Posts filed under 'Morgan'

A Day of Sighs…

Moving always sucks, but our move on Saturday seemed to rise to a level of suckiness that I haven’t seen in over 15 (or is it 16 or 17?) years. *sigh* To begin with, the day dawned hot & humid, with temperatures reaching the mid to upper 90’s by early afternoon. Then the movers first job was rescheduled to a different day, and their boss took it upon himself to send them 2+ hours ahead of time. *sigh* Anyone familiar with moving knows there are always last minute items that need to be packed, and other stuff that needs doing. Like taking apart beds, getting in the shower, etc. Plus, we had run out of boxes the night before, and Pookey was planning to get some more before the movers were scheduled to arrive. No dice. He had to go get them while the movers began the move. *sigh* So, for most of the morning, while the three movers loaded our stuff into the moving van, we feverishly packed up the remaining items. It was a hot, sweaty, and tiring time. Unfortunately we had too much stuff for the mid-sized (about the size of a medium u-haul) moving van they brought, so it took two trips, instead of the one we were all expecting, to move all of our things. Thankfully we were paying them a flat rate, instead of an hourly one, otherwise it would have cost us double the price we ended up paying. To make a loooooong story short, it took the majority of the day to get us all moved, and by the time it was done everyone was tired to the bone.

As soon as the movers took their leave, I shucked my clothes, and headed for the pool. It was pure heaven!!! That 9′ privacy fence we have around our backyard is a godsend! Morgan joined me in the pool, but got scared, decided he wanted out of the pool, and kept his distance from it for a few days. He hasn’t actually gotten into it again, but then we had a cold front come through the area on Monday, and it hasn’t been warm enough to swim most of the week. Today was the first day this week that the temperature has finally gotten warm enough to even contemplate swimming. Tomorrow should be even better. Morgan has once again decided he wants to get into the pool, so we’ll see what tomorrow (he has a day off from school) brings.

We spent our first night in our new home surrounded by boxes, and woke to aching muscles Sunday morning. It felt like someone had beaten the bottoms of my feet, and the backs of my calves with a bamboo cane, or something. Pookey wasn’t in much better shape than me either. We hobbled around the house like two elderly people, and managed to visit the apartment to pick up a few odds and ends that were left there. This week has been an endless procession of full boxes that need to be emptied, and figuring out where to put everything. Still, we are so happy to finally be in our own home, and that makes all the pain we went through worth it.

We still need to clean the apartment… *sigh* And have planned to do so this coming weekend. Hopefully it won’t take us too long, and then we can close that chapter of our lives, and begin a new one here.

Add comment September 21st, 2006 Posted by: Ash

Morgan’s Page!!!

I finally got around to updating Morgan’s web page… I’ve been meaning to redo it for quite some time, as he had long since outgrown most of the graphics on the page. He’s more into Spiderman now, than Teletubbies, and his web page needed to reflect that fact. I only have the index page done, but at least I got a start on it. Better late, than never.

Add comment August 30th, 2006 Posted by: Ash

1 In 166…

Autism is a developmental disability that generally appears between the ages of 15 and 20 months of age. In most cases, the child is progressing normally, and then begins to regress, losing speech, social skills and physical abilities. While there are varying degrees of severity, most children completely withdraw into a world of their own.

Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. Individuals with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

Autistic children often have a host of biomedical and neurological problems which may include: allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive disorders, persistent viral infections, feeding disorders, sensory integration disorder, sleeping disorders, mental retardation, and more.

A frightening aspect of the disorder is that children cannot assess sensory input properly. Autistic children cannot perceive fear or dangerous situations, nor can they filter and ignore stimuli. This sensory overload would be equivalent to your being intensely aware of the feel and color of this paper, the sensation of each article of clothing you are wearing, every single sound coming from the street and inside the building around you, and the fluorescent lights and every object that reflects the light near you. If a child with autism could read this letter, they would have to endure all this and more while trying to concentrate and comprehend this material. Normal functioning under this kind of sensory bombardment is nearly impossible.
Autism is diagnosed four times more often in boys than girls. Its prevalence is not affected by race, region, or socio-economic status. The incidence of autism is increasing at an alarming rate. Only 10 years ago, it was estimated that autism affected one out of 10,000 children. Two years ago, it was estimated that autism affected one out of 250 children. In January of 2004, the CDC, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, estimated that one in 166 children are currently being diagnosed with autism.

Children do not outgrow autism. There is no cure. It is a lifelong disability with a normal life expectancy. It affects boys four times more than it affects girls, although girls are generally more severely affected.

In the United States over 1.7 million individuals live with autism, making it more prevalent than Down Syndrome, childhood diabetes, and childhood cancer combined.

Add comment August 14th, 2006 Posted by: Ash

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

Well… Morgan has finally gone back to school today!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! Unfortunately the administrators of PISD’s special education department decided to reorganize all the centralized structured classrooms again, so he is in a completely different school from the one he was in last year. This is his 3rd year in school, and for all 3 years he’s had 3 different schools. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, since we had already decided that we didn’t want him returning to the one that allowed him to wander away from school last year anyway. (We didn’t have any confidence that they could keep him safe, but that’s a whole other ball of wax.) We all went an hour earlier for the open house they had yesterday, so we could attend a meeting with the principal, Morgan’s new teacher, and the teacher’s team leader, about the safety procedures they have in place. I have to say that it eases my mind a lot by how proactive they are being about Morgan’s safety. They also got a chance to see Morgan in action, so they had a clue about how challenging he can be. lol! Morgan got a chance to see the classroom, and enjoyed wandering around checking everything out. After a while he definitely had enough of it all, and we could see the beginnings of a meltdown coming on, so we left and went out to eat at IHOP. Yum!

On his first day of 2nd grade it was hard for him to buckle down, and do his school work. Not too surprising to me. The fact that he got to do what he wanted, when he wanted, over the summer complicates the situation. It always seems to take him a bit to get used to new things, but once he does he will do just fine. Soon they’ll be singing his praises, since he is a very smart little boy… Sometimes he’s too smart for his own good! Over the summer he began to truly read all the many Dr. Seuss books I’ve bought him from Scholastic over the years, so I’m sure they’ll soon see that he’s made a lot of progress with his reading skills. Hopefully he’ll have the same joy of reading Pookey & I have.

The one major bonus to him going to this new school is that the bus that takes him to school this year comes early enough that Pookey won’t be constantly late for work like he was last year. Plus, the one that brings him home comes about 40 minutes later than last year’s, which gives me more alone time. Alone time has always been a big part of my happiness… I do love being with my family, but being able to be alone makes me appreciate them all that much more. No really, I swear, I’m not just saying that! But for me, the best part of Morgan going back to school is being able to sleep in again. *happy sigh*

Add comment August 9th, 2006 Posted by: Ash

A Sigh Of Relief!!!

Morgan just finished the first week in PISD’s Extended School Year Program (ESY), and, boy, am I grateful for the brief respite it offers… I get to sleep-in later in the morning, not as late as I’d like, but definitely later than when he’s home full-time during any of his school vacations. I always appreciate any extra sleep I can get, especially since I’ll be run ragged by Morgan, with his endless demands, when he comes home. *tired sigh*

ESY is basically an extension of the regular school year for children with disabilities… It’s an attempt to prevent the loss of critical skills that often occur with these children over the long summer school break. Granted, it’s a 4 week (2 weeks in June & 2 weeks in July) morning only program, but it makes a world of difference in Morgan’s behavior. He loves going to "school", and the fact that his class is run by his regular teachers brings a constancy into the whole environment that he finds reassuring.

Morgan is happiest when he’s being kept busy, and the teachers are all doing a great job at doing that! His first week’s theme was water fun, the second is all about me, the third is camping, and the fourth is going to the beach. He’s having so much fun, and with the brief respite I am getting, so am I! We’ll both be sad when it’s over.

Add comment June 17th, 2006 Posted by: Ash