Seemed like a good day

When Liam got off the bus today it was across the street. The kids (3-4 year olds) were told to wait until the bus driver held up their hand before crossing. Well, Liam thought the bus driver was just waving so he stood there waving back. The bus aide then told him it was ok to cross. Liam then went over to Jill. The downside to this was in the afternoon when she was outside she turned around to see Liam dashing across the street without even looking. She was contemplating calling the school to see if they drop him off right at our driveway. What Jill found was that when she picked Liam up last year, she could talk to the teacher’s about how his day was. Today when she asked him, all he could talk about was a girl who cried, he had fun, and he saw Kennedy. She will probably resume picking Liam and Seamus up just so she can get the feedback from his teachers.

When he got home Jill said he was a bit hyper and was running about the house playing. After she fed him lunch he ended up taking a nap on his own. When I got home he was hyper. He was climbing on me and started telling me about his day. It was much like what he told Jill, only he was hanging all over me. While I ate he was racing around between the family room and living room. He did not have any fit of note this evening. Liam just seemed to be in quite a playful mood. We’ll see what happens Tuesday.

Fits n tantrums, and a busy weekend

Over the weekend the fits and tantrums continued. They went from small fits all the way up to complete tantrums where Liam would lay on the floor kicking the floor, walls, and door. So far ignoring them and letting him calm down himself has worked best. When we have tried to hold him or talk to him it just made things worse.

Saturday we celebrated Liam, Aidan, and Brendan’s, birthday’s. Saturday morning was quite busy as we cleaned the house. When we were busy with our tasks Liam kept wanting to go play with Kelly down the street. At one point Liam pulled a Houdini and disappeared on us. I looked outside and saw him down at Kelly’s in her driveway. Jill went and got Liam to bring him home. Of course he had a complete tantrum. We ended up latching the door so he could not get out. Liam’s tantrum lasted about 15 minutes. I had to later go out and spray for bees. We have a bad problem with the bees getting under a gap in my siding. I’ve been spraying each time I see them go in the hole. While I was doing that I went back in the garage to see Liam down the street at Kelly’s again. This time she was out and she joined Liam riding bikes. Since we were busy, we couldn’t leave Liam outside unsupervised. We ended up letting them play in the house. Before we knew it a couple other kids from the neighborhood came over. It worked out well as they all played and Jill and I could get our work done.

Liam was very good at his birthday party. The reason for this was simply he had all kinds of attention and people to play with. The only problem we started seeing was Liam has started showing anger towards his brothers and others. He has started hitting others and yelling at them. We would quickly intervene to diffuse anything from getting out of hand. The rest of the party went well for everyone. The boys were all tired from playing outside and with their new toys.

Sunday was another busy day. We all went to the Zoo for the IBEW Local 38 union picnic. It was really a great time for everyone. The food was excellent. Since Jill’s dad had some extra tickets, we took our friends and neighbor’s the Stascko’s with us. The food, drink, and ice cream, was excellent. The weather was beautiful and the kids all ate very well. Liam was very well behaved and showed no signs of being bothered by the large number of people there. Liam was excellent all day long. He listened very well and really enjoyed seeing all the animals. By the end of the day, the kids had enough of walking around. Liam started to become a little out of control at the end of the day. He was getting a little wild and listening became a challenge for him. When we decided to go Liam was not ready. I had to restrain him and buckle him down in a stroller. He kept kicking and fighting to get out. Part of it too was that he was tired from being out in the 90 degree sun most of the day. On the way home Liam was asleep within 5 minutes.

We had all the boys in the bed by 9pm as Seamus and Liam had to be up early for school Monday. Liam will be taking the bus for the first time by himself. We are happy and anxious at the same time about this. It is great knowing that he now is able to go on the bus by himself, yet anxious in that we are putting him on a bus out of our control for a short time. I think he will be fine, but having gotten so used to knowing his whereabouts all the time has made Jill and myself a bit worried. We will see how today goes!

First day of school!

Liam and Seamus had their first day of school Thursday. We first went with Seamus for his first day of Kindergarten. At 9:30, Liam had his class. I had to cut out and get Liam at who was being dropped off by Jill’s dad. Liam and Seamus were both very excited all morning. Liam had a small fit because he had to wait until after 9:00 to go to school, he quickly settled down when he was told Grandpa McCourt was going to take him.

When Liam arrived he was quite excited to be in school at first. As we started walking down the hall he seemed to become apprehensive, I could feel his anxiety building as he was asking me to hold him. When we got in his classroom it was quite hectic as a lot of parents were there and other kids he has not met. Liam acted as expected with this much activity going on. I had to hold him or hold his hand for the most part. At times he would seem ok, but then he would ask that I pick him up again. Liam settled down some when he saw his buddies Ian and Kennedy. He became friends with them in school last year. We then went to the school gym to listen to the bus driver talk. The bus drivers have a remote controlled bus that talks to teach bus safety to kids. Last year this bus freaked Liam out. I was interested to see how he would do. Liam did great, no fear or apprehension. He went and stood with Kennedy to watch it. This is one of those little milestones you see where he has progressed. Animated characters or puppets used to cause him terrible anxiety. We went back to the classroom where it was still busy and Liam again wanted me to hold him. Parents and kids were starting to leave. As they left and the room quieted down, Liam became more comfortable and became quite talkative. Seamus and Jill joined us at this point since he was done with his class. Liam quickly was excited to see his brother. Liam started showing Seamus around the room, it was really cute to see. It is no secret to Jill and I that Liam adores and loves Seamus. His actions and words with him at times show that. Liam was even telling others in the room who Seamus was. Jill and I both were touched watching the two of them together. Jill and I know that as they get older, Liam is going to really look up to Seamus. Seamus doesn’t really understand how important he is going to be as they get older. We both know that Seamus is going to be that big brother he needs to be. Liam goes to school on the bus Monday, we’ll see how that goes. We think he’ll be fine, but as a parent of an autistic child, anytime they are not in your control, it can be stressful. Once he gets into this routine I’m sure he’ll be fine. This will be yet another milestone as last year there was no way Liam would have taken the bus. So, on starts a new school year, and a new chapter. We continue to hope for the best!

We got our explanation about the money for Adaptive Aquatics. Apparently only some of that money is for 2005, the rest from January 2006 – March 2006. The explanation was clear and appreciated. So we are trying to figure out what to do now.

A needed “good” day

Today was a surprisingly much better day for Liam. He still had his fits, but not as bad as in the past few days. While all the fits are still going on, we continue to see Liam picking at his teeth. We have paid special attention to watch this. He has already done enough damage to his gums that we really worry what may happen with his teeth as he gets older.

Jill and I had to go over her parents to finish cleaning up after their family room flooded from the rains we had this past Saturday. We were going to take all the boys, but a good friend and neighbor said she would watch the boys for us. We were quite hesitant at first knowing the fits and tantrums Liam has had, plus how he will just take off down the street to go play with someone else without asking. Adding in Aidan and Brendan to the mix just made for what sounded like a difficult time for someone with 5 of her own kids. We left and expected all kinds of tears and surprisingly there weren’t! When we got back the boys were all playing inside our neighbor’s house quietly and happily. It seemed unreal. The boys all said hi to us and kept on playing. We asked Lynette how they were and she said they were excellent. She told us what they did and how well behaved they were. We were both so glad to hear that, but yet wonder, why in the world can’t they behave like that for us! Oh well, it was nice to hear. At bath time the boys were even cooperative and in good spirits. Quite different from how they are usually over tired and crying. Liam was an actual pleasure to bathe and get ready for bed. If only every night could be like this!

Jill and I wrote an email to the person from the Cuyahoga Country Board of Mental Retardation/DD who notified Lifeworks of the change to what they are paying for Liam’s Adaptive Aquatics class. Jill and I broke down the costs and number of sessions Liam will have. In the end, we would owe $27 on December 22 rather than the $250 Lifeworks notified us of. We are both aggravated that the County has not notified us why the change. We are now waiting for their response. It would really be a shame that Liam can not continue to attend Lifeworks, he has really done so well. Stay tuned for updates.

Fits and tantrums go on

The fits Liam has been having lately have continued. One thing we have seen is his fits have turned into tantrums a lot quicker. He has also been showing a lot of anger and aggression towards his brothers, other children outside, and even Jill and myself. Each day and night lately has been nothing but a battle on how to handle each of his fits. His fits and tantrums lately have really become wearing on Jill and I. There is no way we can really tell what will cause him to have a tantrum. It can be from something as simple what to eat for breakfast to putting his shoes on. The most wearing part of it all is that this behavior repeats itself over and over all day long. Liam’s tantrums have been inside the house and outside while playing. While having his tantrums Liam has kicked doors, walls, and pounded on the floors. If his anger is towards one of his brothers, he has scratched, hit (sometimes with objects at hand), and even on a couple occasions choked! Sunday Liam was having a tantrum in the laundry room when Brendan went in there. Brendan tried getting his sandals that were near him and Liam lunged at Brendan, grabbed his neck and was growling at Brendan. As soon as I pulled him off I asked why he did it, he said it was because Brendan was touching his shoes. While playing with another neighbor, Liam hit another boy on the head with a plastic water gun. I don’t know who had it first, but this kind of behavior is not good. This is lending more credence to the fact that Jill and I don’t believe the risperdal is working as it should anymore. We used to see Liam calm down after he took it. Lately we have not seen any change. He is currently taking 2 tablets in the morning, and 2 at night. I think Liam does not see his neurologist until October. If this continues to get worse, we will have to take him in sooner.
On Thursday the 25th, Liam and Seamus both start school. We are hoping that getting Liam back in to a routine with school is going to help give him more structure in his day. Liam repeatedly asks when he is starting school. Quite often the same question “Do I go to school tomorrow” will be asked repeatedly in a short time span. We really hope the structure of school helps Liam settle down. We also hope that his behavior lately does not carry over into the classroom.

Jill received a phone call from a mother of a child in Liam’s class Saturday. She apparently heard that their class is not going to have gym class in the gym. The reason given was that the gym is going to be used for art class for older students. Only the afternoon class will have use of the gym. The mother has already left messages with the school board president about this. The physical activity for her daughter and Liam is extremely important. Liam would be swung in the gym when he would become anxious. This would help center him for the rest of the class. There is also a legal issue here. The school can not say one class can have gym, and another can’t. When the teacher was asked what going to be done, she said they could possibly have gym in the hall way. Poor answer. If this is the solution, it is going to by highly disruptive to the other classes in session. With this in mind, Jill and I need to look closely at the Autism Scholarship. If the school can not provide for the needs of Liam, we would gladly have him go to Middleburg. We will know more come Thursday afternoon.

Adding to our frustration last week was when we got a call from Liam’s swimming teacher at Lifeworks. Apparently the county sent her a letter stating they will only pay for a small amount of Liam’s next session of swimming. We would have to come up with $240 in order to continue. That doesn’t sound like much, but when you just a larger chunk of money on getting caught up on the co-payments it is a lot. Jill placed a phone call Monday. She received a call back stating we need to email the person who notified Lifeworks about the reduction in payment. Jill and I have a letter stating they would pay around $864 through March 2006. Dividing that up we easily should have enough to carry him through to 2006. We did catch wind from another therapist that there is a budget freeze on at Cuyahoga County. Now we need to battle our way through this to see if the county is trying to cut as much as it can. Jill and I have not received ANY notification of this change from the county, another aggravating point, and another battle. It never ends.

Throw all these problems above in with a lot of necessary car maintenance I have had to do lately and you can tell just how stressful and crazy it has been. Luckily I have a great friend and neighbor named Steve who was a huge help in getting my brakes fixed on my car. I was at a point where they still weren’t working and I was about to take it into a garage for them to figure out. This was going to be expensive. The mechanic I spoke with told me he couldn’t get me in until a week later. He gave me a few things to look at. Thanks to his honesty, he was right. I ended up having air in my brake lines. We had to bleed the brakes and then replace the 2 rear cylinders as they both broke while bleeding the lines. Steve’s help really meant a lot as I took up his entire Sunday afternoon. The car has been fine since! Thanks Steve!

Now, back to our crazy life……

Trying to solve the fits and tantrums

The fits have continued the past couple days. We are trying to figure out why it seems so bad lately. Besides the fits and tantrums, he has also been having a tendency to whine about almost anything. After listening to it even for a short time it gets to you. Jill is home listening to it all day. When I get home she is at her end of listening to it, and I don’t blame her. One of our neighbors has even noticed Liam seem to be a lot more whiny and having some fits and tantrums. The only thing we are beginning to wonder is that Liam’s body is building up a tolerance to the risperdal. We don’t really much of a change in his behavior like we used to. We will keep going on with this and mention it to his neurologist when she sees him next in September. In the mean time, we just have to continue dealing with the tantrums.

Liam has continued to play with the new neighbor Kelly. Liam can’t wait until dinner is over to go play with her. He starts talking about her while we are eating and until it is time to go out. The past 2 days he has gotten his shoes on and just run out of the house. This behavior is something we struggle to control. His impulsivity seems to be more often too. We are attributing this to his tolerance for the risperdal. It is the only thing we can think. It is great to see Liam and Kelly play together. The two of them get along so well it is a pleasure to watch.

Not much else has happened the past couple days. Outside of what is going on above, it has been pretty quiet the past couple days. Jill had carpal tunnel surgery done on her left hand last week. I stayed home to help her since she can’t use the hand yet, and her right hand is still no where near the strength it should be. This has only made handling all the boys while I am at work harder for her. She has been doing quite well considering how she is feeling. The recovery time from carpal tunnel surgery takes a long time. Her doctor has even said her hands were very bad. The doctor has also said to expect a longer recovery time due to the severity of her hands.

The ups and downs go on

Liam’s fits have continued to be a problem. Each day he seems to have at least 1 meltdown where we have to take him in the house and let him work it out. The meltdown’s usually come after he is denied something he wants. Lately is has been to always be with Seamus. We do our best to let Seamus have his time playing with his friends, but occasionally Liam will go along. Quite often he will get distracted by something and go do that which catches his eye.

We had some new neighbors move in last week. Jill and Liam went in and met the mother. While she and Jill were talking, Liam noticed they had a bookcase filled with dvd’s and video tapes. Jill had to carry Liam out as she was leaving and he wanted to watch movies. The next few days while the kids were playing outside Liam had sneaked into their house and helped himself to watching movies. When we found Liam and took him out of the house he would be kicking and screaming he wanted to watch a movie. We had to take him home and latch the door so he could not get out. We would let him scream, stamp his feet, pound the floor, and yell at us. We would ignore him. Reacting to him only seemed to make it worse. When Liam would finally settle down, it was quick, as if a switch went off. He would suddenly be fine. We would then go back outside where he would continue to play. We still had to do our best to watch his every move as we would catch him trying to go back to the neighbor’s house. This routine repeated itself each night in the past week. It was becoming quite exhausting constantly watching his every move.

The new neighbor’s also have a 4 year old girl named Kelly. She and Liam really seem to get along with each other. It is very interesting how Liam responds with her. The two of them get along so well, and play together so well it is odd to see Liam play like that. We are thrilled with it though. Jill and I have not seen Liam respond like this to any other kids in the neighborhood. One evening a bunch of the boys in Seamus’ age range playing football. Three of us dads were watching them play and Liam and Kelly came up to see what was going on. They were a little too close to the action so told them to go play in another area. I looked over and here Liam and Kelly were playing with a soccer ball kicking it back and forth to each other. We have not seen him play like that before, it really was nice to see. Each night now Liam has been looking forward to playing with Kelly after dinner. We’ll see how this progresses, right now we are just enjoying it.

On another good note, Liam has continued do well with the potty training. It has been 1.5 weeks now and he continues to use the potty like a big boy. Liam’s prediatrician prescribed some medicine to help him poop since he had not gone in 5 days. The medicine took 3-4 days to work. On the 3rd day Liam said he had to poop. We were eating dinner so we rushed in to help him right away. He made it! He then went 2 more times before we went outside. The next day Liam was outside down the street with Jill and disappeared. Jill went to look for him and saw him running down the street in a pull up. She had no idea what he was doing. As she got closer she noticed his legs covered in poop. It turns out the medicine was still working and the big poop we expected hit. I was helping a neighbor with a fence and was finishing up when I saw what was going on. As we went in the house, we found a towel with poop on it, his clothes with poop on it, a small trail to the steps, then when he changed into a pullup, his underwear with poop on our carpet. The house stunk! We had to cleanup as fast as possible as his teacher was due over with a caterpillar to watch grow into a butterfly. We got the mess cleaned up as his teacher arrived. I just had to finish steam cleaning the carpet upstairs. Luckily there were no stains left!

In a couple weeks school at Olmsted Falls Falls-Lenox is starting for both Seamus and Liam. Liam and Seamus are both excited to go back to school. Liam has repeatedly been asking about school at Olmsted Falls and Middleburg. It is like in his brain he is preparing and telling himself about what is coming up. We have also noticed him picking at his gums again, we’re not sure why, but it is something we need to keep an eye on.

Seamus has taken an art class this summer at Falls-Lenox. It has helped him become familiar with his new school, so that will make the transition easy. Seamus is very excited about school. A couple of neighborhood friends will be in his class as well. It is really hard to believe Seamus is starting kindergarten already. I think Jill will be very emotional about it, especially the first day he goes off on the school bus alone.

Busy days!

This past weekend was very busy. Saturday we took all the boys to Twinsburg, Ohio for the Twins Day Celebration. Last year it was quite a challenge given how Liam was with crowds and the fact that Aidan and Brendan were still 1. This year was a little different. Liam, the twins, and Seamus, were all a year older and this made things a bit easier. We got there and let the boys do some fun things to set the tone after the 45 minute drive there. The boys got to go on some carnival rides, complete with freaky carnival people. They all even got to ride on ponies before we went in. Once we got in we took our time looking around and looking at everyone there. The Twins day celebration runs all weekend and it has really grown. Twins and their families come to this from all over the world. Each year we get to meet new people. Looking around you really get a sense of how special it is to have twins. The neat thing this year was the group photo. The Discovery Channel was there filming it for a special on multiple births. They videotaped everyone saying “We will be right after these messages!” They did this a few times and each time the crowd got louder and a little crazier. Aidan and Brendan at this point were tired and ready to go. We ended up leaving shortly after that. The day was sunny and hot, and after being there for 4 hours the boys were done. Next year we hope to go with friends who have 9 month old twins, so hopefully it will be more exciting as the boys get older.

Liam through all this still had his moments. The crowd that used to be a problem for him no longer seems to be. Liam would continue to have small fits and be difficult during the day whenever he wanted something and couldn’t have it. These little fits repeating themselves wear on you. At one point Jill and her mom went to eat and I stayed with the boys at a playground. The playground was big and crowded. Trying to watch all 4 was quite stressful and tiring. Each was going in a different direction. My biggest concern was where Liam was. He has gotten better about not wandering off, better about not wandering off, but he can be easily be distracted when he sees something he wants. When Jill was done I was going to eat. Well, all the boys decided they were hungry. We brought them snacks, but they wanted the BBQ chicken I had. Liam was quite difficult since he wanted his own chicken, (which we knew he would not eat), his own bread, and his own pop. Jill ended up getting another chicken dinner to appease him. Overall, the twins were easier to deal with than Liam was himself. That should give you an idea of how it is. Now he wasn’t terrible, but it was just the repeated fits that put stress on the day.

Sunday we had a family over that has a 2 year old son who is Autistic. Jill got to know the mother through the school at Middleburg. As it turns out, her husband works at Sherwin Williams as well and I knew who he was. They also have twins, a boy and girl. Seamus has gotten to know them as he played with them while Liam was at school and Jill hung out with the other mothers. They have only recently found out in the past year about their sons Autism. If you were to look at a timeline of where we are, and they are, we are further along as Liam is about 14 months older than their son. A lot of the behaviors we seen in their son are the same ones Liam had at that same age. Talking to both parents, we found they had the same feelings of frustration, anxiety, and stress, that we had, and still have ourselves. The parents do the same things we used to do. They don’t go anywhere because of how difficult their son can be. I think Jill and I have grown through this whole experience with Liam. Liam has improved greatly in the past year and that has made things easier on us. Talking to the father I told him of how I remembered Liam was much the same way as his son is now. I tried to convey a positive message of taking it one day at a time and just not giving up. Jill and I will definitely get together with them again. Our kids played together nicely and we simply enjoyed each other’s company.

Tuesday Jill went to the Westlake Library a meeting about the Ohio Autism scholarship. We got to go over all the information she got to see what we can do with it. We looked into this last year and from what we could gather. Before Liam could be eligible, we would have to document everything the school has done and not done, and basically have the burden to prove the school was not working for Liam. Jill said it sounds like it has gotten easier so we will again take a look at it to see what is best for Liam. Jill also found out the Ohio Autism Society had a petition going to get an Autism Awareness vanity plate. She signed the petition and hopefully plates will be available soon!

Therapeutic horseback riding at Camp Cheerful

This evening Jill and I took Liam and the twins to Camp Cheerful to interview for its Therapeutic horseback riding class. It starts in September and goes for 10 weeks. Each session lasts an hour. Jill found out about this from another parent in Liam’s class.

Camp Cheerful received a donation from a grandparent whose granddaughter had Downs syndrome. The granddaughter apparently loved horses and found horseback riding to be therapeutic. This person donated money to Camp Cheerful to buy horses and put in an indoor and outdoor riding ring. Once Liam and the twins saw the horses they were quite excited.

So come September Liam will be learning to ride a horse. I think this is really exciting for him. I am really interested to learn how this is therapeutic. The counselor talked about all kinds of different sensory and physical way in which this helps children.

Another good day at school, meltdown at night

Liam had another good day at school. He has continued to do what has been asked of him and has also had speech therapy. We are very pleased at how well he is doing compared to last year. Last year he would get upset and cry in class and could only be soothed by being pulled in a wagon, or pushed on a swing. This year he has actively participated in class activities and that has allowed him to get use out of his speech therapy. We have noticed lately a lot of stammering in his speech. When he stammers his eyes also look to have a twitch to them. This has only recently been very noticeable, and we, as well his speech therapist, believe it is related to his medication. This fall we will bring this to the Olmsted Falls speech therapists attention. We were not thrilled with her last year, so we will have to be more insistent that Liam get the attention he needs.

This Thursday is the last day of summer school at Middleburg. Jill said she is going to miss the morning visits with other parents she has gotten to know. Often they would go to Bob Evans for coffee or breakfast and talk about their experiences with doctors, therapists, trials and tribulations, and share information about resources and help that one may not have known of. They have all seemed to enjoy the company and plan on getting together more often. I think this is a great idea and Jill and I have had some ideas that we are looking to develop. As we get to these, we will let you know!

Monday night was a bit of a rough one for Liam. While we were at our neighbors, someone mentioned something about swimming. Our neighbor decided to take a couple of his kids and Seamus to the community pool. Liam must have overheard somehow and before we knew it, Liam came running back to our neighbors with his bathing suit on! We have no idea how he heard this conversation. Suddenly we hear a splash and run to the back yard. Liam decided to climb in their pool on his own. While has become a good swimmer, him going in without supervision was quite dangerous. This is just another reminder to us why we have to keep such a close eye on him. Sending Liam to the community pool just did not seem safe without us there. Once they left for the pool, Liam got upset and wanted to go with his brother Seamus. We tried to tell him he could swim in the pool there and he couldn’t go with Seamus. He got terribly upset as he watched Seamus leave. We tried to calm him down but he got very angry and was screaming and crying. Since he wouldn’t settle down I took him own. There he kept up his meltdown kicking the door and trying to open it. I had the door latch on so he could not get out. I let him go as I emptied the dishwasher. About 10 minutes later Liam started to settle down and start talking to me about the silverware I was putting away. I talked with him and he was suddenly calm. He started to help me put away the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher. Once done I asked if he wanted to go back to our neighbor’s and go in their pool. Liam said no, he wanted to take a bath and sit with me in the chair. Sitting in the chair with me alone is something he has wanted to do lately. The only thing I can think is he is alone with me, it is quiet, and I hold him on my lap. It is like he is winding down at the end of the day. I think it is a good way to wind down for him, and I am more than happy to give him that one on one time to settle down.

Wednesday night Liam is going to Camp Cheerful in Strongsville. He is going to have an interview to see if he qualifies for a horseback riding class. This class is meant for children with learning disabilities to help them therapeutically. I will report back how that goes.

Making progress, and the fits go on

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted and for the most part Liam’s fits have continued and it’s still a struggle coping with them. I would like to not repeat myself this time and instead focus on the positives that have happened since Thursday July 28.

Thursday Liam had his Adaptive Aquatics class. His teacher Miss Karen said this was easily the best session she has had with Liam. She said Liam cooperated the entire time he was in the pool, swam and did all his tasks without crying or asking for mommy. She also said while he was going about his tasks he was singing songs he learned in school at Middleburg. When Jill picked him up he was all happy and cheerful, a far cry what has been the norm lately.

The success continued right into Friday. Friday afternoon he said he told Jill he had to go tinkle and to her surprise he went. He then wanted to put Buzz Lightyear underwear on. Jill let him and told him he could not get Buzz wet and to tell us next time he has to tinkle or go poopy. We checked with him frequently throughout the evening and he did use the bathroom at home 1 time and then at a neighbor’s house 1 time. Each time we kept praising him and using positive reinforcement on him. He was quite proud of himself each time. Saturday morning when he got up we had him go tinkle right away and he did. After breakfast we had him go as well, and he did. We were on a roll with him and we wanted to keep it going as long as we could. Liam had not pooped yet, and that was a test we were waiting for. Once I finished cleaning the kitchen and Jill was vacuuming, Liam came up to me and said he to go poopie. We rushed in the bathroom and Liam went. So far so good. It’s been an entire day Liam has gone without a diaper. Liam’s streak continued at our niece Bridget’s birthday party. There with all that would be going on we expected Liam to have an accident. We would check with him and take him in to go potty on occasion to keep reminding him. Our good fortune continued into Sunday with Liam. While in the midst of playing he would come up to us and tell us he had to tinkle. He took a long nap Sunday and we put a pull up on him just in case. Luckily he did not have an accident. In the evening we were at another neighbor’s house and after a couple popsicles Jill took him in to go to the bathroom. For some reason, Liam got in the bathroom, looked around and just said no. Jill said it was like he was not comfortable there. Needless to say later while playing he had an accident. It was ok though, he has gone 2.5 days with only a diaper on at night. Monday Liam went to Grandma and Grandpa McCourt’s house for the afternoon since Aidan and Brendan had their 3 year checkups. Liam continued to do very well wearing underwear and no diaper the whole day! We are taking this one day at a time and hoping we have reached a milestone with him. Stay tuned.

After reading the above paragraph, one must find it odd the detail I went into. I went into detail as we have not had any luck with Liam in trying to potty train him. Jill just early last week had a talk with one of Liam’s teachers at Middleburg about how to go about potty training him. She said one method was to take a weekend, go in the bathroom with Liam and have him sit on the potty for 3 minutes, let him off for 12, on for 3, off for 12. She said to repeat this over and over throughout the weekend. This sounded quite unrealistic given we have 3 other kids that need tending to. We talked about it a couple times during the week and were trying to figure out how we could arrange the routine recommended. Liam started the whole thing on his own Friday. We have no clue why, but it was one of those opportunities we took advantage of. It will be a big thing for Aidan and Brendan too when their time comes, but potty training an Autistic child is whole other story. That is why the detail above. These little milestones are huge ones for Autistic children. You take these successes with a far greater appreciation for them then you do any other child. The reason for that is simple, typical children will naturally develop.

Monday evening was rough for Liam outside. All the children on our small stretch of street were all out and indirectly playing with each other. It was quite chaotic at times as there would be 16 kids running about between 6 houses. Liam wanted to be everywhere and do everything. When he would lose track of Seamus or other kids he was familiar with he would get upset. Part of the problem was he was exhausted from his day. At 8:30 Liam and I went in for his bath where he quickly calmed down in the water.

The other big event over the weekend was we signed Liam up for soccer this fall. It will definitely be interesting, but Liam is quite excited about playing. We will see how that goes this fall. Check back in September for updates.

Let’s hope we have continued success with the potty training!