June update

Hi all.

We are now on the countdown to the end of our year in Durham. In two weeks we will head back to Aberdeen, and I for one will be somewhat glad to escape the 95 degree heat and mosquitoes! Mom's running around like the proverbial chicken, but she's still managing to take brother and me to the river and Roly-pops. I also have a school program for these three weeks that helps me to stay occupied while mom does her errands, so it's working out well.

I finished my kindergarten program in June and Dad and Oma came to the party. It was fun--they took a picture of me with my certificate as you can see. I will miss my friend Hunter. He showed me all kinds of neat stuff like how to lay on my back with my hands behind my head and bang my feet against the wall. Mom loved that one.

The next day I finished my music therapy with Miss Erika, and Dad and Oma came to that too. I had a great time with Miss Erika, and learned to follow directions, play music, and say "stop" and "I want...X" with my signs. I hope to do more music in Aberdeen. Dad says my rhythm is really good, especially when I'm clapping to the Black Keys (Dad plays it LOUD for me in the car. Should I tell him I'm not deaf anymore?)

The reason Dad and Oma went with me is that Mom and Caleb were in California with my other Oma and Opa and my Great-Granny Argabright (GG), and my cousins Micah and Kaitlyn. Mom said GG died while she was there, on June 9. I'm sad that she's gone, but I know she's happier now. Mom and brother had trouble getting back, but they made it with new tickets a day late (thanks Oma and Opa!).

Then, the next day we went to the Farm with the whole Brock/Black/Seneff clan for the week. I really liked being with all my cousins and swimming at the pool lots. Brother and I learned to float using water wings, which was fun. I jumped in from the side and even went under water. All the boys got "Mo-hawks" for fun, and brother and I joined in. We called ours the "Bro-hawks". Mom thought that was funny. I got to ride on the 4-wheeler with dad a lot, and mom even learned how to drive it. We had a great week.

Now, as I said, we're back and getting ready for our big trip. One extra detail is my passport, which mom forgot to renew. So we are going to Washington D.C. this week to get that done. I hope I don't have to miss school for it, but Miss Jen will understand.

That's all for now. See you soon!

Adam xx

The night the lights went out in Durham

I've officially experienced my first power outage! Last night we were having a relatively normal evening until about 6pm, when all of a sudden the lights went out at our house. After taking a minute to process what had happened (I assume that's what adults do, of course), mom and dad went to find the flashlights and candles and we were bathed in a rosy glow. They checked the neighborhood and found that we were not the only ones. In fact, several blocks were also in darkness. Thus began the waiting, and the bath!

It didn't take long, really--only about 3 hours until the power company had it all fixed. I did find it a bit confusing why I couldn't listen to my music or watch Baby Einstein, though. But Dad helped pass the time by regaling us with some rusty tunes on the new (used) violin we bought. He's still got it, if I do say so myself. We are all excited about having some "jam sessions" soon. In fact, dad liked the whole evening so much that he said we should have a power outage every week!

I never mentioned our trip to Florida last week. It was a great time--Oma from TX came in on the evening after Christmas and then we took off, arriving in Orlando at 5am! It was a pretty long drive, but brother and I slept for much of it so we didn't mind. The weather in Orlando was warm and sunny, and we had our Seneff cousins to play with and lots to keep us occupied. We saw the Citrus Bowl parade and went to a farmer's market and played lots. It was a great week overall, even with the 12 hour drive home in traffic.

Oma left on Monday, and it's been back to "work" ever since. Mom has been trying to keep up with my cold, her cold, brother's cough, dad's cold, evenings out, back to school, and the usual household things. It's been a funny week with us all sick, but not too bad. I have another ear infection that I'm getting drops for--had to stay home from school today but I'll probably go back tomorrow.

That's all for now. Happy New Year to all! Love, Adam.

p.s. here is a picture from Christmas that you might enjoy!

Recapping the week

Hi folks, sorry it's been so long! I've just been so busy and have so much to tell as a result, that I'll get to work right away. No chatter--I'm all about business! :)

After my last post, we had a nice weekend and then mom had two worrisome days wondering how I would do at school. Well, the answer is that I've settled down a bit and they've done some different things with my school friends and I, like taking us to the playground each morning at 10am for 15 minutes, and that has helped me carry through my day better.

On Wednesday I had my appointment with the ENT, Dr. Hulka--who everyone says is great, and who had a really cool tie that I spent the whole time trying to grab! Mom and Dad were thrilled, not least because Dr. Hulka said he could help get rid of the fluid in my ears and maybe put tubes in so I can hear better. He also said I had an ear infection at the moment, and gave me antibiotic ear drops which made me feel lots better in a couple of days. I've even been eating a lot more, which shows that I was not comfortable for a while. But I try not to complain, I'm a pretty tough cookie in general!

Then we set off on Thursday morning for Asheville, NC--actually for Fairview, where my aunt Michelle and uncle Tim and cousins Brock, Wesley, Rachel and baby Maria were waiting for our family. We spent four days there, one entirely in the rain!, riding ATV's, swimming, playing, singing, cooking, running, swinging and talking. I got to know the boys (Brock and Wesley) much better, and spent some time wrestling and singing with them. They were great to take MY time to get to know me too!! Auntie Michelle also sat and sang lots with me--I even taught her "Wind the Bobbin"! I'll try to include some photos from that trip here--mom and dad also said they had a great time, even if they didn't get much sleep!

We came back Sunday night, and it was straight back to school on Monday morning. I did well, and had a couple of good days. Then this morning Mom and Dad had their big meeting at school to talk about my IEP (Individualised Education Plan) and discuss where might be the best place for me to receive services. They talked for a long time--3 hours!!--and decided that my category of eligibility (which you have to have to receive special education services) is called "Multi-handicap" or MH. That means I tick lots of boxes, and mom and dad are OK with that. So am I, I mean after all it's true! And I know everyone likes me anyway, so a label is no big deal to me.

So now with the MH label, they can provide services, but where is still the question. One suggestion is moving to a school a little ways from our house where they have both an AU (Autism) class and a HI (Hearing Impaired) class and I could split my time between the two. Mom will go visit with the EC (Exceptional children) coordinator and the Teacher of the Deaf who works there and we'll talk about if it's a good fit for me or not. According to the law here, you have to be placed in your "least restrictive environment", which is why they put me in the class I'm in right now, but this other one might be more helpful for me since I need lots of structure and visual aids, and also people to work with me and help me.

They have given us a target date of October 13 to maybe have me transitioned. I know I'll have to help mom as she really loves my class and teachers and will be sad if I have to leave! So will I, but I also adapt pretty quickly--and I know we'll go back to Hillandale for visits if I have to leave. My teacher said I can still come to the Pumpkin patch and bowling which are on the 14th and 15th of October--too bad Dad will be gone and won't get to see me bowl!

So that's where we're at...mom and dad had a long nap today after their meeting, I had a good day at school...oh yeah, and Oma is here!! She came in last night and stayed with my brother this morning while mom and dad were at the meeting. She's playing with me now, so I better go. More later--love, Adam.