Wow It's Been a While

Cassidy is getting so tall and beautiful. I'm crazy about her. She draws a lot. I had to get her a dry erase board and markers. Otherwise lots of trees would die.

Super Powers

The other day we discovered that Cassidy can say the alphabet backwards, flawlessly and without hesitation between letters. She can also sing it just like the regular alphabet. She ends it in "now I know my ZYX next time will you sing with next."

A few months ago we figured out that she can tell time. No one taught her either of these things. I cannot say the alphabet backwards now let alone when I was 6. I couldn't tell time until 3rd grade and I thought it was difficult.

Nathan, Cassidy's wonderful brother taught himself to tell time by himself around her age.

I am always in amazement over Cassidy's super powers.

Posted on the Flaming Lips Message Bored...I am posting as Marvelous Sparkle

Tasty Yumyum

December 03, 2005 08:48 AM December 03, 2005 01:48 PM
It is fairly common right now for kids with developmental disorders to get slapped with the autism/aspergers tag, whether they are or not (which remains to be seen). Back in the day, they weren't labelled with anything other than "crazY' or "retarded" and ended up in institutions. The adults who were lucky enough (sounds silly, but true) to get labelled as autistic actually ended up in group homes like the one that I work in.There will certainly be more autistic adults 20 years from now than there are today (actually, there will be more people LABELLED as autistic....the numbers will probably be aboot the same).Thanks Sparkle.



The Marvelous Sparkle!!

December 03, 2005 10:23 AM December 03, 2005 03:23 PM
Tasty, I strongly disagree. Back when I was a child my family's circle of friends included not one child labeled crazy or retarded. This also includs my entire extended family. My mother is one of 13 kids and I have TONS of cousins. I had one with Epilepsy but that was it.Only within the small group of friends I have there are now six autistic children. People labelled retarded also looked different. I am not talking about Downs. Autistic kids look like any other kid.

I do agree that it was most likely misdiagnosed back then but I do not think there were anywhere near as many. Although it is also true that many kids with developmental disorder may be thrown into the BROAD spectum of autism "spectrum" disorder there are clear behaviors that run as a common thread through these kids.

You know autistic adults because you work with them. Do you know any as friends, co-workers, family...? Cassidy's (my daughter) generation will grow up with autistic people all around them commonly.I am not just parroting what I read. I am speaking from observation. If it continues to be thought of in such a way that nothing has changed outside of diagnoses, this disability will not be treated with the urgent attention that it needs.I am not pointing my finger at any cause...but something IS causing this and it is real.

Summing Up/Email to a Friend

I sent this email to some friends today. They have a boy one year younger than Cassidy that was just recently diagnosed with Autism. I just found out about his diagnosis over the weekend. I feel scared and sad thinking back over all I have been through and what they will be going through. I offered this advice to them. It kind of sums up my struggles for the last year.

This is the Blog I keep on Cassidy and what I have gone through in the last year to help her. There are stories and information and links that might be useful to you.

Start in the February archives scroll to the bottom and roll up to read it in chronological order. I think you will seriously benefit from reading my struggles.

http://www.lotusgroup.biz/

This is where I take Cassidy to the Psychiatrist. She sees Dr. Sheila Irick. You may tell the woman at the Lotus Group that you know Cassidy. They will remember her more than me. They are all crazy about her. They will be able to see him within a week or 2 at the most.

Phone Number: 595.5555
They are in Fishers off of 116th street and Ashland.

For information regarding placing him on the Autism Waiver waiting list in Indiana, contact BDDS Central Office at BDDSHELP@fssa.state.in.us or call 800-545-7763. DO IT ASAP! If you need any help with this call me but get to it today if you can. The waiting list can be up to 7 years. Call that number and they can tell you what to do.

Things not to bother wasting your time, effort and money on are CHELATION, gluten free sugar free diets and bitching over vaccination shots, behavioral therapy...none of these things work or help and can just frustrate you more. This isn't about DIET, unless he is diagnosed with a dietary problem. IT IS A CHEMICAL DISORDER IN HIS BRAIN!

Your best help is the cheapest...your public schools.

Conference

I went for a conference with the teachers, therapists and assistant at Robinson and was blown away by their egerness to help Cassidy. At first I thought they were going to put her into a special education class and try to wean her into the regular Kindergarten.

But after they reviewed her EIP from the Spring they wanted to start her off in regular Kindergarten. I couldn't believe it. I had to beg Shenandoah to give her a chance in regular Kindergarten and these people were insisting that she start there. She was given a personal assistant in the class and would continue receiving occupational therapy and speach therapy.

They acted excited to have her and assured me that I could find a school as good but not better than theirs in Indiana. They were all so great I was close to crying tears of joy and relief.

With Cassidy's new medicine I knew she would do fine. I couldn't wait for her to start school there and either could she.

Letter I sent to Shenandoah.

Linda McGalliard,



Cassidy and Nathan Atkins will not be coming back to Shenandoah this fall. I have relocated to Anderson and will not be able to send them there. I thought I should tell you since Cassidy is a "special needs" child and you were going to have to get her an aid. That will no longer be necessary.



The school was very hesitant to take her into Kindergarten, did not offer special education programs and would have had to send her all the way to New Castle. I cannot drive her there and she cannot take a bus that far.



Her bus driver last year, Dianne was unwilling to drive her to school. I had to take her every day. I cannot do that every day to New Castle. I got the feeling she wouldn't have been welcome at Shenandoah very long from the attitudes at my last meeting with the staff.



Anderson has more to offer her. It is sad because Nathan was so happy there.



Thank you,



Kim Atkins

(Cassidy's Mother)


ps. Please let Kathy Miller know and thank her for all of her support.

New School!

I went to the Anderson School Corporation Administration building today and talked to the Special Education Department. It was very cool. They are not sending Cassidy to Erskine at all.

Nathan will be there but they will send Cassidy to Robinson, which is just up the street from where I work. It's an all-day/5 day kindergarten with only 6 kids. Half of the class is autistic. They will be trying to slowly move her into a regular kindergarten class.

I register her the Monday the 15th. I feel very relieved that I have a good place to send Cassidy. A bus will pick her up and drop her off at my door just like in Daleville (short bus).

This arrangement with Cassidy takes a serious amount of pressure off of me. Cassidy needs some more help before being forced into a regular class. The drugs are making a huge difference but she had no school all summer and that was hard on her. This will gently ease her back into school.

She has a good school now and a great doctor...I feel like I can finally breathe.

Seroquel and School

It's been over a month now since Cassidy started taking Seroquel. The difference in her is amazing. She sleeps through the night now EVERY night. I no longer go to bed wondering what kind of fight I am going to have on my hands.

Her fits have subsided greatly. They are not gone. She still has them now and then but it's becoming more rare and they don't last as long or seem as violent.

Her ability to communicate has improved. She can focus better which has made it easier for me to help teach her how to read and write.

After talking to Miss Kathy on the phone last month, I felt sick about sending her to Shenandoah. I felt they were just waiting for any excuse to kick her out. They told me, "this is the first time we have ever had to deal with something like this." Hold on to your hats Shenandoah because there will be more and they will probably be more difficult that Cassidy. However, I don't want her to be the "first time they have ever had to deal with something like this."

I have relocated to Anderson and will be sending her to Erskine Elementary. Even though it is a regular elementary school there are many other autistic children there. I have not talked to the staff of the school about her "special needs" yet but I don't think she will be received with so much dread as she was in Middletown.