Rally in Raleigh

I'm so jealous...I know 5 year olds aren't supposed to be jealous, but today while Dad and I were working mom and brother went to our state capital, Raleigh, to see the future President of the USA, Barack Obama, at a rally (yes, you read that right--even at 5 I can see things coming!). She said there were 40,000 people there, plus police and secret service and firemen...people were so excited and they had a great time. Hmph, now I KNOW who does all the work around here! :)

Anyway, the election is next week, so things will be decided soon. Not that it really affects me, but I do get to go vote with mom next Tuesday since I'll be out of school. After we have my next doctor's appointment, that is. The fun never ends around here.

On a less interesting note, I went to the creche with mom and brother tonight since dad is away again. I absolutely tore it up, not to mention that I threw my hearing aids off in the car as we arrived and mom still can't find one of them! I don't know exactly what will happen if it's really lost, and neither does mom so that's why she was a little cross with me tonight! Brother gave me lots of nice kisses in the tub, though, so that made up for it all. Even mom laughed!

More soon, love Adam.

p.s. mom said to tell you sorry she didn't have a picture for you of the rally, but they really should have a "short people's section"!

My last day

Well, mom WAS going to go to bed early, until I got her up at 11:10 pm when I started coughing, after the neighbor played "name that tune" with her hammer until 10:30pm! SO, we might as well tell you about our day until I go back to sleep...

Today my friends at Hillandale sent me off with a grand morning's activities. It mainly involved taking me to my favorite activities and taking pictures of me and my classmates and teachers, which they then made into a card to give to mom. Mom got a little teary when she saw the card-SO embarrassing!! It's a great card, and a great way to remember such a fun group of people. I will be sad not to go back, and not to see my friends Ramona and Michael on the bus in the morning, but I'll get to meet new people and have new friends soon enough. Tomorrow I start at Merrick Moore, and my "bus" for a while will be mom and brother. Wish me luck--these new people will make me work!!

I said morning's activities because mom picked me up at 12noon for a doctor's appointment with my general doctor. I like him a lot--but that doesn't mean I didn't make him work! I don't know what it is about doctor's offices that makes me want to go crazy--so much tissue paper to pull and tear up, so many chairs to tip, trash cans (bins) to knock over, doors to open, lights to turn off...you get the picture. Anyway, mom had her hands full, but it seemed like a good meeting.

They talked about how I'm doing and what things might happen, like the whole sleep thing I told you about--he thinks it's a good idea, and that taking out adenoids is not such a big deal as tonsils. Mom was glad to hear that! He also said the doctors I'm going to are not "mavericks" (to use a big word I keep hearing lately from some funny lady on TV) and they don't do this thing lightly.

They also talked about my nose and cough and decided to leave things alone for now. Mom may be wishing after tonight that she had given me antibiotics, but I'M not sad to not have to take more medicine yet!

Looks like we might have a little ice cream and go to bed, so goodnight!
More soon, love Adam.

You gotta love Grassroots!

Hi all,

Mom and Dad took brother and I to something called a music festival yesterday, and boy howdy did we all have a good time! It was grassroots, whatever that means: to me it means lots of people in funny clothes, sitting around on grass listening to lots of different bands play music. As you can imagine, it was my kind of place!

We heard some good bands, one called Paleface and another Indian band I can't pronounce--I liked that one so much dad took me up on stage to dance with them (bottom picture). Another real lively one was called the Holy Ghost Tent Revival--at that concert we did lots of dancing, brother and Dad and I (top picture). It was fun being able to dance whenever I wanted to, and mom never had to tell me to be quiet! Then we ate some good food and drove home. Brother fell asleep on the way home, but he still went to bed because he's sick right now. His voice is all hoarse--he sounds real funny now when he yells at me if I take his blankie!

Of course, it wouldn't be a complete post if I didn't tell you about a doctor appointment, like the 8am one we had with the ENT before the music thing! Mom took me--I think it was hard for her to get up and to get ME up, but we got there on time. Except when we got there they told mom the appointment had been cancelled somehow, so we had to wait a while. I was pretty good, but mom was cross.

When we finally saw the doctor he said my ear was better but still lots of fluid, so he sent me to the hearing test lady. She put a funny thing on my head to put the sound through my bone and show if there is any nerve damage or only a conductive hearing loss. It doesn't look like nerves, she said, which means it's probably mostly fluid in my ears that makes hearing harder.

So the doctor said we might think about doing the "Big procedure": putting me to sleep, getting my ears cleaned out and maybe tubes put in, doing the sleep hearing test (ABR for those of you who know things like that), checking my eyes and maybe even taking out my tonsils. Whew, all at one go--good thing I'll be asleep! Mom and Dad are not sure about the tonsils bit, but all the rest sounds like it will happen. If you have any advice for them, I'm sure they would want to hear it. I think I'll only be in for a day--maybe a grandma will come to help?? :)

Mom had to make a few other appointments for me--looks like the docs are not through with me yet!

That's all for now, love Adam.

My Daddy's back!!!

I've taken a pause from jumping on (and off) the couch and being swung around by one leg and one arm (I REALLY love that one!!) to tell you the good news: My daddy came home yesterday from Cambridge and we are finally four again! Not that brother and I didn't have fun with mom...she did the swinging trick and played lots with us too, but dad is best. Any of you who have ever seen us in action know we do pretty cool acrobatics!

Dad had a good trip and no problems on the airplane. He said the symposium went well and so did the conference. He also got a lot of work done with his professor friend, Bernd. I like Bernd, he and his family are very nice to me and they gave me a great ball once. Dad stayed with us all evening, but he did go to bed pretty early!

I also forgot to tell you that mom and I went to see my doctor on Wednesday, and I really like him. He's a Christian, and also does a lot of research in the field of Autism. You would think that meant I wouldn't scare him when I played up in his office, but I think I scared him anyway! I was pretty bad, but mom didn't mind too much. She laughed when I wedged myself behind the garbage can and laughed for a while--it was pretty funny if I do say so myself!

The next step is to see an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, on Sept. 24, to talk about my ears and hearing aids. Mom is excited to see what they have to say...I just hope it doesn't mean too much sitting!

That's all for now...have a good weekend!
Adam

I got sent home for fighting!

he he...just wanted to see if you were paying attention! Mom got a call from my teacher today at 12:15 to say that I was "hitting and kicking aggressively" and would she come and get me. She came, and boy did she let me have it (in a nice way, of course) when I hit my teacher in front of her. She made me say sorry (do the sign) and my teacher was amazed, they didn't know I could do that. Of COURSE they didn't know I could do that--you think I WANT to say sorry all the time?? I am a kid, of course.

Anyway, we went home and mom gave us Mac-n-cheese and we had a nap. Then we went to the store and had ice cream and played outside for a while. I must say, and mom agrees, I was a very good boy all afternoon. Mom thinks I just need attention and want to engage with my classmates and teachers, and she is right. She also thinks I need my daddy back since he's been gone for a week now, and she's right there too. Come back soon Daddy!!!

Tomorrow I see my primary care doctor for the first time, and I'm looking forward to it. He sounds like a nice guy, and specialises in Autism, so he should know what to do with me. Also, we get to go without brother so it won't be quite so crazy!

I know I haven't said much about school for a while, and that's because there is some question as to whether or not I'm in the right place. They are going to test me in different areas and we'll have another meeting on Oct. 1 to see if this school is best or another one. They have other classes for kids like me with Autism, and that may be one suggestion. They may also say that I can only go half-days, which is fine with me even though mom and I both think I can do full days. Mom has been talking to all sorts of Parent Advocates and school professionals, so I know they will sort it all out for the best. We're just happy people are taking this much time with me, especially for only a year.

That's all for now...more later. Got to go practice my left hook, right jab (just kidding!)
Adam

Having fun with friends at last

Hi all,

Today was a nice day, warm but not hot like it has been, and a little cloudy. I like these days--mom doesn't make us wear sun cream like when the sun is out!

We went to the Oval park in the morning and had a nice time. Mom has met a woman named Sarah there who has twin boys the same age as Caleb. That's enough two year olds for me, so I stay well away, mostly on the swings which I LOVE! I did try the slide and kind of kicked at a little girl there. Mom got cross and I didn't understand why...I was just saying hi! But she made up with me later and pushed me on the swings again, so I think it's OK.

In the afternoon we went to the Eno River state park, where we went with Dad last weekend. It was great, and pretty quiet. I did push my brother down some steps, so I got in trouble again, but overall we had a nice time. This time I did understand, but I still don't like to get in trouble!

Mom took a picture of my brother and I fighting over the juice cup. I think actually he was fighting and I was having a grand time of it!! I'll try to include the picture in this blog.

When we got home, mom got a call from a very nice man who wants to be my doctor. He was recommended to us by some people at the church we went to last weekend (Blacknall Presbyterian), and likes to work with kids like me who have Autism. He said we will have to drive 20 minutes to see him, but mom said his reputation is enough to drive for. So I will meet him next week I guess to do my kindergarten health assessment. Maybe he'll have lollipops for Caleb (or, as he calls them: rollipops)

This evening we went to dinner with some people who are involved in something called New Monasticism. Their names are Jonathan and Leah Wilson-Hartgrove, and they were very nice. There was some good food, and lots of really nice people there. I had lots of fun playing with a girl named Sarah who threw the basketball to me. We are starting to meet people here, and I can tell that makes mom happy. She took lots of pictures again, I'll try to include the best one here too.

Love, Adam.

What NOT to do

Hi again, I'm back. I told you before that I have Down Syndrome...that really just means that I'm a little slow to develop and need extra help to learn. It also means that my immune system is a little different, a little less strong, than other people's.

Well, my mom and I learned something this week about that whole immune system thing...we learned that if you have a hangnail on your big toe, or like me if you had one on each big toe, you don't EVER pull it off. Because my mom did and my toes got infected! I'll spare you the details, but it wasn't nice, and after a few days mom decided to take me to see the doctor. We had to go to something called an Urgent Care since we don't have a regular doctor yet. Oh, and because we still don't have something called insurance we had to pay for it ourselves. At least mom paid for it, and I got the sticker. I gave the tattoos to my brother. Mom says I have "hundred dollar toes" now. Wonder what she means by that??

Now I have to take antibiotics for two weeks and take salt baths for a while. My brother has to take them too since we share baths, but he doesn't seem to mind. Apparently it's good for you! It must be, because my toes are getting better already.

Anyway, we're getting to know our new home now, and mom got me all registered for school today. I'm officially a "kindergartener" now, and will go meet my teachers next week sometime. I even get to go on the bus to and from school--that makes me happy!

Well, that's all for now. We'll probably walk to the nice park nearby this afternoon. My dad is at work getting "sorted out", whatever that means, but my grandpa Texas is here so it's still fun. I like him, he claps for me and lets me play my music early in the morning.

I'll see you soon! Love, Adam.