Walk Now for Autism Speaks

This year we are participating in Arizona's Walk now for Autism.

Walk Now for Autism Speaks is a fun-filled, family friendly event and is our single most powerful force to fund vital research that will lead us to the answers we need. Every 15 minutes, another family receives the devastating news that their child has an autism spectrum disorder. Help us change that!

It has been almost 2 years since our live were changed by Kellen's diagnoses. It has been a long road since then, but we are starting to make progress.

Help make a difference in families with special needs kids and make a donation. All I'm asking is that everyone donate $1

Click Here to donate and help me reach my goal of $1,000

If you live here in Arizona please join the team. It is going to be a lot of fun with T-Shirts, and walking, and lots of kids with Autism! Join the team and start fund raising.

Therapy

Sorry I haven't posed much lately, I find it easy to blog about Autism when things are going good, and Hard to blog when things are not. I hate coming across negative, and when we are having a hard time I feel like my blog is just one big negative blah.

So on the up and up. I just had a meeting with Kellen's case worker and told her all the things that were going on and she approved Kellen for an additional 80hrs a month of Habilitation. YAY!!! this is very good!

So what does that mean?

Our lives revolve around Therapy, with out it Kellen would not be able to make sense of his world. Kellen gets 1hr of Speech Therapy a week, 1hr of Occupational Therapy a week, 20hrs of Habilitation a week, 20hrs of Respite care a week, and goes to Pre-School 3days a week where he receives more OT and Speech.

The fact is that Therapy is apart of life for Kellen, and for any family that has a child with special needs. We don't really get the luxury of just hanging out doing what ever just having fun. Kellen's every day is filled with being engaged, and stimulated. With out it, he would becomes self destructive.

The face of Autism

What do kids with Autism look like? They look like everyone else. They don't have some deformity that when you see it you say to yourself, "Ohhhhhh I see, that explains a lot." Some may talk a little different, but they still want want what every kid wants.

To have fun!!!

That is what I love about Kellen, he ALWAYS wants to play!!! he is the funniest kid I know, and I wouldn't change a single thing about him.

Walk Now for Autism Speaks

This year I am going to finally do this! For some reason Idaho doesn't do the walks, but now that we live in AZ I can do one!!! I'm so excited!

I am encouraging all my CA friends & family, and UT friends & family to get together and walk for Kellen.

I would love it if my AZ friends and family would join us. For AZ info Click here Let me know if you are thinking about joining us, or in another state. Maybe I'll get some T-shirts made up or something that say "Kellen Fan Club."

for all other info Click Here

Shopping

Shopping is one of those things that has caused a lot of stress for Kellen. Especially the Grocery Store. When Kellen was younger, the grocery store was very traumatic for him. He was so familiar with the parking lot and the look of everything that he would start crying the moment we parked. When we got our cart he would refuse to get in, and would cling to my neck. I felt so bad for him! I would end up carrying him through the store while he hid his little face in my neck and cried. I couldn't understand why he would do this and I would get so frustrated sometimes, other times I would want to cry with him. For the most part, we don't take Kellen grocery shopping, we don't take him to the Mall, or Target, or Walmart. Preston does most of the Shopping, while I stay home with the kids. If we do have to take Kellen we know we have 10 minutes tops!!! any longer is asking for a complete meltdown. Now that we have a Respite working it makes things a lot easier. So I plan all my shopping around when she will be here and pre-school, that way Kellen isn't forced to come with me.

To help you understand what public places are like for a Child with Autism I have attached a link to a previous post I did almost a year ago. All I have to say is, the next time you see a kid at Walmart screaming and cry, before you give that family the stink eye remember that kid might be Autistic. YOU NEVER KNOW!!! and the "stink eye" HURTS!!!

Pervious Post

Most, if not all, parents of special kids have this same problem. There is just so much going on in Stores, its so over whelming for them.

Temple Grandin Inspires me

Grandin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard Grandin and Eustacia Cutler. She was diagnosed with autism in 1950. Having been labeled and diagnosed with brain damage at age two, she was placed in a structured nursery school with what she considers to have been good teachers. Grandin's mother spoke to a doctor who suggested speech therapy, and she hired a nanny who spent hours playing turn-based games with Grandin and her sister.

At age four, Grandin began talking, and making progress. She considers herself lucky to have had supportive mentors from primary school onwards. However, Grandin has said that middle school and high school were the worst parts of her life. She was the "nerdy kid" whom everyone teased. At times, while walking down the street, people would taunt her by saying "tape recorder," because she would repeat things over and over again. Grandin states that, "I could laugh about it now, but back then it really hurt."

After graduating from Hampshire Country School, a boarding school for gifted children in Rindge, New Hampshire, in 1966, Grandin went on to earn her bachelor's degree in psychology from Franklin Pierce University in 1970, her master's degree in animal sciencefrom Arizona State University in 1975, and her doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaignin 1989.

Back in the 1950's up until they really started to understand Autism, it was considered to be a result of bad parenting. During a time in the infants life when they needed the most affection and attention, the mother was cold and with drawn... so they say. A diagnoses of Autism was the worst news a mother could receive in those days, and often were counseled to institutionalize the child. Grandin is considered a philosophical leader of both the animal welfare and autism advocacy movements. Claire Danes does a wonderful pretrial of Temple in her movie Temple Granin, which I would recommend for everyone to watch. You can get it through Netflix.

Also watch Ted TV for a talk by Temple Gradin on Autism, Love it! Please watch it. I cant even begin to express how much I want people to understand our special children.

I waned to share about Temple today because she inspires me, Her mother inspires me. Because if she can do all the things she did and is doing, then so can Kellen. Autism is not a death sentence, it's a window that has been open, when all the doors in the room have been shut. Temple is an amazing individual and I am grateful for what she has done for the Autism community.

Eating for Autism

For a large majority of kids with ASD, food is a big deal. I'm sure you have heard of a Gluten Free, Casein Free Diet (GFCF)

What is Gluten? Gluten and gluten-like proteins are found in wheat and other grains, including oats, rye, barley, bulgar, durum, kamut and spelt, and foods made from those grains. They are also found in food starches, semolina, couscous, malt, some vinegars, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, flavorings, artificial colors and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins.

What is Casein? Casein is a protein found in milk and foods containing milk, such as cheese, cream, butter, yogurt, ice cream, whey and even some brands of margarine. It also may be added to non-milk products such as soy cheese and hot dogs in the form of caseinate.

According to one theory, some people with autism spectrum disorders cannot properly digest gluten and casein, which form peptides, or substances that act like opiates in their bodies. The peptides then alter the person's behavior, perceptions, and responses to his environment. Some scientists now believe that peptides trigger an unusual immune system response in certain people. Research in the U.S. and Europe has found peptides in the urine of a significant number of children with autism.

Kellen has been on a Wheat free, Dye free Diet (especially Red dye #40) for a few years now, per Dr. recommendation. It's only been over the past 3 weeks that we have decided to do a full GFCF diet. The reason we decided to to this now was because I was just diagnosed with a Gluten and Casein Allergies. So I figured now was a good time to try Kellen out on it, to see if would help. And with that we have also taken out All Artificial Coloring/Dyes, Artificial Preservatives, Artificial Flavoring, & Artificial Sweeteners! Nothing but whole foods, and home cooked meals. It may sound extreme, but its not to bad for us. We have been working up to this for years now. And there are so many GF foods we really aren't missing anything. Almond Breeze Milk & Ice Cream, Animal Cookies, Kettle Brand Chips, Pretzels, Vegan Butter, etc. And thus far we have seen HUGE improvements!!! It's hard to describe what kind of improvements we seen. We see a night a day difference when he gets Artificial Coloring & Preservatives.

On Saturday he had a few sips of a frozen Lemonade, which I new was going to have dyes, and sweeteners, and on Sunday he was having lots of meltdown, and high energy...well, higher any way.

To know more I would recommend this Book, Eating for Autism.

And for ideas on a GFCF diet here is a fantastic web page.

Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism awareness month, so I would like to take this opputunity to share how Autism has changed our lives. I will try to post something for every day. For more information on Autism visit Autism Speaks.

April 1st.

The change of Seasons

For a lot of kids the change in seasons can really throw them for a loop. When the weather changes from Summer to Fall, and from Spring to Summer all of Kellen's senses are heightened. One of the hardest things during this time is to get him to take a bath. I'm really not sure what it is about the bath, but it is very traumatic for him. He will go weeks with out bathing if we let him. So he will get 2 maybe 3 baths in a week, that last bout 10 seconds, and are full of screaming, crying, fighting, hitting, and a lot more. It's hard to force him into the tub when I know it's so over whelming for him. And just as quick as it comes on, the next day he's totally fine. Every day is very unpredictable.

April 2nd

Public Play ares

I know for a lot of you taking your kids to the park is a lot of fun, and probably relaxing, but not for us. Taking Kellen to the park is very stressful for me! Because Kellen still does not know how to interact with other kids, I need to maintain very close contact so that I can intervene when necessary. He gets really close to kids, touching there faces and grabbing there arms. He likes to push and tackle kids, And the other mothers don't really like that. Kellen likes to run off and wander off, so I can't take my eyes off him for a second. Kellen also has no concept of stranger danger, or staying out of the road. Then when it comes time to leave, there is the inevitable meltdown, where I end up carrying Kellen off the park kicking and screaming. Then I get to hear Kellen cry and scream for the next hour or 2. It's not like this every time, and when it's not I thank the Lord for this special moment that he as givin Kellen and I.

April 3rd

Church

One of our biggest challenges right now is going to Church. It's sad to say, but at this current moment Kellen has not gone to Church in about 2 months! And Preston and I take turns going every other Sunday. Since moving away from Idaho we haven't had the same support and help that we got there. Kellen needs constant attention and gets very overwhelmed & over stimulated. When that happens he needs to be taken out of class to calm down. But neither Preston or I can do that. Preston is teaching and I am, more often then not, in the mothers lounge with Sara. So with out an aid Kellen would be very disruptive and violent. Up until last summer Kellen was still going to the nursery, but now they won't let him come unless I agree to stay with him. He is just so much bigger then all the other kids, and can push and hit. We have been in this ward since August and they still have not found someone to be with Kellen during class time. I could go on and on about this topic but I won't, It's just really hard to keep asking for help and getting nothing resolved. I've thought about going and just dropping Kellen off in class and let them deal with it, and let them see just how much help Kellen needs, but that would be bad on so many levels. Sundays are just a hard day for Kellen, and require A LOT of Patience.

4.5 months old

Sorry I don't update very much any more, I just have to much going on. Between Sara Love and trying to help Kellen I don't really have a lot of free time. We are all doing well, and are happy. I hope life is going good for all of you.

6 Weeks old

It has already been 6 weeks! time has gone by really fast. We are doing good enjoying our sweet Sara Love.

Hospital Photos

The Birth Story

I know it has taken me a month to get this up, but I'm sure you all understand how crazy it can be with a new born, so here it is.

I had been measuring small for months, always one week behind. At my second to last OB appointment I measured 2 weeks behind. My Midwife didn't seem worried, but if i measured more then 2 weeks behind the following week then they would need to do a ultrasound to check on the baby.

So on November 4th I went in for, what would turn out to be, my last appointment. When the Dr. measured my belly I was 4weeks behind (between 34cm & 35cm) I should have measured at 38cm. so they told me I needed to hang out for a bit and get an ultrasound and fetal monitoring. I wasn't worried, Sara had been moving around in my belly like a champ so in my mind they were just going to take a few pitchers and tell me she was great. The ultrasound showed that she was doing great, and so did the fetal monitor. They predicted her weight was some where in the 5's which put her in the 4th percentile. So when they told me that they wanted to induce me, I was soooo confused! They told me that one of the reasons she might not be growing is there could be something wrong with the Placenta or Umbilical Cord (IUGR). Her conditions is still good, but it could change in a matter of days. I Asked when they were thinking of inducing me, and my midwife said hows tomorrow morning?

I got some information from them, then headed out to my car. Then I called Preston, and had a brake down. I wasn't ready to have our baby yet, and I did not want to induced, but I didn't want to put our little girls life in danger. I new she was going to be small, and I had wondered how her growth was from the beginning. I didn't gain weight like I did with Kellen, & my belly was a lot smaller this time. After Preston got home from work we had a chance to talk more, he was just as confused as I was. After some good meditation, and a few prayers, we felt like inducing was the right thing to do. As long as I was doing what the Lord wanted us to do, I new the out come would be what He had planned for us, what ever that might be.

We started to make all the necessary arrangements for Kellen, and let a few family members know what was going on. We were scheduled to arrive at the Hospital at 5:30am on Friday Nov. 5th. My cousin & his wife came and watched Kellen for us all that day. Thanks again Rich & Shelly, we love you guys. My mom changed her flight so she could be with us, she was a little worried. Once we got to the hospital everything moved very slowly. They didn't start the induction until after 8am. We chose to use a gel to soften the cervix, to bring on labor. It's more mild then the other forms of induction, and I absolutely did not want Pitocin. After the first round of gel was inserted, I had to lay down for 1hr. while they monitored the baby. Then I would be allowed to walk around for an hour. This first round was working great. I could feel the crapping start just a few minutes after they gave it to me. And when it was time to get up and walk I was defiantly uncomfortable, and had to stop and breath through a few contractions. After an hour we headed back to the room for round two. They checked me, striped my membranes, inserted more gel, and hooked me up to the monitors. Toward the end of my one hour laying down is when my mom arrived, which would put us around 11:30ish. At this point my contractions took quit a bit more concentration. During my contractions I needed complete silence, any noise was very distracting and would brake my concentration. When they checked me I was at a 3 then I was aloud to get up and walk. My contractions were strong enough that I needed to sit for each one then walk around,then sit again. From this point Labor continued rapidly. It was time to get down to business. Each contraction took all my concentration, I needed Preston to start coaching, and rub my back like crazy! The contractions were sooo intense. They started in my low back and wrapped around to the lower part of my belly. After I felt i had put some good effort in I thought I would have my midwife check me. To my disappointment i was only at a 5. I was so discouraged...the contractions were so intense I wasn't sure how much longer I could go. My hands up to my elbows were completely numb and with each contraction I would feel very dizzy like I was going to pass out. I figured it was time to get an IV and some O2. Sara was pinching a nerve that is why I was numb and dizzy.

Then... I hit the wall, and I hit it hard!!! If you are familiar with natural child birth then you know what I'm talking about, but for those of you that aren't i will explain. Right before you hit 10 centimeters self doubt creeps in, and you feel like you can't do it any longer. I told Preston I couldn't do it, that i didn't want to do it any more. The contractions were so intense, and I new I still had forever to go because they just checked me and I was at a 5. It's not that I wanted an epidural, I just didn't want to keep going. Preston did a great job coaching me through my wall. All he said was OK, you can be done, you don't have to do it any more, your doing so good. And that was all I needed. The next contraction my wall was gone, but was having a very hard time relaxing , I kept feeling the urge to clench my stomach. I let one more contraction go by then I said something. I think I need to push? So my nurses went out and got my midwife, and started to set everything up to deliver a baby. After everything was set up my midwife just sat and waited patently. after a few more contraction I said yeah I really think I need to push, and she asked me if I wanted to be checked or give it another few contractions. So I told her to check me. And sure enough I was at a 10. Less then 20 minutes had passed from the time I was at a 5! My midwife broke my water and I started pushing. It took only 3 pushes and Sara was here! 1 hour 37 minutes of Labor. They passed her strait up to me and laid her on my chest. My very first thought was "wow you are so sticky". I was so happy to have her here safely and in my arms.

When the Placenta came out we all wanted to see what it looked like. Because this was baby #2 I new what It should have looked like, and I new that this one was very unhealthy. It was flat and thin, in places it looked like raw hamburger meat. I wish I had taken a piture of it. The cord was very skinny and were it attached to the placenta was as thin as paper. After seeing that, I new that we did the right thing by inducing 2 weeks early.

I didn't get to hold Sara for to long because her body temp we dropping and they needed to put her under the heating lamps to bring it up. She wasn't over there for long before they asked me if I was ready to nurse her. I told them I would love to. Turns out that her blood sugar was 35 and she was shaking because it was so low. She latched right on and went to town! They gave her a few CC of formula to get her blood sugar up faster but that was it. She nursed for a full hour!!! Oh yeah... I was asking for the lansino after that. They realised us the next day 25 hours after having a baby.

This has been such an amazing experience being pregnant with Sara, learning what her name would be, and being guided by the Lord in order to keep her safe. There are no words to describe what it is like to be a co-creature with God. I feel so blessed to have her be apart of our family.

All Photo Post

She is Here!!!

Sara Love Lindsay

Born November 5th, 2010 @ 2:04pm

We are all doing fantastic!!!

More photos, and birth story to come.

That was exciting

Today I am full term. WooHoo, so baby girl can come anytime in the next 3 weeks. I would like her to wait but with all the excitement over the last 24 hours make me think she might come sooner.

So yesterday I woke up at 4:30am with the horrible back ache that wrapped around to my belly. I didn't think it was labor pain because it didn't come and go, it just stayed and it hurt. It was there for about 4 hours and then gradually went away, but not completely away, just better. Then it started up again at 10am and went till 12:00. I still wasn't sure if this was back labor or something else completely. So I continued through my day the best I could, with a back ache and belly ache that would reappear about every 2 hours. After talking to my mom I was convinced that this was indeed labor, AND it was the dreaded back labor!!! This continued into the evening and then the thought entered our minds that we might eventually need to go to the hospital. So I asked Preston to call my cousin to see if it would be ok to call them in the middle of the night to come be with Kellen, if I really was in labor. All of this kept going until about 3am this morning. And I have been feeling great ever since, with the occasional front contraction. I had my OB visit this morning, and was happy to hear that all my pain was not for nothing.

I'm dilated to 1.5 cm, 50% effaced, really soft cervix, and at a -2 station.

Still, this says nothing about when our baby will come, but at least I know my body remembers what to do, and is getting ready. When I had Kellen my cervix was still very hard, and they thought it would take forever to get him here, and he was born in 5 hours. So my OB seems to think that when I start labor for real that it will go fast. She said my body was just doing a trial run.

So with that fun update, if you would like to take a guess at when baby girl will be here, post a comment.

36 Weeks Pregnant

So... I have been trying for the longest time to get a few photos loaded of when I was pregnant with Kellen. But for some reason I can't load scanned photos. This is all I could get. But now you might be able to see the size difference from baby #1 and Baby #2.

Here are some photos that Preston was so kind enough to take today. I am really happy with how they turned out. We are going to take a few indoor shots in a few days, I'll post them when they are ready. Sorry I don't have a better comparison photo.

Still feeling pretty good, for only having 4 weeks left. Supper tired... no surprise there, I don't think any pregnant women can get out of that one. Hips hurt back hurts, belly hurt... you know, all the usual complaints. Still having a ton of contractions, which probably mean nothing as to when she will make her debut. They start up every night after Kellen is in bed, and I have a moment to put my feet up and rest. Then they start to calm down about the time I'm ready to fall asleep. Baby girl has been measuring a week behind for a few months now. My Dr. just seems to think she is going to be tiny. Will see... maybe I'm actually a week off who knows. So don't start send me messages asking if I've had the baby until I am at least a week over due.

We are starting to get really really excited for baby girl to get here. This pregnancy has gone by soooo fast!

Happy Anniversary

Preston and I had a wonderful time celebrating out 6th Anniversary last night. It was so simple... just a wonderful dinner at a nice restaurant, and wonderful baby sitters, but it was just what we both needed. Our relationship has been put on the back burner as of late and it was nice to have it just be us, and to reconnect again. Over the past few days I have truly felt how blessed I am to have Preston in my life. Even more so with the news of a friend that passed away this week, she was five months pregnant. My heart aches for her husband and my prayers go out to him and there families.

Preston does so much for our small little family, more then I think he should have to. I love being married to my best friend.

Here are a few pictures.

That was then and this is now.

I know what your all thinking, WOW Preston did have hair! he can still do that same hair style and everything. But after a few weeks of growing his hair out he starts to go crazy.

These past 6 years have gone by soooo fast, I can't wait to see were life takes us next.

All of September!!!

September was kind of a crazy month! But I figure I better get the blog updated or I may never blog again. So... this first photo is just for fun, I just love my little guy so much, and I love this photo.

September 3rd-7th:

We took the opportunity to fly to Sacramento to visit Preston's sister Jessica, and her Husband Brett. Kellen did better then expected on the flight there. The flight back, couldn't have gotten any worse! He was so overwhelmed with everything, and just couldn't calm down. He thew a 2 hr tantrum! The looks we were getting were the best I've ever seen. We even had people leaving the area because Kellen was so loud. I was really really worried someone was going to call security or something. By the time we got on the flight Kellen was just about all out of steam. It only took a few minutes, and he was passed out in the window seat. Literally it looked like he just pasted out, one second he was fighting me and the next he's a limp noodle. I wasn't worried though because I've seen him do this before. He slept the whole flight.

The reason we headed to Sac was so we could be apart of Brett's baptism. It was a wonderful experience and we are so glad we could be there.

Labor day:

We spent Labor Day at Brett's Mothers house and some of his family. Because Kellen wanted to get in the pool I had to get in to so I could watch him. Man that water was cold. We also spent the day with Preston's sister Jessica, brother Boyd and his girlfriend Jenny.

There was also time for the boys to run around a bit. What a sweaty kid!

This is Daxton, Kellen's cousin. Daxton is just 5 weeks younger.

September 11th-15th:

We found out on September 10th that Preston's Grandfather had suffered a bad Stroke and that things did not look good. We felt that is was important that Preston fly to Grand Junction CO to be with his family, especially with the thought, that a funeral might not be to far off. It was a very hard decision to make, but we decided that Kellen and I would stay behind. We new that it wouldn't be the best place for Kellen. And the idea of taking another flight so soon was daunting. Preston and Ross flew from here (AZ), Jessica and Boyd flew from CA, and Cameron drove from UT.

James Hardy passed away on September 12th.

That day is a very significant day for me, it marks the day that my brother Michael, and my sister Sandi passed away. (13 years ago) Now we can remember this day together.

The Funeral was held on September 15th, which was also Kellen's 4th birthday. We celebrated his birthday just a few weeks ago instead.

It was really hard to be away from Preston for so long, during such a hard time.

These are Preston's siblings:

(Front row) Jessica and Cameron, (Right) Boyd, (Back) Ross

September 14th:

Preston was still out of town so I took a quick photo to send to him, Kellen and I were just heading out the door to go swimming. This is me at 32 weeks. I know there aren't to many boys that look at my blog, and the ones that do i have no problem with them seeing me in my swim suit, so I didn't think it would be a problem to post this photo. It's sad to say that this is the only photo I have of me at 8 months.