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A New Dawn, A New Day...

As usual, a lot has changed since my last post... As time went on, we began to realize that Katelyn needed an educational placement that specialized in children with autism spectrum disorders and other related issues. After having her neuropsychologist visit her preschool classroom, it was determined that an out-of-district placement was necessary in order to provide Katelyn with the most appropriate educational setting. We hired an educational advocate, and subsequently a special education attorney, and we were able to achieve the ultimate goal for our daughter. After an emotionally and financially draining process, the school district agreed to out-of-district placement at a very reputable private day school that specializes in autism that provides ABA instruction all day, which also happens to be the same place where she was originally diagnosed at age 2.5. She also has been receiving home ABA services again through one of the agencies that worked with her a few years ago, and this has been extremely productive for her. We always knew that she responded well to ABA teaching, and we're so glad that she will be receiving ABA instruction on a consistent basis again since it was so successful in the past.

Today was her first day at her new school and it truly could not have gone any better. She was excited this morning to be going to a new school. We had created a social story with pictures of her new school to help with the transition and she really enjoyed reading it. When we arrived at the school, she was very happy and talkative. We were brought to the integrated preschool classroom, which has peer models. When we arrived, the other children were not in the classroom, which made it very easy for Katelyn to get situated and check out her surroundings. After a few minutes, the children returned to the classroom, and I was not sure how Katelyn would react. But she surprised us and was happy to see "new friends" and even asked one little girl her name (indirectly, asking us "What is her name?")! The little girl responded with her name and then I prompted Katelyn to respond that her name was Katelyn, which she did. It was snack time, so Katelyn sat at the table with teachers around her and I made my exit. Katelyn asked me to stay, but did not get upset at all when I told her I had to leave and would be back later after she played with her new friends.

When I arrived to pick her up, I saw Katelyn playing with toys near the other children. The staff informed me that she had a wonderful day and that she was able to spend the entire day in the integrated preschool classroom! The original plan was to have her in another classroom without peer models and slowly introduce her to the integrated setting, if possible, but once again, she surprised us! She went to the cafeteria for lunch, sat independently with her friends at circle time, and even participated by raising her hand during art class! At times, she was taken aside to work on some discrete trial training and assessments, and while she was a little distracted, she did not have to be removed from the room or behind a partition as was expected. Overall, she had an amazing day!

When she saw me, she was very excited and she said she had fun at her new school. She even went over to her new friends and said bye to them. Then she shouted, "Thanks, new school! Thanks, new friends!" and became very happy and clapped when I told her she would be coming back tomorrow.

We are so relieved that she enjoyed her first day at her new school and we feel 100% confident that this was the right decision for her. We can't wait to watch her continue to flourish and exceed our expectations. We are eternally grateful to all of you who provided support and prayers that Katelyn would get what she desperately needs. There is nothing we wouldn't do to help our daughter and we will continue to be vigilant to ensure that she continues to receive the appropriate services that she deserves.

Getting ready for her first day at her new school!

Taking it all in...

Mommy, I'm Still In Here...

My mother told me of a book about a family dealing with childhood mental illness called "Mommy, I'm Still In Here." While I have yet to read the book (although I certainly plan to), the title has really struck a chord with me. It describes perfectly how I perceive Katelyn; she is being held captive by an unknown monster, but deep down the true Katelyn is waiting desperately to be set free.

This picture was taken by my mother recently and it has had a significant impact on our family. Like the title of the book, this photo truly depicts the "real" Katelyn that those of us who know and love her are fighting so hard to get back. I hope it touches your heart as well.

It's Good to be Back...

Katelyn was officially discharged from the PPHP program on Monday. The staff had a little going away party for her while I met with the doctors to discuss her discharge plan. The kids sang a goodbye song to her and then it was time for her to leave her permanent mark in the form of a yellow painted hand print on the wall. After four and a half weeks in the program, it was now time to complete the transition back to her preschool.

The week went fairly well overall. Her teacher reported that Katelyn seems very happy to be back, but that she definitely requires constant attention, which we completely expected. Because of this need, the school has provided her with a 1:1 aide in the classroom. I am also driving her to and from school because we are concerned that taking the bus could cause more anxiety for Katelyn at this point, despite the fact that she really enjoyed it in the past. We will be meeting with the school on Tuesday for her IEP meeting to further discuss her current needs and to make sure that all appropriate services are in place.

Her teacher and other support staff are very happy to have Katelyn back, and we are so glad that she is back in her preschool classroom that she loves so much!

Here are some photos from her last day at the PPHP program:

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Last week, my mother, grandmother, and I decided to brave the idea of taking the girls to get their picture taken with Santa. Last year, it was not a good experience and, as you may recall, I had to sit in the picture, which was completely unplanned (hence my clashing outfit, no make-up, etc.). I was determined that there was no way I was going to be photographed this year!

I had prepped Katelyn to see Santa days before so that she would hopefully not be scared of him. She was excited to see "Santa's house" and she practiced her smile with Mimi (my mother) all morning long. What I didn't expect was that Ashley would be the one who would be completely freaked out!

As soon as we arrived at the mall, Katelyn was talking about Santa. She was excited to see the big tree and all of the decorations around Santa's chair. She needed no encouragement to come say hi to Santa and to give him a high-five. Ashley also came over fairly willingly to give Santa a high-five. However, it got interesting when I tried to put Ashley on his lap. That is when the wailing began! She was not having it!

And then poor Katelyn got a little freaked out (no tears, though, thank God) and stood back from Santa and said, "All done Santa." Santa then brought out two gift boxes for the girls to sit on instead of his lap. Katelyn sat on the gift box with no hesitation. Ashley, however, refused and tried to run away. I decided to sit on the box and have Ashley stand in front of me. This worked and Ashley stopped crying. I then told Santa (and the photographer) that I was NOT going to be in the picture. Santa disagreed. He told me that there was no way the kids were going to be okay with me leaving.

Recalling last year's photo, I reiterated that I was not going to be in the photo. I told the photographer to let me sneak out before snapping the picture. Somehow, I managed to "sneak" my 8-month-pregnant body out from behind Ashley without her noticing and I quickly ran to hide behind some props. Miraculously, Ashley didn't budge and the photographer was able to snap the photo. I couldn't believe it!

After we were done "torturing" Ashley and I was choosing the photo package, Katelyn stayed with Santa, talking up a storm about her beloved Giraffe. I wish we could have gotten a picture of this moment. It was so sweet seeing her have a conversation with Santa. She has come so far in just one year and we have so much to be grateful for this holiday season.

Rain, Mud, Wind...Bring It On!

Today was the Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism event in Boston, and despite the dreadful weather, Team Giraffe's Song accomplished our mission! Granted, our "team" only consisted of 3 people (Me, Kevin, and my grandmother) instead of the 11+ people who were originally planning on walking with us. Thankfully, Kevin's parents babysat the girls for us since we did not want to bring them out in the rain.

The event was held at a horse racetrack, which is 1 1/4 miles long. The track itself is dirt, and when you mix in torrential rain and wind, you get a track full of mud puddles. Many people took a few steps on the track and decided to head back inside for shelter. Kevin was just one of many people who chose not to walk at all, given the conditions. He tried to convince me and Nana that it was a bad idea to attempt the walk, but we were willing to take our chances.

As Nana and I were about to take our first slippery step onto the track, a woman warned us not to bother; "It isn't worth it," she said. Nana and I both looked at each other and thought the same thing: Katelyn is worth it!

With our goal in mind and determination in our hearts, we made our way onto the mud-filled track, which proudly displayed thousands of muddy holes, each in the shape of a footprint. As we pushed forward, we fought against a sea of people who had turned back, not willing or able to withstand the elements. Of course, Nana and I weren't sure how far we would actually make it either, but we were determined to at least add a few of our own footprints to the track in honor of Katelyn.

Battling the fierce winds and heavy rain, we trekked through the filthy mud one step at a time. Cheering each other on, against all odds, we both managed to complete the entire 1 1/4-mile track. Our shoes and pants were stained with mud, but we didn't care. We were proud of ourselves and each other for accomplishing even more than we had set out to do, given the circumstances, not to mention the fact that I am almost 7-months pregnant and Nana is 75 years old! Once we were finished, Kevin rewarded us with coffee and hot chocolate.

Inside, there was a great resource fair consisting of informational booths, activities for children, and merchants selling autism-related items, such as jewelry, scarfs, magnets, and more. Nana and I both got beautiful puzzle-piece pendants with silver chains to commemorate our achievement.

Although the weather conditions were not ideal, we made the best of it and had a great time at our first autism walk. Hopefully next year we will have a beautiful sunny day, but no matter what Mother Nature throws our way, we will be there, ready to face the rain, mud, snow...you name it. Bring it on!

Here are some pictures from the event...




Thank you to everyone who supported Team Giraffe's Song! We raised a total of $810 to date! (Please note, donations can still be made until the end of the year!)

Katelyn's 3-year professional photo session...

With much anxiety on my part, we took Katelyn for her 3-year professional pictures back in July. Since our experience at her 2-year and Christmas 2008 sessions did not go well, I was expecting a full-blown screaming meltdown to take place where we would be lucky to get any pictures taken, never mind any decent smiling pictures. However, our little girl surprised us in a very big way! It was the best photo session EVER for Katelyn! She laughed and smiled the whole time, unlike all other previous photo sessions where it was like pulling teeth. I even notified the photographer at the beginning that she has autism and that she may scream and melt down, and at the end of the session, the photographer said she never would have known that Katelyn has autism and that she was such a pleasure to work with. Talk about making my day!

Katelyn has come so far already in just a few months and we are beyond hopeful that her progress will continue.

A month and a half later, I am finally getting around to uploading these photos *blush* ;) These photos are untouched before we had any enhancements and borders added.

Braids, Barrettes, and Balls...

This morning I decided to braid Katelyn's hair. Katelyn thought it was great and asked for "more braid" and began to pull on her hair. Since she had pulled some strands of hair loose, I decided to put a barrette in her hair. Well, that was all it took to bring out the girly girl in Katelyn! She began demanding more and more barrettes! I finally had to say it was enough because otherwise she would have the entire box of barrettes, clips, and scrunchies in her hair all at once :)

Later on while the girls were napping, I decided to bring up Katelyn's old ball tent/tunnel set that she hasn't seen in about a year. The thing is huge, so I only assembled the ball tent and two tunnels. When the girls got up from their naps, I brought them over to the tent. Katelyn immediately became ecstatic and wanted to get in there and play. Ashley also was very interested, so I plopped her right in the middle of the tent.

The girls had a blast, Ashley sampling every colorful ball and Katelyn going in and out of the tunnels. Katelyn also learned to "shoot hoops" with her bumpy ball.

It is indescribable how rewarding it is to see the girls playing so well together. As Ashley gets older and is able to interact more with Katelyn, Katelyn is becoming more and more interested in her baby sister. And of course, Ashley absolutely adores her big sister; her smile lights up the room when she sees Katelyn. Nothing beats seeing my two girls sharing special moments together, making memories that will last a lifetime.

Caught in the Net (Swing, that is)...

When we first showed Katelyn the net swing, she was afraid of it and wanted nothing to do with it. Then a few days later, she asked for it out of the blue. We quickly hooked it up, not wanting to miss the golden opportunity to have her try it out. Just like I had expected, once she tried it, she loved it!!! Now she requests the net swing even more than her "baby swing" (that is what she calls the toddler swing).

The net swing is perfect for her because she can either sit up or lie down in it like a hammock. She also loves to snuggle with Giraffe while relaxing in the net swing. It seems to calm her down, which is a huge plus because she has been extra "stimmy" lately. Now when she feels the need to swing, she will go and grab either the net swing or the "baby swing" and drag it over. It is so nice to be able to provide her with one of her favorite activities while also serving her sensory needs.

Here are some pictures of Katelyn and Giraffe enjoying the net swing:

Swing, Swing, Swing...

Since Katelyn is obsessed with swings, we decided to purchase an indoor swing for her that she can use on a daily basis, since we cannot go to the "boo wing" (blue swings) every day. We ordered the Rainy Day Indoor Playground from http://www.adaptivechild.com/, which specializes in toys and therapeutic items for children with special needs. The main swing is for older children (3+) and is just a piece of canvas material that you sit on, so we also purchased a toddler swing (since Katelyn still needs to be strapped in, and Ashley can also use it) and a net swing. The set also comes with a trapeze bar, but I don't think that will be used anytime soon :)

Katelyn was beside herself with excitement when Dada came home and hooked up her new swing! We had already gone to the blue swings today with Mimi, so this was an extra bonus! Once I saw her on the swing, I knew it was the perfect gift for her. I am absolutely positive that it will be used on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

Here are some pictures of Katelyn enjoying her new swing:

Ashley even got a chance to try it out when Katelyn wasn't looking ;)

"Pum at Parpy"...

Today we attended our friends' son's birthday party at a place that had indoor rides and games. Katelyn was very excited and even demonstrated some of her newfound social skills! She made eye contact with a boy her age and even said hi after just a little prompting.

She even wanted to go on some of the rides (with Mama or Dada), which is rare!

She especially loved watching the "animal band" and she danced to the music. She kept saying, "More! More!" when the curtain closed, but luckily they started playing again within seconds.

We had to pry her, and Giraffe, off of the stage!

Overall, it was a really great time. It was nice to not have to leave a party early, and it gives me hope that Katelyn will continue to get more and more used to being around other children, especially in loud places. And she really enjoyed it too. When I was putting her to bed for the night, she said, "Pum at Parpy," which was her way of saying that she had fun at the party. It truly made my day to hear her say that. I am now hopeful that we will have many more "pum" days at "parpies" in the future :)