Last night, Emerald, Benjamin, and I went to the chili Christmas party at University Church of Christ. Emerald sang a few carols with the other children, there was a Cowboy Santa, and just troughs of homemade chili. We all enjoyed it a great deal.
Michael and I decided that Gabriel, having done so well in Bible Class and Children's Worship that morning, probably wouldn't tolerate a second, unfamiliar event, so they dropped us off at the church and went back home for dinner.
When it was time for Michael to come pick us back up, Gabriel slipped on a toy microphone that had been left on the floor of the living room. He laid there for a while, crying brokenly in a way that wrenched at Michael.
Gabriel has a heightened pain tolerance. The way it has been explained it to me--certain senses are so enhanced, such as his hearing, that he is unable to filter out any noise no matter how faint or innocuous. Things we can't even hear he cannot tune out, and it can get downright painful. Because of this unfiltered auditory assault, certain other inputs are overpowered. This would mean that his brain doesn't register pain as acutely as we might.
Whatever the reasoning, Gabe has a very high threshold for pain. He has burned his leg on a hot burner before and didn't even acknowledge it. If he does hurt, he usually responds with anger or annoyance. That is why Michael was so upset by Gabe's crying.
He contemplated taking Gabe to the ER, thinking he must have hurt his back from how he landed, but after a short while, Gabriel calmed down and walked out to the car. There was no sign of him being hurt for the rest of the evening. He did wake up at about 3.30; at 4, I came and laid down with him on the couch, which he liked a lot. Waking up at odd and early hours is hardly suspect; it is a weekly occurrence at our house.
The next morning, Gabriel resisted getting dressed and ready for school. Michael's worry increased, especially when Gabe fought being put on the bus, an activity he has historically looked forward to.
Gabriel's class has a nurse that tends to just the K2 and 3-5 classes that are adjacent, and she called me about 8.30. She said that she believed Gabriel's arm was broken. It was swollen and he was favoring it, not using it, though he was calm and happy and participating in class as normal otherwise. I sent Michael to pick him up from school while I called my dad to come watch Benjamin.
This is one of the hardest parts of having a nonverbal autistic child. Our goal for him is to have a consistent form of communication so that he can have his needs met. At his current functional level, he does not have that. He can't tell us if he is sleepy or hungry, needs a drink or a hug, or if his arm hurts. It frustrates him--you can see how exasperated he gets, trying to get what he wants when the words will simply just not come out. It is heartbreaking.
It is a horrible feeling to realize that you sent your child to school with two broken bones.
Michael drove him to the hospital, and I met them up there a short while later. You would expect him to be scared, overstimulated, in pain, agitated...something, but honestly he looked positively delighted that we had figured out what he was trying to tell us, and that he was getting to spend the day alone with Mommy and Daddy.
When Gabe is happy, when everything is right in the world, when he wants to play or laugh, he wants Michael. The vast majority of his life, he prefers Michael. That's how all three of my kids are; I am not terribly exciting or fun. But if they are tired or sick, if they are hurting or they need anything at all...that's when they need me. Gabriel was so happy to see me. Since I walked into that hospital, he has not stopped giving me hugs and kisses. That's why he will lay calmly with me on the couch for hours in the middle of the night,while he rolls and giggles and tries to roughhouse with Michael.
The doctor told us he broke both his radius and his ulna of his left arm. They were not displaced, so he does not need surgery, but they do not do casts in the hospital. Instead, they would place a temporary splint and we will get the cast put on by the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. The only catch is that the location of the breaks have a high risk for becoming displaced, so we have to work especially hard to keep him from jarring it, falling on it, or traumatizing it. Which should be easy, with such a relaxed, lazy, gentle boy (I say sarcastically).
His teacher emailed me and said the only reason they knew that something was wrong was because he wouldn't swing when it was time, which is his favorite activity at school. I would be worried if I saw that he didn't want to swing either! She said that before that, he had walked in from the bus, sat down in his spot on the carpet for morning song and was carrying about his morning like he had every day for months.
It's kind of a scary thought, that. What happens if it is something much more serious and time-sensitive?? I will try not to think about that, and keep my eyes open to how my little guy acts. As it is, he is laying beside me on the couch, reaching up every two or three minutes to give me another hug. The sling he didn't have much patience for, but the splint he actually doesn't seem to mind.
I can't imagine a sweeter boy in the whole world, and I love him dearly.
--Andie
Monday, December 14, 2015
Friday, December 4, 2015
Creative Writing UIL
Emerald has been in UIL practice--University Interscholastic League--as part of her Advanced Academics program for the last several weeks.
She wanted to do Chess Puzzle, but you have to be a member of the chess team before they let you participate in that category. The only other two available to her age group were Storytelling and Creative Writing. Storytelling is where the children are read a story and have to retell it in their own words. A useful skill to be sure, but it didn't seem like the best fit for Emerald, so I convinced her that Creative Writing would be more fun.
In Creative Writing, the child is given five images and thirty minutes to create a story using any combination of the five pictures. At home, I gave her a journal and encouraged her to write for thirty minutes about anything--it can be a diary entry, a poem, story, prayer, lesson...it doesn't matter what she writes, as long as she is writing every day.
Today, she heard that she got a spot on the team that will actually compete at UIL in January.
She is beyond excited. She kept saying, "I hoped the judges would like my story, but I never believed I would be chosen!" I didn't even know they were deciding yet, but I am so proud of her.
This is the story she wrote; forgive spelling and punctuation. I transcribed it exactly (minus the pictures) so that I could remember how she wrote it :)
Original: The Little Rainbow
There was a little rainbow who wanted to explore the world. She wanted to ride the waves. She wanted to hide in the trees. And she woud get the reward to be the first rainbow who travled the world. Her friends called her Janice. Well, they woud, if Janice had any friends. Heres her problem. She wants to travle the world, right? but she can't. All she can do one thing: make kids happy after a rainy day. She just watchs the kids jump rope in the puddles.but wait. theirs more! When she peeks in a window she see's little girls laghing and criating funny puzzles. then thair was this girl named Josifina, it's pronounced like this ho-si-fee-na. She has a spanish name. One day she went out to cut some leaves. then she met Janice. So Josifina cut her off the grass, and helped her travle the world. It was wonderful! She rode the waves. She hid in the trees. And last but not least, she won a medle and a trophy for being the first rainbow to travle the world but she wasn't satisfide. So she gave her trophy to Josifina.
"The only thing I like doing more then travleing," she said, "is Giving!"
"Your my best friend, Janice." said Josifina. And she gave Janice a big hug. Janice was finaly the happyest rainbow in the entire land. that was because she was the first rainbow to have a best friend.
Eprolage
Janice and Josifina made other freinds and went to girl scouts. When they grew up, they married and had babies. Josifina had twins and a girl, Aurora, Prinie, and Angle. Janice had give babies, Lovly, Goodly, Sam, Jumbo, and Jumbo two. It was no doubt that they were the happyest ladies in the land. Or maybe even the galexy. They were happyer then a elf.
She wanted to do Chess Puzzle, but you have to be a member of the chess team before they let you participate in that category. The only other two available to her age group were Storytelling and Creative Writing. Storytelling is where the children are read a story and have to retell it in their own words. A useful skill to be sure, but it didn't seem like the best fit for Emerald, so I convinced her that Creative Writing would be more fun.
In Creative Writing, the child is given five images and thirty minutes to create a story using any combination of the five pictures. At home, I gave her a journal and encouraged her to write for thirty minutes about anything--it can be a diary entry, a poem, story, prayer, lesson...it doesn't matter what she writes, as long as she is writing every day.
Today, she heard that she got a spot on the team that will actually compete at UIL in January.
She is beyond excited. She kept saying, "I hoped the judges would like my story, but I never believed I would be chosen!" I didn't even know they were deciding yet, but I am so proud of her.
This is the story she wrote; forgive spelling and punctuation. I transcribed it exactly (minus the pictures) so that I could remember how she wrote it :)
Original: The Little Rainbow
There was a little rainbow who wanted to explore the world. She wanted to ride the waves. She wanted to hide in the trees. And she woud get the reward to be the first rainbow who travled the world. Her friends called her Janice. Well, they woud, if Janice had any friends. Heres her problem. She wants to travle the world, right? but she can't. All she can do one thing: make kids happy after a rainy day. She just watchs the kids jump rope in the puddles.but wait. theirs more! When she peeks in a window she see's little girls laghing and criating funny puzzles. then thair was this girl named Josifina, it's pronounced like this ho-si-fee-na. She has a spanish name. One day she went out to cut some leaves. then she met Janice. So Josifina cut her off the grass, and helped her travle the world. It was wonderful! She rode the waves. She hid in the trees. And last but not least, she won a medle and a trophy for being the first rainbow to travle the world but she wasn't satisfide. So she gave her trophy to Josifina.
"The only thing I like doing more then travleing," she said, "is Giving!"
"Your my best friend, Janice." said Josifina. And she gave Janice a big hug. Janice was finaly the happyest rainbow in the entire land. that was because she was the first rainbow to have a best friend.
Eprolage
Janice and Josifina made other freinds and went to girl scouts. When they grew up, they married and had babies. Josifina had twins and a girl, Aurora, Prinie, and Angle. Janice had give babies, Lovly, Goodly, Sam, Jumbo, and Jumbo two. It was no doubt that they were the happyest ladies in the land. Or maybe even the galexy. They were happyer then a elf.
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