ABA While on Vacay

We took a brief break from Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) the last few days of school. I spent about as much time calming down James afterward as he spent doing ABA. It was not worth the crying and further reduction in eating. Plus, I was getting no sleep and James was not happy next day at school.

Now, however, it is summer, and James can start back up again. We are back at our local Starbucks, because it has WiFi (which allows for the iPad to be used for his checklist and reward games of Angry Birds) and gets him out of the house (so he is not in his room all day or feels like he's being cornered in his own home).

There are some nice conversations going on right now, while James periodically gets up and wanders about. I am really hoping James settles down, over the course of a the next few weeks, and starts working on some of the self care and organizational goals.

In case you are wondering, here is a nice article that talks about ABA services and how they can be helpful to an individual who is autistic and their caregivers (usually family members).

I like being able to go in to work earlier and then having a break before ABA starts. I am getting some summer vacation too.

Spring Break - Better With Snacks

Went on the road with three teens for part of Spring Break. Destination: Santa Cruz. No, we haven't seen Us. I have fond memories of my undergrad time at UCSC. Both kids have been there before, and like it and the ocean.

The hotel room had a balcony with a view of the ocean. The weather was a fantastic sunny break between rainstorms. We spent an afternoon at the beach and enjoyed it. James did a lot of walking. We all slept great.

The hotel had a great continental breakfast buffet, which was a relief because James is being extra picky right now about what he eats.

The teen girls enjoyed bubble tea and shopping at the Pacific Garden Mall. James and I found our own places to visit, including the Pacific Cookie Company. I could tell this really hit the spot for James. He turned on his great smile and it stayed for quite a while. 

Water Buddy

Even though we hit the road in October, Southern California had one more heat wave up its sleeve for us. As the temps climbed and baked us in the mid-90s, the kids became increasingly excited about using our hotel's pool. The high outdoor temps were key, because the outdoor pool was not heated.

Even though James is a wader and refuses to get his head wet (let alone blow bubbles or do "bobs"), he has become more confident when playing in the water. I am sure being bigger has a lot to do with it, but I like to think all those trips to our gym's pool and watching his sister's classes helped too. In fact, it was at the gym's pool this summer that James started to engage in water splashing fights, and did not get too upset when splashed in the face.

I enjoyed the fact that I did not have to be in the water right there with the kids too. I love swimming and water play, but being able to thumb through a magazine (waiting to be read since July) while soaking up the sun and watching the kids made me feel even more like I was on vacation. Here was another first for us all.

It was really fun to watch him play in the water. Because he can now walk down the pool steps to the bottom of most pools, James tends to stay in the water longer. I no longer have to slap a floatie on him if I am poolside. His sister has been successful with swimming dogpaddle style by herself so my focus can be on him. James' focus was on his sister (and, one afternoon his cousin) as she kicks, cavorts, and leaps off the side of the pool into the deeper water. It made me feel so good that he laughed and was a part of it. Next year, I hope he's doing some more cavorting of his own.

Reading Together

As posted earlier, I was pleased to see that reading was high on the vacation activities list. It's so much easier to pack books than toys, and it's better than watching TV or movies. Big sister gets to practice reading and leadership ... little brother wants to grow up to be just like her. Plus, they have an activity they like to do together:

There was an added bonus to this, in that both of their schools had a Scholastic Book Fair in the week before we left. I got each of them 2 books for the trip and their libraries and their schools got free books. They got the surprise of a "present" and we had the satisfaction of providing a gift that will keep on giving. Even if it's about SpongeBob.

I Heart Play Doh

We are wrapping up a 2+ week school break and the weather has turned cold and nasty outside. The kids brought all their school germs home and fell sick, but not too badly. Oh what to do when they are recovering, but still not completely recovered?


Play-Doh! Good enough for a Mommy sanity break. Fun for them, plus I feel like James is still getting a little OT in. Ooh, and vocabulary, because he'll talk about the colours of Doh that he is using, and the names of the shape cutters he likes best. Better add in social skills, because he plays (and occasionally shares) with his sister at the table. She can talk a mile a minute, so he's getting some cognitive time in there too.

Play Doh is the best! Especially when properly corralled on the kitchen table.

ABCs of ER on VaCay

So, we went on this vacation ... and all I remember clearly now are the two hours on the phone with bureaucrats/advice nurses, followed by five hours in the ER.

It started oh so well. So well. James was happy and excited to be someplace new with all of his family. He loves it when we all sleep in one room. The sun was shining and the weather warm. He ate muffins! He had lots of new words.

Then there was a cough. Just a little thing. Then he couldn't settle down for a nap. So I took him for a swim with his sister for about half an hour. It was over 80 degrees in the early afternoon. I whisked both kids out and scrubbed them dry as quickly as I could, then we all went down for a nap. James woke up sick. Fever, hoarse voice, weird cough. Then he tossed his cookies. He seemed to feel better & slept some more. He kept down some water throughout the night and his fever went down a bit.

But by next afternoon, 24 hours later, he was back to tossing cookies, fever, and that weird cough. And listless. Time to call. Here's where it gets tricky.

We have an HMO. With services divided into regions. Bet some of you are already knowing where this is going. Call home region to explain situation and get a new medical number & phone number for region where we currently are. Triage a bit over the phone. This all after 10 minutes of button-pushing, listening to taped messages that have nothing to do with my current situation, and patiently jumping through hoops with a call center agent to reach said advice nurse.

So fine and dandy. I got the new medical number in pretty good time. I always think that if the elevator music hasn't looped on me by the time I hang up. I call the number for the advice nurse in the region where we are now. Oops. Advice nurse gave me the wrong number. I don't even know what it was really to, because I did not want to pay $9.99 so my cell phone could find out.

Called again to our home region to get real number for our current region. Good-bye, another 15 minutes. Meanwhile. James is moaning and hacking on my lap. The bathroom floor hath lost its charm. Thank goodness the tub is *right here* because he's not giving me much warning before doing the old heave ho.

Call the number and pick my way through the new phone tree/taped (irrelevant for me) messages/canned music/bureaucratic phone center agents. Reach new advice nurse. He listens and then tells me he can't treat my son over the phone (my eyes are rolling up and getting a fine view of bathroom ceiling at this point). He then tells me to call 911 for an ambulance.

Wait. What did you just say?

All I wanted was an urgent care appointment (if available) or a recommendation for where to take him. So, there are no urgent care appointments. Okay, So that means the ER. Which med center is closest to us? Please bear in mind that wildfires have been springing up and raging out of control all day here. The air quality sucks and besides the fact that my son's breathing is not normal, going into a fire zone is just plain stupid, not to mention really dangerous. He says if I am not going to call 911 that I should go to the nearest med center. Okay, brainiac, I am not from around here. Where would that be? He gives me a location. I say thanks and hang up. I plug in the address of our hotel and the med center in Yahoo Maps. Goddess, how I love the internet in times like this. Daughter is awake and whining.

Yahoo tells me that the med center is right in the fire zone. Oh, and the two freeways I need to take to get there are completely shut down. Thank you, TV and voices on the phone. So I phone back, madder than spit. I am told by a different advice nurse to call 911. I explain this will freak out my son and make him even sicker. The first med center is in a fire zone. Where is the next closest med center? The nurse explains I need to take my son to the nearest medical center's ER. Yes, which one??? Daughter whining. James throwing up. Me gritting teeth. The nearest med center. He needs immediate care. STAT.

Why the freak didn't AN#1 (in this region) just *say* so? And AN#2: Can you tell me where that would be? This is starting to feel like a sick version of The Dating Game.

No. (That would be telling, #6)

Surprise. Not.

However, AN#2 really was trying to be helpful. She reminded me my hotel had concierge service and could help me. Which they did, bless their hearts. Christine, I will remember you with gratitude forever.

And I have to be honest, UC Irvine was probably the best place to take James. Not only were we completely triaged within 10 minutes of walking in the door (which has never happened with me before), James received excellent care during his entire 5-hour stay.

Final findings: dehydration (over 600 units saline solution via IV drip), croup (my first experience with it can you tell?), and pneumonia (for the bonus points). He had steroids, a 1-hour cool mist treatment, anti-nausea meds, and the first dose of antibiotics. My poor buddy. Thank goodness I brought his blankie and enough brain power to recite his favourite bedtime stories. By the time the monkeys were doing their stuff in "Caps for Sale," James was alert enough to thump his feet along with the story. I was never so happy to see a foot thump.

James is fine now and this is his second day back in school. Wish I could say the same!

Shake Those Hands

We are spending the weekend with friends and their kids, who are about the same age as ours. Within seconds, the girls were on the floor, engrossed in Ponyland. They haven't seen each other in months, but so what?

James is having the best time, playing with the other kids and their toys. He is talking up a storm again: house, open, fish, duck, car, train, walking, marching ... so exciting! On the trip down, his sister gave him an impromptu speech & language session. She encouraged him to say circle, square, triangle and red. He came up with rectangle and TRUCK! on his own. Driving on the freeway, he had lots of practice saying TRUCK!!!

At the park yesterday, someone was flying a remote control AIRPLANE!!!!! Oh, that was good for 15 minutes at least. We watched it swoop and dive, bank and climb. We got to say "Oooo, aip'ane -- YAY!!!" many times.

There has been much climbing and running, following and meandering. I think what I love the best are the kids entertaining each other. It will be interesting to watch James next week. We've broken out of our routine before, and sometimes James makes huge leaps forward afterwards. It's like he gets a new perspective on things, and they look mighty different when "normal life" returns. That is so cool!