Can't Believe It

Well my worst fears kind of came true at court for Itty Bitty's TPR. At first bio dad didn't show up so they were going to do TPR on default but then he walked through the door 10 minutes late. After saying for the last 6 months that he would do a voluntary TPR he asked the judge for more time to make a decision. How much time does one person need, he has known for the last 2 years that this is what was going to happen, if he had wanted to be a dad he should have stepped up along time ago. Itty Bitty is 20 months old now and my sister (bio mom) decided when she found out that she was pregnant, that she would give Itty Bitty up for adoption, she told him that, but yet he waits til now to try and make a decision on what he wants to do.
There is no way that he would ever get custody of Itty Bitty, he is only going to delay the adoption process, which is what annoys me. If he doesn't do a voluntary, they will be going ahead with the involuntary and either way he will lose his rights. They are getting him for abandonment and failure to provide support, since he doesn't pay child support and he hasn't even asked to see Itty Bitty. The workers have sent him numerous papers telling him what he would have to do to even start visitation but he hasn't done anything and now he wants to pull this. UGH
They even told him that if he does a voluntary that it won't affect his other children (he has 7) in any way. But if he doesn't and it goes to trial, that the outcome could affect his children/future children. I guess I just don't see why he wants to make this so difficult.
I woke up the day of court feeling great, we were finally going to be one step closer to making Itty Bitty a legal part of our family (he always has been, but for it to be legal and all would be so much better), just to have him delay the process once again. It's just sad that after all this time my little guy still doesn't have permanancy.

Lots going on

I haven't updated in quite a while. Tons of stuff going on lately and I haven't found the time.
Monkey Man and Princess are doing wonderful in school, I couldn't be prouder of either one of them. Monster is doing great, gaining more and more words every day. He is now talking in some 2-3 word sentences. Itty Bitty has joined the wonderful world of the terrible twos even though he doesn't turn two for a couple more months.
They are finally going to start TPR on Itty Bitty. The date is set and now all I have to do is hope that bio dad doesn't change his mind at the last moment and drag this out any more than it has been already. A little over a week and Itty Bitty will be available for adoption. It is sad but at the same time a happy moment. Sad for the bio parents even thought bio mom wants this and bio dad could care less, it's still sad. Happy for me and Itty Bitty. We can finally become a legal family and I can officially call myself his mother (even though I already do).
Things have been so hectic lately but seem to be calming down. This week isn't as hectic as the past couple have been so I am thankful. Only have one appointment besides the regular therapy schedule, so it's good.
My sister, bio mom to Princess, Monster, and Itty Bitty has not been doing the best. From rumors that are going around she is back to drinking, talking to lots of other guys who are not her boyfriend and just basically back to the same old behavior I have seen time and time again. It's so sad to have to sit and watch her self destruct but I have tried and tried to help her and I just can't do it any more. If she was more willing to help herself but she isn't.
Things here have been good, just waiting for the court date which is a little over a week away. I have been seeing more behaviors from Princess and Monster after visits which is never a good sign. Just something to keep an eye on and report to the workers. The workers have denied my sister over nights with the kids, which is good since they are already having behaviors after being over there for only a couple of hours. I couldn't imagine what they would be like after a whole day.
All I can do is hope that she will see the light, so to speak, and start doing what is in the best interest of the children.

Hectic

Things have been so hectic lately. Monkey Man is now in school. We had lots of meetings before school started to straighten out his IEP. He has been doing really good so hopefully it will continue and we will have a great year. The school messed up Princess's paperwork so we are still waiting for her to start school, hopefully she will be able to start sometime this week. Monkey is doing really good, he is gaining more speech everyday. I am trying to get him on the waiver so he can start ABA therapy. Other than that Birth to 3 is starting to transition him to the school system since he turns 3 in January. Itty Bitty is doing well. He is starting the terrible twos and thinks he can do anything he pleases and is starting to throw fits when he finds out otherwise.

Sad

Last week was actually very laid back until Friday. I got a call from my mother on Friday morning saying that my grandmother was on the way to the hospital and that she was unresponsive. My mom was trying to get a hold of my aunt (who was also very close to my grandma) and wanted to know if I had my cousin's number, my aunt was over there baby sitting. I told my mom I would call my aunt and tell her to call my mom since my mom was driving. I got ahold of my aunt right away and gave her the message.

About half an hour later, my mom called back and said that they had my grandma was in cat scan and she would keep me updated. At that point my sister called me and I let her know what was going on. When I got off the phone I realized I had a voice mail but didn't have a missed call, my phone does that some times.

I listened to the voice mail. It was my mom and she sounded like she was crying. I knew at that point that it was going to be bad. My mom just isn't the type of person who cries unless it is really bad. So with a heavy heart I called my mom back and that is when she told me that my grandma had passed away. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and tore my heart out. All I could do was cry and try to make sure my mom was ok through the tears.

I went and picked up my sister and we headed up to the hospital to say our good byes. My aunt, mom, and cousins were there. It was such a sad moment. At first I couldn't even go into the viewing room. I just sat in the waiting room. After I had giving myself some time, I went in and said good bye to the only grandparent I have ever known. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Now normally I am the person who doesn't cry in front of others. I am usually the rock that holds everyone together, but I broke down hard. I couldn't hold in the tears anymore.
Last week was very hard with the wake, funeral and burial. But at the same time it was very beautiful. There were Native American singers and drummers at all 3 and everything was very beautiful.

Fun Weekend

It was a fun and busy weekend. Last week Monkey Man and Princess had Safety Camp. They had so much fun all week long. On Friday they held a little graduation party for them. I honestly thought that I would be getting a call to come get one or the other child for behaviors but they both did wonderful and I couldn't be prouder of both of them.
On Saturday we had our family reunion and on Sunday was my nephews birthday party. In between the events I tore into the house work that got neglected last week. The kids had a blast at both events and got alot of energy out, which was nice for me at bed time. My nephew had a blast and got what he wanted for his birthday which was a Nintendo DS, games, and accessories. He had a fun time playing with his cousins. :)
Last week I talked to the case worker (we were supposed to have our home visit but she was sick so we re-scheduled for this coming up week) and she told me that she is getting Itty Bitty's TPR under way. She also told me that she doesn't know what the future will hold for Princess and Monster but she does know that they will be here with me for quite a bit longer.

What a long week

This last week has been very hectic. The children are having tons of behaviors and I am just not sleeping well at all. The children are also not sleeping well so besides having my own sleep issues, I am up with them for part of the night too. So needless to say we have all been pretty crabby this past week. Hopefully it will start to get better but we will see.
Monkey Man and Princess start safety camp tomorrow. They are excited as am I. We talk about safety almost daily but to have them learn more or things that haven't come up yet is just great. And then I get to spend some alone time with Monster and Itty Bitty.
I have my meeting with the case workers this week, so I am going to see what they are thinking and hopefully get some answers about what is going to be happening. I am seriously not a patient person and all of this wait and see stuff is really getting old.

Possibly getting closer to some permanancy

Well I talked to Princess and Monster's case worker yesterday and she basically told me that she was ready to start TPR on bio mom (my sister) but was waiting on the tribe (we are Native American) to come to a decision on what to do. The tribe doesn't like to TPR parents but will if it becomes necessary, which in this case it is pretty apparent that bio mom just isn't going to straighten up.
You know, she is my sister and I love her but I just wish she would straighten up and do what is best for the children. You think she would have learned her lesson when she got the oldest two children taken away and my parents were given guardianship back in 2004. Now 6 years later and she is still pulling the same shit. I just wish for once she would just do the right thing. I would love it if she would prove everyone wrong and maintain her sobriety, get the kids back, and actually be a parent to them. But I have finally come to the realization that it just isn't going to happen.
At this point I can only hope that everyone involved will act in the children's best interest. I don't see my sister straightening up so the next best thing is to do TPR and get the kids some permanancy. The kids have been back and forth between my sister and I since 2006 when Princess came to live with me when she was 9 months old. And Monster has never had a permanent place in his 2.5 years on this Earth. He has been shuffled here, there and everywhere.

Wow

Summer is just flying by. The kids are definately keeping me busy but it is all great. Because of me staying busy I have lost a few pounds :) . Today was great. Hung out in the house all morning because it was just too hot to be outside with 5 kids under the age of 6 (I babysit my cousins 4 month old occasionally). But as soon as the sun started hiding behind the clouds and my cousin picked up baby, we went outside to play. The kids had a blast even though it was still really warm outside. Luckily my back yard is pretty shaded, but also kind of suck because there are tons of mosquitos out there. All in all it was a great day. Now all I have is the twins, Monster and Itty Bitty (I call them twins because they look so much alike, are often mistaken for twins, only difference is Monster is a lot bigger than Itty Bitty). Princess went to one grandma's house for the night and Monkey Man went to a different grandma's for the night. It is so peaceful here, the twins are in bed, and I actually have some free time before I am too tired to do anything. I forgot how nice it is to only have two but I wouldn't trade the four for the world.

The here and now

The past week has again been crazy with trying to get things set up for Monster, trying to get Princess set up in school, and just trying to keep things together. I am feeling better about Monster's diagnosis and am ready to face the challenge of getting services for him head on. At the very least I can feel good about the fact that I have already been through all of this and know the ropes. Of course my advocate and the lady from the county have been out all week so I am just playing the waiting game at this point. I am so not a patient person and hate to have to wait. But at this point that is all I can do.
I also have scheduled an appointment to get Monkey Man screened for ADD/ADHD. His attention just isn't there. I started noticing soon after his autism diagnosis but he was still young and I figured I would give it some time. But now it is becoming obvious that he is going to have to be put on meds if we want to continue with progress. His inattention is vastly hindering him and I know how much meds helped me out when I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 9. Even Monkey Man's therapists agree that it would be beneficial for him so now it is just another waiting game, his appointment isn't until Sept. UGH!!! But I did call another place to see if they can get him in sooner but they haven't returned my call yet.
Other than that, the children have been good. Today was a little bad but only because we were stuck in the house because of the rain.

Sad day :(

Today started out really well. We went out to my mothers to visit, do some laundry, and let the kids swim. Princess and Monsters mom came over to visit with the kids and brought over some paperwork that came from the place that evaluated Monster for autism. I opened it up and there it was. Monster has autism. Before receiving the diagnosis I could atleast tell myself that I was just being paranoid and that he was fine. Or even convince myself that when we got the results that it would say that he was ok and didn't have autism. But now I have it in black and white and there is no turning back now.
I honestly thought that I was ready to hear/see the word autism again but it hit me like a ton of bricks. My heart is heavy as I think about Monster's future and what it all means. Will he do as well as Monkey Man does or will he always function at the level he is at? Will he always require supervision or will he be able to live on his own? So many questions and only time can give me any answers.
When we got home today I came online to go to my online support group and discuss Monster with them and come to find out that one of the ladies (there is only about 20 of us) passed away. I didn't know her in real life but it still breaks my heart to know that her autistic son and husband will be without her. She was such a kind and caring person and will be sorely missed. She helped me out alot with her kindness and I never got the chance to re-pay her.
All in all it was a sad day with too much going on. Hopefully things will look better in the morning.

The Visit

Our visit with the case workers went well. I told them what was going on with Princess and Monster after visits with their mother and basically they told me to limit visits and try to get mom to only visit without her boyfriend. Since we all believe that the children are having a reaction to him and not to their mom.
Things have been good and I am thankful for the little break in all the commotion that has consumed our lives as of lately. It's nice to not have so many appointments, meetings, etc. Most people would think our normal everyday lives are extremely busy but weeks like this are great to me. Between all the kids we have around 30 hours of therapy a week, and Monkey Man has baseball once a week. That's alot to most people but to us it's everyday life. It's when there are other appointments and whatnot going on that it gets a little crazy.

Update

Itty Bitty's surgery went very well. His little silver teeth are just cute. When he came out of surgery he was very crabby but once he seen me, he calmed right down. After a bottle he was walking around and playing. No complications or anything and he is eating with those front teeth already. I'm so glad that we had it done and now we can focus on getting him bigger (he is so tiny).
Things here have been a roller coaster. I am so glad that last week is done and the big things are out of the way.
Yesterday Princess and Monster had a visit with their mother and last night wasn't good, again. Everytime they have a visit with their mom, they are up part of the night. With Monster, he starts whining in his sleep and I just go in there rub his back and give him his blanket and right back to sleep he goes. With Princess she is up crying and carrying on until I have her come and cuddle with me on the couch and then I have to make her a bed right by mine before she will go back to sleep. Poor kids. This only started when mom went back to her old boyfriend. I am beginning to think that there was much more going on over there than any of us knew. I don't think they like mom's boyfriend, I don't know what he was doing to them but they do not like him.
I have an appointment with the case workers this week and will let them know what is going on. I can only hope that they will not send the children back to that situation. I know they were talking about doing unsupervised visit's but hope they change their mind.
Other than that, things have been going good. The children are starting to settle down and are becoming accustome to how things are done (like bed time routine, etc). Hopefully we will know soon if Princess and Monster will be here for a while, cause if so than we need to find a different place. This one is ok but is pretty small for all the kids.

Surgery

Itty Bitty is in surgery right now to put caps on his front 4 teeth. Poor baby has been in surgery for an hour and a half aready and it looks like it is going to be atleast another half an hour. Stupid teeth, enamal didn't form correctly and now he has to go through all of this. So here I sit worried/scared out of my mind and all I can do is wait. I never had a child go through surgery before and honestly don't know what to expect. I post more later when we get home and he is settled.

The appointment

So I took Monster in for his autism eval today. It went well but at the end I found out it will take 3-4 weeks before we get the results. UGH!!!!! I asked the evaluator for her honest opinion and she told me that she was leaning towards pdd-nos. She said that she seen a lot of signs of autism but wasn't sure if he would fit all 6 criteria that is needed for an autism diagnosis but he fit into atleast 4-5 criteria so that's why she said pdd-nos. But she had to talk with the psychologist to see what he said then they would send me the results.
I am not a patient person when it comes to this kind of thing. I want to know now and hate that I have to wait atleast another month to get the answers. My sister (the good one) kept the other 3 while I took Monster to his appointment. When we returned she said she doesn't know how I do it. She was going crazy after only 3 hours. That actually felt good to hear.

The 4th of July

Yesterday was fun. Monster and Itty Bitty stayed with a sitter and me, Princess, Monkey Man, my niece and my friend and her daughter headed to down town to watch the fireworks. It was so crowded there so we hung back some so Monkey Man wouldn't get too overstimulated. The fireworks were beautiful until it started raining. The rain actually felt pretty good because it was so warm out last night. We started heading back as the rain started coming down a little harder. As we were going over the bridge, the rain started letting up and they were starting grand finale, so we hung out on the bridge and watched the last of the fireworks.
It was a nice night and the kids went to bed pretty quick after we got back home. I got next to no sleep before Monster and Itty Bitty got me up this morning but it was worth it.
Now today we are heading out to my parents house for a cook out and to light off some fire works. Hopefully we don't get rained out again.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The kids and I went out to my parents yesterday morning. Around 10 we went to the parade they were having in town. The kids had a blast getting candy and little toys that people in the floats were throwing. Monkey Man did so much better than I expected. He doesn't do well with loud noises, but did good with the band and fire truck sirens. It just goes to show how much progress he has made in the past 2 years.
My sister actually showed up to spend time with Princess and Monster. She took them to play outside. She actually spent like 3 hours with them.
Then for dinner we went over and visited an old family friend. We sat there until dark and watched the fire works. The neighbors must have spent a fortune on fireworks but they were all very beautiful.
Last night Monster was up off and on all night whining and crying. I'm not sure if it was because he went to bed later, wasn't feeling well, or because of the visit he had with his mother. Poor baby is just tired today.
Tonight we are supposed to go down town and watch the fireworks. Let's just hope that they don't get rained out.

If it's not one thing it's another

I took Princess to the doctor today to have them check out the wart looking thing on her wrist. When I first noticed it, it looked like a normal wart, but now a month later, it was red all the way around and huge. Well turns out it is just a wart and the red around it is the skin getting irratated because of how big the wart is. While we were at the doctor, they did a full check over. When the doctor listened to her heart, I noticed she was taken a long time listening. The doc then asked me if Princess ever had a murmer before. I said, no. Well I guess she does now. They said it's nothing serious right now, but they will have to keep an eye on it. Just something else to worry about!!!
This weekend is going to be crazy busy. We have a parade, cookout, fireworks and more fireworks. I hope the kids will have a blast and I will get a tan.

Typical

I know I should stop believing in my sister and take what she says with a grain of salt. But somewhere deep inside I am still hopeful that she will turn her life around and be a mom to Princess and Monster. She was supposed to visit again today and of course like always, she never showed up. It's just one excuse after another. It's been a week since she has seen them and will probably be atleast another week until she see's them again. I try my best to work with her schedule and let her see the children when she wants but I think I am just going to have to lay down some ground rules with her. Luckily I never tell Princess or Monster when their mom says she is going to visit because most of the time she doesn't show up and I don't want to make them feel as if they did something wrong to make her not want to visit that day.
We did have a great day though. We just stayed home all day and played. Auntie and cousin showed up and the kids had so much fun playing together. Monkey Man had a baseball game tonight. So me, Monkey Man and Princess went to the game, while the other two stayed home with a sitter (it was a late game and the little one's go to bed early). It was nice to spend some one on one time with Princess while we enjoyed the game.

UGH!!!

Princess and Monster's mom was supposed to come over for lunch. She never showed. She finally called around 6pm and said that she would be on her way after her and her new boyfriend dropped off his mom at her house. She lives about half an hour away now (she just moved yesterday). I kindly reminded her that Monster usually goes to bed around 7 and since she wouldn't be here until at least 645 that it wouldn't leave much time for her to visit. I asked her if tomorrow would be better and she agreed. So now the visit is scheduled for tomorrow. Well atleast it is supposed to be, she usually cancels and uses every excuse in the book as to why she can't make it. :(
Other than that we had a great day. My cousin, his girlfriend and their daughter came to visit today. We had a nice lunch and let the kids play in the back yard until the mosquitos started getting too bad. The kids played so nice together and they are supposed to come tomorrow afternoon and then we are going to walk to the park with the kids. It is supposed to be nice out tomorrow so it will make for a nice day.
Next week is going to be physically and mentally draining. Monday and Tuesday are pretty typical (just therapy for Monkey Man and Monster). Wednesday, I have to take Monster to get evaluated for autism. That in itself would be enough for a week but no there is more. Thursday I have to take Itty Bitty to have a his pre surgery physical done. Then on Friday is his surgery. He is having caps put on his 4 front teeth. The enamal didn't form correctly because of his birth mothers drinking when she was pregnant with him. Poor baby is still suffering the after effects of her poor choices. I just worry because I know there are additional risks when children are under the age of 2. He is only 17 months.
I just want next week to be done and over with already. I want to have answers as to whether Monster has autism or not. And I want Itty Bitty's surgery's to be in our past. I am already starting to feel anxious about everything and this week isn't even done yet. I am just trying to stay busy and not dread too much on it all. Wish us luck.

Only for today

Today was crazy busy but the boys had a blast, Princess is with her grandma for the night. We hung out at home this morning while Monkey Man had therapy and then Monster and Itty Bitty went and had fun with their aunt while I took Monkey Man to speech. When we were done we hung out with auntie and they had fun playing outside with their cousin. Then we came home to eat supper, bath time, then off to bed. Monster and Itty Bitty went to bed so easy tonight, I layed them down and haven't heard a peep since then. Monkey Man is about to get ready for bed then I think I will head to bed.
Tomorrow is going to be such a relaxing day compared to most. Monster and Monkey Man have therapy in the morning and then in the afternoon Monster and Princess's mother is going to come visit with them and have lunch. It should be a quiet day, I am hoping, but Monster tends to get very overstimulated when his mom comes to visit so I hope everything goes well tomorrow.

This past month

Its been crazy since Princess and Monster came back to live with us. Monkey Man gets 26 hours of ABA therapy a week and an hour of speech, Itty Bitty gets an hour of occupational therapy a week, and Monster gets an hour of speech and an hour of occupational therapy every week. That's a busy schedule. Add in the issues that the children came with (Princess has issues with trying to be the parent and control the other children, and Monster likes to throw anything and everything) but it is getting better.
We went to an autism meetup group tonight, that is sponsered by my tribe (we are Native American). It was great. Needless to say that only me and another girl showed up but it was the first meeting and what did you expect. I felt so bad for the other girl, her son was diagnosed and that was it. They didn't even point her in the direction to get her son some help. I told her of all the available resources in our wonderful state and hopefully she can start getting some help for her son soon. Poor girl has been trying to do everything on her own and she is pregnant with her second child.
The kids had a blast playing with the workers who kept them busy while we were having our meeting. They each got a stuffed toy from Toy Story. I can't wait until next month when they have another meeting, though I do hope more people show up.
I think it is safe to say that things are finally settling down and the children are getting used to living with each other. Somedays are hard but considering they are still all so young (5,4,2 and 1) things are going really well.

Introducing Itty Bitty

From the time my sister (mother to Princess and Moster) found out she was pregnant with Itty Bitty, she made the decision to adopt him to me. Considering I had custody of her other two children (Princess and Monster) at that point, I was elated but kind of scared of raising 4 children on my own. Of course the minute I saw him, I knew he was mine and the rest of it was just legal jumbo. He came a month early but did remarkably well. He came home on the 5th day. He was a more difficult baby. Early on there were tons of issues. At 1 month old he came down with cold like symptoms, so I took him in and found out he had Group B Strep, luckily antibiotics took care of it. Then at 4 months he was diagnosed with Plagiocephaly (mishappen head) and Torticollis (a muscle in his neck wasn't long enough so he only looked one way). That's when we started occupational therapy with him to help the Torticollis and helmet therapy to help the Plagiocephaly. Then came on the feeding problems (he had a super sensitive gag relex and a horrible suck relfex) so we stayed with the occupational therapist. He is now 1.5 years old and doing so much better. He is finally eating solids and doesn't have to be formula anymore. He is a bundle of energy and they are thinking that he too will be eventually diagnosed with pFAS but will wait until he is 2 to have him evaluated.

Introducing Monster

Monster came to me right from the hospital. He was a big baby and that is how he got his nick name. He is Princess's brother, my nephew. He was an awesome baby. He was content no matter what he was doing. Monster only ever really cried when he was hungry. When he was a couple months old he went back to his mother. He came back into care before he was even a year old. At the age of 1.5 I could tell something was up with him too. Monster was very behind in speech and was very with drawn from the world around him. I decided to give him some more time since he was still very young. He went back to his mother shorly after and I kept a watchful eye on him. I talked to his mother about my concerns last month and she made an appointment for him. Then he came back into care earlier this month so I will be taking him to his appointment that is early next month. I am thinking it may be autism but won't know for sure for another week and a half. He is now 2.5 and only says 10 words, is in his own world alot, doesn't socialize with other children, has sensory issues, etc. But we will see and if it is than we will seek help.

Introducing Princess

Princess is biologically my niece. She came to me when she was 9 months old. My sister is a severe alcoholic and at that point had 3 children. The older two live with my parents and always will. I remember when I got the call from the case worker asking if I was willing to take her in. I don't even think I hesitated before saying yes. At 9 months old she was a little ball of energy, she had the most beautiful blue eyes, and the softest little cry. When she first came, I thought, "Wow, am I ever gonna wake up with her if she starts crying in the middle of the night." But those motherly instincts kicked in and I would wake up everytime she moved.
By the time she was 2, I knew something was going on with her. Princess was extremely hyper so I chalked it up to being ADHD, it runs in our family, and didn't think much of it.
She ended up going back with her mom when she was 2.5 but ended up back with me before she turned 3. When she came back, it was like she never left. Things went back to normal.
Princess was diagnosed with pFAS, partial fetal alcohol syndrome when she was 3.5. It was devistating to hear that she would suffer for the rest of her life because her mother couldn't quit drinking while she was pregnant with her. A couple months after that Princess went back to live with her mom. I hated to see her leave because I knew she would be back in care before the year was up and she shouldn't have to be bounced around like that.
It wasn't until recently that she came back to live with me. And I couldn't be happier. She is 4.5 years old now, a bundle of joy, still has those bright blue eyes, and is a joy for the most part, though she does haver her moments. She may have pFAS but it doesn't have her.

Introducing Monkey Man

I was 20 years old when I found out I was pregnant with Monkey Man. He was born 11 days after my 21st birthday. I had always knew that I would be a mom one day and there he was. He was perfect in every way and I was so glad when I could bring him home. I became a single mommy when he was only a month old, but was content raising him on my own. Even from the beginning I knew he was different. Just his mannerism and his quirks. When he was 2, I had him evaluated for a speech delay and they told me, "Oh, he is a boy, he'll catch up." I let that statement keep me in denial for another year. I knew he was different, from the way he played with toys to the way he acted around other kids. Something just wasn't right. At 3.5 years old he was diagnosed with autism. That is when our whole world changed. After a couple of months I became OK with everything, things were falling into place. Monkey Man was starting speech and occupational therapy, getting screened for special education and was making some progress.
Monkey Man is now 5.5 and is doing remarkably well. He has been in a regular class room (with lots of supports), has been receiving 26 hours of ABA therapy, has graduated from occupational therapy, and still receiving speech therapy. He takes things literally, has some behavioral issues we are still working on, it still quirky, but he lives life to its fullest and has taught me so many things.