School Year 2014-15

The last three weeks have been a little hectic and crazy. Elijah started the 8th grade back on Aug. 25th and so far things are going well. He has settled in nicely with only a few emails needed to keep me informed of behavior. I started back in the classroom on Aug. 25 with grades 3-5! I have five students who keep me very busy and I am happy to say that my sign skills are as good as they were five years ago! I am really loving being in the classroom!

I also started graduate school on Aug. 25th.  Thankfully, the first week of assignments consisted of "introduce yourself" activities and no real work was required. I am happy to say that all of my assignments that are due by this weekend (Sept. 14th) are done and I am working on next weeks assignments! I am liking the material and as always learning a lot.

Jacob started college this year at a state technical school that is two hours away. Elijah and I helped him move on Aug. 30th. Lets just say, IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE! The major issue that day was getting him a key for HIS room in the apartment he shares with three other guys. Once that got sorted out, we got him moved in quickly. It was an all day event though with getting his wireless services set up and waiting in a LOT of lines! I was exhausted when we left, but had two days to recover before heading back to work.

Jacob seems to have settled in nicely. He texts at least once a day, per my request, so that I can make sure he is still alive. He likes his classes, from what he tells me and doesn't seem homesick. I have talked to him a few times on the phone, but I am trying to let him spread his wings! I think he will come home the weekend of the 20th.

I do miss him, but I am happy for him. Elijah has done well with the transition and as always my honey is very supportive! The cats seemed to have adjusted as well. I am curious to see what happens when Jacob comes home for a visit. If it weren't for the cats, I don't think we would see him until Christmas!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well this year for all of us. It is a big year of change. This time next year, Elijah will be a FRESHMAN in HIGH SCHOOL and I will be in my last semester of grad school! YIKES!

Elijah and his iPhone!

Elijah has taken his iPhone to school each day this week with no problems, that is until today. I got a call from one of his teachers about his behavior. He had to be asked twice to put away his phone and he disrupted the class quite a bit. He ended up in the principal's office. I told my honey this story and so she went on the hunt for an app that I could use to control his phone....and she found one. It is called ParentKit and I installed it tonight. I am going to take advantage of their one month free trial. Here is a link http://www.parentkit.co/

I installed the app on my phone and then added Elijah as one of my kids. The app then gave me a website to go to on his iPhone. I went to the website and entered a code that I got from MY iphone when I was registering him as a user. Once I did that, I then had control of his iPhone. I went to the app on my iPhone and set up his account. I turned off Safari and the ability to install apps or make in app purchases. I then went into the scheduling part of the account and set up very specific times he could have access to the apps on his iPhone. He now can't get to his games during the day at school. I set up his lunch time as a time for when he can access his apps. I then turned them off again and set it for him to have access after school. I am going to let him know that I can take away the lunch time access if he doesn't start behaving, especially since his behavior today occurred after lunch.

I showed him his iPhone with the game app not there. I then turned them back on and let's just say he wasn't too happy. I am sure he won't like me too much after all of this, but parenting is not an easy job and I don't have to be popular.

Three Weeks In!

We are three weeks into school and all of us are doing well. Elijah has had an AWESOME start to 7th grade. So far, his behavior chart is working well and he is earning trips to Sweet Frog each week. He loves the yogurt and candy there. Jacob is also doing well. He is enjoying his computer maintenance class, which is a college class. He gets out of school at 2:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and he really LIKES that. He works at a local grocery store on the weekend and likes having his own money. He pays for all of his car insurance and gas! He is even managing to put some money into savings!

I am doing well in graduate school. I am taking two classes and have had five assignments graded! I received a 10/10 on all five assignments. I have turned in one project and am waiting for my score on that one! I am actually a few weeks ahead in both classes and am glad. I have a few projects that are coming up that will keep me busy. I am planning on staying ahead so that I have plenty of time to get assignments and projects completed with little stress!

Elijah and I go to the library each weekend for a few hours. He enjoys playing video games in the Teen Room. He gets to be around other kids and practice those social skills. I take my books and laptop to work. I am able to set everything up and work right outside of the Teen Room, so I can check on him. So far, he has done well, except for last Saturday. He got a little loud and was given three warnings. He had to leave the Teen Room. I am fine with that, because he has to learn how to behave in public. We went again today and he did just fine. He really enjoys going and it is good for both of us!!

Sometimes.....

Sometimes, I wish Elijah was just deaf. Dealing with his deafness has been relatively easy, when compared to dealing with his behavior due to his Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD issues. Most people understand that he is deaf. His cochlear implant processor are a clear indication that he can't hear. However, he hears everything while wearing them and does pretty well with communication. Explaining his other issues is more difficult sometimes.

Just yesterday we went to the library. They have a teen room that he enjoys going to and I have let him have some independence and let him go by himself. They have video games and laptops the kids can use. I spend about 20 minutes in the recreation center working out and then check on him. I then stay in the library so I can keep an eye on him. I usually check on him after about 45 minutes and then we head home. A few days ago, when I entered, he was being asked to be quiet. OK, no big deal. We discussed it and how he needs to behave. Well, yesterday they moved the Teen room to a larger room. They had board games, along with the video games, a raffle, and some snacks. I checked on him after about 20 minutes and he was doing fine. I then told one of the librarians where I would be, and went to read some of the newspapers. I came back after about 30 minutes and started looking for him. Well, one of the librarians found me. They told me he was a bit aggressive, pushing some other kids. He didn't understand that he couldn't just have one of the raffle items. He was now crying and trying to get his way using tears. He does get a bit of sympathy due to his deafness and people will give him a little leeway, but only so far. I thanked the librarians and we left.

Elijah and I talked about his behavior. I told him that he could no longer stay in the teen room while I went to the recreation center. I told him we could go to the rec center together and then I would go to the library with him. I would let him go in the teen room alone, but check on him every ten minutes. This would allow him to "practice" how to behave. He could stay for 30 minutes and then we would visit on another day. I have found that if he practices an activity, he does better. We can then move up to me checking on him every 15 minutes and so one. We can then work on him staying for 45 minutes.

When he has done well in the teen center, I come in and he is playing with other kids. No one has teased him or made him feel uncomfortable. I am glad this is a "safe" place for him to play, but it also not a daycare. As his mom, I have to help him learn to be around others. The only way his behavior can improve is if he practices how to behave and learns what is acceptable.

I really don't mind having this "duty" as his mom, but there are days when I wish I could just be a typical mom and not have to PLAN all of this out. I love him though, and he is worth it!

What a Weekend!

Elijah and I left on Friday around lunch time to drive to Austin to participate in the Family Weekend Retreat at the Texas School for the Deaf(TSD). Jacob had to work over the weekend so he stayed with my partner, who also had to work! We arrived around 4:00 and got checked in. We went to our dorm room and settled in. Dinner was at 5:30, so we left a little early to walk down to the cafeteria. I have learned from past experience, it is good to get to the cafeteria early when attending something like this!

We had about ten minutes to wait and there was another family there waiting also. Elijah and their daughter played and ran around a bit. The mother and grandmother chatted with me. I then hear a scream and someone crying.  I look over and Elijah is getting up and holding his nose. He had fallen while running up the stairs. He comes running to me and when he moves his hand all I see is BLOOD. The other mom handed me tissues and when I wiped away the blood, I saw this huge gash! It was deep. I knew it needed stitches.

He and I started our walk back to the check in area, because our car was there and I needed to find out where the closest hospital was. I was a nervous wreck. This would be my second trip to an ER in two weeks and this was in another town! The nurse looked at Elijah's nose and agreed it needed stitches. Someone offered to drive us, because by this time I was in tears and my hands were shaking. Elijah was crying and all I wanted to do was take care of him.

We arrived at the ER and they got us back pretty quick. The woman who took us waited in the waiting area. She was the first of many angels that night. They took X-Rays and he had also broken his nose. He got five stitches. Elijah was not very happy about stitches and threw a fit. I told him they would have to give him medicine to calm him and he would get sleepy. There would be no ice cream social at TSD if he was sleepy. He calmed down and after two huge shots he got his five stitches. We then got his prescription for antibiotics and left. It was now around 7:45. We found a CVS and arrived right around 8:00. The pharmacist then tells me they closed at 8:00. I explained the situation and she filled the prescription. Our second angel of the night.

We arrived back at TSD and they had saved us dinner. TSD is a huge campus. It reminds me of a small junior college and there are lots of stairs! Another staff member then drove us over to the ice cream social in a golf cart, because the walk was SO long. This was Elijah's favorite part!!! We ate our dinner, had our ice cream and Elijah got to play with other kids. He was a real trooper!

The rest of the weekend was awesome. I went to workshops on Saturday and Elijah went to a day care where he got to play with other kids. He swam, but did not submerge his head due to the stitches. He had an awesome time and he behaved! I arrived back and we hung at the dorm until our group got to eat dinner. We then went and watched them shoot off rockets at the football field and then hung out with some other families. Let's just say we crashed hard that night and were in bed by 9:30.

Sunday morning was our last to be there. Elijah went to day care after breakfast and I went to two more presentations. We left around 11:15 and met my sister and nephew for lunch. We are now at their house!

Once we get home, I will post some pictures that I took. I really enjoy connecting with other families at this retreat. This is also a time when Elijah gets to be around other deaf kids his age. There was a good mix of families there with kids who signed, talked or did both! If you live in Texas, I encourage you to take your family if you have a deaf child. It is only $75 for the weekend. You stay in the dorms and they feed you while you are there! You can't beat this deal. Just be careful on those stairs, or you will spend some time in the ER. OH and I am ever so glad to have that accident insurance, WHO knew I would need it again so soon!

Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month

Yesterday was the start of Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month! As many of you know, Elijah has Tourette Syndrome. It is a very confusing thing to try to explain to people. Elijah doesn't have many tics, but when he does they can be very intense. He also has OCD and ADHD which are two co-morbid disorders associated with Tourette Syndrome. I would say these two things give him more trouble than the tics do.

I am trying to educate more and more people about Tourette Syndrome. Awareness is the key!

LABELS!

We live a life in which we are all labeled at one point or another. When we are born, we are labeled as a boy or a girl. We are labeled by our race, hair color, eye color and how big we are and all of this happens on the day we are born. There are many other labels that come later. Some of them are nice to have. Labels that tell us how smart we are or that we are loved by somone. However, many labels that are given to children in school are usually not fun labels. Many of them are generic labels that are used on MANY children. Then there are the labels used in special education and medical professionals.

Elijah was labeled as a premature baby on the day he was born. He then received the label as a child with a hearing loss when he was five weeks old. This was confirmed four weeks later. He went home on oxygen and received the label as medically fragile having a reactive airway. Grant you, he was not as fragile as many children, but he certainly wasn't healthy.  These are the  labels he lived with for a long time. I like to remember that he was and still is a blue eyed red headed precious boy!

Elijah started school at the age of three with the label of auditorially impaired(AI) and wears cochlear implants. Auditorially Impaired is the Federal term used for a hearing imparied child. He started off as a total communication AI student and then later was labeled as an ORAL AI student. He was also a child with behavior issues and later earned the label of ADHD. He started medication and things were OK for about 18 months and then the tics started. At the age of eight he received the label of Tourette Syndrome and a few months later the label of OCD. These were given my medical professional and at school fall under OHI(Other Health Impaired). The school sent forms off to his doctors and one of them decided to put the label of Aspergers on the report. The school called me and DID NOT agree with this label at all and neither did I. I called the doctor and had it removed.

Elijah has lived with these labels most of his life and have overcome many obstacles. We are planning on taking him to a camp for kids with Tourette Syndrome in April. I completed the application and sent it off about two months ago. His doctors then needed to complete a medical form for all of his medications and I just recieved the form from his psychiatrist. All of his labels were listed along with PDD-NOS. This is an acronym for Pervasive Developmental Disorder that is non specific. Basically it is atypical autism. Well, here we go again. I looked up this disorder AGAIN and this is what I found.

As for the other PDD's, diagnosis of PDD-NOS requires the involvement of a team of specialists. The individual needs to undergo a full diagnostic evaluation, including a thorough medical, social, adaptive, motor skills and communication history. Other parts of an assessment can be behavioral rating scales, direct behavioral observations, psychological assessment, educational assessment, communication assessment, and occupational assessment.

I have to say I am more than just a bit irritated with his doctor. She sees him for 15 minutes every two to three months. A full diagnostic evaluation has never been done on him for PDD-NOS or any form of autism. Many hearing impaired children may show symptoms of autism as do some children with Tourette Syndrome. I don't believe hs is PDD-NOS and neither do the deaf educators who have worked with him for YEARS.  This is one label that I am not going to allow to be used with Elijah. Assumptions are made with labels, and he already has way TOO many and doesn't need another one. We go back to his doctor in May, and I guess she and I will need to talk.

Phoebe in Wonderland

Phoebe in Wonderland is a movie that depicts a family dealing with a child with Tourette Syndrome. The family does not know this is what they are dealing with at first. The daughter acts strangely, makes sounds, spits, has OCD tendencies and overall is just not acting "normal". It was a hard movie for to me to watch, because I had gone through the range of emotions that the mother in the movie goes through. I had thought there was NO way that Elijah had Tourette Syndrome. Even when we suspected it, I didn't grasp the full effect of this condition.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to get a better understanding of Tourette Syndrome and its co morbid disorders. There is a point in the movie when the family is eating dinner. There are the two girls(Phoebe and her younger sister) and the parents. I don't remember exactly how it all starts, but the girls tease their parents about having a baby. They keeping being silly and saying the mom should have another baby. The parents are extremely stressed with everything that has been going on with Phoebe and the father looks at her and says(and I paraphrase) "Do you think your mom can handle another one like you?" Of course, he regrets it as soon as he says it. The daughter is hurt and the mother is upset. Later the parents talk and the father tells his wife that he has apologized to Phoebe, but the mother is still very upset with her husband. She finally says(and paraphrasing again) "You said exactly what I was thinking. You are right, I can't handle another one like her." I cried through this entire part of this movie. It was at a time, when I felt the same way about Elijah. I just didn't know what to do with him or how to best help him.

Elijah is doing very well now and I am thankful for that. We have had some very rough years, and we may have some rough times again, but I am better equipped to handle it. He has good doctors and a great staff at his school. We just take it day by day!

The Wind Brings a Cough

The wind has really come through today. We had gusts up to 30 mph this afternoon and they are supposed to get stronger tonight. Elijah had good day at school and we had a nice night together. I put him to bed and within 10 minutes, THE COUGH starts. Now this just isn't your regular cough, this is that "OLD MAN WHO SMOKES 2 PACKS OF CIGARETTES COUGH". I immediately go back to his room and he informs me he has a cough. He follows me to the kitchen and I give him a teaspoon of prescription cough medication, that has codeine. The bottle said 5 ml and when I measured from the spoon into an actual small 5 ml measuring dispenser, what I had given him wasn't enough. SO, I gave him a bit more and a breathing treatment.

All of this kept him up longer than his usual bed time. He is usually OUT by 8:00 or 8:15. I emailed his two teachers to let them know what was going on, because between the prescription cough medication AND staying up a bit later, his behavior could be ALL over the place tomorrow. He is fast asleep now and I am hoping that this was just a small flare and all will be better tomorrow. It never fails though, we go to the pulmanoligist and get a good report and then a week later, he is sick! Keep him in your prayers that this will all blow over!

Sugar AGAIN!

Elijah had another good week at school. He hasn't been able to buy ice cream since we figured out that sugar is NOT good for him. He has had a pretty good weekend, until today. He was argumentative this afternoon and back to being just a pain in the rear. He argued with me any chance he could get and had to get the last word in. Later, after my partner came home we figured out he had snuck into our room at SOME point today and gotten into chocolate. We are not sure how much chocolate, but I guess enough to put him IN THIS MOOD. Just more of a confirmation to me, that a large amount of sugar is not good for him.

Let's just say, I don't take all sugar away from him, but I try to keep it to a minimal. This is especially true on school days. He has sugar free syrup with his waffles or pancakes in the morning. He has low calorie cookies in his lunch if he takes it. He does get chocolate milk at school, but just a pint. Let's just say, these small amounts of sugar are not good for him. Ice cream, doughnuts, candy, and a few other foods affect him badly. Sometimes we just have these days, and at least we have figured out what triggers it.

Elijah's Week and Driving with Jacob

Elijah had another awesome week! It is thrilling to see him have such awesome days and to NOT get phone calls from principals! He is also very happy!

Now, let's turn our attention to Jacob. He finished driver's education class and got his permit back in July of 2012. He had to wait at least six months to take his driver's license test AND log 20 hours of driving in that time. He had to get at least 10 hours of daytime driving and other 10 of night time driving. He has all of his daytime hours, but needs those night time hours. He also needs to just PRACTICE a lot more. I made an appointment for the first day of Spring Break to take his test for his license.

So, last night we went out driving into Dallas. Now, we didn't go into downtown Dallas, but he did drive on two highways and on some major streets with LOTS of traffic. He did all after 6:00! Let's just say it was an experience for us both. He didn't quite get that the red tail lights were on because the headlights were on and when the get REALLY BRIGHT, that means the car is BRAKING. Lets just say I said the words BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE a great deal. Overall, he did a good job, but he needs more practice. He also needs to practice parallel parking...YIKES!

Elijah's Week

Elijah had another awesome week at school this week. He finished up with all greens today and had NO red marks on any other days this past week. He did have a few yellows, but nothing too serious. We have seen great behavior at home too. He seems much more focused when he does homework at home and we are so excited to see this. Just wanted to share!

Update and Will it Last

Elijah had an AWESOME week at school last week. He has seven chances to earn a red, yellow or green(green is the best) for each class he has. He had all greens for every day but one last week and on that day he still only had one red. NOW, will it last?? That is the question. He was more argumentative this weekend, but then I realized he had two doughnuts for breakfast yesterday and one today...HMMM...could that be it. He earned them by having good days. Let's just say, he will be working for money for next weekend. No more doughnuts for him! I just think the sugar gets to him and causes it. We shall see.

I did email his teachers to ask them how he is really doing. We are going back to the doctor in a week and I really want to give her a good update on how he is doing. The green marks on his status sheet give only part of the story. I am hoping I haven't jinxed things by sending the email. We are also going to the endochronolgist this Friday....I sure hope he has grown! I'll keep y'all posted!

Medication

Elijah takes a great deal of medication to address his Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD. He also takes medication for his asthma. We recently changed his ADHD medication and he has been much calmer and more focused. We have noticed a significant change at home and we were glad to see that he had two very good days since we went back to school this past Monday.

Elijah brings home a status sheet each day that lists each class period. He can earn GREEN which means he behaved, a YELLOW which means he needed prompts and behavior was not so good, or a RED which means he had a really hard time in that class and there was probably a trip to the office to calm down. Elijah had ALL GREENS for the last two days. He was so proud of himself. Today he had six greens and one red. He had an extreme meltdown after lunch and his teacher had emailed me. She was curious to know if I might know what set him off.  I really had no idea. She also mentioned he had a bit of a hard time in PE and maybe that started it. Now Elijah gets NO iPad, nintendo or Wii during the school week. He had purchased a mini iPad of his own(saving for a long time!) and I told him if he had an ALL green day he could have 30 min on the iPad. I was shocked that he had had two all green days.....he had trouble getting even four or five greens in one day for the last few months. I thought maybe he was worried about getting the iPad and so that caused the melt down.

Well, later tonight, he went to take his evening medication and he says, "Mom, my Tuesday medicine is still in here." I went and looked and sure enough he had not take his medication last night. I always remind him to take it and he always goes and takes it. I remember reminding him last night, but I had not double checked to make sure he took it. I emailed his teacher to let her know that he had not taken his medication last night and this was probably the reason he had the melt down.

I know there may be many people out there who don't believe in medicating children OR adults, but Elijah couldn't function in the world if he didn't have his medication to support him!

Looking Back on 2012 and Forward to 2013

Here we are again at the end of another year! Overall, I would say it has been a good year. There have been several milestones this years for all of us. Jacob took driving classes and got his permit. He is now a junior and got his class ring! He is taller than me and growing up way too fast. He has a friend that is a girl, who has been over to our house several times. He and I have had some really good talks lately and he showing signs of becoming an adult and other times he is still such a teen. Next year brings him taking his test for his driver's license and turning 17. He still plans to referee soccer and then possibly getting a job in the summer.



Elijah is in sixth grade and will enter middle school next year. He will soon enter his teen years when his birthday rolls around in April. He told grandma today that he will be 13 in 2013! He is still such a little boy though. Children with Tourette Syndrome act 2/3 their age when it comes to maturity and I can definitely see this with Elijah. He is 12 but sometimes act more like an eight or nine year old. I guess he will grow up soon enough. He has had his ups and downs this past  year and we have made many changes in medications, but through it all we just keep on going. We recently made a new change in his medications and I think it has been a good change. We will know more when he goes back to school. He still sleeps with his stuffed animals and likes for me to tuck him in. One of these days he will grow up and not want me to "mother" him too much, so I think I will try to enjoy it while I can. Here is playing with a castle he made using styrofoam. He has a good imagination.

 

Things continue to go well with me and my honey. We have had a wonderful year together and are looking forward to many more years. We have fixed up the house and have plans to fix things up even more. We talked today about putting money away to travel to Germany in a year or two. I enjoy our family and I see such a difference in all of our happiness since my honey came along. My job is going well and keeps me busy. I enjoy my job and it brings me much satisfaction when I see growth in our students.

I am not sure what 2013 has in store for us. Jacob will have to start thinking about what he wants to do after he graduates. He still plans on being in ROTC next school year. Elijah will change schools in the Fall and have new teachers to get used too. I am sure something will change at work, it always does, but I will just have to roll with it. I know my honey will be there to support me through all of this as I will support her.

Please be safe tonight and Happy New Year!

Update on Elijah

Well, Elijah had a much better day at school. Hoping that the tweak in his meds is finally kicking in. He had four greens on his status sheet yesterday and six today, so that makes 10 greens. If he gets 10 greens then he gets a blizzard......and he got his blizzard! I was very proud of him. Only one more day left until Christmas break! I think we are all ready! I have to remember days like today to make up for those not so good days!

Dealing with a Special Needs Child

This is a link to a blog titled, "I am Adam Lanza's Mother: A Mom's Perspective on the Mental Illness Conversation in America."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html

I read this blog and thought it was very well written. I hate to say, that since the shooting in Connecticut I have thought of nothing else then could this be my son? Elijah has a neurological condition and his brain doesn't always work right. He can get angry at time and have full rages. I don't share this too often on this blog, because it is hard to talk about. He takes four different medications in the morning and then two at night to help him with his implusivity and his tics. People with Tourettes can have Tourette Storms--he has trouble controlling his anger and when he is in the middle of one of these storms, there is no reasoning with him.

Thankfully, these storms do not happen very often and very rarely happen at home. When he is at home he is in his most comfortable place and there are not as many demands as there are at school. These storms seem to happen at school and we can go months without one and then when he has one it is out of the blue. When he does have one it is a lot of yelling and kicking at walls. He has been known to bite objects and people. He may also spit at people.

We manage as best we can with medication. I run a strict household with written rules. He has no access to the iPad, computers or video games during the week. He gets limited amounts of these things on the weekend. Many people may think I am too strict with him, but they don't understand. We don't go places during the week so we aren't out late at night. He needs to be in bed by 8:00 if it is a school night.

When I hear other parent's stories, I am thankful that Elijah's problems don't seem too severe, but then when it flares up I am saddened. At times, I wonder if I can continue, but there is no other choice. I am thankful for my partner and for others in my family who support me emotionally. Jacob is an awesome big brother, but even he has his limits.

I do love my little man though and we will keep on keeping on....it will get better.

Two Days of Doctor's Appointments

Having a week off of work usually means a few doctor's appointments for the boys. I don't like using my stocked up "leave" at work for doctor's appointments. I usually need them for sick days for me or the boys or for the random appointments we just can't get scheduled during a break!

It started yesterday with a visit to the pulmanologist for both boys. They both got a clean bill of health and we were done in about 90 minutes. This is pretty good for this doctor. We have been there for three hours before, for a scheduled visit...not a sick visit.

We came home and then Elijah and I went off for a visit to the audiologist in the afternoon. We made sure his back up processors were programmed and then did a hearing test. Here is how he did:

Right ear:
250 Hz    10 db
500 Hz    10 db
1000 Hz   10 db
2000 Hz   5 db
3000 Hz   10 db
4000 Hz   10 db

Left ear:
250 Hz 15 db
500 Hz 15 db
1000 Hz 10 db
2000 Hz 5 db
3000 Hz   5 db
4000 Hz   5 db

We were all pleased with the results. She asked if he had a favorite "ear" and I told her that he prefers his right ear over his left. She says that is pretty common for kids who had their implants done with years in between surgeries. I mentioned that he still has to wear his left "ear" because I know he gets benefit from it. When I have him wear only his left ear it NEVER falls off. He uses it just fine and hears excellently with it. I guess he just gets tired of all of the noise!

Today we went to see the psychiatrist. It was a quick visit and for now we are leaving all of his medications the same. She thinks he is doing well and that we just have to keep up with the behavior management.

The next round of doctor's appointments start with in January with a trip back to the psychiatrist and one to the endocronologist. We go back to the pulmanologist in February!

I have a lot to be thankful for:  Elijah's cochlear implants, medications for both boys that help with their asthma and for Elijah's Tourettes, OCD and ADHD, my sweetheart and for my extended family.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

October is almost over!

October has been a very long month, both at work and at home. Elijah has been doing OK since we I last posted, but just OK. He has had some very good days and some other days that have not been so great. Overall, it is still better than last year, but we have seen a bit of aggression. I called the doctor this past week and we increased one of his medications by 0.5 mg. I am hoping that helps him a bit. I know a lot of this is his OCD and not being able to "let things go" once the thought is in his head. I have the same thing, but as and adult can deal with it a lot better!

Jacob is doing awesome right now. He is very aware of his grades and keeping them up. He earned money being a referee for soccer. He is participating in ROTC and enjoying that. He is taking more responsibility for his chores around the house and his manners have improved a great deal! Yesterday he earned $30 refereeing and after we picked him up we headed to Target. He usually puts all of the money he earns in his savings account, but today he asked if he could spend it. I told him he could and so he went off to look for what he wanted and we went and shopped. We met up at the front after we had all checked out. I asked him what he got and he said a belt. I was surprised he had not asked me to buy him a belt. He then said, "I also bought a small Lego kit for Elijah." He amazes me daily and he is growing into such a fine young man.

All of us are looking forward to having the week of Thanksgiving off. We do have a few doctor's appointments that week, but it shouldn't be too bad. We will most likely go to my mom's house for the day. We will then be on the count down to Christmas. I have already started with some shopping for the boys!

I think the switch was flipped back!

After a long weekend of grounding, it seems that Elijah is more his regular self. Thankfully, the switch was flipped back! I just wish I could find the darn thing and keep it flipped in the correct position! There was also no school yesterday, so this week is a short week, so maybe that will help too. He said he had a "green" day--Six greens and one red on his status sheet. Green means good and red means he had some issues....there is also a yellow! Of course, yellow is between green and red!

He gets to color in a block on our form at home for each green and one for two yellows. He gets one dollar for every seven blocks. Right now, he wants to buy a small stuffed animal at a local drug store, so he is also motivated! Let's just hope it stays that way. We continue to try something called "ON TASK". It is a magnesium and zinc supplement. The neurologist also prescribed some fish oil that I had to get at a pharmacy. He said some fish oils specifically go to the brain, and that is what we might want to try. It doesn't "fix" things really, but may help with impulsivity.  We shall see!

That is about all from our end of things. Hope everyone else is doing well!