Singing in Musical, May 2009

Recent Video of Michael

Michael is pretending to do newscasts to the camera. I think he can see his reflection in the lens because he makes some silly faces. He's been watching Sports Night and using phrases from the show- like "we'll be right back."

"Perfect"

The end of the school year is coming and I can't believe Michael is going to middle school this year. I think of all he has accomplished the last 2 years- it's amazing. I've also been reminded, time after time, that sometimes your EXPECTATIONS are really LIMITATIONS.

I've said things like "he'll never be out of a 6" or "he'll never go to college" and I was wrong. Another wrong prediction was "he can't play violin" and boy was I wrong, again.

Michael started playing last fall in school. It took a few weeks and then he got the hang of it. The kid LOVES to practice. He usually does about 100 minutes a week. Most times I don't have to remind him to play. It's all beginner stuff, but he gets better everyday.

A few weeks ago Michael participated in NYSSMA. That's a music competition where kids go in front of a judge and play or sing. They get graded. The best kids go to all-county or all-state. It's very important for serious musicians in New York State.

The school asked me if I wanted him to do NYSSMA and I thought YES! Back a million years ago, when I was in high school, I played piano and sang in the competition. I remember going to Riverhead HS and playing on a grand piano in the aud- scared out of my mind. Experiences like that build character :)

Anyway, Michael played his Level One solo and we got the results. He scored a PERFECT score! He even did scales and sight-reading. I'm flabbergasted. Never, never, never in my wildest dreams did I think MY son with autism would play the violin and get a perfect score in NYSSMA. Usually the words are "delayed" "special needs" "autistic" "handicapped"-- not "perfect". The amount of pride and joy in my heart cannot be measured.

HE accomplished this because of his hard work and dedication. I'm so happy he found something he loves.

This week Michael played 4 times in concerts. They did the 4th grade concert- two for the students and one for the parents (at night). He also played with all the strings in the school district. He played, waited with the other kids, followed directions, etc. The staff didn't even pay attention to him, in a way. They don't "worry" about him. Of course, I was a little nervous because he doesn't have an epi-pen with him in these situations and he's got a deadly peanut allergy. But, he just blends in.

The other kids are usually nice to him, but I do notice he keeps to himself a bit. I think a lot of times he doesn't know what to say or how to socialize with them. He's a lot more ease with 4 year olds then 9 year olds. But, hopefully that skill will come with time.

Michael came home from one of the concerts and said "I want to be a music teacher". LOL- I think this time I'll keep an open mind and believe that anything is possible.

Presidents on Parade

Last Sunday we had the traditional St. Patrick's Day parade in my hometown of Rocky Point, New York. This was the first year Michael really got into it. We stood for about 2 hours watching marching bands, fire trucks and boy scouts. Of course I spent most of my time talking approximately 800 pictures and Michael stood by my side the whole time.

One photo is Michael with our US Congressman, Tim Bishop and NYS Assemblyman Marc Alessi. Marc sponsored a bill for vaccine exemptions and has been VERY supportive of our community. Congressman Bishop has been too. He also has a nephew with Aspergers (a form of autism).

Anyway, there was this funny moment when the Rocky Point Historical Society came marching down 25A. They had a couple dressed as Mr. & Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. Michael saw them and his eyes got really wide. He LOVES LOVES LOVES presidents right now. He gets about 10 books a week on presidents from the library and read them over and over. Right now he's learning about first ladies.

Michael points to the group and says "Look, it's someone dressed like Abe Lincoln!". I was laughing to myself thinking, "Most kids would rather see Derek Jeter or Brittany Spears. But, MY son's favorite people right now are the US Presidents".

Last month we visited Monticello in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson's home. I hope this summer to travel around the East Coast as much as possible and visit other president's homes, birth places and graves. There are probably some presidential libraries too along the way.

I'm excited to learn right along side Michael about US history. We really are sharing the experiences. I keep thinking more and more that someday he will go to college- something that I thought at one time was impossible. But, I was wrong-thankfully!

Playing at Church - Video

Here is a video of Michael playing violin at church in front of about 25 people. So proud of him!!!!

After 2.5 years of Chelation

(Photo is Michael
at the beach
in Virginia
December 2008)


After 2.5 years of chelation, Michael is on grade level academically, playing the violin, got a part in the drama club musical and can pretty much go anywhere without a problem. I'm so proud of him and so grateful for Dr. Imam and Nick- and everyone else at the office (Center for Advanced Medicine in Center Moriches).

There is so much LESS stress in my life right now. I don't worry about him running into the street anymore. I don't have to remind him to do his homework. We can eat in restaurants. I can go to a party and relax. Car rides are a breeze. He gets out of the bath, dries off and gets dressed all by himself. He can get his own food and drink now too. I get comments from people like "he's the best behaved kid here". MY KID? My kid with autism?

If you didn't know Michael when he was little- check out the videos on You Tube. But, just know that he was anti-social, non-verbal, very stimmy, and lower functioning then he is today.

Right now he's practicing violin in the other room. I didn't even have to ask or remind him. He just does it because he likes to. Yesterday, he was doing math problems on the computer and saying "math is fun". Goodness- I know that didn't come from ME. He has learned so much at school. Next month is the state Math exam and then the Science test. Unfortunately it takes MONTHS to get the results back. But, I know he'll do well. The best part is how is enjoys taking the tests. He even pretends he is a teacher and sets up a classroom at home- preparing the "pretend kids" for the big tests.

What's next? I don't know. He goes to Middle School next year- which is going to be a huge change, but he's excited to go. I'm not going to worry about it.

We're going to keep going with the chelation. We met with Dr. Imam last week and he thinks everything is going great and we should just continue.

As for the summer- who knows? We can't really afford camp, but I hope to spend a lot of time at the beach. When I was a kid, my mom took me to the beach a lot. We live 10 minutes from the North Shore (Long Island Sound) and 20 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean. There are beaches everywhere. Finally, we'll be able to enjoy them together. Michael went thru a long period, from about 3 years old to 7 years old, where he hated the beach. He didn't like the sand. He was scared of the ocean. Now, you can't keep him out of the water.

I love how adventurous he has become. He wants to visit Washington DC and the White House. He gets books from the library about all sorts of things and asks questions. I could probably take him to more concerts and finally a Broadway play-- and he would love that. I get frustrated that we have to stay here in NY and can't move back to Virginia. But, at least there are a lot of things to experience here.

Progress Report- Fall 2008

Sorry I haven't been posting THAT much. After posting every day during the summer road trip, I was a little posted out. Plus, with Michael's progress- I keep losing track of all the new things he does and says. Isn't it great just to be at that point?

Anyway, Michael is still at Ridge Elementary School in a class with 15 students. He was in that class last year, but with only 12 kids. It's a full class this year.

Michael is now sharing his aide with another kid. Part of the reason is because he doesn't need her as much. The other reason is because the child could use the help. Longwood has been so helpful over the years, I didn't feel right being selfish and holding on to the aide like that. Plus, Michael was the one who didn't want her around so much. He would even say so at times. It's not that he didn't like her, because she does a great job and is very caring. I think it was more him trying to be independent.

Michael is now playing the violin. And I mean PLAYING. Honestly, I thought the instrument was never going to work. I played piano, flute and sax, but didn't know how to play a string instrument. So, I was worried that I couldn't help him. But, he is doing great. He plays everyday for at least 20 minutes. He's very good about it (just like his homework). He's reading music! Sometimes I pull the keyboard out and we play songs together. It's just so cool. I NEVER thought that would happen. I don't know what his band teacher thinks- but I think he's doing wonderfully! I CANNOT wait until his concert. THAT will be on YouTube for sure. LOL!

Michael has a new friend- the kid upstairs. They get along so well it's scary. "Jessie" is about 7 years old and moved here over the summer. They go to the after-school program (SCOPE) together. The cutest thing is when they see each other at home, each of them jumps up and down and yells the other's name. It's like they haven't seen each other in 20 years. LOL. Sometimes Jessie knocks on the door and asks if Michael can come upstairs. Jessie's Mom keeps saying to me "I wouldn't know Michael had autism if you didn't tell me". Well, he still has autism- but it's great to hear that. Last weekend we went to an Islanders Hockey Game. The boys had fun. I'm so happy for both of them- since they are only children. And I'm very grateful that Jessie's whole family is so accepting. Oh, and the boys went Trick or Treating this Halloween too (along with Paul).

The funniest thing happened the other day. I picked up Michael from SCOPE and he didn't want to leave until this one boy left. Michael was staring at this kid's Mother when she walked it. We had to follow them out. When we got to the door, the woman says to her son "get in the car Billy" (or whatever), but in a raspy voice. She sounded like Kathleen Turner after smoking 1000 cigarettes. Michael gets in our car and says "Billy's mother has kind of a weird voice". I was laughing so hard I couldn't drive.

I wasn't laughing at Billy's Mother. I just couldn't believe that Michael noticed it in the first place. And the way he said "kind of a weird voice". He didn't say that she sounded like a man. He used language that was more abstract. Which is awesome! Plus, I turned it into a whole exercise about why you shouldn't smoke. LOL.

I saw a report and Michael is on a 2nd grade level for Math and English. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, because he scored average or above average on his 3rd grade State Exams in both Math and English. I'll find out tonight- we have our yearly parent-teacher conference. I'm looking forward to it. I always have with these meetings. Maybe during pre-school I didn't, but I can't remember that far back. LOL. But, at Ridge they have always been so helpful with Michael, there is no fear there.

We're still going to Dr. Imam's for IV chelation. Everything is going well with that. Nothing new to report. We took 2 months off from chelation during the road trip. Michael was fine- but it's hard to say whether he was affected by NOT having chelation because we were on the road. But, overall- he was great. I don't want to stop the IV's until we know we have all the heavy metals out of him. We'll be doing a urine test this Saturday.

Summary: We are so lucky that Michael continues to do so well. Both his teachers and the SCOPE people say he's the most behaved kid in the class. He does his homework without having to remind him. He's playing violin now. He's continues to make friends. He's happy and social. He does continue to have some stims- like the weather and his "pretend kids"- but that's a lot better than touching the bushes (which he rarely does now). He's very independent- he brushes his own teeth, fixes his own meals, dresses himself, picks out his own clothes and always finds something to do (watching tv, reading, coloring, etc.) I notice a few times he stutters or need a second to form a sentence- but his use of words is amazing. I need to do another video update and post it.

Again, thanks for reading Michael's blog. I cannot say enough about the people at Ridge/Longwood School District and Dr. Imam's office. We are truly one of the lucky ones in the autism community.

Swimming Video

I just uploaded a video from July. Michael was swimming with Ethan and Stan Kurtz in California. Ethan was once dx with autism, but is now recovered.

On a side note- Michael is doing great. I'll write some more updates soon.

Trip Blog

To read about our Summer Road Trip please visit:

http://www.heerenroadtrip08.blogspot.com

Thanks,
Christine
currently in AZ

Summer Poetry

You've got to see this. Michael did such a great job reading poetry and singing!

Conversations with Michael

I call this video "Conversations with Michael". I wanted to show everyone how much his speech has improved. Notice how he comes up with new ideas- like how Michelle was a substitute for me on field day. I was not feeling well that day.

He's also doing some "silly talk" where he talks about Calliou or bad behaviors. I guess you can call it a verbal stim. He also does some stimming off the towel rack. I guess right now the stimming and the social piece are our biggest problems. Everything else is on track.

We leave in eight days! Holy cow. I can't believe the date is almost here. I'll be blogging the details of the trip here: http://www.heerenroadtrip08.blogspot.com. If you can't remember that, just come to this site, click on my profile and it will list the other blog. Thanks.

Video from the Rally

You can see 5 other videos by visiting my YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XreRnkigDCU

Green Our Vaccines

Wow. What a crazy two days. Michael and I drove down to Washington DC on Tuesday and stayed with our friends Casey, Cara and Holly. Michael entertained the girls by guessing their ages and playing school.

We woke up the next morning praying for good weather. Both of us have a strong dislike for standing next to a tree with an umbrella in a thunderstorm. But when we arrived at the Washington Monument around 9:30am, the taxi pulled up and I found myself getting emotional. There were so many people I couldn't see the end of the line. There were thousands! The last rally had 400. This one had 10 times that amount. The first rally I ever attended had about 40.

This was the first rally for Michael. In the past I left him home so I could take pictures and video. It was hard to have to keep my eye on him, but he did VERY well. When we got our picture taken with Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey Michael had the biggest smile on his face. It was so cute.

After the rally we met with our congressman Tim Bishop. Michael almost fell asleep on the couch, but I spoke to the congressman about the rally and autism. He was great. The first thing he said was "sorry to hear about your mother". Near the end of our meeting there was a tornado watch and we weren't allowed to leave the building. Bishop's office gave us passes for the Capitol so we went to the see the House of Representatives. My first time. I was trying to explain to Michael what we were looking it- but how do you explain politics to an 8 year old? LOL



We finally got home around 1:30am. It was a LONG day. Michael said he had fun. I think he did. Plus, it was good practice for our roadtrip. I can't believe it's less than 3 weeks away.

The Common Crow

Today Michael and I went on the Ridge Elementary 3rd Grade class trip to the Holtsville Ecology Center. It was the first time I saw him on the class trip with typical kids. He did great. It was also nice to spend some quality time with everyone- the teacher, aide and the students in his class. We even got to ride the big bus. Which of course made me a little car sick, but it was fun to live on the edge. Holy cow did the bus driver speed around. I didn't realize buses could break the law like that...

Anyway, we saw many different animals. Some very cool- like black bears and eagles. And some were... interesting- like the deers, cows, raccoon, ground hog, parakeets, and my favorite- "the common crow". That's what it said on the poor guy's cage. I just looked it up and this type of bird is sometimes called "common". But, who would want THAT title? And what's weird is when I walked up to his cage the crow walked to the front, stuck his beak in the fence and looked right at me.

Michael said his favorite part of the trip was the "duck poop". Gotta love it. We even walked around this big trail and Michael did great. He just loves being around kids. His whole face lights up. No wonder he loves school SO much. The kids are kind to him. and the staff are so loving and caring.

After the trip we went to one of our weekly chelation sessions. They are so effortless now. Michael spends most of the time on the laptop or drawing on a wipe erase board. Today he kept talking really loudly. He's starting to add things to certain conversations. It's kind of weird for me. Of course it's good. But, I'm not used to Michael completing my sentences. LOL.

In the next week we have a lot going on. We're going to Washington DC for the "Green our Vaccines" rally with Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey... and about 5000 members of the autism community. I'm SOOO excited that Michael can join me. I'm be taking a million pictures and will post some of them here. The rest will be on AutismRally.com. That's one of my websites that I put together to share information.

Spring Concert 2008

In addition to the Yankee Game yesterday, Michael had his 3rd grade spring concert at school. Michael's in the blue striped sweater. If you remember the past videos- he barely sang. This year he did great. Check it out.

The Last Goodbye

If you’ve been reading this blog since it started about 18 months ago, you know that I’m a huge Yankee fan. One of my dreams as a child was to be able to bring my OWN children to the Stadium, just like my parents did back in the 70’s. If you ask me where is my favorite place on earth to go, I would say “Yankee Stadium”. So, when I heard recently that they were building a new Yankee Stadium, it broke my heart. The old stadium is going to be destroyed, put down, killed, exterminated--- what ever horrible word you want to use. All I know is it’s going to be gone. So, last night was my last night at the “house that Ruth built”.

Michael, my roommate Michelle and I went to the 7pm game vs Baltimore. It rained ALL day. So the whole way into the city we didn’t know if the game was going to be rained out. But, we were willing to take that chance. It takes us about an hour and 15 min. without traffic to get to the Stadium.

I decided to take the Triboro Bridge (there are like 4 different ways to go) and didn’t know the exit off the Long Island Expressway (LIE). I yelled to the back of the car “Hey Michael- what exit do we take for the Triboro?”. Michael thinks for a second and says “24a” (or whatever the number is). He was absolutely correct (as usual).

By the time we got to our seats, the rain had stopped. We even started to see blue sky. Plus, we were lucky enough to be in a section that was covered- so no wet seats! Things were looking up.

The first inning Baltimore scored 6 runs. LOL.

I didn’t care THAT much if the Yanks won the game, because I was there to say goodbye to the Stadium. But 6 runs? Come on. Also, Derek Jeter got hit with a pitch and left the game. We left around the 8th inning. I took a final walk around the stadium to say goodbye. Michael didn’t want to hold my hand. He’s getting so independent.

I’m surprised he lasted that long. It was about 10pm. At one point Michael took the beach towel I brought to wipe off the seats and put over his head. He just didn’t seem to enjoy this game as much as the other two. But, I think part of that was where we were located. You couldn’t see the field that well. In the past we were high up and could see everything. It was also cold as heck. Probably around 40-45*F. I could see my breath! I could honestly say I’ve never seen my breath at Yankee Stadium. We must have broken a record because it seems like the coldest May night ever!

The highlight of the night for me was when Kevin Millar on the other team hit a homerun in our section. We all started yelling “Throw it back!” to the poor guy who caught the ball. After making a decision between keeping the baseball or living, the guy threw the ball back onto the field. My roommate, who is from Buffalo, was confused, “Why would you throw the ball back?”. I said “because it’s the right thing to do”.

That’s just one of the great traditions of Yankee Stadium. It’s like no other place on earth. I’m so happy that Michael and I could say “goodbye”, literally. When we were leaving Michael turned around and said “Goodbye Yankee Stadium”. I know he understands that there is a new park next store and this one will be gone, but he doesn’t understand the history of this place like I do. I’m just happy that I was able to take Michael to three games. It was something that I thought would never happen after the “autism kicked in”.

So, we’ll be grateful for what we have and look forward to new memories at the new Stadium.

Three Strikes and You're Out!

We got some free tickets to the Mets game on May 10th. It was the official Autism Awareness Day, so I thought we would give it a try. Now, I'm a DIE HARD Yankee fan. But, I thought it would be nice for Michael to get to Shea before they bulldoze it. They are building a new stadium right next store.

After about 20 minutes Michael, Grandpa and I were ready to leave. Michael got into it alittle- routing for the other team- which was FINE with me :) After the game we drove through a Chinese neighborhood in Queens. There was one of those store where they sell things on the sidewalk and I commented that people were buying flowers. Michael said without hesitation "They are buying flowers for Mother's Day". WOW. Didn't expect him to say that. He just continues to amaze me.

Here are some pictures from that day: (and yes Michael got a haircut)

Say AHHHHHHHH!

This morning we went to the pediatric dentist for a checkup and cleaning. This is an office that takes special needs and typical children. Kids with autism have SO many issues when it comes to tactile defensiveness- they don't like people touching their mouths. It took years to get a toothbrush into Michael's mouth.

Anyway, this dentist will only take ASD kids first thing in the morning- for many reasons. But, today his cleaning went so well, the dentist said Michael could be put with the other typical kids and not HAVE to come at 8:30am. I also remembered this time to bring Michael's fluoride free toothpaste! LOL. The staff didn't give me a hard time like in the past. I just don't like giving Michael fluoride because some people say it's poison, especially to kids who can't detox.

The dentist also took a copy of Evidence of Harm by David Kirby and said "this will be my spring reading". He's interested in learning about the mercury- autism connection.

So, overall- good appointment. Got to school on time. Michael did great. Who would have thought going to the dentist would be such a pleasurable experience?

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there.

Sunday is the first Mother's Day without my Mom, Joan who passed away in January from Pancreatic Cancer. In the last two weeks I found out one of the best friend's Dad has lung cancer and my ex-mother-in-law is getting checked for breast cancer. I also have a college friend who is currently going through chemo.

When you have a child with autism you think the whole word revolves around autism. But, it doesn't. You think that autism is the biggest problem in the world. But, it's not. You think there is "nothing worse" than autism. But that's not true. When you find out your child has autism you think there is nothing you can do. But you are wrong.

There are so many mothers out there who amaze me. My son would not be where he is today without the help of many people. From Jo Pike in South Carolina who basically introduced biomedical treatments to me, to Mary from CA who helped me start the diet, to Julia Berle, also from CA, who inspired me to start chelation..... These Moms I will never forget.

But, there are other "mothers" who have helped my son, like his past teachers and therapists. One in particular is Jackie Rosenfeld. She was Michael's teacher from Kindergarden to 2nd grade (three years). When I first talked to Jackie on the phone I was nervous that she was very strict with ABA and wouldn't be flexible enough for Michael. Then a week later when I met her at the school I knew instantly that this woman knew what she was doing.

At 5 years old Michael entered the school district with very little skills. He wasn't potty trained. Could barely do ABA. Said about 30 words. Didn't want to play with other children. He would spin cars all day long. At one point he got so obsessed with tracks we had to take the cars and trains away- so then he started visually stimming off lines. The lines on his pants, the lines on his shoes. Holy Cow- we couldn't stop him.

I had a conversation with Jackie that first year. She said "one day we're going to lose him". What she meant was he was going to one day move out of the autism program and be mainstreamed. I laughed "no way". Honestly, I didn't believe a word she said. Jackie responded "trust me- one day he'll be gone and we'll miss him".

I didn't spend a lot of time obsessing over a future so far ahead it was impossible to control. But, I didn't think Michael would leave the autism program, graduate high school, get married or have children (isn't that the list?).

That first year a new student joined the class and Michael started picking up bad behaviors. The stimming was getting worse. So, Michael's teacher Jackie set up a program. She got a timer and said to Michael "Ok- you have 10 minutes to play with the cars and then you are finished". Then it was 8 minutes, then 6, then 4, then 2.... Finally, Michael learned how to control his stimming. It was a MIRACLE.

All I had to say to him at home was "ding, ding, ding- cars are finished". Then eventually "cars are finished". Now Michael started paying attention. He wanted to play with other kids. He went to parties and did more than put his face to the carpet and line up cars. He started singing in concerts and playing basketball. A new world opened up to him.

At the same time, Michael started learning how to read, write and do math. Slowly the words started to form sentences. Jackie used to say that Michael was a "sponge" and she was right. This kid would pick up things so quickly they would have to change his program. What took some kids a week to learn, Michael would pick up in 10 minutes.

As the years went on Michael started reading books, writing poems, pretending to be a teacher. Best of all- HE LOVES SCHOOL. He loves learning. He loves reading. He is happy with himself.

OMG- what else can a mother ask for? While we were working on cleaning up his gut, giving his brain the ability to process, and DETOXING his injured body- Jackie and the staff at his school were filling in the gaps. They came to his birthday parties. They attended my Mother's wake. They are basically family. These women have done more for me and my son then some of my own family members.

Last September the autism program "lost" Michael to a higher functioning special ed class. Michael is no longer in a class with ASD children. His classmates have ADHD and reading delays- but they are verbal. Today I stopped by the classroom and saw my son. He was sitting in his seat, following along by himself, reading the spelling words, participating.... If a stranger walked in they wouldn't even know my son had autism.

That would have NEVER happened if it wasn't for a school district that cared and put the money into the program. I know the skill level of most of the aides in school districts in this area- and the aides that worked in Jackie's class had the most experience out of all of them. I was an aide many years ago, so I know it's not an easy job. But, personally, I have never experienced anything but love, kindness and respect from my son's teachers and therapists.

I could remember days when Jackie and Gina (the main assistant in the classroom) would see me after school and tell me a story about something amazing Michael did that in the classroom- and the three of us would just cry. We were so happy. I never thought that a teacher could care THAT much about her kids. Jackie used to say that she, along with Gina and Kat (the psychologist) wanted to adopt Michael if anything happened to me.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that my disabled son would contribute so much. It always hurt my heart to think that MY child would be a burden on the school district. Everyone would have to work around him. Everyone would have to sacrifice for him. He would cost sooooo much money. When Michael was 2.5 years old the district said "do you want home services in addition to preschool?" and I said no, because I didn't want to take too much. I wanted to wait and see if he needed it.

But, I was wrong. Because Michael was doing so well they started mainstreaming him. I had parents coming up to ME saying "Thank you for letting my typical child work with your son." These parents talked about how Michael taught their children patience and acceptance. This would have never happened if Michael was not at the point where he could be mainstreamed. I owe that to many people- including the staff at his school.

So many times in this blog and in life in general I'm talking about the biomedical interventions we do with Michael. They have been a HUGE part of his life and progress. And it may seem that I kinda slight the behavior side. I don't mean to. It's just that this blog was started right when we started chelation- so the purpose was more about biomedical treatments and sharing the experience with other parents. Just like Julia Berle shared her recovery story about her son Baxter, I wanted to document Michael's treatments.



But, the reality is- Michael would NOT be where he is today without Ridge Elementary and the Longwood School District. I would not have been able to organize conferences, travel to Albany to help pass laws, take pictures of events in Washington DC, talk to other parents for hours about treatments, go to conferences in Chicago, produce educational videos for autism schools, etc. if I had to fight my district for services. I was able to channel my energy into something positive. I was able to spend time researching biomedical treatments, instead of reading all the legal crap about CSE's and IEP's. I was able to take my kid to the park or a Yankee Game and not be stressed about his school.

Michael LOVES school so much that he cries if he misses the bus or is sick and can't go. He talks about his 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Williamson, and his classmates all the time. He talks about graduating high school, going to Cortland College, becoming a teacher and just today he told me he was going to have "four" kids. (last week it was three).

I don't care if Michael never gets any better or recovers- HE IS A MIRACLE! And everyone involved- from his school district to Dr. Imam's office where he gets chelation- are miracle workers. I will always be grateful. I don't need flowers or candy on Mother's Day because I truly have the best gift in the world--- a happy child.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Sunday is Mother's Day, so I celebrate not only the Moms, but the women in my son's life... You know who you are.

My Mom was always so happy with Michael's progress and his teachers. There was a point where my Mom was so sick she couldn't get out of bed. I remember one day her laying there and saying to me "I'm worried about Michael after I'm gone". I said "don't worry Mom- he's in good hands". I would have never said that if it wasn't true.

Thank Goodness For Spring

WOW- what a long winter.

But, it's spring in NY! And with the arrival of spring comes BASEBALL. We are planning to go to games both at Yankee Stadium and Shea (where the Mets play). Michael's so interested in the fact that the two places are being demolished and new stadiums are being build.

Michael started playing on a Little League team a few weeks ago. It's a challenger league- basically about 12 kids with disabilities- mostly autism. It really is a lot more fun that I thought it would be. They got the coolest uniforms. Michael is so excited too. And I don't MAKE him that way- LOL. Just got lucky. I love baseball and played when I was younger. It's so much fun to see Michael out there.

Last week we had the big kick-off Sunday to the season. The kids marched around the track along with all of the other baseball and softball teams. Michael had such a good time. Here he is walking with 2 of his teammates- waving at the crowd. He also met the Supervisor of Brookhaven Town, Brian Foley. For those of you not from this area, our town gov't covers about 1/2 a million people. Supervisor Foley is a great guy and I've taken pictures for him in the past. He came right up to us and spoke to Michael. Of course Michael had no idea who he was, but it was nice to guy a picture of the two of them.

Anyway, Chelation is going great. Now that the weather is better, he's playing outside with the neighborhood kids. They are a little wild and not the best roll models, but it's nice to see him playing kickball and baseball. Yesterday he decided to be the coach when they were playing kickball. I try to limit his time with these kids, because they do beat the crap out of each other most of the time. But, the poor kid is an only child and LOVES to play outside. It's funny because I trust him more than the other kids, and they are "typical".

I can't even list all the things that he is doing now. He does his homework every night by himself. Last night I wasn't feeling well and I handed him the phone. He talked to Michelle and they had a real conversation. The only thing I was worried about was him saying "mommy isn't feeling well. Her head hurts. She laying down". I grabbed the phone because I didn't want Michelle to think I was passed out on the kitchen floor.

The other day Michael said to me (out of no where) "I was loving you all day long". I NEVER heard him say that before.

It's like this whole new world has opened. I'm explaining things to him like babies, death, baseball, autism, etc. I decided to take Michael to the "Green our Vaccines" rally in DC. It's on June 4th and Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey are heading it up. As you know, Michael has already met Jenny. There might be around 5000 people there. It will be largest autism rally EVER! After the event on June 4th, I'll post my photos on AutismRally.com. That's a website that I put together.

Happy Spring everyone and thanks for reading our blog. Doesn't Michael look SOOO happy in this picture?