Moving Back Home.....

I have Decided to Move all my Blogs back to One Place. My Manic Mom Blog is where you will be able to Follow Kaden's Journey!!! 
  


I Originally had only the Manic Mom Blog, But thought that I needed to Separate everything out.  Since then I have realized one Home is Enough!!!  :)  Hope to see You over there!

Bunny and an Imagination!!

What a month!!!  It has been a month crammed with sickness, moving, unpacking, sickness, sessions, adjustments and did I say Sickness????  It's been ridiculous around here.  We are a Family that hand sanitizes like it's a Religion.  We wash before and after we eat, take our vitamins and eat healthy.  What went wrong?  It is what it is, but it definitely was not fun.  And as I finally see the sick curtain start to fall to the floor I'm so excited to be able to enjoy our new house and get it unpacked and ready for the Holidays. 
Yes, I said it.....the Holidays are right around the corner!!!  We are so excited we may even put up our tree a week early.

So, what has Kaden been doing this month?  Well, he has settled himself in his own way.  At first kind of sticking close by, but now he feels familiar with the new house and ventures off all the time.  Our yard is much bigger and he loves digging around and bringing me treasure.  I tried to find my camera the other day because he looked so cute.  He had different colored socks on, a buttoned up shirt with a pair of PJ bottoms.  He had his backpack with two foam bats stuffed in it, with his calculator, an empty water bottle and a hat.  On top of all that he had this huge bunny that you can take naps on strapped over his shoulders.  He was walking all over the yard....he was having a blast, just the Bunny and an Imagination.....that's all he needed that afternoon. :)

Besides going on his little adventures he's been having sessions daily and school 3 days a week.  He's been studying Space still and learning about the weather.  Now, everywhere we go he tells us the different types of clouds we have looming above us. :)  He starts a Chemistry program in November, so I'm gearing up for that.  Please say prayers that he doesn't blow us all up.  He also started Art lessons and has picked up an interest in Poker, God help us.  He plays for hours and hours, between StarCraft and MineCraft.  
I notice his interests change frequently, but when he finds something he likes he dives down deep and soaks it up.  For instance right now we are learning about stained glass windows and the Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany.  He sat for 2 & 1/2 hours listening to a documentary on him and then completed his version of a stained glass window.  I will be posting his finished project on Our Homeschool Blog soon.

With Kaden's constant change in interest he keeps us all on our toes.  I'm thrilled anytime he steps away from the computer and dives into a good book or wants to learn something new.  I've found though it's all about balance.  Too much free time and not enough structure causes just as much of a Meltdown as it does when the schedule is too packed and he feels he's not able to have down time.  Finding that balance is key and hey....we're still working on it!  HAHAHAHAHA

New Autism Video Series with Kaden

Kaden has talked to me several times about wanting to help other understand Autism.  He said that it only takes 1 Kid to reach 1,000's of People and that he wanted to be that 1 Kid.  So, here he is in all his Glory.  The first video is really just a introduction to the camera for him.  But, the second one gets more into how his Autism makes him feel.  Hope everyone follows us on this Video Journey, he has a lot of Great Future Video Ideas!!!

Corn Pool for Christmas?

Corn Like you have Never seen Before!!!  I was a little leery on the whole pool of Corn thing.  But, Kaden on the other hand was not as Cautious.  Which for him was out of the Ordinary.  He is always Mr. Cautious and not sure of New Situations.  But, this was tooooo Darn Cool to Pass up! 

Corn was everywhere and Kaden jumped right in and made himself at home.  Of course Mahala immediately wanted to bury him in it.  Why is that the First thing a Sister wants to do to Her Little Brother?????

Anyway, I was Happy to see that his Sensory Need was being met and he was so into it, not even the Squeals and Occasional touch from the Other Kids Bothered him at all. :)

After almost an hour we were able to Drag his little body out of the Corn.  It took an emergency feeding to do it and the Promise of trying to rig something up at home that will Remotely Resemble the Almighty Corn Pitt.  Wish us Luck, because if You know Kaden at all, You know he has a Razor Sharp Memory.  HAHAHAHAHA  This Boy wont be Forgetting Our Little Deal at all!

The Sky's Limit?

What makes something have a Limit Mom?
Just an example of one of Kaden's Bedtime Questions.  Don't you just love all the Bedtime Questions late at night when all you can think about is total silence and a night full of Zzzzzzzzzz's?  I LOVE his Questions, I honestly do.  It's just at 11pm after 2 hours of going back and forth sometimes my answers just don't come fast enough.  HAHAHAHAHA  I'll get back to the "Limit" question in a minute.......

So, ABA during Homeschool hours have proven so far to be a PLUS!  It's nice to have that extra guidance and I even get an extra set of hands to help with projects and activities.  Normally I struggle getting the next activity prepared and ready fast enough, before Kaden notices he's not being actively engaged.  Simple crossword puzzles, word problems or mazes do the trick 75% of the time.  But, the other 25% of the time is enough Stank to my day that it will make you move as fast as you can to try and avoid it. :)

We are still doing the Solar System for Science and he enjoys pondering on the possibilities of what can't be seen yet. Notice I said the word "Yet".  What is tucked away left to be discovered makes his little hands itch with delight!  And it makes me happy to see him so interested in something other then video games. :)

Anyway, we are still doing Geography and working on his handwriting through his journal entries and writing from a Dictionary.  Yes, I said Dictionary.....he loves it.  I introduced him to it this past week, he was floored and was determined to find a "missing" word.  Why does he automatically go there?

Today we canceled therapy and school time because he is sick with a cold.  But, our plans this week is to start introducing him to the Fine Arts and do a more formal lesson on Classical Composers.  He Loves Classical Music and likes to announce different instruments as they begin playing.  I know he may not remember all that is taught to him and I have heard from a few people that will remain nameless that this may be way over his head because he is on the Spectrum.  I hate when people put limitations on a person.  Here we go back to Kaden's Question.  Why give up before even trying.  How do You explain to a child that he has a limit of what he is able to learn.  I know this 1st hand, because Kaden's Brother was in public school untill 6th grade.  They told me he would never go past 4th grade math.  He would never make it to college and that I needed to come to terms with it.  Well, for EVERYONE'S info Skylar graduated last year and made it all the way to Calculus in Math.  He is currently attending College and working a full time job.......he's 19 years old.  Drumroll pleeeease!!!!  BITE ME are the words that come to my mind at the moment.

So you see I think they are all wrong.....Kaden's capabilities are endless, I don't know what his future holds.  But, in the here and now he needs and craves the stimulation both physically and academically.   Even if certain people think I'm wasting time teaching my Autistic Son about Mozart, Platonic Solids, how to find Prepositions and Reading The Hobbit with him, I'm not!  And as long as he is Happy and Interested then I will be Happy and Learning right alongside him. ;) He has BIG Important Things to do with His Life!!!

Bringing ABA into Our Homeschool Room

Art Project during our Unit Study of Japan

Having Kaden's ABA therapist over for a morning of Homeschooling was awesome.  She was able to see how a typical school day fits into our already busy day.  I have to say Kaden was on his BEST behavior in the beginning.  He did extra math and didn't complain when it was time to work on his handwriting.  I was thinking she should just pack up her bags and move on in.  :)  So, half way through her visit I pulled her aside while he was in the potty to let her in on the Gig he was pulling. ;)  She knew and figured that that's how it would be.  After the "Potty Accident" (a whole other story) she went into the front room to work on some paper work.  She probably was just settled on the couch when he started to walk around the table, looking all around, getting frustrated and basically not wanting to finish the project we had started.  Bingo, I found Kaden!!  :)

I started thinking, ok if he can behave and keep focused for an hour while she is here, why can't he do it when she isn't.  I mean I only do maybe 2 hours of school with him as it is.  It's all about the structure and he knows what she expects and what comes next when it comes to routine.  I'm not good with routine, especially with school work.  My goal this year is to become more routine oriented when it comes to his school day.

After I talked to her a few days later, she had a list of things we could work on.  Number one thing is his independence.  I do everything for him, get out his pencil, hold the book, dress him, you name it he needs that attention or guidance.  The other day I let him put on his clothes by himself.  They didn't match and I was like whatever.  But, the shirt was inside out and backwards.  It was a collared shirt.  I was like Kaden!!!!  Isn't that uncomfortable with that collar flapping in your face?????  He said no it was fine and shrugged his shoulders.  :D  You just have to love him!!!  Of course I helped him turn his shirt around and he still wore the  outfit with one striped sock and one of his sister's that was bright white.  I figure you need to pick your battles and take one step at a time!  :)

Making a Japanese Zen Garden

I will start having a BT here with Kaden twice a week in the mornings along with all his afternoon care.  We will have a complete program and I am over the moon about it.  Homeschooling NT Kiddos is soooooo different then a Kiddo on the Spectrum.  I'm learning this just in time.  Reaching him academically is a challenge, he has a total different view of education and how he learns new information.   His mentality is do the important stuff first and get it over as fast as possible.  Nothing really captures him like a typical kiddo.  I made fossils with our dino study awhile back and we did a bone excavation.  He was excited to chip the dirt away and accomplish finding all the bones.  After that was accomplished it was soooo long Mom!  :)  And making the fossils was exciting for Mahala, but Kaden was more concerned about the sizes of each pieces of clay in proportion to each item we were trying to make a fossil with.  :P

The next 6 or 7 years will be very interesting!!!  I'm just thankful to have the ABA support to help me set a great learning foundation as far as his Learning Behavior.  I would strongly suggest if you Homeschool and have a Kiddo on the Spectrum, get as much ABA guidance as possible.  This is a 1st for the ABA Company we use, so this is all new for them.  But, they see the need and are very excited to learn new ways of therapy that they can offer.

Let's Stretch those ABA Hours

We are looking to get more ABA hours for the first part of each day during our Homeschooling time.  Not sure if they are on board to do it, but when I'm on a mission to accomplish something, dang it I get it done!  So today I sat and wrote out during our school time each problem area that I noticed.  Lot's of focus issues and staying in his seat.  Things that my other two kiddos I could say Hey....sit your butt down and let's get to work and they would actually do it.  Kaden, would look at me like I was crazy and probably go into a long explanation for the reason he is doing the behavior that I want to stop along with a lengthy meltdown.  Not such a fun thing, when you are on a tight schedule because you have to be ready for the ABA Team invasion to enter your house.

I would like him to use some of his ABA hours for learning how to be more independent, both with tending to himself and academically.  Now if it works great, if not then at least we tried.  We tried 7 months to get him to not eat with his hands.  Did it work?????  NO!  Do I care?????  NO, but at least we tried and when we go out he tries hard to use some sort of utensil, even if it's toothpicks.  Don't even ask..........

I have some great notes and will be making my point to the Team on Friday.  I hope we can get the hours, fingers crossed!!!  I know for them it might be hard to wrap their heads around the homeschool day setting.  So, watching it in action  should be all they need.

Kindness Makes MY World Go Around!!

Today I meet the Kindest Person in line at the Whole Foods Store.  She made a comment about the 20 containers of Rice and Almond milk that I had TOWERING in my cart. :)  I explained Our new diet changes and she asked how it was going.  And then she asked the reason for the switch.  I have to tell you after last weeks Episode of negativity from my fellow Sams Club shoppers I was a bit hesitant.  But, I was welcomed with a caring stream of questions and she even passed on some much needed encouragement and even a Kudos tucked in here and there.  I normally don't need my back stroked with indulgent Praise.  But, after last week a little Love and Acceptance goes a long way.  Here is My FB Post from the other day about what I'm talking about.  

 But, the other day we were at a store. One of the employees was coming into the store with about 20 carts. He was going over the bumpy surface that they had in front of the store. It was loud and annoying for me, for Kaden it was 10x worse. He covered his ears, dropped to the ground, started kicking and screaming to stop. I tried to pick him up and then I decided to let him work through it. Everyone was staring and shaking their heads. I felt bad for Kaden, because he's a great kid and I hated thinking that other people were sending out that negative vibe that he was anything other then the amazzzzing kid I know he is. Then this young guy walked by and said to his girlfriend or wife loud enough for me to hear that that right there is why he will not be having any kids. And older woman came to me and said back when you were a kid I bet you didn't get away with what he's doing, I know I wouldn't have let any of mine behave like this. I have 5 kids and 14 grand-kids. So, I stood there and waited fighting back tears until Kaden was able to get up and all he could say to me was van please. I don't have many interactions like this, but when I do Man do they effect me!!!


Have a Blessed Day!!!!

Mater on Mars

We had a blast last week, Kaden, Skylar and I went on a mission to Mars.  Mahala had to practice for softball and there is an area out by the ball field that has reddish colored dirt.  And since he gets so board and no matter how hard we try to entertain him he always runs out onto the field and I just know he is going to get popped in the head with a ball.  :)
So we decided to go on a little adventure to gather rocks and to examine the land.  He said it was an expedition, I call it almost 2 hours in the sun with very little water.  But, what can I say, it was fun and anything I can do to put a smile on his face makes me happy.

It started out slow, he was a bit overwhelmed with the wind, so he kept spinning and flapping his arms around.  Most of the time I just let him go, I know he needs this to feel centered and calm.  But, that day I did say a few hundred times to be careful. :)

On our little exploration we talked about Mars and the similarities and differences between Mars, Mercury and Earth.  He loves to debate, so no matter what I shared he had something to say about it or correct.  Just another conversation with my sweet Kaden.  :)  I love how his mind works.  He is filled with so much information that sometimes he can't even express it without getting frustrated just searching for the right way to word it perfectly as it is in his own mind. And then on the other hand he is still so innocent and childish.

By the time we made it back to the car Skylar & I had our hands full.   Kaden had full pockets and a shirt full.  Afterwards he ran to catch up with Dad and Mahala to throw a few balls.  He wants to be a pitcher.  I think one day he just might, but today he's my little Rock collector/Explorer!!!

Kaden's New Adventure

 Over the weekend Mahala went out and practiced 
for an upcoming Softball try out.  She is very excited and takes her softball v-e-r-y serious.  

Kaden has basically grown up with it all around him.  And naturally he would pick up on the rules and terminology.  So, guess what he wants to do?  Play baseball would be the correct answer for that question.  

 



And to be honest, he is actually very good.  He throws far, catches the ball with the right part of his glove and can remember most of the rules.  Now if he can just do all that while other people are on the field and a dozen or more sets of parents screaming from the bleachers.  :)  We will see, only time will tell.

I tried to get a video of him playing catch with Dad, but something happened to the picture it was all fuzzy.  I will try next time we go out.  He has the cutest stance out on the pitcher's mound.