Relieved

Dawson had a rough start to his morning today. He slept in, unusual for him. His therapist got here at 9am and I told him to get up for 3rd time. He kept trying to lay back down and was pressing his eyes close, whispering something over and over. I got closer and heard what he was saying. "go see Tyler". I think he'd been dreaming about him and wanted to go back to sleep to see him again. At 10am I had a home visit meeting with Dawson's teacher and we were talking about his GI issues and she was starting to describe some things and said "i hope I don't gross you out". I assured her that nothing she said could possibly gross me out after what I've seen! She was very happy with  the suppliments I've started and recommended another one to help clear out the gluten and help his stools be more regular without the help of a laxitive. Hopefully that will work. Autistic kids often can't process things as easily. That gluten, which is in bread products, gets stuck in the digestive tract and starts gunking it up, making it harder for good things to absorb and makes him constipated since there's not as much room in there anymore. I've been reading up on it a lot and they say a lot of the kids crave those carbs that have gluten when they have this problem. Not sure why, but he has always been huge on those things. Changing his diet always seemed like a huge step and a big cost, since gluten-free versions of the foods aren't cheap. I had hoped the laxitive would help, and hadn't really focused on the subject until things settled and I started looking more into it again. The laxitive only helps move things through, but unless he stops eating gluten it will continue. It also gets absorbed into the bloodstream and acts as an Opiate for kids, which is often why they get spacey. His teacher and many people I've read about have said they've noticed big improvements in alertness and behavior, plus better digestive system by changing their diet.

So I was really stressing out about how to start this new thing when I can't affort to shop in the special foods section of the grocery store! Of course I want what's best for him though. Well my answer came yesterday when I got a call from the social security office saying his application for SSI has been approved! I had applied for SSI back in July when I was looking into things before and someone had recommended it. Autistic kids are eligible, especially when they need therapists, special diets and other things. It just takes a while and they need to evaluate how much care and special things each child needs. Not everyone gets it and I had started to lose hope! It's such a relief and now I don't have to hold back on getting him what he needs. After talking to people it was sounding impossible. They want like $6 for a loaf of bread sometimes. His suppliments are about $50 a month and I haven't even looked into the one his teacher mentioned.

We went to MOPS on thursday morning and that went well. Dawson went in the preschool room this time! It was our 3rd MOPS meeting at this one and the first time he was in the toddler room but it was too loud and chaotic for him, so the 2nd time he chose to be in the baby room with Gabriel. This time he was less clingy and decided to join the big kids and loved it. They said he did take a break and played with Gabriel for a while too. They were great about paying attention to his needs and letting him have that break. His therapist will usually be with him during that time, but she's on vacation.

Thursday evening we went to ECFE class. I asked Dawson if I should bring the camera and he said yes. I asked what I should take a picture of (last week he wanted him and Gabriel in the swing) and he said Gabriel. So I got some pictures of Gabriel in the ball pit.

 The tongue phase is always so cute

 He's learned to spit too. It was particularly fun when he did it to me at lunch with carrots in his mouth.

 See my tongue? It's the coolest thing ever and you'll be seeing much more of it for a while. :)

 Of course I had to get Dawson too, who loves riding the trikes

 He spends a lot of time in the ball pit too

 Adorable, happy boy!

I have learned that there are drawbacks to teaching them certain things. I told him to only use 1 square of toilet paper when he pees since he was unrolling it to the floor. Well we went to the bathroom before class and I took the stall next to him. Realized too late that there was no toilet paper in mine! So I thought "hey! Dawson can get me some!" I asked Dawson to get me some toilet paper, and he did. One square. Thankfully once I specified, my second request turned out better. I love how those little things can really make you laugh though. :)

This afternoon we went to a friend's house. She had a baby a month ago and we haven't seen them since just before Christmas. It was so fun seeing her baby, but at the same time it made me realize how big Gabriel has gotten! I was holding them both and Gabriel just looked huge. He was suddenly looking more like a toddler. Another hard thing was seeing her 2 year old. He reminds me of Tyler a bit, the way he says things and his cute cheeks. He's a little younger but about the same size. He was having some trouble sharing toys and decided to cuddle with me for a bit, which is what really got me. Holding someone that size again was emotional. It was nice, but realizing it wasn't Tyler and I won't get to hold him again is just tough. At first it was hard even seeing toddlers, it seemed like they were everywhere I went. Now it's mostly tough seeing moms with 3 boys about the same age. You wouldn't think I'd see many, but it seems like they're everywhere now! Or siblings having fun together and I think of what Dawson has lost. Since I'm posting ball pit pictures, here's a couple more. This was Tyler last winter.

 I actually have this one as my desktop pic right now :)

Tomorrow is a big day! Our Spaghetti dinner and auction is tomorrow afternoon/evening. It's been in the works for months and I'm excited to see everyone! Here's the information if anyone is interested. https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/314474225253927/