Carson is 7!!

As I look back on the past 7 years, I am filled with so many emotions. Carson healed our hearts after losing Isaac. To have a living breathing baby to take home was amazing. I remember his first few days home and I would just stare at him in amazement with tears in my eyes. I was so in love with this perfect little human being and I just couldn't believe he was mine and I got to keep him. I didn't take any moment for granted and took probably close to 5,000 pictures his first year, yes a little excessive, but I didn't want to forget anything! Looking back on the day he was born still makes me emotional because of everything we had to overcome to have him. I always said and still say to this day, I don't think there is any baby in the world that was wanted more than him!!!

August 13th, 2008

On his way home from the hospital

Some of my FAVORITE pictures of Carson

All of his BIRTHDAYS

Today, August 13th, 2015

June 2015 Update

Summer is here!! Carson doesn't receive summer services any longer because of budget cuts. He is attending summer camp at Step By Step but only for 10 half days all summer. So far he has done extremely well adjusting to his new schedule. He still goes to Speech and OT every week and other days we stay busy with other activities. We are waiting on a call from the Franklin County board of disabilities now to get him started on services through them. He had an evaluation at the end of May and we received a letter saying that he qualifies for additional services so we are waiting for a call from our service coordinator to get him started.

We recently discontinued his medications because a side effect is low appetite and he has lost 5 lbs since October and he is not eating anything. He has been off the medicine for 3 days now and we have already seen a huge improvement in his appetite. So far his behavior has been great and he is actually more interactive with us and very happy and affectionate. He goes back to the doctor in July so we will then discuss further medication options.

One of his biggest struggles right now is sleep!!! He is refusing to take his sleep meds and this causes big problems. It is very difficult for him to fall asleep on his own and most night he will still be awake at midnight. For Carson, sleep is the key to everything. When he doesn't get enough sleep his behavior is awful and his mood is awful. Sleep is so important for him so we are really having issues with this. We are going to try a new liquid medication and see if that helps but he hates taking medicine so its definitely a struggle.

He has really shown so much improvement. He is starting to become more social and wanting to interact with us. There is nothing more amazing then when he initiates play. When he looks at me and makes eye contact its a connection that I just can't describe. It brings tears to my eyes every time he looks at me and connects. The little things are really the big things in Carson's world. Things that most parents take for granted are the things that are so meaningful and amazing coming from Carson. A simple smile, a hug, a giggle...It's all incredible and we are so lucky we get to be the ones to witness these things from this amazing little boy!!

May 2015 Update

Carson is doing extremely well. His biggest accomplishment recently is he has learned to write his name!! This is so incredibly amazing! I think this opens so many doors for him. I keep thinking wow if he can learn to write then he can learn to read and possibly be able to communicate that way eventually. I am so proud of him and all that he has overcome and accomplished.

He has had a few set backs. He is becoming increasingly more aggressive and having meltdowns that seem to come out of nowhere. We have tried tracking them to see if we can find a pattern and we haven't been able to. He's not sleeping much and he won't take his sleep meds. Its close to impossible for him to be able to fall asleep on his own

It is so heartbreaking to see your child in so much agony and being so helpless. I ask myself everyday, why can't Carson have a normal life? Why did Autism choose him? It's so unfair

However...the good out weighs the bad on most days. Seeing him smile is the best part of my day. Hearing him giggle is the best sound in the world and seeing the look on his face when he accomplishes something new is absolutely the most incredible thing to witness

Hard times

Carson has been having a very difficult time the past month. He is so unhappy and cries almost all day at school and at home. Nothing in his routine has changed. We can't figure it out. We can't do anything to calm him down. His behavior scares his 3 year old sister. When he has a meltdown he cries, screams and throws things. Its very scary for us, much less a child who doesn't understand why her brother is so upset.  He has been very impulsive and starting to show aggressive behavior. He has been pushing other kids at school and his siblings. He throws things across the room. Big things like chairs. He is so frustrated and unhappy. We have had many discussions with his teachers, therapists and doctors and have decided its time to try another medication. We are starting him on the daytrona patch this weekend and hoping it will help him. Its so heartbreaking to see him so sad all the time. We are willing to try anything to see his smile again.

Summer's End

Well today ends our very long summer. Carson goes back to school tomorrow. He will most likely have a rough transition back but eventually he will get settled back into his routine and he will adjust fine. This summer has been very difficult for him. This is the first long stretch that he hasn't been in school since he was 3 years old.

 

He has regressed a lot these past few months and he has become aggressive, destructive and very frustrated. We have seen a lot of things from him that we have never seen before. I cant even begin to imagine what it must be like to be him and how frustrating it would be to not be able to communicate.

 

He is doing great in Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy and is progressing. We are very thankful he has continued those services over the summer. We have learned a lot about him over the past several months and one is that having a routine and a schedule is very important. He doesn't do well with a lot of down time. He gets bored and has meltdowns, becomes aggressive and extremely destructive.

 

Hopefully this all ends tomorrow when he goes back to school. Yes, it's been a long summer but we have had the opportunity to do a lot of fun summer activities that otherwise we wouldn't have been able to do if he attended school

 

Swim & Picnic lunch with his sister Maddy

 

Fun at Mimi & Papa's house

 

 

 

Zoombezi Bay

 

 

 

 

Lazelle Park

 

 

 

State Fair

 

 

Graeter's Ice Cream

 

 

 

 

Chuck E Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2014

An update on Carson...

He is doing better than great!! We can't believe the progress he has made in just a year. He is much happier, he is sleeping better, eating better and just a happy little boy. He is communicating so well and even saying a few words!!!!! It's unbelievable! He is doing great in school and great in Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy.

He is working on identifying objects at school and in Speech. It's amazing because his receptive language has developed finally. We say to him "Carson show me a Cow" and he will point to a picture of a Cow. This is a big step because for so long he was not able to do this because he didn't comprehend what we were saying. It's so wonderful that he is now understanding what we say to him. For instance, he now understands and follows directions. We can tell him to go get his shoes and he will. We can tell him its time for a snack and he will go to the table. This is just a big step forward and so wonderful and I think this contributes to him being so much happier because now he understands us and we are starting to understand him!

He is working on a lot of fine motor skills in Occupational Therapy such as zipping his coat, buttoning his pants, picking objects up with tweezers. It's amazing that when he started he couldn't even jump with both feet off the ground and now he is not only jumping but bouncing on balls and learning to ride a bike!

He is currently going through re evaluation through our school district for kindergarten. However, he will still stay at the school he is at now. We aren't interested in mainstreaming him now or ever. We love his school and want him to stay there as long as he can. Although he is doing so well he would struggle horribly in a typical school. We are very happy with his placement at Step By Step.

The Summer program at his school has been cut so he will be home with us this summer. I have mixed feelings on this. It will be great to have him home but I'm very concerned about him regressing and the transition back to school in the Fall might be very difficult on him. He started Step By Step just a few days after he turned 3 and has gone every single day aside from holiday breaks so it will be a big change for him. He will still attend therapies twice a week and we will keep busy with our regular summer activities. He really enjoys going to the lake and spending time on his grandparents boat and in their camper so we will be doing that a lot. He loves the water so I'm sure we will be swimming a lot this summer! We also have a trip planned to King's Island, an amusement park, he will love that!

We are very happy with how far Carson has come. A year ago I would have never thought we would be where we are today. He has overcome so much and has become so much happier. There was a time when he was just miserable all of the time because he couldn't communicate. He amazes us so much.

With all of the great things he has accomplished there are also setbacks. 2 weeks ago we had to bring him to the ER because he ate glass!!! That was very scary but all turned out fine and xrays showed that he had very little pieces in his stomach so he was able to pass them naturally. He is always eating things he isn't supposed to eat so this is a constant battle. He likes to eat leaves, sand, rocks, and anything wood. We are hoping he will eventually grow out of this but its a big part of Autism so he may not. We just have to constantly watch him and make sure he isn't putting things in his mouth.

We are still trying to poop train him and that is still a struggle. He still will not poop on the potty. When he was in the ER and had xrays the doctor told us he is so backed up with weeks worth of poop. She told us this is a very common problem with children on the spectrum because they tend to hold it in and it can cause a lot of problems and could lead to surgery if he doesn't get all of that out. We have been giving him miralax and its been working but still no poop on the potty but as long as he is actually pooping we are happy.

We will always have setbacks and that doesn't discourage us. We just focus on all of the great things he has accomplished and instead of worrying about what he can't do we focus on what he can do and what he has overcome. We celebrate the little things because to us and to him they are very big things.