Orlando Part 1

As usual, I packed the night before and the morning of our trip. That doesn’t really bother me. I work best under pressure, or at least tell myself that. I prefer packing summer clothes because they take up less room. I actually remembered all the things I usually forget: Swim suits, swim diapers, plenty of toys and books for the plane and snacks for the plane.




I tried a new accessory this trip. I have seen Todd’s schoolmates’ parents use a backpack with what essentially is a leash attached to it. I know, I know. Autistic kids have a tendency to just “take off” and it’s hard to chase after them or physically keep them in one place when you’re also trying to juggle luggage and keep an eye on your other child. I thought I’d try it for this trip. It actually was very helpful. I initially tried to ignore the ugly looks and judgmental stares. There was one pair of women, appeared to be a mother and daughter, who exchanged smug smiles and I heard one of them say, “He’s going to choke on that,” even though the harness only goes over his shoulders. I should have said something bitchy to them, but I was in too good a mood. It really helped at the airports and at Magic Kingdom. It didn’t hurt him and he didn’t seem to mind it. I actually saw several children in similar restraints at Magic Kingdom.



There’s an episode of “Modern Family” where the family is going to Disneyland and the fathers of the youngest child break out a harness. Someone asks, “Is that a leash?” One dad answers, “No, it’s a child safety tethering device.” The other dad answers, “It’s a leash. Please don’t judge us.”



Midway Airport is about a 20-minute ride down Cicero Avenue from our home. The planes fly in very close to Cicero and make my kids giggle. My brother checked us in online, so when we arrived at Midway Airport, we went straight to security.



Now, I understand the TSAs have an important job to do. I’m not naïve to the fact there are terrorists out there who want to kill us all. That said, I have my doubts about the effectiveness of the TSA system. All I ever see at the airport are families with young children being harassed and old people, many in wheelchairs, being molested because their fake body parts set off an alarm.



I was happy to see some new rules. There was a sign that if you were born before this date in 1937, you don’t have to take off your shoes. That pertained to my dad, who was born in 1934. Also, children under the age of 12 no longer have to take off their shoes. This is great, because it was a huge pain in the ass to take off my own shoes and those of my two children, plus try to get all our stuff in the plastic bins, take out the laptop and put that in its own bin, take out the standard 3 3-oz. liquids in the ziploc baggie, separate the iPad, cell phone, etc. Old habits die hard, though. My 7-year-old kept trying to take off his shoes anyway, since I’ve trained him to do that for past vacations.



But, as usual, they had to scold me for something. The TSA complained that my kids weren’t holding their individual boarding passes. I got snippy at this point. “I have two special needs kids, one on a leash, six bags and you expect the kids to hold their own boarding passes? And this is important, why?”

Another Mom Blogger's Reaction

Another mom blogger's reaction to Morning Joe - found this on Twitter.

http://adiaryofamom.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/dear-joe/

All I can say is WTH, no, WTF

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/autistic-journalist-demands-joe-scarborough-retract-comments-linking-autism-to-aurora-shooting/

Article on Autism & Musical Talent

http://www.coastmusictherapy.com/articles/diagnosisautistic.html

Shameless Plug-"Into the Woods" for Charity

For those in the Chicagoland area:

This weekend, I will be performing with my husband and many friends in Sondheim's "Into the Woods."  Part of the proceeds of this production will benefit the Veterans' Outreach program in Oak Lawn, IL
Opening Night Arts Group proudly presents:
"Into the Woods"
Director/Choreographer: Cassie Dawe
Musical Director: Peg Mooney
Assistant Director: Kathryn Sullivan


PERFORMANCES

Friday, July 20, 2012 - 8:00 PM

Saturday, July 21, 2012 - 8:00 PM

Sunday, July 22, 2012 - 3:00 PM

Auditorium Theatre
A.A. Stagg High School
8015 W. 111th Street
Palos Hills, IL 60465

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for all performances are $20

$1 Discount for ONAG Members, Seniors & Students and Military Personnel with ID.

*Purchase tickets online for $20. Then any ONAG Members, Seniors, Students with ID and Military Personnel with ID will be given a $1 discount at the ONAG box office, after presenting the proper identification.*

Purchase tickets through our website (www.onag.org), through our hotline number: (708) 232-ONAG (6624) or contact our ticket coordinator, Barb, at blenihan@onag.org

Cast: 
Kristina Caputo (Cinderella), Matt Murphy (Jack), Kim Brines (Jack’s Mother), Brian Brady (Baker),
Sara Carlson (Baker’s Wife), Eileen Casey (The Stepmother), Lizzie Calombaris (Florinda),
Emily Lyons (Lucinda), Stephanie Seweryn (Little Red Riding Hood), Sara Martin (Witch),
Bebe Bollito (Cinderella’s Mother), Tim Casey (Mysterious Man), Vasily “Bill” Deris (Wolf), Jan Hood (Granny), Mary Quinlivan (Rapunzel), Don Fitzgibbons (Rapunzel’s Prince), Nick Shine (Cinderella’s Prince), Drew Dicksen (Steward), Allison Sokolowski (Snow White) & Leandra Ward (Sleeping Beauty)

July 14, 2006

Reflecting on six years ago.  It was an easy pregnancy, despite gestational diabetes and taking care of my other baby, Sean.  Sean was only 8 months old when I got pregnant again.  The baby’s gender was undetermined at the ultrasound because the cord was bunched up between his legs.  He hasn’t been that modest since! The doctor predicted it was a girl.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant, Tim said that if it was a boy, he wanted him to be named Todd, after Tim’s brother who died as an infant.  Personally, I like the name because of the complex character of Todd Manning from One Life to Live (and now General Hospital).  My Dad didn’t like the name because of Bill Murray’s character Todd, who was the boyfriend of Gilda Radner’s Lisa Loopner.  I figured kids of Todd’s generation wouldn’t be familiar with those characters anyway.

When he was about a week old, I took him for a check-up.  The pediatrician was concerned that he had lost weight, was listless and a bit yellow.  He had me go over to Hope Children’s Hospital to get Todd’s bilirubin checked.  Good thing we did.  He was seriously jaundiced.  He was also severely dehydrated.  I had been trying to breast feed him, but apparently my breasts don’t produce enough milk.  I’m a D cup, who knew? Todd and I stayed in the hospital for a week.  He was laid in what looked like a tanning bed with tanning bed type goggles over his eyes that he kept yanking off.  He really hated the IV, too.  They had to anchor it to his little arm with a splint because he kept pulling the needle out.

Of course I was still hormonal and blamed myself and my incompetent breasts for making my baby sick.  All that was put into perspective very quickly.

The only room Hope Children’s had for us was in the cancer ward.  Over that week, I was both heartbroken and amazed at the strength of these kids’ spirits, as well as their parents.  I spent time with several parents in the vending machine area, which was also the only place you could use your cell phone.  In that room are wall art tiles in honor of Hope cancer kids who made it and in memory of kids who didn’t.

In that area of the hospital, the visiting hours are very lax.  Both my family and my in-laws stayed late into the evening with us.  Several times that week I heard a “code blue” and it was so awful knowing it was for a little kid.  One night the nurse was late bringing me some formula for Todd.  She apologized saying, “one of my cancer kids has a nose bleed and that’s never a good thing.” I so admire people who work in that area of medicine.  I couldn’t do it.  I’d be crying constantly. 

Todd got better and we went home.  I was very grateful my child was otherwise very healthy.  Now he has autism.  He’s not suffering physically.  I worry about his future, but I know he has a chance at one. To this day, every time I drive past Hope Children’s, I say a prayer for the wonderful staff, parents and all the kids that are patients there.

We're not the only ones

Our sitter last night commented on Todd’s obsession with banging doors, cabinets, etc. She was curious if our neighbors have ever asked us about the noise or made any complaints.  I filled her in.

She previously told me about an autistic boy she babysat for many years. This child’s parents could not handle caring for him, so he was in the custody of his grandmother. She stopped watching him when he had to be moved to a group home as a teenager. Physically he became too much for his aging grandmother to handle.

Anyway, after I told her about our neighbors, she told me about how the grandmother’s neighbors would call the police all the time. The boy was not only noisy with banging like Todd, he was also a screamer. I can understand initially a neighbor not understanding the situation and suspecting abuse and calling once, but after knowing the reason for the noise and screaming…to keep calling the police? What is with people?

My sitter said the grandmother’s response to police was the same I usually give, “What more can I do?” I want to meet this grandmother someday so I can give her a big hug.