Tuesday, April 12, 2011

They have come so far..

It is amazing to see how far both Kodey and Breanna have come with their disabilities.

Kodey has developmental delays along with speech apraxia and OT issues. He was a very shy boy that didn't want to talk much because of his problems with this speech. He didn't have the self confidence to be the wonderful boy that I knew he was. He was first diagnosed when he was 4 and it has been a battle for sure. We held him back in Kindergarten so that he could mature and get his basics down before he could succeed in 1st grade. It has done a world of good. This year has been a struggle for him and myself. He has missed a lot of school from being so sick this year. It's hard enough for a "normal" kid to get caught up with the school work and retain everything when they miss school but it is even harder for him. So needless to say we have spent countless hours trying to get caught up.

I remember his first year of Kindergarten he had the hardest time telling me what happened at school at it broke my heart!! I could see him trying to remember but he couldn't. He would get so frustrated when he was trying to talk and we couldn't understand him. It was like this boy was stuck inside this body that wouldn't allow him to get out!! I would just sit and cry and try to make it better for him but as you know it isn't always that easy. Thankfully the kids in class could understand him!! LOL. I know his teacher would say that she would call on him and there would be times she couldn't understand what he was trying to say so the kids would tell the teacher what he was saying for him. Cute but very sad. Thankfully after much speech and OT he is now able to express what his feelings and what he wants pretty clearly now. He still has speech problems and not sure how long he will have them. Just so glad and blessed that none of the kids have ever made fun of him or picked on him because of that.

To help with his OT issues I signed him up for soccer, which did help but the poor little thing just couldn't keep up. So now he is doing bowling and loving it! He is doing better bowling then I am, ha ha ha. And this is great dad and son time. Just last week his first bowled a 124! I couldn't believe it when my husband told me.

We have tried Boy Scouts but found out quickly it is not for him. Both of my kids are very well behaved, but will act out like any kid will every once in a while. And being so well behaved as Kodey is, has a problem being around other kids that will not listen, acting out and being very loud. He does not like it or tolerate it. He told my mom that he should teach the kids the right way to act! That should tell you something! So with the kids acting out and being rude and loud at Boy Scouts he is no longer doing it.

When Breanna was 6 months old I new something was wrong but her Dr. felt as though what I was seeing was because she was born premature. She would smile, laugh and was able to physically be on track for the most part, but I just knew mentally something was wrong. Finally after a long year of meltdowns after meltdowns I had her evaluated. They they considered her high functioning autism. She was not able to talk but more then a few words at the age of 2, didn't give eye contact to people she didn't know, would spin around, did the arm flapping, walked her tip toes and so on. The typical signs of autism. She then started OT, speech, and physical therapy. It has been a very long 3 years since the start of her therapy. And she has come so far in the best way ever.

Being a stay at home mom since I had Breanna and having Kodey home with me as well, took a toll on us dealing with Breanna's meltdowns on a daily basis. There were days when Kodey would just sit and cover his ears because he couldn't take her crying from her meltdowns anymore. And when say meltdowns, I mean meltdowns that would last a good two hours or more depending on what set her off. And it would take its toll on myself as well. I would just sit and cry trying to get her to stop and not knowing what to do to help and what even set it off in the first place.

Now she is one of the brightest children in her pre-k class! She goes from not being able to say more then two words to having a vocabulary of a 2nd grader. How awesome is that!! And now of course I can't get her to stop talking!! LOL! But I would take that anyday then having her not being able to talk.

To help her with her many many sensory issues, and pretty much overall therapy she is doing cheerleading and she is loving it!!! She gets so mad and upset when she isn't able to go to practice if she is sick. She is like night and day from the start of the season. I am so glad and so blessed to have a wonderful group of people helping her. I know that she is getting pushed to the limit when she has a meltdown as soon as we leave practice or a competition. I never thought I would have so happy to see her a meltdown but I am! She needs that push to get better and help her get better. So bring on the meltdowns!

Now having Colin, our newest addition to the family, the kids are overjoyed and have been wonderful with him. Kodey has been a big help and a wonderful big brother. Breanna can't keep her hands off of him and just loves to love on him all day. They wish they could be a little bigger to actually hold him and feed him. :-) 

I know that both of my exceptional children have much more to go but I am so glad that I could be there for all the ups and downs and can't wait to see what is in store for us in the future.

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