...sense and sensibility...

The backstory: Last year I met Stacy at the school the mister man attends. We bonded nearly immediately and became fast friends...hopefully for life. She has two boys...one close in age to the mister man, and one 2 years old. Two year old M. has Down's Syndrome, and four year old N. has a speech delay. N. gets VERY upset if his clothing gets wet...as little as a single drop of water on his shirt triggers tantrums, crying and general discord. In addition, he has a few other sensory issues...mostly related to touch...though noise seems to bother him occasionally also. At any rate, I had suggested to Stacy that she fill out a sensory profile on him through the school's resources, and she called today to tell me that the results were normal. Frankly, I was suprised. I had rather expected that they would have found he had some form of Sensory Intergration Processing Dysfunction, or something similiar. I went ahead and suggested that Stacy do some research on her own, just to see if any of the techniques recommended for SIPD might help N. It was only after I hung up that I realized how telling that was of what kind of a parent I am.
Here's the thing...I understand that doctors go to school for a long time, learn a lot of info, memorize a lot of techniques and are generally supposed to be far smarter than I. But at the end of the day I hold firmly to the position that I know both myself and my child far better than any doctor. It's not necessarily that I disregard doctor's orders or advice...I just believe in research. To many times in my life I have gotten the 'one size fits all' diagnosis or cure...and found it lacking. The fact that I know more about autism than the pediatrician is somewhat appalling. The fact that I have, on occasion, been prescribed the same dosage painkiller as a healthy adult male is somewhat appalling.
Maybe it's the fact that my son is on the spectrum that has made me more of a 'think outside the box' parent...or maybe I was just made that way to start with. Either way, I believe that if I am observing a certain behaviour or symptom than I need to look into what can be done about it. I guess my whole point is, I believe that one should follow intuition...even if it goes against what the professional says.
To quote Jenny McCarthy, "my son is my science". I'm not all about curing autism or preventing it or even changing my son. What I am about is making sure that he has the right tools at his disposal to be as happy and functional as he wants to be. And that means trying what I think might work, even if the doctor or therapist or teacher disagrees.

...shallow thoughts from a deep mind (or the reverse)... (crosspost)

September is drawing to a close, and after a brief spat with cool weather, we've warmed up again, and my tank tops and I both wish the warmth would last till November. I miss those mild autumns of my childhood, when come Halloween one did not have to wear turtlenecks and long underwear under costumes. Of course someone somewhere is laughing loudly...as it's more than common knowledge that I sport the jeans/tank-top combo all year long!
The mister man will be representing the Batman this Halloween...and has already begun getting into character. At least twice a day we enter stages where I am only allowed to refer to him as Bruce Wayne. I've known now for a while that his obsession had moved from Spiderman to Batman, and it was luck indeed that found me a thrift store goldmine in a $0.90 costume that includes both cape and mask/hat/bat-ears. Rock on! Now all I need for him is black slacks and turtleneck and he'll be good to go. I, on the other hand, am still spinning my wheels in regards to my own costume.
I've rearranged my entire home (or so it seems) and the upshot is that for the first time in years I am actually getting real sleep! Yay me! Could this mean those dark circles under my eyes are a thing of the past? *cross those fingers* Additionally, the mister man now has a defined room for play/therapy and I have a defined place to put him when quiet-time NEEDS to happen.
I find it funny in a sad way that nearly every blog/group/organization online that is Autism related devotes 99% of its energy to 'in-house' fighting. So much for support and community. I liked how Jenny McCarthy said 'my son is my science' or some such sentence. That's just how I feel.
I love the very beginning of each season...as it inspires me to get cooking. It's really the only time I get down to using all those seasonal recipes that I fanatically cut and paste. Fall has me dreaming of apples and squashes and soups. But I know before long I'll be back to my old standards.
Having never had cable, I don't really know what I'm missing...but can it be any worse than 'The Bachelor'. Hurling wads of crumpled-up paper at the tv does not ,in fact, cause the contestants to check their desperation at the door. Do other people change the channel out of embarassment or am I the only one?
Speaking of TV, why do I turn it on for background ambience? At the end of the day when the mister man is finally off in dreamland, I usually settle down on the sofa with a good book and a warm cup....and turn on the tv. Maybe it's the flicker? Or the garbled voices when the volume is a step away from muted?

...what'll it be...

For most everyone reading this, the following applies: you are either family, friend or curious deviant stranger. If you fall in the top two categories than chances are you are wondering: 1)what happened to the old blog? 2)why create a new one and 3)how many more times am I going to change my mind?
Wait, were you expecting an answer to any of those?
The old blog is in the process of being done away with. Currently the gremlins in the basement (yes, some of them still hide out in the nooks and crannies) are hacking it to bits. This new one will be solely mine. Yes of course, you can still expect that pictures of the mister man will pop up occasionally...but this is more my forum to keep in touch, journal, and wade through all the drivel currently occupying my 'upper stories'. Perhaps at some point in the future, we'll create and link to a blog for the mister man....but as of yet his typing skills consist of this (af$^(*&FDSG7) which even I have trouble interpreting.
So with that written, enter at your own risk, reply at greater risk, and don't dare argue unless you know I'm well caffeinated...