full speed ahead…

Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments on my “lamenting” post.  I feel somewhat more secure in our new normal, but it is still going to take me a while to come to terms with all that has happened since February 16th.  I think that when I was in the hospital with Emma, I was so focused on her needs “at that moment” that I didn’t {or couldn’t} process what was truly going on and now that we are home,  it has finally hit me.

We are finally getting into the swing of things on the home front.  I am abundantly more busy than before with therapies and homebound teaching etc…. but we have made such great progress!  Mark and I went to an Autism support group that was just started last night, and we both feel so much better and not so alone.  I was leary of going because I cannot do most of the “normal” autism treatments like the Gluten Casein free diet or not giving vaccines because of the medical side of Emma.  My fears were put to rest when I heard one women say that she was a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and totally understood where Mark and I were coming from, medically speaking.  It has been really hard for me to find a support group because Emma’s ailments arent “just autism” and they arent “just medical”.  This seems to be a perfect fit, and it fits perfectly into my demanding schedule.

Home bound Summer School has been a great experience for Emma.  It helps she has the same teacher that she has had for the last three years… Ms. Laura knows how to talk to Emma, she knows when she simply “can’t” do something compared with when she simply “wont” and needs to be pushed.  Emma vision is improving every day, she now is reaching for objects (cups, her chewie etc.)  and she is navigating her surroundings better.  She still is very slow when she walks, and doesn’t like to be led.. but that shows independence and that is great!  She qualifies for blind services through the school board  and thus qualifies for Assisted Learning Devices (she will receive a Light Box today and already has a Big Mac which will help her communicate by pushing the large button when she needs something).  Her speech is slowly coming back, although we cannot understand anything she says other than the “No” and the “I dont want”.  Mostly she just speaks “Emma-nese”!

We are looking into Floortime and have heard wonderful things about this therapy.  If you have any experience with floortime, good or bad, please let me know!  I know it is recommended for children under the age of five, but Emma is developmentally between two and three years old.  I met floortime specialist that agreed that this would be great for her.  I am just looking for experiences with it.

So, all in all, she is doing extremely wonderful! She is making huge progress in all of her therapies (we have to wait until the school year begins to receive Vision Therapy, but we have had the therapist come to our house and explain to me  what to do with her until then.)

On the homeschooling front, Yes I am still going to be doing that next year… call me crazy but I just feel so led to continue.  I have debated what was best for family (private school) and I have prayed about that, and feel peace about continuing on with homeschooling.  We are taking the summer off, and Emma will be back in school full time next year, so my schedule will drastically improve as far as Emma’s demands are concerned.  I will be using a tutor (Hi Mrs Marconi!) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I will be teaching them Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  It is a perfect fit for our family!

That is the down low on what is up around the George house recently! We are just living day by day….

sometimes moment by moment…

but we are still living life to the its fullest!

There is only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. –Albert Einstein