It has been way longer than I'd hoped since my last post. This homeschool thing has been quite the experience. I wouldn't change it a bit but it's taken some adjusting to get used to. The boys are doing very well. Just got their first 9 week grades and they all have A's and/or B's! And most of the B's aren't that far from being an A.
Christopher started at a 2nd grade level and has moved up to 3rd grade for his Science and Social Studies! He's doing Math and Language Arts still at 2nd grade but he's moving right along. Since homeschooling him I have had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I am so proud of how well he is progressing...but on the other hand, I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated because I feel that no effort was made with him last year at school. I constantly asked last year about what he was learning, what he knew, what he could do, what he was capable of, etc... I could never get straight answers and the work that was sent home was just pieces of paper where he had to practice writing his personal information. Every now and then a piece of work came home of something he did but it was only ever Math or Spelling (and the spelling was very basic, small words.) They gave me the impression that this was all he knew. After only 2 months of working with him one on one I strongly disagree with that! He has A's in all 4 of his subjects right now! He knows things I was told would be too hard to try and teach him! I just feel that he was wrote off right when he walked in the doors of junior high. No effort was ever made to integrate him into ANY regular ed classes. When he left elementary school he had been integrated into a handful of regular ed classes/activities. I told them last year that was something I wanted but it never happened. He is doing so good and he gets so excited when he sees that he got the right answers! He loves the online program and he can skype with his teacher whenever he needs to. Plus, we meet with her once a week for an intense reading program she is doing with him. It teaches him how to make all the correct sounds and then put them together so he can read. He reads at about a 1st grade level right now but this is helping him progress. She is an awesome teacher, we got very lucky with her.
Matthew is doing good. It's been an adjustment for him but he's getting the hang of it. He misses his school friends but he still sees some of them at the Youth Center or around the neighborhood. His teacher recommended having him advance to 7th grade Math! She said he is very good at mental math and she was impressed with how well he was doing on his assignments and quizzes. He wasn't too happy about harder work but we are so proud of him! He can do a lot of his work on his own so he has found his spot in my recliner. lol He's getting way better at asking for help (this was something he struggled with last year in school.) If I don't know the answer then I can text his teacher and she'll either call him or skype with him. I've actually picked back up on my Math from helping him. lol I was really good at it in school but it's been years since I've had to use most of it.
Ryan is moving right along with Kindergarten. He loves the characgters on his lessons who talk to him. I have to work with him and Christopher one on one and Ryan really enjoys our "mommy and me" time. He gets excited sometimes and accidentally picks the wrong answer but he usually catches himself and corrects it before he hits the checkmark. He's getting good with his writing and we now have his name on almost every wall in our house! lol
Now, on to why it is a wonderful day today...
WE OFFICIALLY HAVE A DIAGNOSIS FOR CHRISTOPHER!!!!!
I think we were first told about the possibility of him having autism when he was 7 and he is now 13. So 6 years it has taken!!! 6 years!!! It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't homeschooled him because it was done through Epic, our new school. I just mentioned with our teacher in conversation that he didn't officially have a diagnosis yet and within a few days I got a call from the Psychologist the school brought on. Her name is Mary Sweet-Darter and she is AMAZING!!! She teaches at the University of Central Oklahoma as well. She first contacted me around the end of September and we had our 3 hour meeting with her on October 19th. She contacted me on Halloween and told me she had everything done. She emailed it to me immediately and I spent the next few hours crying and calling people. She was so thorough, it was 11 pages long! She did everything! He has an official diagnosis of Autism (between moderate to high functioning.) It was such a bittersweet day. Of course we wish Christopher didn't have autism but on the same hand I wouldn't change him in any way. He is my perfect little boy that God blessed me with. God made Christopher, who am I to say I want to change him? Along with our other 2 boys, he has made me the person I am today. Because of autism we have met some pretty incredible people. I have a dear friend, Ramona, who inspires me daily. I am so blessed to know her and her son Nicholas, Christopher's best friend. I have been to different support groups and met many other parents of autistic children and I always leave feeling even more blessed then when I went in. Many of these kids are not able to speak. It breaks my heart every time I hear a mother say, "I just want to hear my son say mommy or that he loves me or just to know that he's ok." I am always thankful that Christopher can speak. He is such an affectionate kid. I may not get what you would consider "normal" hugs from him but when he loosely puts his arm around me and puts his head to my chest that makes my day every time!! The first night he asked me for a hug after he got in bed I just lost it! It was only about 3 years ago. I was almost out the door and he put both arms out and put his head down and just said, "Mom, hug." Blessed, I tell you....
Her diagnosis validates everything we have known and felt for 6 years now!! She also doesn't feel he needs any medication! This has been a huge part of the delay in diagnosing because the doctor we kept being sent to wanted to put him on meds and we said no! He is on his non-dairy diet and we've been extremely pleased with the results. We had our appointment on base today with our base doctor and she agreed with the diagnosis and signed off on it so I could contact insurance.
He can now receive the services he needs through our insurance. He's always gotten the speech and occupational therapy through school but he can now get ABA therapy (Applied Behavior Analysis) and they can come to our home!! This is very expensive but will be covered by our insurance now that we have a diagnosis.
I have always felt everything happens for a reason. If I would not have decided to homeschool this year he would still not have a diagnosis. His school last year made no effort to help like this school has. In fact, they never even formally agreed with me on the autism being his diagnosis. I posted recently on facebook a comment that said something about being blessed with the people in our lives and that I believe God gives you the right people at the right times. I strongly believe that. We have some pretty incredible people in our lives between our new homeschool adventure and our new church.
We couldn't be more blessed!
Jenny :)
