Tag: decoding treasure

Butt Naked Keira walks into the kitchen pulling…

Butt Naked, Keira walks into the kitchen pulling her toy bucket and says “Water in Bucket!”
Me “No. We’ll get a tubby in the tub.”
Keira “Water in the Bucket”
Me “Let’s go to the bathroom and get a tubby”
Keira “Water in the Bucket”
Me “Let’s go Keira get a tubby in the bathroom”
Keira stands and yells “Water in the Bucket”
Then PEES IN THE BUCKET!

I found a Gluten Free form letter to…

I found a Gluten Free form letter to the school online today – I found this part most interesting: “In addition to food, [Student Name] should also avoid contact with craft products that contain gluten. Of most concern to me are play dough, pasta, hay/straw, fingerpaints and paper mache, since they are products that almost always contain wheat and/or are likely to get under his fingernails. Other… products that may contain wheat are glue, paint, and ink. To be clear, [Student Name] does not get a reaction just from touching gluten, however if it gets on his hands and fingers it could be transferred to his mouth. I would be happy to review the ingredients of any craft products in the classroom to determine if they do contain gluten. If they do, I will be happy to provide [Student Name] with a suitable substitution.”
Do you know how much Play Dou Keira eats in a day!?!??!?!

I found a Gluten Free form letter to…

I found a Gluten Free form letter to the school online today – I found this part most interesting: “In addition to food, [Student Name] should also avoid contact with craft products that contain gluten. Of most concern to me are play dough, pasta, hay/straw, fingerpaints and paper mache, since they are products that almost always contain wheat and/or are likely to get under his fingernails. Other… products that may contain wheat are glue, paint, and ink. To be clear, [Student Name] does not get a reaction just from touching gluten, however if it gets on his hands and fingers it could be transferred to his mouth. I would be happy to review the ingredients of any craft products in the classroom to determine if they do contain gluten. If they do, I will be happy to provide [Student Name] with a suitable substitution.”
Do you know how much Play Dou Keira eats in a day!?!??!?!

Note to Self When teachers send a note…

Note to Self: When teachers send a note home explaining clothing change due to rain, puddles or other – REMOVE clothing from bag immediately. Do NOT wait until after the weekend or childs bag will smell like an outhouse! Turned Keira’s school bag inside out this morning, sprayed it with Frabreeze and off it went to school smelling much better, but still inside out to air! lol At least she didn’t have an accident lol

I CAN’T BELIEVE KEIRA TONIGHT So far I’ve…

I CAN’T BELIEVE KEIRA TONIGHT!!!
So far, I’ve asked Keira what she wanted, she told me Cereal! She has answered Yes or No with prompting!! When I asked her “Who’s this” and pointed to me she said Mom!!! And now she’s sitting on Daddy’s lap spelling words and having little conversations with him – IT’S UNBELIEVABLE!! If I could get her dressed I’d start filming it!!!

When Keira Attacks – Keira’s trip to the Operating Room.

Sep 19 2011
We arrived at the Surgery Center in plenty of time only to find out that our surgeon was going to be 40 minutes late. 40 minutes later I was told that we would have to wait another 40 minutes just to get into pre-op.
Somehow, Keira stayed Cheery the entire time. We walked, we strolled, of course most of the time she just wanted to be held and carried. Since mentally Keira is about 2, it makes sense.
Keira was great until we got into Pre-Op. She was so hungry, frustrated and once they put us in that little room that looked like the room in the ER – she LOST IT! She was scared to death.
Keira stated kicking and hitting, biting herself, screeching like a wild animal. The nurse told me I could let her run around the small room, but Keira said UP so I picked her up off the bed. Keira bit herself, then did her vampire bite on me. Keira knows, if you bite Mommy, Mommy will put you down as a punishment – she didn’t like that and turned toward the nurse and did one of her banshee screeches.
The nurse, scared out of her mind, leaped from her little swirly chair, tipped the bedside table she was using, papers flew everywhere and the nurse flew out the door, closing it behind her screaming “I‘m going to get anesthesia!!!”
Another nurse and ‘Anesthesia’ came in right in – Keira cornered them. I’m not kidding – Keira was now taking hostages. Once Keira had the Anesthesiologist and the nurse cornered, she went for the surgeon – this was a VERY small room and that tall man moved fast – I grabbed Keira and together we force One Single drop of this pink stuff into Keira’s mouth. The remainder of the pink stuff covered the rest of us.
As I looked up, I saw the original nurse standing outside the glass, holding the door shut. That woman was just terrified.
I don’t know what was in that pink stuff, but it made Keira High in seconds. They gave Keira an anesthesia mask to play with so she wouldn’t be scared when it was used on her and she looked at it with crossed eyes and giggled – Yup! High as a Kite, but she was no longer taking hostages.
2 hours later – it was over and they came to RUSH me back to Keira who was being held down by 3 nurses. And of course, when mommy picked her up, she calmed down and fell asleep for another hour. One of the PostOp nurses had to stay with us, she was funny.
The PostOp nurse told me when she got report on Keira she was told about the biting and that Keira didn’t have any teeth extracted. The nurse said her first thought was “Great. So she still has her weapons!”

We arrived at the Sergey Center in plenty…

We arrived at the Sergey Center in plenty of time only to find out that our surgeon was going to be 40 minutes late. 40 minutes later I was told that we would have to wait another 40 minutes just to get into pre-op.
Somehow, Keira stayed Cheery the entire time. We walked, we strolled, of course most of the time she just wanted to be held and carried. Since mentally Keira is about 2, it makes sense.
Keira was great until we got into Pre-Op. She was so hungry, frustrated and once they put us in that little room that looked like the room in the ER – she LOST IT! She was scared to death.
Keira stated kicking and hitting, biting herself, screeching like a wild animal. The nurse told me I could let her run around the small room, but Keira said UP so I picked her up off the bed. Keira then bit herself, then did her vampire bite on me. Keira knows, if you bite Mommy, Mommy will put you down as a punishment – she didn’t like that and turned toward the nurse and did one of her banshee screeches.
The nurse, scared out of her mind, leaped from her little swirly chair, tipped the bedside table she was using, papers flew everywhere and the nurse flew out the door, closing it behind her screaming “I‘m going to get anesthesia!!!”
Another nurse and ‘Anesthesia’ came in right in. I’d find out later that both were very nice woman and Keira cornered them. I’m not kidding – Keira was now taking hostages. Once Keira had the Anesthesiologist and the nurse cornered, she went for the surgeon – this was a VERY small room and that tall man moved fast – I grabbed Keira and together we force a drop of this pink stuff into Keira’s mouth. The remainder of the pink stuff covered the rest of us.
As I looked up, I saw the original nurse standing outside the glass, holding the door shut. That woman was just terrified.
I don’t know what was in that pink stuff, but it made Keira high in seconds. They gave Keira an anesthesia mask to play with so she wouldn’t be scared when it was used on her and she looked at it with crossed eyes and giggled – Yup! High as a Kite, but she was no longer taking hostages.
2 hours later – it was over and they came to RUSH me back to Keira who was being held down by 3 nurses. And of course, when mommy picked her up, she calmed down and fell asleep for another hour. One of the PostOp nurses had to stay with us, she was funny.
The PostOp nurse told me when she got report on Keira she was told about the biting and that Keira didn’t have any teeth extracted. The nurse said her first thought was “Great. So she still has her weapons!”

We arrived at the Sergey Center in plenty…

We arrived at the Sergey Center in plenty of time only to find out that our surgeon was going to be 40 minutes late. 40 minutes later I was told that we would have to wait another 40 minutes just to get into pre-op.
Somehow, Keira stayed Cheery the entire time. We walked, we strolled, of course most of the time she just wanted to be held and carried. Since mentally Keira is about 2, it makes sense.
Keira was great until we got into Pre-Op. She was so hungry, frustrated and once they put us in that little room that looked like the room in the ER – she LOST IT! She was scared to death.
Keira stated kicking and hitting, biting herself, screeching like a wild animal. The nurse told me I could let her run around the small room, but Keira said UP so I picked her up off the bed. Keira then bit herself, then did her vampire bite on me. Keira knows, if you bite Mommy, Mommy will put you down as a punishment – she didn’t like that and turned toward the nurse and did one of her banshee screeches.
The nurse, scared out of her mind, leaped from her little swirly chair, tipped the bedside table she was using, papers flew everywhere and the nurse flew out the door, closing it behind her screaming “I‘m going to get anesthesia!!!”
Another nurse and ‘Anesthesia’ came in right in. I’d find out later that both were very nice woman and Keira cornered them. I’m not kidding – Keira was now taking hostages. Once Keira had the Anesthesiologist and the nurse cornered, she went for the surgeon – this was a VERY small room and that tall man moved fast – I grabbed Keira and together we force a drop of this pink stuff into Keira’s mouth. The remainder of the pink stuff covered the rest of us.
As I looked up, I saw the original nurse standing outside the glass, holding the door shut. That woman was just terrified.
I don’t know what was in that pink stuff, but it made Keira high in seconds. They gave Keira an anesthesia mask to play with so she wouldn’t be scared when it was used on her and she looked at it with crossed eyes and giggled – Yup! High as a Kite, but she was no longer taking hostages.
2 hours later – it was over and they came to RUSH me back to Keira who was being held down by 3 nurses. And of course, when mommy picked her up, she calmed down and fell asleep for another hour. One of the PostOp nurses had to stay with us, she was funny.
The PostOp nurse told me when she got report on Keira she was told about the biting and that Keira didn’t have any teeth extracted. The nurse said her first thought was “Great. So she still has her weapons!”

Can’t remember if I’ve posted this before or…

Can’t remember if I’ve posted this before or not, but it needs to be included – This is Keira BEFORE starting Reach School
Decoding Keira.
(This started as something funny I wrote to help friends and family understand our little Treasure, it turned into a rather helpful handout.)
I explain Keira like this: Keira can say the words “I want a cookie”, she can read the words “I want a cookie”, she can sign “I want a cookie”, she can spell the sentence “I want a cookie”, she can even write the sentence “I want a cookie” using a capital I and a period at the end.
However if she actually wants a cookie, she will grab my finger and drag me to the cabinet where we have our treats and just scream.
People tell me “Don’t give her what she wants and she’ll learn to speak”. The problem is, I don’t know what she wants, many times she goes without what she wants – if that theory held water she’d be communicating with us. There seems to be something in her head that doesn’t allow her to tell us what she wants or ask questions like normal 3 year olds.
If I go through everything in the cabinet saying “Do you want M&M’s? Do you want Crackers?” and so on, if we get to the cookies and that is in fact what she wants, something won’t allow her to say “YES”. Keira will scream and reach of them.
If I say “Keira, you have already had enough cookies today, how about an apple?” The tantrum stops and she will go for the apple. She’s not having a tantrum because she wants a cookie and she’s not getting it, she’s having the tantrum because she can’t communicate.
A small sample of questions I’ve answered for doctors and therapists and on forms I’ve made out a hundred times.
Q: Does Keira stare off into the distance and become unresponsive?
A: Only in her “Planning Stage”.
Q: Does she understand the word No?
A: I don’t know it’s never worked. Oh no correction, she understands NO when she screams it at me.
Q: Is your child shy?
A: That would be a nice change.
Q: Does she have anxiety attacks in large groups of people?
A: No, she causes anxiety in large groups of people. To Keira a large group of people is an adrenalin rush.
Q: Does she communicate effectively?
A: Only when she doesn’t want to do something.
Q: How does she do when you deviate from the normal routine?
A: Our routine or hers?
Q: Does she participate in dangerous behavior?
A: Only up until she realizes it’s going to hurt.
Q: Does she watch more than 2 hours of TV a day?
A: I WISH!!!
Q: When Keira watches TV what does she watch?
A: The title sequence. Possibly up to the first 5 minutes if she’s jumping on the trampoline.
Q: What is the first indication that Keira is about to have a tantrum.
A: She screams YAY!! Which in Keira speak is interpreted as “FIGURE OUT WHAT I WANT NOW OR THE SCREAMING IS JUST GOING TO GET WORSE!!!”
Q: Does your child engage in eye contact?
A: Only when attempting a mind-meld.
Q: Do you feel your child understands you?
A: When it involves food.
Q: Does your child nap? If not, please indicate at what age they discontinued this activity.
A: Pre conception is never an option.
Q: Is your child potty trained?
A: Only at home where she has access to the potty, since she can’t say “I want to use the potty” or even the word “potty” when she needs to go. But can read, say and sign both when written.
Q: Other than tantrums how does your child protest?
A: If she’s really angry she’ll walk into the middle of the living room pull off her Pull Up and pee on the floor, then jump in it like it’s a rain puddle.
Q: Does Keira have any special abilities?
A: Yes, she can Sign, Read, Spell, Count to 20, Count backwards from 10. She is teaching herself to write letters/words/numbers and basic addition skills. But she can’t say “I want a Cookie” when she wants one.
Q: What words best describe your child?
A: Willful. Sweet. Rebel. Brilliant.
Q: Can your child speak?
A: She has an unbelievably large vocabulary – she describes everything.
Q: In regards to your child, what other behavior are you worried about.
A: That she must chew everything.
Keira doesn’t talk to us like other 3 year olds.
I would love it if she understood the need to “stay with mommy”
Q: What are some activities your child enjoys?
A: Running, jumping, climbing, dancing, breaking things open to see what’s inside, exploring and snuggling on the couch with Mommy and Daddy with her doodle boards.
Q: What are some activities your child does not participate in?
A: Sitting still.
Q: How has your child’s behavior impacted your life?
A: I now have a much larger bladder.
Keira has been a non-conformist since before birth deciding the best decent was butt first and early. She has never felt the need to sleep and the more activity she receives the less likely she is to sleep through the night.

The problem with having an Autistic child isn’t…

The problem with having an Autistic child, isn’t the child, it’s the people who think they KNOW Your child.
Everyone KNOW’s someone who’s autistic, a friends child or they have a niece or a nephew with autism so that makes them an authority.
(Or a child therapist – we‘ve come to realize, that they know nothing.)
And because they know 1 or maybe 2 children with autism they know exactly how to handle Your child.
It becomes worse when a family member can’t handle the diagnoses and they tell people things like “She‘s coming right out of it. She‘s fine.”
Because if You’re the one who looks after that child the most, it makes you look like you have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s a constant battle trying to protect your child and be pleasant to people at the same time.
My favorite is when people THINK they know my child enough to watch her. Of course I’m just being over protective or stubborn when I tell people “We don‘t let anyone watch her.” Because, of course, the child you know with autism has to be EXACTLY LIKE MINE and that other child is easy to take care of.
Then you get those who say “Oh I‘m not saying its easy” As if I’m stupid.
I’d love to say “You know NOTHING about my child, but you‘re going to stand here and disregard what I have to say, because you‘ve spent 10 minute with her here and there and you listen to someone who‘s in denial so you must have all the answers.”
The thing is, I can’t say “If you can‘t lift her right now, what are you going to do when she‘s slamming her head against the floor?” (She‘s about 40lbs)
OR “If you can’t run, how are you going to catch her when she gets out the back door?” (She‘s faster than a panther)
My absolute FAVORITE comment came from my very best friend after she watched Keira for 30 minutes. I walked through the door and an Exasperated Woman stood there and said “HOW DO YOU DO THIS EVERYDAY!?!”
(Keep in mind my BFF is the oldest of 8 children, has an Aspie’s brother and her husband works with Autistic children, so she knows what she’s getting into.)
It’s my very favorite comment because it made me feel completely justified. I’m right. And Charity never misses a chance to tell me I’m right.
Thank you Charity.

Last night I heard Keira run into the…

Last night I heard Keira run into the bathroom, put her seat on the toilet and so on. Then I heard the lid close ……. and I was so excited – I heard the water running! And Running and Running. I walked in to find Keira at the sink washing her hands ……. and her feet …… and her butt! I should say “found Keira IN THE SINK”.
But to her credit she did not get her nighty wet!