We passed and now SUMMER!

Z is going to Second Grade! Little E is going to be a First grader! These boys are doing so well, I couldn't be prouder.
Yes, Z still struggles but he's doing fantastic!
Yesterday he insisted on reading to me the card attached to his gift given to him in class, I was so tickled to hear him.
But with all this goodness I am already stressing with next year.
He gets over stimulated for the first 2 weeks or so when school starts.
Will he get yelled at?
Will a cafeteria worker insult him again?
Will someone who has no idea whats wrong or going on in his head get in his face?
Will they label him trouble?
YES, this is what I go through every new school year, even every summer.
I know the outcome will be okay but I still am such a worrier..such a mommy.
I guess I will have to be up there for 2 weeks in the beginning huh?
Am I crazy for wanting to do that?
Nah just a mom who wants to keep her baby's spirit intact.
Which brings me to this.
I can tell when Z is just being spoiled or honestly having a hard time.
Nick and I learned to read him quite well from age 3.
If he's being a toot, he gets punished like any other child.
If we see he's overstimulated, we jump in and redirect his behaviour, try to help him.
We don't let him just do what he wants because of a diagnosis, if we did that we'd have a hot mess in our hands...don't you agree?

Little by little

Z is almost done with First grade and Little E is almost done with Kinder.
Having two boys is tough....having one with AU and one with Articulation is even tougher!
But everyday I count my blessings. Z is in General Ed classes and doing well, he struggles but doing well.
Today he walked into the room where Nick was watching "Adventures of Barron Munchausen" or something like that...I know I totally butchered that title.
Well Z stood there watched for a second and then asked "Can we watch Spongebob Dad?"
Nick replied "I'm enjoying this Z."
Then Z replied "But this movie is lame."
WOW!
To many having their 6 year old say this is no biggie.
For us this is HUGE!
Nick ran over to me in the next room to tell me.
We both giggled like school children and just sat there...soaking everything in.
It's been tough...it still is tough.
But were working hard with him and Little E, and they are blossoming...oh so blossoming.
Feels like yesterday he was still being tested, me in a corner crying because I felt like they were studying my baby like some kind of lab rat.
Wondering if he would ever talk?
Would he ever make friends?
Crying myself to sleep at night, never letting my babies see me cry.
Now look how awesome he's doing!
God is good, we are blessed.
He has friends, he's talking, he's progressing slowly but surely.
If you have a little one, just hang in there.
Work hard to help them, work with your school, therapist and Resource teachers.
All together wonderful things happen, as a team we can open our kids up.
It's like my dear friend told me when Z was 3 and freshly diagnosed.
She said "Liza, Z is a beautiful child with a beautiful heart he will go far."
"Work hard and one day you'll watch Pandora's box open right before your eyes and be surprised what you'll find inside."
You know she was right.

From here

I decided to write this blog because since my boy's diagnosis because I at times felt alone.
Like I was the only mom in the world who's child wasn't talking, playing with others or just down right uninterested in anything.
I tried to keep with this blog from how it all began, what we did to help Z to now.
But to be honest it's hard.
Why?
Time goes so fast moves at a speed that I can't seem to keep up with what I did. So I will stick to the now.
How and what we are doing to help him and his brother as of this moment, as a 6 year old Z and 5 year old E.

So here's were I begin.

E is doing well in school, he loves it beyond measure! Nick and I swear if he didn't look like a mini Nick we would most certainly have thought E was switched at birth. Both Nick and I were not the biggest fans of school.

Z is doing well. He's come far for a child who struggles with so much.
We recently put him in resources for reading and are hoping all will go great.
He truly is doing so much better now than he was in the begining of the school year.
Though we still struggle with over stimulation and his attention span from time to time and I find myself stressing, especially if I'm in a situation like a birthday party and Overstimulation kicks in and I'm going at it alone without Nick.

Advice given to me by mom.
**Don't stress! Z can feel that. Keep calm and he'll keep calm, take a deep breath and help him, don't let him see your anxiety.***

Thanks mom I will take this advice 100%.
Because as mom's were only human and we do tend to stress when the "Overstimulation" hits.
But we also have to remember were not the only ones who struggle with our kids...ALL kids have bad days, we just have to remember that.

Could do better.

I truly could do better keeping up with this blog.
Holidays are truly a stressful time for me.
Z gets over stimulated during this time of year. For Nick and I it's a happy/sad time.
We're happy he "gets" Christmas, Sad he gets overstimulated with it.
This year he's not hyper, he's zoned out. His teachers are trying to help him and I'm always nervous he won't go back to his old self. Though I'm told he will I still worry.....cause I am a major worry wart and I'm a mom.
His PPCD teacher that he had when he was 4 told us a few things we could do to help him out.
I will share them with you.

Tone down your decorations.
Try not to keep your tree lights constantly blinking.
Put them back on a visual schedule (velcro picture kind of schedule, something visual)
Keep things simple, keep things calm.

Anyone who knows me knows that keeping things simple and keeping things calm is tough.
I run all over the place.
But I try to keep our same schedule at home as much as possible no matter how crazy the holiday is AND................. I try not to lose my temper and hold him when he's frustrated.

I truly enjoy the holding part.

Don't know where to go

I started this blog to help others in my situation.
Give ideas on to help the little ones find words, confidence, their voice.
I haven't done such a great job and alot of it is because I find myself wanting to go in two different directions.
I want to give ideas then I want to tell you how I felt....feel.
Having children with any sort of disability is hard and it takes a stong person to make sure their child gets all they need to help them grow.
Bad enough our children don't come with manuals, and now we have a little something more to deal with.
So I think it's best to do both.
Just let it all out there from non-verbal kiddos, crafts, motorsensory issues,
overstimulating holidays, bullies or Really mean kids that aren't quiet mean enough to be a bully.

Right now were dealing with these overstimulating holidays.
Z isn't quite all himself this time of year.
Can't keep his concentration, emotional and all around well like I mentioned before, Not himself.

I've been researching to see what I can do to help him.
Last year was the first time we dealt with holidays overstimulating him and I haven't found a plan to go by just yet.
I just try to keep my patience when the tears flow and my arms open when he needs to jump in.

Though I don't much mind the holding part, who know's how much longer I have until he think's hugging mom is "Not cool."

Where did it come from?

My friend asked me.... why the title "To Catch a Bird?"

Simple.

Deb, my mother in law said we really should write down the activities we did/do to help the boys.
Nick and I were discussing what she said on the way home and he said, he didn't know how we'd start it but he know what we would title our writings.
"To Catch a Bird."

He said having children who were non-verbal was tough.
Teaching them to talk was tougher, as tough as trying to catch a bird.

I loved it, so I used it.

It made me tear up, but we have our little birds by the feathers, just need a bit more to pull them down.

Cookie Cutter.

Okay my dear friend and I found ourselves saying this term more than once.
"cookie cutter."
"Our kids are not cookie cutter and that's A-Okay."
Both our children are Receptive-Expressive.

We know the hard up's and down's but we don't give up.
We are our own self-proclaimed "Mommy Warriors."
Here that Miss. Winfrey, there are tons of us EVERYWHERE!

And it brings me to this.

Just because our kids are not "Cookie Cutter" doesn't mean they can't achieve it all.

While watching a football game with my hubby and father-in-law I heard something that made me do a double take and make my ears grow ten times larger!
I had to soak in all the info I was hearing.

A NFL quarterback, Nate Davis who has such a severe learning disorder was there, right there playing NFL ball.
This non-cookie cutter guy is a pro player.
He learned his plays by looking at special pictures.
I was floored....PICTURES!!!
How many of us are doing that like right now with our kids!?
WOW! That could be any one of our babies.
OUR BABIES!!!

Okay so your reading this thinking...ppfffttt.
I don't want an NFL player.
Well he/she can be a doctor, diagnostician, lawyer.....anything!

That's what I tell Z & E everyday.
They can do anything!!
I constantly tell them "Your brain is so wonderful...I love your brain!"

I get those toothy grins and you know, they know it. They know they have it, they just need a little extra "pictures" to look at to help them along the way.

Here's the link if you want to read more.
And mom's and Pop's don't give up, work with them, they will surprise you.

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/09/03/49ers-qb-nate-davis-embraces-his-learning-disability-earns-nfl/