Who is Team Ethan?

Someone recently emailed me with this great question: "You always seem to talk about 'Team Ethan'. Who is that? Who is included in Team Ethan?"

Well, when I refer to Team Ethan, I am talking about all of his teachers, therapists, doctors, co-ordinators, friends and family. But to break it down even more....other than family & friends....there are 26 people currently on Team Ethan!!!

1 Pediatrician

1 Preschool Teacher
2 Preschool Teacher Aides
1 Preschool Speech Therapist
1 Preschool Occupational Therapist
1 Preschool Librarian/Family Activities Director
1 Preschool Case Co-Ordinator

10 Therapists at Easter Seals Preschool....Developmental Therapy, Speech Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Occupational Therapy
1 Easter Seals Receptionist who Ethan LOVES to talk to!

1 Children's Pastor
1 Children's Pastor Associate
1 Early Childhood Co-Ordinator
2 Sunday School Teachers
1 Sunday School Class Aide

1 Swim Instructor

That's it! Isn't that awesome!!!! Now there are also MANY family members & close friends who are extremely vital to Ethan's progress as well.....but I think of them more as Corey & I's support team! They pray our family, encourage us when we are down, offer babysitting for those much needed breaks, ask questions, are interested in Ethan's progress, and add wonderful ideas & tools to help us parent Ethan. They are our "unsung heroes," and our family would not be where we are today without these people!

So, when I refer to Team Ethan, these are the people I am thinking of....and many other professionals have been on & off the list as Ethan has passed different stages. This list changes as he changes. New people come into our lives & others, sadly, leave our lives. But that is just another reason why I love this blog. Our family is able to stay connected with those who have touched our life (via living with autism), and they will always have a special part in my heart. We will NEVER forget any of you, even if we are no longer a part of your daily life.

There are no words to express what you have done for Ethan and, in turn, have done for us. Together, you have worked miracles in our child, and we are forever grateful to each of you. I can recall moments of celebration as well as frustrustion with each of you as we were trying to help Ethan the best we knew how. Glenda, I can remember you coming to my home as we decided what therpies Ethan needed, and how we celebrated that doors were opening for him. Katie, I remember you helping us work through Ethan's sensory diet while he was on the floor of your room kicking & screaming. You were so calm & encouraging, and the knowledge you gave us has been invaluable! And I have memories similar to this for each person that has ever worked with Ethan, and helped us how to really LIVE with autism.

So, even though I casually mention you as "Team Ethan" in my writings, you are VERY near & dear to our family, and we are so blessed to have each of you in our lives. GO TEAM ETHAN!!!!

Peace In the Midst of Sadness

My beloved Grandpa passed from this world on November 10th, and....thankfully.....I was there with him in his last hours. I witnessed this cherished man depart from this earthly world and enter into God's hands. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

My grandpa was a man of GREAT faith. Thankfully, this is something that I and so many others in my family share with him. I KNOW from the moment he took his last breath that he was with our Savior, and there was a celebration in Heaven. I KNOW that my grandpa was hearing what I long to hear when my time comes, "Well done Good & Faithful Servant!" And I KNOW that this goodbye will not be final.....we will see each other again some day because we both have a deeply personal relationship with Jesus. And this is my comfort & peace.

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. - 2 Corinthians 5:8

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!..." Matthew 25:21

 
In the last moments of his life, many scriptures & songs came to mind. I remember reciting them to encourage my grandpa as he was "actively passing." Our entire family spent many moments singing to him uplifting songs about heaven & going home. And moments before he took his last breath, I was sitting beside his bed reading the Bible to him until we realized that the end was at hand.

All through my Grandpa's last days while we were gathering around him, the song I'll Fly Away kept running through my head. Especially the line, "Just a few more weary days & then I'll fly away. To a home where joy shall never end, I'll fly away." We were experiencing the weary days, but soon he would fly.

Once my Grandpa had gone to Heaven, this is the only song that is on my mind....I Will Rise. I am so thankful that my Grandpa & I shared our faith. It isn't something that he could pass down to me, but I had to find it myself. However, his Christian example was like no other, and that is an unbelievable heritage that I do hope to pass to my Ethan. Thank you, Grandpa, for your Christ-like example that you showed me. I will strive to do the same for my future generations with God's help.

Goodbye for Now, Grandpa

I will be taking some time off this week due to the passing of my Grandpa. Ethan & I would visit him weekly ever since he moved to a nursing home in our city. His absence will be greatly felt in our home.

Rather than write a post about my Grandpa, my cousin has done this for me. :0)

My cousin, also named Ethan, keeps a blog (www.JonesLife.net) about his life as the father of Quintuplets and their older sister. You may have even viewed their recent show on TLC, Quints By Surprise.

He has written a beautiful post about my cherished Grandpa, so I will just share that link with you. All I have to say is, "Ditto." Thank you, Cousin Ethan, for your words....Generations.

I will leave you with a few pictures of my Grandpa with his family. We will always love you, Grandpa!

Me, my cousin Grace, my cousin Jenny & my sister Rachel with our Grandpa.

Grandpa's Midwest Family

Getting a picture with my Grandpa: my nephew & niece & my Ethan.

Ethan Sandwich Game....Good for Proprioceptive System!

Recently, I have noticed that Ethan is needing more & more heavy work during the day. If he doesn't get a lot of this on a daily basis, he is extremely restless, more clumsy, and doesn't sleep as well. This summer it was quite easy to get in a daily "workout" because we had a pool in our backyard that we would swim in almost every day. Even when the weather got cooler, my husband would take Ethan outside on our large trampoline & jump for a long time. Now, however, it's darker earlier & getting colder so all of our outside things are becoming less & less dependable for us to help Ethan in this area. We do have several things inside our home (jumping on single trampoline, helping with housework using "big boy muscles", etc.), but Ethan seems to be getting bored with all of these things in our home. So, we have started to be a bit creative....

One evening when my husband had been gone all day & I was at the end of my rope with Ethan, I came up with a new game.....Making an Ethan Sandwich. Often, Ethan gets all of the pillows & blankets from all over the house & makes a big pile in our living room. He will jump on this pile, hide under the pile or even roll around in the pile....all good for his proprioceptive system. So, here's how it started....

After a day that seemed to never end.....we've all had them, right?......this mommy needed a moment to myself. So, I put Ethan on his iPad, and snuck off to my bedroom for 5 minutes of peace. Pretty soon Ethan made his way back to me. He crawled up on the bed & began to gather pillows for a pile. Knowing that part of his issues for the day was that his body was needing input, I started squishing him slightly under a pillow...something that we do a lot with our living room couch pillows. Ethan loves it & needs it. Well, to turn it into a game, we decided that the pillows were bread & we were making an Ethan sandwich.

I think because he is getting bigger, he is needing more pressure than previously, so that meant more weight than just one pillow. So, we added more pillows.....and labeled them as pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, ketchup, and other sandwich toppings.

Ethan loved it! We played this game for at least 45 minutes, and often times Ethan would just lay still once the sandwich was made.....a sign that it was working. So here are some pictures of our Ethan Sandwich game. Cheap, easy, and it worked! Ethan has asked to play this many times since. You can see how much it relaxed him in the pictures below....especially the one with his legs sticking out the back. A couple of times, I thought that Ethan had fallen asleep because he was so still! So, if this is something that your kiddo's system craves, try making a sandwich! It's delicious!!!!

 

5 Little Pumpkins Magnetic Board

Last year, Ethan's Preschool introduced him to the 5 Little Pumpkins. He LOVED IT!

Well, a couple of weeks ago, Ethan & I were at our weekly nursing home visit to see my Grandpa.
We have been so lucky to have this time with him, and Ethan loves to go see him. However, after about 20 minutes, Ethan is ready to go....but I'm not! So, to keep him interested, I was trying to think of songs to sing & scripture to recite for Ethan to perform for my Grandpa. Since it was October, I busted out the 5 Little Pumpkins poem....and shockingly enough, I actually remembered it!

Ethan was SOOO excited to remember this poem! Which meant we had to do it over & over & over again. Using that to my advantage, I would request one song & then the Pumpkin Poem. Then another scripture &
then the Pumpkin Poem. We did this for the rest of our time at the nursing home, and my Grandpa loved it. Ethan was a great performer! LOL!

Well, if you know my Ethan by now, you know that this didn't stop once we left my Grandpa's....it has continued to be a game we play to this day....weeks later! So, I knew I had to incorporate it into a tangible
play item. So, here is our magnetic board for the month of October!

5 foam shaped pumpkins with a green vinyl fence (Thanks Hubby for the vinyl work!)

Here is our book....printed, colored, stapled & hanging by a magnetic clip. Ethan enjoyed coloring this book so much that he didn't mind the much when I kept correcting his crayon grip! (He usually gets so upset with me!)

I simply hot glued strips of magnets to the backs of these foam pumpkins & drew faces with a Sharpie marker.

It was fun for me to draw these faces, and Ethan loves to play out the story! This sits in our entry way so all of our guests are greeted by these cute little guys!

A lot our Play at Home games & ideas have originated from the best website ever....PlayAtHomeMom3.blogspot.com. I love this website so much! If you want ideas for stuff to do around your home that will help the development of your children as well as be super thrifty, you MUST check them out! They have done their own pumpkin magnetic board, and I think we will do this during Halloween week! Ethan is really loving working with different faces & expressions....which will lead him to understand emotions of others......so this will be great to incorporate this idea along with Halloween!

Here is the link to our 5 Little Pumpkin book, and click here for the link to the poem itself!

Who Is Following Ethan's Autism?

During our Month of Doctors, one of the doctors asked me this question. "Who is following Ethan's autism?" I can only imagine what the look on my face conveyed as I stared at him wondering what he meant. And then I asked him, "What do you mean?" This doctor said he wanted to know who was "in charge" of following Ethan's progress in the area of autism. I told him of the different organizations that we were a part of....but I still don't know if that answered his question as he looked at me equally confused. Finally, I laughed and said, "I guess I am!"

Just like anything medical, I believe that we must take charge of our own path. Doctors, therapists, teachers, and others should be a BIG part of any kind of diagnosis. They have knowledge that we don't, and we need to seek their advice & direction. However, in the long run, where does the responsibility ultimately fall??? To ourselves. WE are in charge of seeking help, finding resources, keeping doctor appointments, participating in therapies, and so on. NO ONE will MAKE us to this....we must take this on ourselves. It is our responsibility.....not anyone else's.

And since Ethan is only 4 years old, his care falls to his us, his parents. No one else is responsible for it. And, honestly, there isn't anyone that I trust to do this job other than me! Thankfully, we have been very blessed for it to be able for me to be a Play At Home Mom since the day Ethan was born. Not that I don't have other responsibilites or interests, but taking care of him is my number one priority. And I would jokingly say, "Sorry Husband," but Corey & I have decided that.....for us......this is how we both want it to be for this moment in our lives.

So, when Ethan was diagnosised with autism at 35 months old, I knew that the majority of this would fall under my care. Not only was (am) I Ethan's primary caretaker, but I have a background in education & could pull from this resource. (And I do so often!) For the first year of living with autism, this responsibility was an overwhelming & all consuming task. But here it is....17 months later....and it's not all I think about nor is it as overwhelming. (Thank You, Lord!!!)

And today, because of our seeking & learning & persistence & prayer, Ethan is doing so well! In this last Month of Doctors, Ethan has met so many new people. When I inform them that he has autism (doctors & nurses), almost all of them have said, "I would have never known that if you hadn't told me."

THANK YOU TEAM ETHAN!!!!!!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT TO HEAR!!!!!!!

So, who is following Ethan? Well, I guess I'm in charge....I'm the leader/co-ordinator. But really....there are so many people who are working with him, praying for him, and cheering for him. And I think that we are all very excited to see what God has in store for this little guy!

X-Rays! Stat!

Corey & I have decided to call this month....THE MONTH OF DOCTORS! LOL!!!

Last Monday, Ethan tripped & fell right on his elbow. Ethan was holding his arm close to his body & not moving it much at all. So, after seeing our pediatrician, we were sent to the hospital for X-Rays. Oh boy.

Anything new causes Ethan's anxiety to increase....which then increases his "autism" characteristics, and he is difficult to work with in the new situation. So, thanks to the wonderful advice of a friend who works with children with autism, I had already bookmarked a X-Ray video on our iPad.....and it was ready for just this moment.

http://kidshealth.org/kid/feel_better/things/video_xray.html

After we left the pedicatrician's office, we decided to try & make this event a bit more fun! While Ethan began to watch the X-Ray video on his iPad in the van, we drove to a gas station & got snacks! Ethan loves these specific drinks that the gas station sells, and we also bought special "X-Ray" Skittles.

Belly Washers

Wild Berry Skittles

Ethan watched the X-Ray video over & over again.....asking me questions & memorizing several phrases from the video.....even in the short time between the doctor's office & the hospital.....maybe 20 minutes. We decided 3 things....

1. X-Rays do NOT hurt
2. X-Rays are quick
3. Mommy & Daddy will be there with you

These 3 things he kept saying.....to self calm. Mommy & Daddy were saying it too.....to self calm. :0)

We were all very nervous. Ethan for the unknown & his parents for how Ethan would handle the X-Ray.

Ethan watching the video on my phone in the hospital's waiting room.

Ethan, still holding on to my phone playing the x-ray video, hides in the play area for additional calming.

Well, Ethan did fine at the beginning. We looked in the X-Ray room while the technicians got things ready. We located the "big camera", talked about where we would lay down, and how he would get special X-Ray Skittles when it was all done.

Ethan & I looking into the X-Ray room

Once the 2 techs were ready, he nervously walked into the room. On the video, the boy is sitting in a chair during the x-ray, but Ethan needed to lay down. This change threw him into panic, and started things into a downward spiral. We were able to lay him down on the table, Daddy at his head, one technician & myself on each side. The tech then showed Ethan how the big camera moves & the sounds it makes. Ethan's anxiety began to creep up even more...becoming more & more overtaken with fear. But these 2 things were just the precurser for what happened next.....the technician moved the bed Ethan was laying on.....yikes.

Poor lady thought that Ethan would enjoy it, and maybe most kids do! It would be like a ride! But the issue was there was no warning before the bed moved. As she was saying, "Look, the bed moves too!"....she was moving the bed. Ethan began to SCREAM. Here we go!

Having taken my big girl pill earlier that day, and having our friends & family praying for us, Corey & I were able to get to work. Corey plugged Ethan's ears for him (since he couldn't do it himself), and I tried to get his mind off of what was happening but asking him state capitals....he gave me two answers before he screamed, "Mommy, I'm so scared!"

B-R-U-T-A-L

I love that Ethan is now able to voice his emotions, but in this case there was literally nothing to be done. I just told him, "I know you are scared, Buddy, but remember what we know about x-rays? It's not hurting you & it's fast.....we will be done soon! And then you will get special Skittles." I was trying to be as positive & encouraging as I could muster....regardless of how I was really feeling inside. Then, Ethan says, "I want Daddy to carry me!"

B-R-U-T-A-L

As Corey & my eyes met each other, we knew how we were each feeling. Corey wanted to pick him up & carry him....and remove him from this crippling fear.....and I wanted to start crying. But even Mommy and Daddy had to remember.....He's not being hurt & it's a short amount of time.

The whole picture taking process probably took 1 minute, but it felt like an eternity. We ALL had to muster all of our courage & strength to get through it, and when it was finally done.....so were we. It was about 8:30pm by this time, and we were all ready to just go home & crash.

The wonderful technicians let Ethan see his X-Rays which I thought was neat because in almost every ABC book, what does X stand for? X-RAY! So, I really thought Ethan would think this was pretty cool. But as we were looking at his x-rays, the computer next to his x-rays had a advertisement for a hospital movie night on it....and Ethan says, "Look! Popcorn!" Well, so much for the x-rays being cool.

After it was over, we waited in a waiting room for the radiologist to read the results at home & our pediatrician to call us with the results & what to do next. By 9:00pm we were told that there was no break or fracture & to give Ethan pain meds around the clock for the next week....and to keep him as immobile as possible for the next couple of days. My thought was...a 4 year old? Immobile? Yeah right! But we did our best.

He stayed home from school for the next couple of days, and then we got a phone call saying that something called a "fat pad" had appeared on the x-ray. We were being sent to a bone specialist for further x-rays & possible cast.

I'm sure you can imagine how we were feeling at this news. Awesome. (note the sarcasm)

Well, after 2 more days of keeping Ethan "immobile" and home from school, we were able to see the bone specialist. She decided that no more x-rays were needed because he passed all of her arm-moving tests with perfection! YEAH!!!

So, x-rays are over. No cast or sling is needed. Thank you, Lord!

However, we are supposed to keep an eye on it over the next year because where they are seeing a concern is the actual place he hit on his elbow. If a tiny fracture is indeed there, but is not yet showing up...it could effect the way that bone grows. So we need to keep an eye on it & watch for him favoring it....and then go back to the bone specialist for more x-rays at that point.

But for now, I am sooooo happy that Ethan's arm appears to be fine, and no more x-rays are in our immediate future. Now, we are getting ready for our appointment this Friday with a Gastro Increnologist for Ethan's potty issues. I'm praying that this too will all turn out to be nothing major.

HAPPY MONTH OF DOCTOR'S VISITS!

Seems like this is our life lately.....sitting in waiting rooms & trying to keep my child occupied while waiting for the doctors! Here, Ethan & I are reading a book.