I’m always on the lookout for autism related websites, organizations, groups, you name it.  Can never have too much information or support right? As I was looking over the site I hit upon their blog and their recent blog post titles caught my attention. They covered everything from clay to rewards including teaching your child to understand emotions, life skills – how to teach your child to wash his hands properly  (we are still working on that one), how to use picture cue cards to read and even what the best dog for your child with autism is.

They cover the different types of Autism (in case you are wondering what the differences are) including:

• Asperger Disorder
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• Classic Autism
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder
• Retts Syndrome

As well as provide information on Attention Deficit Disorder, how Autism is diagnosed, what high functioning, mild and severe Autism are, motor and sensory disorders and sensory processing disorder (as many children with Autism also have these disorders).  So much information for all those questions you’ve got.

• What causes it?
• What are the facts?
• What do you do after you get a diagnosis of Autism?
• And so many more questions.

First and foremost you need to surround yourself with others who understand what you’re going through, who can relate to what you are feeling and can help you find and understand the answers to all your questions. A community of support for those of us raising and loving our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, cousins or friends with Autism and bringing Autism awareness to the world, that’s AutismUnited.org.  Find them on facebook and join them http://www.facebook.com/theautismunited

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but as you know, bringing Autism awareness to the front is very important to me and my family as Autism is a part of our lives as well.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Since our first venture into gluten free living we’ve tried lots and lots of different brands.  One of the hardest things to find a replacement for are breads.  This of course would include muffins, bagels, sandwich bread which tend to be a staple in every home.  After brand after brand and $ and $ being wasted as we’d try something and then not like it or it was just too hard we were about ready to give up on any type of “bread” products.  Then we came across Udi’s Gluten Free products.

We couldn’t believe it! It was soft and tasty.  We could have muffins and bagels again!  In fact, we received a package from Udi’s containing just that bagels and muffins: (our kit included)

Plain bagels, which my son promptly devoured.

Cinnamon Raisin bagels, which I had for breakfast a few times during the past few days.

Lemon Strusel Muffins, which my husband really enjoyed and he’s a bit of a picky eater when it comes to bread products.

and Double Chocolate muffins, my daughter thoroughly enjoyed eating. That was a big feat as picky an eater as she is.

Something for everyone in the family, now that in itself is awesome to me.  ‘Cause trust me getting everyone to eat the same thing/brand is a rarity in my house especially with my littlest one who is not a big fan of gluten free foods.

It’s so nice to have options for breakfast foods other than eggs and/or ceral.

And their foods don’t just stop at breakfast. Their food line includes:  hamburger and hot dog buns, sandwich bread, muffins and cinnamon rolls, granola, cookies and even pizza crusts.

I think we’ve found our gluten free “bread” brand!

Disclosure: I did receive a VIP package from Udi’s for this review free of charge. No other compensation took place. All opinions are my own.

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

This morning, like every morning I drive to take Buggy and Princess to school.  And like every morning before they get out of the car and start their school day, I give them each a hug and big kiss and I get a big hug and kisses from them too along with a “bye mom” or “see ya later mom”.  Princess always and I mean ALWAYS looks back and blows me a kiss and I of course return the blown kiss.  It’s a memory I’ll always cherish. What a wonderful way to start my day huh?  It is, it really is.  Buggy gets out as he returns he teacher’s “Good Morning, how are you today?” with a “good morning, I’m doing good today”.

But as I was driving off today, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like a flood of memories all of a sudden. It wasn’t always like this.  Princess always gave me a kiss and has blown kisses at me every school day since her first day of kindergarten but Buggy no, things have changed.

It must have been the first two or three years of school that he would just climb out of the car.  He wouldn’t return my efforts to say goodbye  though I continued to try everyday as well as wish him a good day at school. He didn’t kiss me in the mornings after I’d give him a kiss.  He wouldn’t respond or even acknowledge a teacher’s greetings.  It was as though he didn’t even hear it. He’d walk right into the school without so much as a glance back.  All part of this thing called autism. I remember driving off in the car and crying, just wishing for “goodbye mom” or a glance or blown kiss but it didn’t happen. Not for so many school days.

Wow, that seems so long ago now.  He’s changed so much. He’s so social now. He won’t get out of the car if he hasn’t given me my morning kiss or at the very least blown me a kiss and say “kisses” if he’s being rushed out of the car by the school staff.  If we’ve had a rough morning and he gets out of the car still upset at me, I’ll still wish him a good day and tell him I love him. Sometimes he won’t respond but by the time I get back to the house I always get a phone call from his teacher and she puts him on the phone. He’s usually so upset that he didn’t tell me goodbye that he feels bad and needs to call and tell me.  I reassure him once again I love him and as soon as he sees me later that day, I usually get another apology, the biggest hug and kisses.

As emotional as those flashbacks can be, they are good reminders of growth. He’s feeling those emotions he didn’t feel before. He’s getting those connections.  It’s just simply amazing to see how much he’s grown physically, mentally, emotionally.

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

The other day after some of our photos and videos went corrupt for no apparent reason, I began going through and reorganizing our pictures and videos.  I had them all over the place and couldn’t tell which ones we lost and which were ok.  I even had some duplicates.  Once I reorganized them, I caught hubby and myself looking at them. Some I hadn’t seen or realized he took and some I took that he hadn’t seen.

He came across a video of Buggy having a major meltdown in the car from several years ago and asked me about it.  I didn’t even have to look at the video, I knew exactly which video he was talking about, where we were, what happened that triggered it and why he wasn’t there for it.  It all came rushing back to me so clearly as though it was yesterday.  Buggy and Princess saw the video as well since they were within earshot and since they are nosey kiddos they stopped to watch.

Buggy immediately recalled the situation. And then this conversation immediately ensued without a word from either hubby or I.

“Boy that was a really bad meltdown huh mama?” – Buggy

“Yes, baby it was, but you’re not like that anymore are you?” – Mommy

“Mommy, can you get rid of that video?” – Princess

And just as I was about to say something, Buggy puts his hand on his sister’s shoulder and interrupted with this: “It’s ok sister, I’m not like that anymore. ”

Then he turned to me and said, “I’m a big kid now mama. I’m sorry I got so angry in the car when I wanted a smoothie”

What? Did he really just recall that meltdown and why it happened from FOUR years ago?  It always appeared to us as though he would go in the rage of a meltdown and not even remember it happened but now he can recall the entire situation?

“I know now I can’t have the smoothies at HEB and it’s ok” – Buggy.

I’ll admit the video was hard to watch. Heartbreaking to see him like that. I hardly even remember those times till something like this brings it all back but how enlightening it was to hear Buggy’s take on it all.  To hear his side, in his own words.  To hear him say that he’s not like that any more.  To realize it upset his sister and to try to calm her fears/concerns. In some way I’m glad we came across that video  all of us together so all of us together could stand back and see just how far Buggy has come.

He’s not the same little boy he used to be.

The doctors who told us he’d never change couldn’t have been more WRONG.

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I was talking to a friend the other day and we hear things like “Oh, I’m so sorry”, or how do you “fix” him, or “cure” him when we mention our child has autism.  It’s so frustrating. For one thing there is no reason to be sorry about. My child isn’t broken or sick.  He doesn’t need fixed or cured. We love our children unconditionally.

And then we started talking about all the wonderful aspects of our children that we wouldn’t change for the world. It’s what makes them so special.

The way he still giggles at the same things he did when he was three.

The way he sees the world. It’s fascinating.

The way he looks at life. There are no gray areas. It’s either right or it’s wrong. You’re either following the rules or you’re breaking them.

The way he trusts without question.

They way he loves so genuinely and so deeply.

They way his heart soars at someone’s joy and hurts so deeply when others hurt.

They way he says things so matter of fact.

They way he makes me laugh.

The way he makes me smile.

The excess of kisses and hugs I get from him.

The way he calls me “mama”.

How special he makes me feel.

The way he makes my heart overflow with joy.

These are just some of the amazing things about my child. So don’t ever feel sorry for us or him.  He is AMAZING!

No it isn’t always easy but it’s always worth the joys.

You must have a million more things you love about your child.  Tell me some, I’d love to hear them.

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Before I explain that title “An A+ Can Mean So Much More Than a Score” let me tell you about one of Little Bug’s accommodations at school.  For the last two school years the kids have been learning their multiplication tables.  Well, needless to say this was a tough one for Little Bug to grasp.  I realize it’s difficult for many of us at his age but for him it was more difficult than for his peers

So in order to help him, as one of his accommodations he was provided with a multiplication chart to use, a “cheat sheet” as it was referred to by his instructors and in his I.E.P.  I assumed it would be there for him to use to practice with. Nope, they decided he would use the “cheat sheet” for any and all instances where multiplication was involved.  Despite my repeated efforts, it was given to him for practice, classroom assignments, quizzes, tests including timed ones which always resulted in 100′s of course and one was even sent home for him to use with his homework. (Needless to say, he wasn’t allowed to use it for homework except as a way to check his homework.)  This to me was not teaching him his multiplication.  We quizzed him in the car, had competitions with his sister in the car, did flashcard races, anything we could think of while the school continued to force him to use the “cheat sheet” for every multiplication assignment for two straight school years.  Drove me nuts but that’s a whole other story.

Fast forward to today, I dropped by the school and was stopped by one of his teachers.  She was so excited and had to share some news with me. We were both excited that his comprehension score for last year to this year increased over the summer but she also wanted to tell me Little Bug did a multiplication test recently that he didn’t use the “cheat chart” on and he scored 100!  He did it! On his own!

I was honestly in tears when I came home and sent my husband a message telling him about it.  He was just “ecstatic” about it as well.  This wasn’t just a grade just a score, it was a triumph – a success. One we have been working to overcome for two years!  I shared it with my friends on chat and I wanted to share it with you too. I could scream it from the rooftops right now. I won’t but will go cry some more happy tears now.

Please always believe in and teach your child to believe in themselves.

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

“I don’t know how you do it!” “How can you manage on so little sleep?” That’s just a couple of questions new moms hear.

I’m not a new mom but I still hear those words uttered to me.  I guess I kinda hoped after my babies began to sleep through the night I’d get some rest. Didn’t happen.

Then I thought o.k. well when they sleep in their own rooms I’ll get some sleep. Didn’t happen.

So yes, I’m still tired. LOL

When your kids are sick or have bad dreams on a nightly basis you kind of just get used to it I guess.  I’ll admit it would be nice to get a full night’s rest (8 hours uninterrupted) but I guess as a mom that’s just asking too much till my kids get bigger.

How much bigger I don’t know but if I’ve been able to manage it for the past 11 years or so I guess I can take a few more years of it. Right?

Guess all these thoughts of lack of sleep have once again been brought to the forefront as Little Bug has his first toothache.

He’s been just miserable for days waiting for his appointment time to come up.  I’m really hoping it’s something minor and can be taken care of quickly and painlessly for him.

Toothaches are hard on us as typical adults, I can’t even imagine how a chld with a sensory processing disorder feels.  He spent ALL of the other night crying and wimpering and moaning out loud and even told me, “mom, I can’t take it anymore.  It hurts.”

Time passes by so quickly as your kids grown yet the clock is ticking so slow right now as we wait for his appointment day and time.  It’s so hard to see your child in pain and  nothing seems to help soothe it.

Hopefully the dentist can figure out what’s wrong.  I’m not sure how much more lack of sleep this mommy can take.

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

“Mom, I did it! I got all the way up, all by myself!” – Little Bug.

“Yay! You did!”!! – Me

Not totally wordless today but close enough!

© 2011, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.