Soggy Saturday

Seamus had his soccer game today after it rained practically ever day this week. The field was like walking on a sponge with puddles scattered around. We dressed Liam, Aidan, and Brendan in their snowsuits since it was cold and we expected them to get muddy. Good call. They did get muddy alright, Aidan and Liam each fell and got quite muddy and wet. The snowsuits paid off. Liam was pretty good at the soccer game. Towards the end of the game Liam and the twins were cold so Jill took them back to the van. Seamus had one heck of a game today. He and his buddy Eli worked together very well on the field. Since they play together so much it was neat to see the two of them working with each other passing the ball. Seamus ended up with 5 goals and Eli 2. We were very proud of how well he played given the soggy conditions.

This afternoon Liam had a few bouts of anxiety where he would get upset and have tantrums as a result. Liam and the twins eventually took a nap. Since it started to clear up I decided to cut the grass. Just as I went to cut the grass they started waking up. I told them to stay in the house while I went out to cut the grass. I was a bit nervous so I kept checking on them once in a while. I am very happy to say they were very well behaved. As I was finishing the back yard Jill got home and fed them. Jill brought them out and they were all very well behaved. Liam only had one meltdown as he was insistent upon having a can of pop. Jill and I said no since he had some at dinner. His tantrum only lasted a couple minutes. When we came in we got their pajamas on. Jill was going out so while she was getting ready it was a bit disruptive to the boys routine so none of them went to bed until after she left at 9pm.

Overall it wasn't a bad day for Liam. He continued to have periods of anxiety and tantrums, but not as many as other days. Jill has put up a picture schedule for Liam and we have started using it. Since we are just beginning we will start finding out what works best for Liam and may not. We already know several things we need to get pictures for. With me going out of town this week we will put my picture on an airplane and tell Liam that is where daddy is. We have a puzzle map of the US and we will show him where I am going in Portland, Oregon. We do not know if he will grasp what it really means, but we hope it will help comfort him knowing I am away. Hopefully next week goes well for him.

An average day for Liam

Liam and Seamus went over Grandma & Grandpa McCourt's today. Liam and Seamus were going to help Grandpa get his garden ready for the summer. Liam would not stick with the work he was given. He would be out helping one minute, and then go inside. This repeated itself a couple of times. Liam finally went inside where he took a 2 hour nap. Seamus had a great time helping grandpa digging in the dirt.

Seamus and Liam got home around 4pm, right before I got home from work. Jill made dinner Liam seemed like he was in good spirits. We finished dinner and Liam was ready to go out right away before we could get cleaned up. I got stuck doing some work and was not able to help out as much and that slowed Jill down. The end result was Liam became very anxious and was getting upset because he just wanted to go outside. This again shows how when he wants to do something at his schedule and it's not, he gets upset.

Outside he seemed ok for a while, but as I came out he wanted to apple jacks to snack on. I got the apple jacks and took them over a neighbor's house where he was playing. As I approached Liam was having a meltdown over Jill not having suckers. He was insistent that she have them. As I approached I said I had "froot loops" on mistake and he got further upset. I tried to settle him down but he continued to cry and be upset. He eventually settled down, but he became very clingy to Jill and kept wanting her to hold him. Liam did not engage in any more play with the other kids.

One positive aspect Liam has shown (as well as Aidan) is with potty training. He and Aidan have each at numerous times throughout the day told Jill they had to go tinkle. Jill was quite surprised on each occasion that they actually did tinkle.

Seamus has soccer on Saturday and they are calling for thunderstorms. Hopefully it holds off and they are able to play. He first has to go to Olmsted Falls to have his team picture taken. We'll see how the day goes!

Another bad day at school

Liam had another bad day at school today. It all started on the way to school. Once Liam and grandpa got near the school he started getting upset in the car wanting mommy and to go home. Once at school, one of his teachers helped remove Liam from the car. He did not go easily. While in school Liam would have periods of anxiety and want to go home. When Liam was upset his teacher had him put some paper reams in a wagon and pull it down to the school office. Another time when he was upset Liam was put on a swing and that seemed to settle him down to the point he almost fell asleep. At snack time the kids got silly and Liam seemed to lighten up at that. Overall, it was not a good day for him due to the repeated high anxiety. His teacher as well us are trying to figure out what we can do to help him out here. It is quite frustrating when you don't know what to do, all you're doing is guessing at what will help. This is one of the most frustrating parts to dealing with Autism.

This afternoon Jill took Liam to his Adaptive Aquatics class and her dad stayed home with Seamus, Aidan, and Brendan. Jill said Liam was a completely different child at the pool. The routine is the same thing every time. Liam shows, changes into his swimsuit and goes to the pool and waits in a chair for his teacher. Once she shows up he puts on his swim belt and goes in the pool with her. Jill said just watching how she is with Liam is truly amazing. Liam is very attentive to her, and when he is not, she easily gets his attention back. The different tasks Liam has to do are done with focus and attention Jill does not see anywhere else. His teacher and Jill both agree that Liam in the pool is in his element. I plan on going one day to experience this. Once class was over the next part of the routine for Liam to stop at Burger King to eat. While at BK Jill noted that Liam was extremely relaxed, focused, and his anxiety was non-existent. She was completely amazed at how the swim class had calmed and centered him. This makes complete sense as Liam at times has wanted to take baths and I have seen him relax in the water. This has us wondering if some sort of pool might be something good for Liam this summer. We are giving this serious thought.

This evening after dinner Liam seemed to still be well behaved. Liam decided he wanted to go for a bike ride. Jill started to go for a short walk with him, then Aidan got on his bike, Brendan got on his scooter, and Seamus decided he wanted to ride his bike. So we all went. We figured it would be a short walk as it usually is. To our surprise the boys all rode their bikes all the way around the block as Jill and I walked to keep them together. It was the first time they all went all the way around the block without any fussing! It was great. Hopefully we can have more walks like that.

At bath time Liam was clearly tired and was easily upset when he did not get to do what he wanted to do. Liam gets an idea on what he wants to do in his head, and if you make any changes to that he gets easily upset. This is a typical behavior of autistic children when their routines are broken. I looked back at an evaluation done in January by a behavioral therapist made an evaluation on Liam at home and school. One thing I think will greatly help Liam is using a picture chart to help Liam understand where family members are, what tasks are coming up, where he has to be for the day, and what choices he can make. Jill and I were given some photos by the therapist and we are going to get more to see if this helps Liam understand what it happening and alleviate his anxiety. Hopefully this will help.

Field Trip day

Liam's class had a field trip to the Olmsted Falls Police station today. Jill went as Monday and Tuesday Liam was quite adamant about her going. Jill's mom came over to watch the twins so she could go. Jill said Liam was very clingy to her on the field trip and back at school. At different times he would ask Jill to hold him and repeat several times he was done. When I got home I asked him about his field trip he said it was too loud. He didn't really elaborate about it too much when I asked him a few times.

This afternoon Jill took Aidan and Brendan to get some desperately needed new shoes. Jill said A & B were both in good spirits and quite entertaining at the mall and when getting shoes. Jill's dad said while she was away Liam took a long nap, so nothing to report.

I got home from work and the twins each got a giant (3') inflatable Colgate toothpaste balloon. I walked in and Liam was extremely upset that he did not have one and was getting quite upset because he wanted his own. Jill decided to take Seamus and Liam to the mall to return some clothes to appease him. Liam was ready to go right away, even before we could eat dinner. Throughout the time we were cooking dinner and trying to eat Liam kept repeating he wanted to go and at times would start crying about it. When Liam's food was ready, he quietly sat down, ate, and was quite cheerful. Once dinner was done Jill took them to the mall. She said while at the mall Liam was very good. The only thing was Liam got quite excited when he saw the clothes in the store and immediately wanted to touch them all. Jill had to keep control over him while trying to shop. It could have been worse, did not have any meltdowns like the last time he was at the mall on Easter.

When Liam got home he got ready for bed, watched a little tv, and went to bed without any problems. Overall, it was a good day for Liam. We shall see how it goes at school for Liam tomorrow. Let's hope for a good one.

Skippin school!

Jill had a surprise Tuesday morning. Jill's dad returned around 8:30 with Liam. When Liam was to get out of the car and go to school, a substitute teacher came to get him. Liam would not leave the car. Jill's dad and the sub did their best to coax Liam out of the car he would crawl on the floor of the car to get away from them. He then crawled up above the rear seat and would not get down. Liam kept repeating he wanted to go home and he wanted mommy. After much struggle Jill's dad got him back in his car seat and brought him home since it was clear he was not going to school.

When Liam got home he was completely fine. He just went about his way and played. Liam did repeat numerous times about how he did not go to school. Liam still had his moments of anxiety and gum picking, but it was not as bad as in previous weeks.

In the evening I had to go to a business meeting as some sales reps from IBM treated a group of SW employees to the loge at the Indians game. Tough job I know. The loge was behind the left hand batters box and had an awesome view. The only problem was, the game got rained out. So we had a meeting, ate some food, and had some cocktails. I decided to call home and see how things were. Not good. This time it was Aidan who was the center of attention. Apparently while Jill was out of the kitchen, Aidan decided he wanted some cherry Kool Aid. Jill had just made a fresh pitcher too. Aidan tried to put it on the counter and missed. It ended up spilling all over him, the floor, the dishwasher, and cupboards. To make matters worse, Jill had just scrubbed the floor that morning. It gets worse. Aidan got upset about the mess he made and naturally Jill was upset and yelled at him. She cleaned him up and he kept crying. While she was cleaning up, he was on the chair in the living room still crying and he threw up. I felt horrible I wasn't there. What a night. Liam's only problem was he kept wanting to know where daddy was. This question repeated itself over and over. Liam managed to go to bed without any problems.

Another so-so day at school

Liam's teacher reported to Jill today that he had another day of periods of high anxiety. She was able to let Liam cope with it by letting him go off on his own to an area removed from the rest of the class. They have been trying to have Liam leave his blanket home instead of having it in class. His teacher suggested we let him have it back to help comfort him. Jill and I had the same idea.

Jill called his neurologist today. One thing Jill and I will say about her is that she truly cares about the well being of Liam. She is also very personable when Jill and I have spoken to her and that is comforting given her profession and the number of families and patients she deals with. Jill explained how Liam has been and after listening she decided to increase the dose of risperdal at night. Liam took 1 tablet of risperdal tonight and will take a 1/2 tablet in the morning. Hopefully this increased dose will make a difference. We shall see how he does in the next couple of weeks.

This evening Liam had his OT therapy at Lifeworks. Liam did not have a good session again. This time half way through the session Liam again started crying and asking for mommy, who was sitting next to him. Once Jill comforted him and said she was right there, Liam then started asking for daddy. His OT would have none of it and kept working with Liam. Liam would go from paying attention to showing signs of anxiety. As soon as his OT saw this starting he would quickly work to get Liam focused back to what he was doing. This repeated it until the end of the session. When Liam got home he was in a good mood. He got ready for bed, took his risperdal, and was in bed by 9.

Time for a new beginning tomorrow. We will see how he does.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Since I did not get to post a message for the past three days here is a quick summary of Liam's behavior.

Friday, Liam was much the same as he was all week, only a little better. He still had his moments in which he would be extremely anxious. His anxiety would lead to tantrums or emotional meltdowns. When he was playing by himself or with his brothers he did well. It is just the repeated moments of anxiety and meltdowns that he is very difficult to handle. This just makes for a long day.

Saturday we found Liam to have quite a good day. The tantrums, anxiety, and meltdowns, were few. The weather stunk all day so the boys had to remain in the house. It snowed all day and Seamus's soccer game got cancelled, mainly due to the rain that started late Friday night. Jill had to work Saturday night so when it came to get ready for bed, the boys all know the routine when Jill is gone and the all went right along with it. Liam is very good with routines, we are finding any little deviation from a routine he is familiar with is hard for him to handle. With that in mind, we do our best to be sure to inform him in advance of any change that will take place. Since Saturday was such a good day, we were prepared for a bad day Sunday.

Sunday morning started off just as we thought. Liam was having cereal for breakfast. Seamus came down right after Liam finished and asked for toast. Liam then started to repeatedly ask for toast too. I told him he had to wait until I could get Seamus his toast. Liam got angry quickly and got loud, and started crying for toast. I kept trying to reassure him I would get it as soon as I could and he would not listen. The meltdowns and anxiety continued throughout the day. The anxiety was especially bad when Jill was at the grocery store. Liam on 2 occasions had high anxiety as he kept asking for mommy. I tried to hold him the first time and reassure him she was coming home, but he did not want me to hold him. He ended up settling down on his own as I left him alone. The second time I just let him go and he ended up settling down on his own again. Liam went to bed with no problems.

A stressful day and bad anxiety

Liam did not have a good day at school again. His teacher said he would be fine one minute, and then be worrying where mommy was and would get upset and start crying. His teacher would then comfort him and soon he would be extremely anxious again. Jill and I have noticed the anxiety has gotten worse at home, and clearly now at school too. When Jill picked Liam up, he came out of school in tears. Jill gave him his blanket in the van to help settle him down. Jill and his teacher had been trying to keep him from having his blanket in school, so we don't know if that is adding to his anxiety or not. We are going to see how he does next week in school.

At home Liam was very anxious in much the same manner as at school. Liam would not let Jill out of her sight. When she was out of sight he would get very upset and start crying and try to find her. Liam would be in a room playing with something and when one of his brothers would walk in the room, or even look at him, he would get very anxious, upset, angry, and cry loudly. It was hard to tell just what would set him off. It was just about anything. You ask him if he wanted juice, he would get all upset over that. These tantrums would repeat themselves over many more times throughout the day.

Liam had his Adaptive Aquatics today and for the first time his teacher said this was his worst day. She said when Liam was in the water he could not focus on anything. Any sounds in the area would distract him and Liam would not settle down until he knew what it was. This made his swimming time totally ineffective today. His teacher even noticed the anxiety in him. For the first time in this he said "done" and wanted mommy.

Outside Liam was just as anxious at times. He would be playing with one toy, see another child go near his bike, and his anxiety would kick in. Liam would get very upset until the child would move away. This behavior would repeat itself several times. The only time I saw Liam totally at ease was while I was swinging him in the back yard.

When I got home Jill told me how the day went I could easily see she was at her end. The repeated tantrums over and over just take a toll. I could see that, and Jill being the marine she is still made dinner and came outside with the kids. Days like this are definitely very stressful. Jill has done extremely well handling this every day. I really don't know of anyone else that would be able to deal with Liam, as well as Seamus, Aidan, and Brendan.

Jill never got to call Liam's neurologist today. She wanted to wait to see how Liam's day went. She will try calling Friday. While Liam's impulsive behavior of jumping and climbing on everything seems to have lessened, his anxiety has gotten worse. The concern Jill has about his anxiety is how he is going to be when I have to go out of town for a scheduled 2 weeks starting on May 1st. I also have a concern about this. Jill is going to mention this his neurologist when she calls.

We hope tomorrow brings us a better day. After the way he has been this week, we aren't too optimistic. We just have to get some rest and be ready for another day of challenges.

Not a good day at school

Liam did not have a good day at school at all. His day started out fine at home. He was fine at breakfast and on his way to school. His day at school was not a normal routine day. The school nurse was coming in and out taking kids down for a hearing and eye evaluation. Around 9:50 Jill got a call from the school asking her to pick Liam up. Liam would not stop crying and would not settle down. The teachers could not tell what was wrong, nor could Liam say anything because all he would do is cry. Jill went and picked up Seamus. Along the way he managed to settle down on his own. Jill fed the boys and Liam was completely fine the rest of the afternoon until it started to rain and thunder. Liam began to worry where Seamus and I were. He started crying and kept asking Jill where we were. Once he settled down he was sitting next to Jill and said "I want to go home" Jill told him he was home, and he replied he wanted to go to a new home. Jill ignored what he said and the conversation ended there.

Liam was a bit difficult after dinner. He was done and Jill and I were eating still. He wanted to go outside and play right away. We told him after we got done eating and I got changed. Liam kept crying and screaming he wanted to go outside. Jill and I left him alone and soon he stopped crying as I went to get changed. Jill had to go therapy for her back tonight so I was out with the boys. The temperature dropped quickly within the hour and a half since I got home. We went outside for a little bit but the cold and wind were just too much. The boys came in on their own due to the cold. Bath time was quite easy, everyone was cooperative. Liam took his risperdal and wanted to sit with me in the chair in our bedroom. Liam may have been tired from the day as he fell asleep in my arms quite quickly.

Jill has to call Liam's neurologist tomorrow and fill her in on how he has been since the new medication. His attention span has improved a little, but this will be an ongoing battle. His impulsive wild behavior has slowed down, but he still picks at his gums, has tantrums, and always seems very worried about different things. He has improved, so we will see what happens after Jill calls his neurologist.

A typical day, but a beautiful day

Liam had a day in which he was great one minute and terrible the next. It was almost a "typical" day of late. The gum picking continued after it had subsided a little. His blanket had several blood spots on it so it will need to be washed tomorrow.

This morning Liam and the boys were treated to a view in the woods from the breakfast table. Jill looked out as she was serving breakfast and saw 6 deer walking through the woods. The boys all loved it. We haven't seen them in a while and with spring here, we're about due.

Grandpa McCourt came over to take Liam to school and told Liam he should leave his Woody game at home. Liam became angry and started showing his anger with a grunt like sound "ahhh, ahhh, ahhh" Liam has been doing this lately when he is angry. We try and help him to use his words to show anger, but this will be an on going struggle. Autistic children quite often have trouble conveying how they feel, so it often results in fits, screaming, and tantrum like behavior.

Liam's day at school was not as good as it could have been. His class went on a field trip to the Olmsted Falls fire department. While just in the garage area Liam became quite upset and his teacher handled it nicely by removing him from the situation. The most likely issue Liam had was the noise level inside the garage with the high ceiling. The amount of visual stimulation was probably overwhelming as well for Liam. To help give you an idea of how Liam would view the firehouse, picture this. Picture walking through a door and suddenly you are in an 80,000 seat stadium filled with people making noise. The impact is overwhelming and your first reaction would be get me out of there.

Jill picked Liam and Seamus up from school as usual. On the way home Liam and Seamus were both asleep so Jill took an extended ride home to let them sleep. After they were home for a while the went outside to play. They ended up over a neighbor's house for a short time playing. Liam was actually pretty good there. Liam suddenly decided he wanted to go home and started off on his own. Jill had to be home anyway since one of Liam's for OT's was supposed to meet Jill at home to have our basement measured to get Liam a swing. Swinging is one thing that really relaxes Liam and helps him center himself. Well, the OT called and cancelled at the time she was supposed to be here. So now we have to reschedule. UGH! The frustration really set in as this OT, while she was excellent with Liam, was horrible with being on time and keeping a schedule. We now have to wait until next Tuesday to have this done, and wait another week or longer to get the swing.

This evening I took Seamus and neighbor Eli to soccer practice and first a foot skills training. Seamus and Eli both paid close attention and were clearly learning from the coach. Seamus had a good practice. When it was over he did not want to go home. He wanted to continue to play so we did for a short time. Seamus came home quite reluctantly.

When we got home we went over a neighbor's house where Liam was riding on the tractor with our neighbor as he cut the grass. Liam was having a ball. Aidan and Brendan each had a turn and loved it. Thank you Joe! Liam played with the kids as well, and that was good to see. It ot to bed time so I headed home to get the bath ready for the 4 filthy ones. Liam was quite upset apparently at our neighbor's and it continued all the way until he was out of the bath and had his pajamas on. Liam went to sleep quickly. He was most likely tired from all the playing this evening, plus it was the warmest day of the season so far.

We shall see what tomorrow holds in store......

A manageable day for Liam

Liam went off to school today and his teacher said he had an average day. The only downside she noticed was he had moments where he had high anxiety. When he had anxiety, he would ask for mommy repeatedly. His teacher said they managed to work through it (not sure how) and he would be ok for a while. His teacher will continue to update Jill when she picks him up.

This afternoon he took a nap during lunch time and was actually not too bad. Jill was making ravioli and breadsticks. Liam loves breadsticks and sat in his chair at the table for about a 1/2 hour until they were ready. I had gotten home at this time and Liam was eating them and in good spirits.

Jill took Liam to his OT appointment and Liam did not want to do any swinging, ball playing, and bouncing. Liam instead wanted to table work, cutting, drawing, blocks, koosh ball, and bingo. Once he was done he told Jill he was done and wanted to go. His OT Mark noticed this and intentionally took his time with Liam to utilize the whole hour he was there.

When Liam got home he rode his bike over a neighbor's house where I was with Aidan and Brendan. Aidan and Brendan played at the neighbor's with no real supervision from me. They just went about playing with the kids and toys. This is quite different from how it is with Liam. Liam stayed for about ten minutes and decided he wanted to go home and take a bath. Aidan and Brendan were right behind as we think Aidan may have an ear infection as he told Jill and I his ear hurt a couple times. We going to see how he does. Liam took his bath and I got the twins ready for bed. Jill went to get Seamus from down the street where he was playing. Liam got out of the tub and immediately wanted mommy and began crying and yelling for her. He would not let me put his pajamas on not comb his hair. I sat him down in the chair by the window so he could look for Jill. He continued crying for about 10 minutes. Once I noticed he stopped crying, I asked if I could put his pajamas on and his reply was quite positive and happy. I took advantage of that and got him ready for bed. I still had to give Liam risperdal. He insisted mommy do it. I didn't push it since I did not want him to calm down. A few minutes later I decided to be silly with him and ask if cartoon characters or his brothers could give him his medicine. He kept saying no and laughing when I asked if woody could give it to him. He laughed and said yes. I got the yogurt with the pill and held woody's hand with the spoon. Liam took his risperdal and found it quite funny. Liam fell asleep within the hour.

Today seemed a lot better than yesterday, we will see what tomorrow holds in store.

A bad day after a good day.

This morning started out ok for Liam, but as the day went on it got worse. He again seemed like he was mentally all over the place. His mind was like a rolodex and he was just going from one thought to another. Liam even seemed very nervous about everything. I was out cutting the grass and Jill said Liam was very nervous about everything. She brought out the boys to play as I was finishing up the yard. They were ok outside, but unfortunately, it started to rain. We came in and decided to make them lunch. Liam wanted a pbj sandwich and Pringles. Jill made it, cut the sandwich and server it to Liam. He got very upset because it was cut up. I tried to talk to him but he just kept getting more upset. I finally said I would make him another sandwich and he kept screaming and crying for his blanket. I gave it to him, and he smelled it, and said blood was on it and it had to be washed. We tried to comfort him, but kept screaming and crying that it had to be washed. So, we decided to wash it for him with a load of towels. He settled down for a minute. As it was washing he got upset again saying he wanted it again. We explained it had to finish washing and then dry before he could have it. he continued to scream and cry and lay on the floor in front of the washing machine. He was in a total meltdown at this point. Nothing we could say or do would help him, so we left him there to cry. This went on for another 10 minutes. He went and sat on the recliner where I say next to him and talked to him. He settled down and as I sat there with him for a few minutes holding him. When his blanket was finally ready, he wanted to sit with me. He held his blanket and quickly fell asleep. Aidan and Brendan were already napping at this point.

Liam woke up and was clearly feeling refreshed. He and Brendan were playing and having a great time. Jill came home with pizza for dinner and that really hit the spot. After Liam ate, he coughed, had a strange look on his face that meant one thing, puke. I dropped my pizza and as I got there he threw up on his seat overalls, and floor. Jill heard the commotion and ran down to help me clean it up. This was the second time today Liam threw up. It appeared be a lot of phlegm, so were hoping it's not a cold and just the weather changing. Aidan and Brendan who were still eating have shown weak gag reflexes in the past so we cleaned up as fast as possible. Luckily this time they just kept on eating. Liam was very upset at throwing up as he kept crying. He settled down and we all went outside.

Outside our neighbors ended up in our yard. A lot of the kids were playing with each other and Liam just kept doing his own thing, riding a bike up and the sidewalk, or just roaming around a neighbor's yard. We eventually went over to a neighbor's yard as all the kids gravitated there. While there Liam just wanted Jill to hold him. She would hold him, then he would get down and ride a bike. A few seconds later he would then want Jill to hold him. I offered to hold him and he wanted mommy. When it was time to come home Liam was cooperative as he wanted to take a bath. He ended up getting in the tub after I bathed Aidan and Brendan, then decided he wanted to shower, so he did. When it came time for bed he wanted me to hold him in the chair in our room. He quickly fell asleep in as I held him. At least it was a peaceful end to the day for him.

Days like today Jill and I just feel helpless. When he has one of his breakdowns and nothing you do helps, you just have to let it pass. It is very hard to take seeing your child getting overly emotional over things a normal child wouldn't. All we can do is our best to comfort him, and start each new day with the hope that he will do better. Hopefully Monday will be a good start for him at school.

Saturday, a good day for everyone!

Seamus had his first soccer game of the season on Saturday. The morning was chilly but by game time it was warm and beautiful out. Seamus's team started out pretty good, but one kid on the other team had one heck of a foot and scored 3 quick goals. Seamus's team hung in there and in the 3rd quarter Seamus got his first goal of the season! Seamus had taken the ball down field and kicked it at the goalie, the ball bounced off the goalie and Seamus was right there to kick it back in! Seamus really showed some good ball handling out there. The soccer association is sponsoring foot skill sessions this week and that will greatly help Seamus. His coach and I agree the one thing he needs to work on is using both feet to control the ball. Once he gets that down, he will be even better. Liam, Aidan, and Brendan, were all very good at the soccer field. My parents and Jill's parents were there to cheer Seamus on. On the way home, Liam, Aidan, and Brendan, did not want to go home. They all cried for a short time until we got home. Jill and the 3 boys took a nap as I had to take my car to get it's exhaust repaired.

My 93 Bonneville SSEi is a beautiful car. The only problem is, as it is getting older things break, and with a mostly electronic car with a supercharger, it can be expensive. I got one estimate from Midas over the phone since I knew I needed a new pipe in front of the catalytic converter, and probably the rest of the exhaust. They stated around $700 since most likely the converter will need replaced. Ugh. I went to a place called Affordable Muffler near our old house in Cleveland. I last went to this place 10 years ago when I needed a complete exhaust on my old S-10. This place beat Midas by $210, I remember it well. So, I went back this time and had to wait 45 minutes before I could get an estimate. No big deal, the Blarney Stone is just around the corner! I ended up not going in and instead sat outside in the beautiful weather. When they got to me I waited about 10 minutes to hear the news. The guy came back and said all I needed was a catalytic converter and front exhaust pipe, $118 installed. He showed me the tail pipe and muffler. He said they are stainless steel and in excellent condition still. I highly doubt Midas would have been as honest as this place. Good places like this are hard to find. I am definitely glad I went back to the old neighborhood! Speaking of which, I had to do a drive by the house I grew up in. My parents have been out of there for about 11-12 years now. The house looks like shit (pardon my language). The people who bought have really let it go. I know when we lived there it was a beautiful house and a beautiful yard. My parents would never have it any other way. How anyone can live like that is beyond me.

When I got home Jill had to run some errands. She said the boys slept, but not long. When she left I sat down in the recliner and Liam and Brendan climbed up with me. Before I knew it, they were asleep, and Aidan fell asleep on the floor. They slept for about 2 hours. When they woke up we all went out in the back yard to the playground. All 3 were quite playful, laughing, and having a great time. It was really a lot of fun. Jill got home and we had to feed them. Jill and I were going to a neighbor's baseball fund raiser at Tony K's. Grandma McIlwee was going to watch them for us. They ate, and I tried to get them back outside, but they were content watching Disney and playing with each other. As Jill and I were getting ready to go Liam would not put his pajamas on and insisted on a bath. Jill bathed him and he settled down. Baths seem to relax Liam. As we were ready to walk out, we told Grandma what shows were on. Liam insisted on watching Toy Story, when Seamus and the twins have been liking Little House on the Prairie. Liam got very upset and Jill had to pull out the TV guide to show him that when Little House was done, Toy Story would still be on. He settled down after that.

We got home and my mom said Liam got tired and put himself in his own bed! That was great to hear. Seamus fell asleep on the chair in our room and the twins in our bed. We put them all in their respective beds and went to sleep ourselves.

Friday, good and bad times

Liam had a day about the same that it has been all week. The only big changes we have started noticing with Liam is his behavior has gone from very impulsive actions, to very mentally impulsive. By this I mean we are seeing his thought pattern go from one thing to another in his head. his ability to focus on one thing is not good. He has continued to pick at his teeth with his fingers or whatever object is at hand. He has now been picking at his top front teeth and it is noticeable. Jill bought some cajun spiced liquid to put on children's fingers to help stop thumb / finger sucking. Jill put it on Liam's fingers and she has failed to see any reaction on Liam's part when she has seen his fingers in his mouth. We attribute his under sensitivity to this. We just have to keep on trying to stop this behavior.

Liam had his regular OT appointment cancelled on Monday and it was scheduled for Friday. Jill said the appointment went better than the previous 2 weeks, but Liam still could not focus on the tasks he was asked to do. Liam would start doing something and then say "done" or "go home". He was redirected to other tasks to try and keep his attention, but that was hard to do. When Jill got home Liam took a nap until just before I got home at 5pm.

After dinner was over, we took the kids all outside to play. We ended up going over our neighbor's house where his kids were playing on the playground as he worked on his deck. While we were there Liam was quite difficult to handle. He would be on a swing, then see one of his brothers go near something and start yelling and throw a fit. I would have to console him to settle him down and remind him what he was doing. This behavior repeated itself a few more times. Jill came over and gave Aidan suckers to pass out to all the kids. Liam saw Aidan giving them out and ran to him. Aidan, just being playful, ran from Liam. Liam became angry and caught up to Aidan, tackled him, grabbed 2 fistsful of hair, and tried to bite Aidan on the head. I had grab him quickly and pull him off. Liam became uncontrollable and Jill took him home for about 10 minutes until he settled down. When he got back his behavior was much better. We ended up coming home, bathing the kids, and putting them to bed. Liam went to sleep by 9pm without any problem. Brendan on the other hand, was quite the chatterbox in bed and didn't get to sleep until 10pm!

The missing keys!

Liam had a pretty good day at school. The only problem his teacher noticed was that he seemed like he had a lot of anxiety. When Liam was on focalin he was very fidgety and worried about everyone and anything all the time. We aren't sure if he was that bad, but Jill will pay attention to how he is Friday at home.

Today's big dilemma was Jill could not find the car keys for the van. She called me several times at work and on my cell phone. I could not answer my phone as I was in meetings all morning. When I returned to my desk I listened to her voice mail and she was quite upset. Jill could not pick Liam up from school today since she couldn't find the keys. I was the last one with them. I couldn't recall exactly where I may have left them. Jill could not get hold of anyone to get Liam for her either. Finally a neighbor came home and was able to pick Liam up. When I got home I ended up finding the keys on the very back of the dryer behind some socks as I retraced my steps. Whew!

This afternoon Liam had his Adaptive Aquatics class. He had a great time as usual today and he did excellent. While he was working with his teacher, she was playing with a truck on a platform in 4 feet of water when it fell off and sank to the bottom. She said "uh oh, I guess we got to pick it up" and Liam without hesitation dove down in the water and picked up the truck. The teacher had to assist him a little to come back up, but she was quite impressed with how he went down in the water and held his breathe as he picked up the truck. The only negative to this that I see is with his bravery, how will he be near other pools, and when no one is watching? He already shows a lack of awareness of cars while he is outside playing, or other factors in his surroundings. Keeping this mind keeps us both on our toes no matter where he is.

This evening Liam was pretty mellow. Usually after his swimming he gets very tired and that keeps him relatively calm. He was outside with us for a short time this evening and played and listened very well. We had to cut it short as tonight we had to take Seamus to Falls - Lennox primary school where he will be in kindergarten next year. Seamus was at first very hesitant, but he quickly warmed up after he saw one of his soccer buddies there. Seamus got a tour of the school and then got to ride the bus he will taking next year. Seamus is very excited about school next year. We will see when that time comes on his first day August 19th when we both will go to school with him.

Better day and some good news for Liam

Liam had a better day according to his teacher today. In a brief conversation she said today was a better day for Liam at school. The school had a fire drill today and Liam handled it well. The one thing his teacher did notice was that when it was all going on, she saw his fingers were in his mouth more picking at his gums. It no doubt appeared to be related to the stress of evacuating the school. Overall, he has progressed a little each day and we hope it continues at school.

Jill went with her parents and the boys to Costco today. Liam was pretty well behaved for the most part. Jill kept him in a shopping cart so that helped control him with the confines of the cart. Liam and his brothers were all kept busy by tasting all the samples Costco had to offer. Jill bought each of them a new bathing suit and t-shirt that went with it. Liam was thrilled with his bathing suit and held onto it the whole time.

Afterwards they went to Jill's parents and he has continued with the picking at his gums. We do out best to prevent it, but you can never watch him every minute. Jill said he had blood stains on his cheek and blanket when they arrived at her parents. Liam continued to show some sensory needs with rubbing his face and body against the carpet, floors, and even furniture. He again got in the somersault position and scooted his head across the floor. Liam also would climb to the top of her parents furniture and slide down the furniture in a snake like fashion. He did this several times. Liam also went to top of the stairs and slid down the carpet in the same fashion a couple times.

Jill got home the same time I did. After dinner we went over my parents to help them light their fireplace since it hadn't been used in 4 months. While there Liam was very well behaved. One thing we have noticed the past couple of days is he keeps repeating questions at odd times like "mommy, did I have school today?" "daddy, no race cars today?", "daddy, football's not on today?". Jill's father's car battery died so she had to take him to school. She told Liam why papa wasn't there today and Liam would repeat "papa's car is broke?".

Overall his behavior has improved, but we are still seeing the bum picking and impulsive behaviors at times. He has definitely shown some improvement with his behavior now that he is on risperdal instead of anafranil. In about 2 more days Liam will be weened off anafranil, so we will see how he progresses while on 1/2 tablet of risperdal in the morning, and then 1/2 tablet at night.

The good news today came in a letter from the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation. They sent us a letter stating Liam can continue his Adaptive Aquatics program at Lifeworks until March of 2006. This was great news to us both since we know how much Liam enjoys the aquatics program. Since medical insurance coverage for Liam's OT is going to run out in August, we are going to contact our carrier Qualchoice to see if we can continue this therapy. The OT is really a necessity for Liam. Having the break in the routine from August until January 2006 when the insurance would start again would definitely be a hindrance to his development. We will keep everyone posted as to what happens there.

Getting Better....

Liam had his first day back at school since he started taking risperdal. Liam's teachers reported that his behavior was much better today. He was still impulsive today in school with his behavior, but was able to listen and follow directions better. Liam had time with the OT at his school today. She went along with what he wanted to do. The OT wanted Liam to draw with her on paper. Liam ended up laying under the table and wanted to draw while laying on his back. The OT obliged and taped the paper to the underside of the table where Liam ended up drawing circles and lines. Liam couldn't wait to show me when I got home from work.

During the afternoon Jill took the boys outside to play. It was windy and chilly but they all wanted to go out and play. Jill said Liam's behavior was much the same outside, impulsive and just going everywhere. Jill had to chase Liam down and keep him in the yard while his brothers Aidan and Brendan played nicely in the yard. Shortly after being out the cold caught up to them. Jill brought them in and Brendan and Liam took naps. Liam has taken naps lately and that has been good. When he has not taken naps, he has been horrible to deal with at night.

This evening after dinner Liam's behavior was much the same. He would not stay with 1 play task and would go from one place to another. While we went by our neighbor's where Seamus was playing, Seamus came out with a popsicle. This set Liam off. He began asking for popsicles and when he did not get one, he began to scream and cry for it. We tried to talk to him but his impulsiveness just led to higher anxiety in him. I finally brought him in the house and found a popsicle in the freezer. Liam was told to sit down at the table to eat it. Liam refused and kept repeating he wanted to put it in his pocket. After holding him and talking to him he then started saying he wanted to take it to bed. He was saying this while he was crying at the same time. I finally held Liam and told him he could have his popsicle after his bath tonight. He then settled down and wanted to go ride his bike. Outside again his impulsive behavior continued as he kept climbing from one child's riding toy to another and thus creating one conflict after another. When we returned home Liam could not decide if he wanted to shower or bath. We finally had to decide a batch for him so it would get done. Liam then took his next dose of risperdal which got him to sleep by 9:15.

So far we have seen improvements little by little since he started on risperdal. He is still not where he should be, but the progress has been there. We will see where we are in another week.

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday

This blog is going to be a summary of what has happened over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

On Friday, Liam's behavior was much the same as it has been the past couple weeks. Jill's dad took Seamus and Liam to see Robots. Liam left his blanket in the car and for the first part of the movie he was ok. As the movie went on he kept asking for his blanket, mommy, and kept saying done. This went on during the entire second half of the movie. Jill's dad held Liam which seemed to help calm him down. During the evening Liam was much the same outside, running all over, and for the most part doing his own thing and not playing with other children. When it came to bed time Liam was to take a 1/2 tablet of Risperdal. Jill mistakenly gave Liam an entire tablet. Worried, she called the pharmacist who said he should be fine, he'll just have a great night's sleep.

Saturday morning Liam was the first one up at 7am. He does not understand the concept of quiet, nor the time he is up. He is quite loud and comes right in the bedroom and wakes everyone up. The funniest part to Liam waking us up was Brendan telling Liam he was too loud and to go away! Jill went shopping and saw a Buzz Lightyear coat for Liam that she knew he'd love. When she got home and showed him, he loved it. He ended up wearing the coat in the house and outside all day! Liam's behavior during the day was still impulsive. He took bunch of toys in bins and dumped them all over the living room floor. I tried to have him help clean up, but he would have none of it. As I tried to hold his hand to help clean up, he acted as if it was quite painful to do. He would lay on the floor and refuse to help. Aidan and Brendan wanted me to hold them for a nap. Liam sat down on the couch and fell asleep for a couple hours. When Jill got home with groceries, Liam sees the cereals he likes, the fruit snacks, juice, and popcorn. He can hardly control as he digs through the grocery bags seeing all the stuff he wants. As he sorts through the bags he keeps taking one thing out after another the he likes and wants it all. His behavior is extremely impulsive at this time. When he asks for something, he does not let up until he gets it. It is quite difficult and frustrating as you are trying to put groceries away and have Liam asking for everything at one time. Liam took his second dose of Risperdal Saturday and he was up until 10pm. The doctor said to stop the melatonin, so that may have been a reason for his late bedtime.

Sunday, Liam was up bright and early at 6am. So was everyone else. Liam came right in the room this morning and was asking Jill where his Buzz coat was. He found it and Jill had to snap it up for him before he left the room. Liam continued playing as if it was the middle of the day. Liam and Brendan each had cereal for breakfast. Once they were done, Seamus wanted Jill to make him an egg, english muffin, and canadian bacon as a sandwich. Liam who had just finished eating was then wanting to have some of that. We gave him a piece of bacon which he tasted and gave to Brendan to eat. As I fried up some eggs, Liam was right there asking for the same thing. His behavior at this point was still impulsive as he wanted what everyone else had. As I was cleaning the kitchen up, Jill was cleaning upstairs. Liam and the twins were upstairs as well. Suddenly I hear Jill yelling at Liam and the twins. It turns out the three of them had just made a huge mess out of Aidan's room after Jill had just cleaned it. The bed sheets were all taken off the bed and thrown all over. The stuffed animals were tossed all over the room, and the toys in the room were scattered about the floor.

In the afternoon Liam was quite insistent upon watching Disney. When I attempted to put on a show of my choice, he became quite angry and loud. Jill was on the phone with Liam's teacher as I had to step out. Jill noticed it was quiet so she went to see what he was doing. She went in the kitchen and found Liam sitting on the shelf in the refrigerator. He was doing nothing else but sitting there. Jill stated Liam would then follow her from to room and would have his blanket in his mouth. Liam still would occasionally still pick at his teeth and put different toys in his mouth and chew. Jill had to wash his blanket earlier in the day because of the blood stains from him picking and putting the blanket in his mouth. When I returned Jill had to run to the store. Liam then was insistent that I sit with him in the chair. I sat with him for while and thought he would take a nap, which he didn't, Aidan and Brendan did. Liam wanted to go outside and play. I told him after mommy got home and after we had dinner. Shortly after that Liam fell asleep for a nap.

Jill came home and we had dinner. Liam did not want to eat. All he had was some popcorn and nacho chips to eat all evening. My parents have returned from Florida on Saturday and were coming over. Liam was quite excited to see grandpa and grandma as he knew they were down in Florida where his favorites Buzz and Woody lived. My parents arrived just at the end of dinner so we went outside. Outside Liam's behavior was the same as it has been, impulsive, and all over the place. Jill and I had to chase Liam down as he would ride a bike away from the house and ignore calls to come back. Seamus and I were kicking a soccer ball around when I saw Liam sneak around the back of the house. After a few seconds of not seeing him come around the house, I went to look for him. I caught Liam just as he was going into the woods behind our house. Liam's wandering like this has always been a fear of ours. Last year he made an escape out of the house and managed to go in the woods. Jill was totally panicked as she had no idea where he went. She could not just go look for him as she had the twins to worry about. She contacted a neighbor for help as she was about the call the police and report him missing. While talking to our neighbor, they heard a rustling in the woods. As they looked closer, Jill saw Liam's yellow striped shirt. Liam was stuck in thick brush pretty far into the woods. This year, not much has changed with his roaming. He still requires constant attention outside, more so than our twin two year olds Aidan and Brendan do. Liam took a 1/2 tablet of risperdal again tonight. He was asleep by 9:45pm. Tomorrow will be Liam's first day back at school since starting risperdal. We will see how that goes, as always we keep hoping for the best.

The big day at the doctor's

Today Liam's behavior has much been the same as it has been all week. His behavior was just as impulsive and uncontrollable at school and home. Liam's teacher wrote up a memo on the behavior changes she has seen since he started anafranil. This was taken to his neurologist to add to his file. Her observations were equal to what ours have been at home.

Liam had his swimming therapy today. Jill's dad took him and said Liam was the best he has seen all week. Her dad said when he was in the pool with his teacher, his attention was on her and what he was to do. The whole time Liam was happy and enjoyed the water. We have found Liam occasionally will want to take a bath at odd times. We allow him and find that when he does, he often likes to lay and float in the tub. The bath seems to relax him, give him a way of coping with his day.

Liam went to see his neurologist today. Jill went well prepared taking the memo from his teacher, notes she took on his behavior, and a copy of this blog. This information was given to his neurologist for her to read. Jill explained to her just how it has been the past couple weeks with Liam on anafranil. The doctor right away said it was clear the anafranil was working the way it was supposed to. She then prescribed risperdal to take for a temporary basis. She wants to see him another month and come up with another course of action. Jill and I looked this drug up and after reading what it is normally for, it was hard to accept. Jill and I keep telling ourselves that this is for the best, but switching your child from one drug to the next is very emotionally draining. All we want is for Liam to succeed, to integrate into a normal classroom environment, and to grow up and live independently. Right now this time is very emotionally draining. We just keep hoping that one day we will see the rewards when Liam grows up.

This evening after Jill went to get Liam's prescription filled I attempted to make him dinner, but all he wanted to do was sit with me on our snuggler recliner. I had to still make Aidan and Brendan dinner and the whole time Liam kept begging for me to sit down, which I couldn't do. Once I got done feeding the twins it was 7pm and time for them all to have a bath. Liam had quite a busy day with school, swimming, and then the doctor appointment, so he was tired. I gave Liam his melatonin and took him and twins up for a bath. While I was getting pajamas together, I heard Aidan "Uh oh, uh oh". I go in the bathroom, see a guilty looking Liam, and Brendan and Aidan explaining what happen. Liam took his shirt off, put it in the toilet, and flushed it. Luckily the shirt got stuck so I just had to remove it. When their bath was done, Liam was first out. As I was dressing Aidan who was last out, the bedroom was quiet, which usually means trouble. When I went in with Aidan Liam was already crashed out on the bed. Let's hope for a good nights rest, and the start to a new beginning tomorrow.

Another bad day at school

Jill called me at work today to tell me Liam's day at school was off to a bad start. Liam's teacher called saying he was repeatedly crying and upset that he wanted mommy. Liam was repeating over and over to his teacher that she call his mommy. The teacher put Liam on the phone to talk to Jill and he could just whimper and cry "mommy" to her over the phone. His teacher then tried to have Liam join the class in an art project with jelly beans and paint. Liam ate the jelly beans with paint on them. His teacher said she would call if Liam's behavior persisted.

Liam had therapy with Mark this evening. Mark had one of the worst times with Liam tonight. Liam would go from one task to the next without properly completing them. He then persisted asking Jill to hold him. Mark told Liam no and he needed to picture (task). He then continued to cry for mommy. Mark said no. Liam got angry and threw his picture folder across the room. Mark made Liam sit still and choose a picture to do which Liam refused. Liam did sit down with Mark and do table activities, but they were done in a rushed manner. Liam's inattention caused his session to end 15 minutes earlier than expected.

Outside this evening was much the same. Liam kept going places he should not be going. He kept running into back yards where no parents were. He even went over a neighbors house where no one was and took their toys. I ran and had to bring him back with the rest of the kids. Liam made several attempts to go in the back yard of a neighbor's house but was stopped each time. While all the kids were playing, Liam left the yard and started walking home. I caught up to him, asked him what he was doing, and he wanted to go for a walk in the wagon. I took him and he wanted to go see our neighbor Frank. We were for maybe 5 minutes, and Liam took the wagon and started walking home. As I was catching up to him, he walked right out in the street, never looking. Luckily no cars were coming. These are every day dangers we face with Liam. He has no concept of what is going on around him and he just goes his way. While back at our neighbor's house, Liam again tied to each chalk, but Jill stopped him. Liam went to sleep tonight with no problem after taking anafranil and melatonin.

Thursday Liam sees his neurologist. We can only hope the big problem these past 2 weeks has been that he is not on the full medication routine yet. The 1/2 capsule anafranil's have done absolutely nothing for him. We will see tomorrow what the neurologist says. Right now, this is going to be one long summer if this is how he is going to be.

Back to school day 2

Liam's day started at around 3am this morning. He woke up first just to look for his Woody toy from McDonald's. He then started asking for juice. Jill got him juice and was finally able to get him to go back to sleep by 4:30.

Liam had another day at school in which he was all over the room again. His teacher informed Jill that Liam colored on one child's face and her tables instead of paper. He would then walk around the room with his blanket and teething ring and chew. He had at one point sat down in a bean bag chair and cried for mommy. Liam is also supposed to be the line leader this week, but he was unable to meet the task. When Jill got Liam home, she noticed when she picked him up that his stomach had purple marker all over it. His picking at his gums has continued throughout the day. Liam would occasionally have dried blood spots on his mouth area, or on his shirt. We keep checking his gums they continue to look red and inflamed.

Tonight Liam was all over the place again. Instead of playing with all the kids that were around, he would go off on his own in different directions requiring one of us chase him and bring him back. Tonight at our neighbors he made a dash for the woods, Jill caught just as he ran in. While at the neighbor's, Liam made several attempts to go in her house. She had locked her door at Jill's advice. The kids started playing with sidewalk chalk. Liam took a piece, and started coloring his face with it. Jill watched to see what else he would do. Next he took a bite off the chalk and started to eat it. Jill intervened and had to wash his mouth out with water. At another neighbor's house, Orkin was spraying for bees. Liam managed to make it over there, open the Orkin van door, and climb inside the vehicle. Jill turned around and saw this pulled Liam out right away. Liam like to climb inside cars that are parked. As you know, during the summer it is not a good idea for kids to be stuck inside sweltering cars. This is why I lock mine every night when I come home. While I was in the street playing ball with Seamus and couple other neighbor kids, I watched as Liam was standing behind where Jill was sitting and he started taking his clothes off. He had his shirt off and his pants down to his ankles, ala Steve Martin in the jerk, and was trying to run. Jill then had to correct this situation. While I had Liam and the twins on the playground, Liam decided to jump off the playground. That is a jump from almost 5 feet high. The only time Liam was actually well behaved was when I took Seamus, Aidan, Brendan, and Liam for a wagon ride around the block. During this time Liam was in the wagon with Aidan and Brendan and Seamus walked with me. Seamus got tired and wanted to ride in the wagon, so Liam walked with me. He kept wanting to "walk like a big boy", but I said no, he had to hold my hand. He walked 3/4 of the with me and was behaved and talkative.

We keep hoping that the full capsule of anafranil will help resolve these behavioral issues. Jill and I really do not like the idea of medicating him, but as you have read in this blog, he is out of control. We hope that by next week we will be seeing a different Liam. The one we are seeing now is jus very wearing and tiring to keep after. The one concern we have is that one moment we turn our back, that he does something that will put himself in harms way. It is with this in mind that we are always doing our best to be vigilant.

Back to school

Today Liam started back at school. When Jill arrived to pick Liam up his teacher stated that this was one of his worst days. She stated he was all over the room and got into one of her storage cabinets and started removing all the items inside. She then redirected Liam to something else. She had stop Liam on a couple of occasions from throwing books in the room, something he has never done before. Liam was also caught climbing all over desks and book cases in the classroom. At snack time Liam's eating habits were terrible. He kept trying to shove the entire snack into his mouth at once. His teacher watched as he could barely chew. She also found him putting his fingers in his mouth and picking at his gums again. His teacher this was by far one of his worst days. Jill explained to her that we were in the second week of a new prescription.

This afternoon while Jill was out of the room Liam had gotten into the refrigerator and opened a McDonald's syrup that spilled all over the inside of the refrigerator, got on himself, and the kitchen floor, which Aidan happened to walk in. When Jill found him he was trying to drink the syrup. She had to clean the mess up and get him a cup of juice that he was looking for. Right after this, Liam had laid down on the couch and fell asleep.

When I got home he was still asleep at 4:30. Jill decided to go to the store and buy a new refrigerator lock to see if that will help. Liam woke up and I took him, Aidan, and Brendan out to play. Liam was ok at first, but of course his area to roam is now greatly increased. While out there he was roaming between our house and neighbors' house. Liam would routinely go from one 3 wheeler to the next and never stayed with one. This often led to problems with Aidan, as Aidan and he each wanted the same tricycle. When Jill returned they went over a neighbors house where Liam was constantly roaming all over and into everything., requiring intervention on our parts. Towards the end of the evening Liam kept asking Jill just to hold him and carry him. This was not an easy thing for Jill to do, carrying around a 34lb kid. Liam's gum picking looks worse today, his two bottom front teeth look terrible, and the right side of his gum was bleeding a little. Thursday he sees his pediatric neurologist. We hope at this time she may have some ideas for us on how to deal with the gum picking. Jill was able to pick up a teething ring for Liam. We hope that this will at least give him the sensory input he needs. Liam took his anafranil and melatonin tonight and was again in bed by 9:15. Let's hope for the best tomorrow.

Lack of structure?

Today Jill went shopping and was gone most of the day. Liam for the most part was the same as he's been all week. Controlled by his impulses. It has gotten to the point where you must check on him very often, more often than you would for any other 2 or 3 year old. Today was more of the same, walk in a room, make a total mess of it, leave. While Jill and Seamus went to church, I noticed Liam and Brendan (who seems to often be an accomplice) were up in Aidan's room. I went up to find all of Aidan's blankets and pillows thrown all over, and the blinds pulled all the way up for the thousandth time. We have reprimanded Liam for handling the blinds the way he has, he has already mangled the ones in Seamus's room to the point Jill had to fix each slat one by one. The toys in the playroom were all scattered around as well. After Jill returned from church, then went out to the store, the boys went to wave bye in the living room. I cleaned up some toys in the family room then went into the living room and saw Liam moved the trampoline next to the window and was climbing on the window sill and holding onto the window. I simply removed Liam and the trampoline from the area. They all had lunch and Liam ate quite well and was not too messy. They all then appeared tired so I sat with Liam and Brendan who each fell asleep for about 2.5 hours, ahhh. Aidan fell asleep an hour later after playing by himself and doing his own thing in peace. Upon Liam and Brendan waking up they went in the dining room and just started removing the toys from the bins and just making a mess. I insisted repeatedly they clean up for over an hour. Finally, I told them no pizza if they did not get it cleaned up. I left it at that. A short time later I noticed Liam quiet. To my surprise he was cleaning up all the toys! He did a great job and I gave him positive reinforcement and encouragement to do it next time.

Throughout the day Liam has continued to put his fingers, blankets, toys, or any other object at hand in his mouth and pick at his gums. We are continuosly having to watch him with this so he does not damage his gums any worse. Jill washed his blankets today since 2 of them had several blood stains on them from him doing this. Believing that this behavior is a sensory related issue, Jill is going to get one of those gumming type brushes for babies that are teething. Hopefully that will give him the sensory input he is looking for before he does any serious damage to his teeth and gums.

When Jill got home and was putting some groceries away, we watched Liam climb on the edge of the couch and dive onto the cushions. He was told not to do it repeatedly and it continued until I went up to him and spoke directly in his face to not do it. That behavior stopped. Seamus had come home from Eli's (2 houses away) and all 4 started acting all silly with each other. It was quite funny at times to watch all 4 chasing each other around the house and end up in a pile on the floor or couch.

We gave Liam the melatonin and 1/2 capsule of anafranil for the first time. He was in bed by 9:15 since he did have a 2.5 hour nap. We will see how this goes.

Now overall Liam was not as bad as he has been at times this week. I believe a reason for that is I found myself checking on him very often, find him, see what he was doing, and redirect him. This is all fine, but it left me very little time to do anything else or work on any project while they played. Jill deals with this every day. I give her all the credit in the world for coping with this, it truly makes every hour of every day a challenge. I am really hoping that once this new medication schedule is set that Liam becomes more manageable. One other possible reason for his behavior is the schedule change he has had in the past week. He has gone from 4 days of school, 2.5 hours per day, to nothing. Changes like this could also be a factor as Liam has had more time without structure this past week than since Christmas. We will see how he does at school this week and report back what we hear from his teachers.

As always, tomorrow is a new day, full of new hopes and oppurtunities for us and Liam. We continue to hope for the best.

6 days and no change for Liam

I woke up this morning and was feeling quite better. I let Jill sleep in a little since she has had to deal with all 4 boys for the past couple days. This is the 6th day of Liam taking a 1/2 capsule of anafranil and we don't see any behavior change. Hopefully we do by week 3 when he takes one in the morning and one at night. Until then we'll just keep moving on.

Liam's behavior was still impulsive and at times out of control. Liam would regularly make a mess out of a room and walk away. When asked to clean it up, it was a struggle and he never did. Liam was caught several times climbing and jumping around on furniture, throwing cushions around, and bouncing in the crib still in Aidan's room. Liam's behavior at times I found was sneaky. On a couple of occasions cans of pop were on the counter and I heard and saw him trying to scale the counter to reach them. When he saw me he would get down and run. At one point when Seamus was eating and Liam sneaked up on Seamus and took his pop and started drinking it. This is a perfect example of his impulsive behavior. He could not control his want for pop. I would then ask him what he was doing and would not get an answer that made any sense. Either he didn't understand the question (which is most likely) or he was intentionally being evasive. The boys asked for a bucket we had with a bunch of hot wheel cars in it. I gave it to them and they played for a short time with it. During this time Liam and Brendan wanted to play in the basement. I said sure. At one point I saw Liam going down with a couple of cars and Brendan right behind. I asked what they were doing with the cars downstairs and I saw Liam go towards the furnace / sump pump area and that raised a red flag. I went down and asked what was going on. Liam just hid and Brendan pointed to the corner by the sump pump which I didn't see anything. I then sighed and took the lid off the sump and found 4 hot wheels, 2 computer game cd's, and a dvd cover in the water. Liam obviously had put the cd's and dvd in their for some reason. Instead of getting angry, I asked him why he did it. His responses were "where's woody", "have you seen buzz and jesse". The rest of the afternoon Liam and his brothers Aidan and Brendan spent a lot of time being silly chasing each other around and wrestling on the floor. At times it is quite funny and entertaining to watch them. The evening was pretty quiet for Liam as he went to sleep around 8:30.

Sunday we will start him on a 1/2 capsule of anafranil in the morning and then at bedtime with the melatonin. A new week will start and so will a fresh round of hope for Liam. Stay tuned for this week's updates!

Thursday & Friday, bad days for Jim

Thursday and Friday turned out to be a couple of bad days for myself. I came down with the flu or something. Whatever it was, it kicked my butt. Jill had to pick me up at work and take me home. I spent Thursday and Friday in bed, hot one minute, freezing the next, and chills to the point I was shaking convulsively. It's Saturday and I'm pretty much recovered, still not 100%, but good enough.

A quick summary for Liam on these 2 days is pretty much the same as earlier this week. Behavior at times bordered out of control and quite impulsive.

Thursday is Liams day at Lifeworks for a program called Adaptive Aquatics. This is a swim program designed for children with special needs. This program has been great for Liam so far. He truly looks forward to going to it and the therapy has helped him greatly with muscle toning. Jill's father normally takes Liam as a favor to us each week. Jill has gone a couple times to see it. Jill and her dad say Karen is the kind of person you see doing her job, and you know that is what she was meant to do. Liam enjoys it every time he goes. The Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability is paying for this class right now, but at some point (not exactly sure) this will run out and we would have to pay for it. Once the county's money runs out, this will cost us around $120/month. The melatonin worked fine Thursday with some help from the swimming!

Friday Liam's behavior was much the same, still impulsive. Jill's dad came over with grand daughters Bridget and Katie. He picked up Seamus and Liam and took them to Fairview Hospital where he volunteers. They were going to meet Slider, the Indians mascot and Len Barker. Mind you, the 4 little ones have no idea who Len Barker is, but who cares, they got to meet Slider. Liam has always had terrible fear of puppet type characters and luckily his apprehensions quickly went away when Jill's dad took him up to Slider. Jill's dad said Liam was very well behaved given the number of people around. Normally in a social setting with a lot of people it can quite over bearing for Liam. He would often say "done" "go home" or "blankie". This is normal behavior for autistic children in environments like this. To them this is a sensory overload and for others it could have far worse consequences on. Knowing how your child will react in situations is key to helping them, and even yourselves as parents.

Now Friday night, Jill took Liam down 2 doors to pickup Seamus. I was putting Aidan and Brendan to bed when I heard the door open. I came down and saw Liam. I figured Jill was right behind. Liam just had slippers on and said he was going to get mommy and ran back towards our neighbor's. Jill called 5 minutes later looking for Liam. I told her where I thought he went, so the search was on. As it turned out, he was on our neighbor's playground. The weather within the 1.5 hours they were gone had gone from 66 degrees, to windy and 49 degrees. Liam was playing on the playground with no coat and only slippers on and could hardly notice the cold. Autistic children can either be over sensitive in their senses, or under sensitive. The over sensitive children we have seen seem to have far greater troubles adjusting and handling normal routines. Liam's under sensitivity has both good and bad to it. When it came time for bed, the melatonin worked again. I'd have to say by now that the 2 days last week were just a couple bumps in the road.