so, i got tired of overwhelming certain family members on facebook *half of whom have probably blocked me by now but thats their loss* so, i decided to make my own blog about my experiences of living with 2 boys with special needs.

i fought for YEARS for diagnoses for both kids...had to wait until my middle son was in public school or 6 years old *whichever came first* to have atleast an ADHD screening done...how frustrating!!

my 7 yr old was diagnosed with high functioning autism, ADHD and cerebral dysfunction when he was 6. i knew something was wrong, when, at the age of 2, he stopped talking out of the blue.  my child had gone from almost speaking in complete sentences to being mute for almost a year and  a half.  they said it was emotional trauma. although i agreed whole heartedly, i begged to differ that that was all that was wrong with him. i jumped through all of the appropriate hoops for years.  well, he turned 6 AND entered public schools all in the same week....so, we went to the pediatrician for his ADHD screening....they saw more than simple ADHD and sent us into boston for a proper neurological exam.  i waited 4 months for my appointment and was shocked at the results! i suspected alot of what was in the report but never autism! how do you deal with a diagnosis of that? it explained ALOT once i did some research and learned about it....he is very high functioning but has alot of standard/not so standard signs of it.

my 6 year old...oh boy where do i begin????  he was diagnosed with a sensory processing disorder, at risk for a mood disorder and cerebral dysfunction as well as relative microsyphaly.  he met all of his milestones on time so i wasnt as concerned as i was for my older son.  he has been in CBAT once, at the end of last summer, and it broke my heart.  but, he became a safety risk to the rest of us at the house.  he hasnt been dignosed with autism YET but we are working on that; i have switched his psychiatrist because the other one was resisting me and made me feel like i was stupid when i asked her about it.  she just had this air of "i'm the doctor, you're just a parent and i make the diagnosis, not you" well, lady, you dont live with what i live with all day every day.  its like a war zone here and any little thing can set him off.  we walk on egg shells around him.   a day in my house sounds like a bunch of bipolar truck drivers because the language just escalates throughout the day.  we have found a med that works for him so far but for who knows how long?

i call myself "cereal mom" due to the fact that we go through atleast a box or two of cereal PER DAY! it's what they will eat on a regular.  we do alot of honey nut cheerios, and gluten free chex.  when they are on sale, i stock up....even if i have no room in my cabinets, i will have cereal hidden in totes around my house so atleast i know they will eat something that day....we do alot of frozen pizza and chicken nuggets as well.  certain textures are too much for them to handle. my 7 yr old will eat boxed mashed potatoes but NEVER fresh ones....the boxed ones are more of a pasty consistancy whereas the fresh ones might have a few lumps or a different taste.  he loves broccoli and cauliflower which is a life saver for me! i make alot of casseroles in my crockpot so i can 'hide" certain foods that they would not eat if they saw it out in the open on their plates.  they will eat raw carrots but never a cooked one....they love steak but loathe chicken *except for chicken nuggets* 

this is just a birds eye view i will write more later and please feel free to share your own experiences and thoughts and feelings.