) saw Bryce he was only saying 5 words. He is now up to about 14 or 15. God is good. We are praising him for this progress in just 4 weeks. He also stacked up blocks for the first time in his visit with her. I was so proud of him. Yes, it is the little things that we get excited over, but trust me if your child was Autistic you too would be excited.
Brayden and Brenna are doing good. We are all getting over colds. Yuck! Brenna is still in First Steps and Brayden will be evaluated soon just to make sure he is where he needs to be. Brenna reverted a little the past few weeks. She won't take the bottle and now does not want to eat from the spoon. She is going to be tested for Sensory Integration Disorder soon. I will let you know the outcome of that when we know something.
Nick has been staying busy with work and I have decided to stick with Pampered Chef. I am looking into taking classes for OT which is Occupational Therapy. I feel it would be beneficial for my family with all their issues. I am praying for funding.
Well that is enough writing. My hand is now cramping. lol I will try to be a little more consistant with my blog so as to keep you posted. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts.
The Clark Family
Monday, February 16, 2009
More About Bryce
Many of you have asked questions about Bryce so I thought I would give you more info about the doctors visit.
Bryce was originally supposed to go to the doctor on Feb. 23rd, but when the original date was set I asked them to put us on the cancellation list. That way if they had a cancellation, maybe we could slip in that spot and get in sooner. The reason I wanted to get in sooner was because when Bryce turns 3 he will no longer be able to receive First Steps. First Steps is a government funded program to help children with developmental delays.
Bryce was talking a few words when he was 11 and 12 months old. Then Bryce recieved his MMR shot when he was 13 1/2 months old. Brayden his little brother was born a few weeks later. Around then is when I noticed that Bryce wasn't saying anything anymore. At first I chalked it up for the arrival of a sibling. Then as the months went on, he never recovered his words. When Bryce was about to turn 2 I read an article in a parenting magazine about signs of Autism. At that time I started to make a mental note that maybe Bryce was Autistic. I mentioned it to many people that either work with Autistic kids, or have a family member with Autism to watch Bryce. All of them said the same thing, "Bryce has excellent eye contact, I doubt he is Autistic". So I decided that he was just delayed. I called First Steps right before Brenna was born and they suggested that I call them after Brenna was born. So the week after Brenna was born I called again. By the end of August, they had Bryce in the First Steps program with a plan to help Bryce. They determined that he had Sensory Integration problems. In addition I continued to question Autism. I thought I was just being over protective and silly. I often would ask Bryce's OT (Occupational Therapist) and DT (Developmental Therapist) if they thought that they saw signs of Autism. They are not allowed to say anything like yes or no, so they both told me they thought that if I was concerned about it I might ask his pediatrician to take a look. I do not care for our Dr so I was a little apprehensive. However when I mentioned it, she was willing to have him checked by a DP (Developmental Pediatrician) So that is how we came in touch with Dr Luzzi.
Back to Bryce's appointment now. He went in on Feb 13th, ten days earlier than originally scheduled. We were so excited to get him in there. Then when we talked into the office I started getting nervous. Thoughts were running through my head like what if Bryce isn't Autistic? What is it that is causing the speech delay and other things he does like hand wringing, or hand flapping, walking on his tip toes, constantly wanting to kick things like walls, coffee tables, siblings, yes you read that right. He sits on the floor and uses his feet to kick his brother across the room. Brayden cries and cries, but Bryce doesn't understand that it is hurting his brother. Another thing Bryce does is called stimming. He will just start yelling so loudly that it hurts your ears. He desires to spin and hit and kick and have what they call "input" to his body. So as I stressed over what it might be if not Autism, they called us back to the Dr. Luzzi. After Bryce was weighed and measured, he went into a room so kid friendly that I knew Bryce was gonna have fun and I stopped stressing. Dr Luzzi introduced herself and tried to examine Bryce, but he wanted nothing to do with that. After a little playing and Dr. Luzzi watching Bryce and asking many questions, I finally asked the question I was dying to ask since we stepped foot into her office. I said to her, " So, do you know if Bryce is Autistic?" She had a sympathetic look cross over her face and she said "Yes, I believe Bryce is Autistic." I started to cry. She came right over to me and put her hand on my leg and said "I'm Sorry" I then told her I wasn't sure why I was crying because I knew in my heart that Bryce was Autistic. She handed me a tissue and then told us some treatment options for Bryce. Bryce is very strong and has a terrible time with his temper. So the first thing she wants to do is put Bryce in a program called ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) which will help with the temper tantrums. She also has recommended the Logan Center in South Bend. Possible Hippotherapy (therapy involving Horse Back Riding.). He will be seeing a pediatric dietician. Dr Luzzi is recommending to go Casien Free. That is milk protien free. I have found that Casien free often included Gluten free as well. Since Bryce likes only five or six different foods, this will be hard. He likes: Mac N Cheese, Chicken Nuggets or Chicken Patties, Fries, and Hot Dogs. All of these foods included milk. Yikes!!!! So Bryce is about to have a rough couple of weeks. We haven't started the diet yet, I will let you know how that goes when we do start it. The Dr also mentioned a medication to help his nerves process data to his brain. We have a dr that is also willing to do things naturally. So that is exciting to me. She suggested Probiotics, DHA, EPA, and daily Vitamins with Iron in his daily diet. So we are trying to get that in his diet now.
So that is it in a nut shell. I still cry at times dealing with the emotions of my childs diagnosis. I am not sure how Nick is dealing with the emotions of all this, He does not talk about it a lot. I think he will talk when he feels he needs to talk about it. Nick is a very introverted person, so I think he will deal with it in his time and in his own way. If he needs to talk with me, he will in his own time. He is a quiet strength for me, I know I can talk, cry, and laugh about our life together and with our babies. I love my family and am so happy and blessed that the Lord sent each and every one of them to me. Bryce is teaching me that it is ok not to be like everyone else. I love to have peoples acceptance, and I know I don't need it. Bryce is teaching me that I don't need to please everyone. I can be me and God is ok with me the way I am. I hope that makes sense. It is 1:30am and I need to get to bed, this is the only time I can have to think and blog. However, my brain is now fried. I will blog more another day. Thank you for prayers. We are grateful for them. Keep them coming. Have a great day today!
The Clark Clan
Bryce was originally supposed to go to the doctor on Feb. 23rd, but when the original date was set I asked them to put us on the cancellation list. That way if they had a cancellation, maybe we could slip in that spot and get in sooner. The reason I wanted to get in sooner was because when Bryce turns 3 he will no longer be able to receive First Steps. First Steps is a government funded program to help children with developmental delays.
Bryce was talking a few words when he was 11 and 12 months old. Then Bryce recieved his MMR shot when he was 13 1/2 months old. Brayden his little brother was born a few weeks later. Around then is when I noticed that Bryce wasn't saying anything anymore. At first I chalked it up for the arrival of a sibling. Then as the months went on, he never recovered his words. When Bryce was about to turn 2 I read an article in a parenting magazine about signs of Autism. At that time I started to make a mental note that maybe Bryce was Autistic. I mentioned it to many people that either work with Autistic kids, or have a family member with Autism to watch Bryce. All of them said the same thing, "Bryce has excellent eye contact, I doubt he is Autistic". So I decided that he was just delayed. I called First Steps right before Brenna was born and they suggested that I call them after Brenna was born. So the week after Brenna was born I called again. By the end of August, they had Bryce in the First Steps program with a plan to help Bryce. They determined that he had Sensory Integration problems. In addition I continued to question Autism. I thought I was just being over protective and silly. I often would ask Bryce's OT (Occupational Therapist) and DT (Developmental Therapist) if they thought that they saw signs of Autism. They are not allowed to say anything like yes or no, so they both told me they thought that if I was concerned about it I might ask his pediatrician to take a look. I do not care for our Dr so I was a little apprehensive. However when I mentioned it, she was willing to have him checked by a DP (Developmental Pediatrician) So that is how we came in touch with Dr Luzzi.
Back to Bryce's appointment now. He went in on Feb 13th, ten days earlier than originally scheduled. We were so excited to get him in there. Then when we talked into the office I started getting nervous. Thoughts were running through my head like what if Bryce isn't Autistic? What is it that is causing the speech delay and other things he does like hand wringing, or hand flapping, walking on his tip toes, constantly wanting to kick things like walls, coffee tables, siblings, yes you read that right. He sits on the floor and uses his feet to kick his brother across the room. Brayden cries and cries, but Bryce doesn't understand that it is hurting his brother. Another thing Bryce does is called stimming. He will just start yelling so loudly that it hurts your ears. He desires to spin and hit and kick and have what they call "input" to his body. So as I stressed over what it might be if not Autism, they called us back to the Dr. Luzzi. After Bryce was weighed and measured, he went into a room so kid friendly that I knew Bryce was gonna have fun and I stopped stressing. Dr Luzzi introduced herself and tried to examine Bryce, but he wanted nothing to do with that. After a little playing and Dr. Luzzi watching Bryce and asking many questions, I finally asked the question I was dying to ask since we stepped foot into her office. I said to her, " So, do you know if Bryce is Autistic?" She had a sympathetic look cross over her face and she said "Yes, I believe Bryce is Autistic." I started to cry. She came right over to me and put her hand on my leg and said "I'm Sorry" I then told her I wasn't sure why I was crying because I knew in my heart that Bryce was Autistic. She handed me a tissue and then told us some treatment options for Bryce. Bryce is very strong and has a terrible time with his temper. So the first thing she wants to do is put Bryce in a program called ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) which will help with the temper tantrums. She also has recommended the Logan Center in South Bend. Possible Hippotherapy (therapy involving Horse Back Riding.). He will be seeing a pediatric dietician. Dr Luzzi is recommending to go Casien Free. That is milk protien free. I have found that Casien free often included Gluten free as well. Since Bryce likes only five or six different foods, this will be hard. He likes: Mac N Cheese, Chicken Nuggets or Chicken Patties, Fries, and Hot Dogs. All of these foods included milk. Yikes!!!! So Bryce is about to have a rough couple of weeks. We haven't started the diet yet, I will let you know how that goes when we do start it. The Dr also mentioned a medication to help his nerves process data to his brain. We have a dr that is also willing to do things naturally. So that is exciting to me. She suggested Probiotics, DHA, EPA, and daily Vitamins with Iron in his daily diet. So we are trying to get that in his diet now.
So that is it in a nut shell. I still cry at times dealing with the emotions of my childs diagnosis. I am not sure how Nick is dealing with the emotions of all this, He does not talk about it a lot. I think he will talk when he feels he needs to talk about it. Nick is a very introverted person, so I think he will deal with it in his time and in his own way. If he needs to talk with me, he will in his own time. He is a quiet strength for me, I know I can talk, cry, and laugh about our life together and with our babies. I love my family and am so happy and blessed that the Lord sent each and every one of them to me. Bryce is teaching me that it is ok not to be like everyone else. I love to have peoples acceptance, and I know I don't need it. Bryce is teaching me that I don't need to please everyone. I can be me and God is ok with me the way I am. I hope that makes sense. It is 1:30am and I need to get to bed, this is the only time I can have to think and blog. However, my brain is now fried. I will blog more another day. Thank you for prayers. We are grateful for them. Keep them coming. Have a great day today!
The Clark Clan
Welcome to The Clark Clan Chronicles
Update on our Family:
I have never thought about blogging until recently, because I need a way to release my thoughts. I am so blessed to be married to a Godly man who wants to please the Lord and his family. Nick is an excellent father and husband. We were married 4 1/2 years ago. The first year we were married we discovered we were pregnant with our first child. Bryce Jamison Clark was born April 1st 2006. He was such a blessing and answer to our prayers. Our second child was born 14 months and 7 days later. Brayden Jarrell-Michael Clark arrived on June 8th 2007. Thirteen months and 20 days later Brenna Jenee' Clark joined our family. Our precious baby girl and last child was born July 28th 2008. Nick says we are done. I am in agreement, so we will make it permanent soon. I am a stay at home mom and Nick works Mon. - Fri. as a receiver for a warehouse in Elkhart, IN. It is a job and with the economy the way that it is we are grateful for the job.
Bryce:
Bryce our oldest who is 2 3/4 year old, was diagnosed with Autism on Feb. 13th 2009. We were not surprised, yet we are still learning to deal with the "blow" of the diagnoses. Most parents pray for their child to be healthy and happy to grow as a "normal" child. So to be told that your child is not "normal" is quite a shock to your system. As I learn more about this diagnoses I will share with you. Obviously we have to remember that Bryce is just the way he is supposed to be. God created him just the way he is. We are grateful for him. I have found myself in tears over his diagnoses. We asked God for Bryce, He was our only child that we prayed and asked God for. The other two were added, yet a surprising, blessing. We prayed for all of them after we knew we were pregnant, however we were not trying to get pregnant with Brayden and Brenna when we did. We wanted more space between our children. Isn't God good? He always know what is best. Bryce was the only one we tried for. I remember telling God that I would take whatever He thought we needed. I was thinking like sex wise, boy or girl. The Lord reminded me recently of the promise I made Him that if He would give us a child I would be happy no matter what He gave us. Every time I get overwhelmed by the label that is now on my sweet Bryce, I remember that I promised God I would do my best to be a Godly example to my child. I do not want this label of Autism to define Bryce. He is such a loving little boy full of life and very busy. He and his brother are always getting into trouble. They are kind of like raising twins. What the one doesn't think of the other will. Bryce does not talk, he does what they call hand flapping, his senses are different than yours and mine, he has a terrible time being told "no" like any two year old, but along with that comes terrible temper tantrums. When he gets frustrated, he hits or kicks, which is hard to deal with sometimes. He is very strong, so he can pick things up and throw them. He has broken many things in our home. We live with my in-laws currently. They are very patient loving people. As I talk with my in-laws about Bryce's diagnoses, I realized my mother-in-law was crying. She suspected Autism around the same time as I did, however I was in denial longer than she was. Her first grandchild has something many people don't understand. 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with Autism, yet we still don't know where it comes from and why some kids get it and some don't. I will get into where I think Bryce's came from another time. On to the other kids.
Brayden:
Our "little tank" as Nick calls him. He loves to jabber quite a bit. He is 20 months old and like I said before he is busy along with his brother Bryce. Brayden can say quite a few words now. He says "bye", "please", (but it sounds more like psssss) " He just learned "tankoo" today or we would say thank you, and some other words. He is a funny little guy, keeps all of us laughing. He thinks he is big stuff. Carries on conversation, we just wish we knew what he was saying and thinking in that little brain of his. I will share more about Brayden next time I blog.
Brenna:
Our precious baby girl. What a joy she is. Brenna is 6 months old and only cries when she needs something. Other than that she is a very happy baby. She is sitting up now. She has some issues with eating. She has a high palate so she doesn't take a bottle well. We have her in a program called First Steps, (so is Bryce) it is a early intervention program to help with development. They come to the house and give therapy to develop her mouth muscles to have closure on the bottle nipple. She only wanted to nurse, but we are working on weaning her to a bottle now. She is also taking cereal and baby food only veggies. She is not big on the fruit yet.
Closing:
So that is the start of our family blog. I hope you enjoy reading it and feel free to comment or ask questions. I will blog more about Bryce and Autism next time. Have a great day everyone!
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