Guest guest Posted December 27, 2007 Report Share Posted December 27, 2007 Thank you The past few days, few weeks...have been hard for me to handle and that letter just broke open the flood gates to cry. I don't know what is wrong with Shane. The behaviors border on the bizarre...I don't know what is real and what he does just because he knows it pushes buttons. When his mind is occupied he seems to be okay with the 'things his mind tells him to do and he " can't help it " ' When he isn't occupied he does things like taking feces out of the toilet, or at least he tells me he does. He also wonders what the toilet water tastes like. I don't know if he is doing this now because he did it when he first had the vocal tics. I always react nonchilontly, I don't want him to see me upset about it for fear he will do it more. Yet other times he just cannot seem to help what he is doing. PLUS he is sick again! This child who never is sick has had something for the last month. He slept all of Christmas day with a 101.5 temp. He was only awake 45 minutes from 7am to 6am the next day. Then he was off the wall with behaviors all day with no temp just weak towards the end of the day. Today he complained of not feeling good after dinner and zonked on the couch for the rest of the night. What do I tell the doc? Of course there is the physical things and I should have a strep test again, but how do I say this is just not like him. I feel like something is really wrong. Whose realm is it. Why can't someone just help me fix this? Sorry unloading like this. My parents are in town and I cannot seem to keep it together. christine **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 27, 2007 Report Share Posted December 27, 2007 Thanks, . I did not see it either. It is particularly poignant at this time of year. It also gives me an idea...all of us should take the time to thank any of the teachers, teaching assistants, therapists, waiters, waitresses, bus drivers, store owners and anyone else we can think of who have helped our children throughout the year. Ellen Ellen Garber Bronfeld egskb@... Letter in the tribune Everyone... My boss told me about this...I was surprised I didn't see this posted anywhere so I thought I would share it with you...its not my story but that of a woman in Deerfield...you can find the original online... December 25, 2007 My son sat calmly at the Thanksgiving table this year, and I am grateful for that. His behavior has been volatile and erratic for months now, leaving me tense and anxious. Watching him wait patiently to begin eating, I thought of the people who have touched his life and mine for the last 15 years, the teachers and therapists, friends and strangers who have helped him, and guided me through the maze that is autism. I wish I could thank them all again, and tell them how much their commitment and devotion to has meant to me, as I've struggled to parent this exceptional child I so often do not understand. I'd thank his first bus driver, who gently took 's hand when he was just 3 years old, going off alone to a special classroom, two towns away. I'd thank again the teachers and aides who developed innovative strategies to engage him, finding his strengths and rejoicing in his victories, however brief or small. The therapists who encouraged me to seek 's best, to believe in his intelligence even when standardized testing indicated mental retardation. The staff of Northern Suburban Special Education District, whose dedication to always made me feel that he is their one and only student. I'd thank the strangers at the grocery store who understood when their cheerful greetings to this beautiful boy went unheeded, who did not stare while I pushed him through the aisles in a shopping cart when he was 14 years old or subdued a random tantrum in the parking lot. I would thank the students at Deerfield High School, who accepted as a peer, with all his idiosyncrasies, and my daughter's friends, who have supported her through the challenges she has faced with her special sibling. I'd thank the woman who comforted me recently as paramedics struggled to restrain my son after an aggressive outburst in a crowded restaurant, who held me while I cried and murmured repeatedly, " It will be all right. " And I'd say thanks again to Kimberlee Goldsmith, 's teacher for the last two years, who has remained committed to his learning, despite his increasingly alarming behavior, despite his growth now into a young man too large and strong for either of us to manage. She has never given up on him, has constantly sought the bright and loving boy she knows to be, even as his moods would swing wildly, as his aggression focused on her, as he injured her as she tried to help him. will not be at our Christmas table this year. He moved to a residential school in Wisconsin for developmentally disabled children and teens. I don't know how I will endure this, how I will let go of this child I love so deeply. But I believe this is his best shot at learning to manage his life as the young man he has become and achieving his highest potential. I've been told he is doing as well as he is due, in large part due to the support and commitment of those who love and work with him. So I thank them all again, those who have touched my son's life, and my own, who have supported us both through this unfamiliar journey. Thank you to them for loving , for encouraging me all these years, for telling me again that even a decision as heartbreaking as the one we are making now is the right one. **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Wow, that is a tear jerker. Who is the author? Is about Mike Royko's grandson? Nora **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 _http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0, 4088827.story_ (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0,40\ 88827.story) here is the tribune article link... **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Not sure but I don't think this one was...there was another printed about the Royko family not too long ago. There are SO many more extreme stories about the challenges of living with a loved with a disability! Ellen Ellen Garber Bronfeld egskb@... Re: Letter in the tribune Wow, that is a tear jerker. Who is the author? Is about Mike Royko's grandson? Nora **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 I just wanted to say that this is a beautifully written letter and thank you for writing it. I wish I had the ability to write like this. It so touched my heart. I know that I wouldn't have been able to make it through alot of my days without the help of everyone who works with my son and the support of friends and family. Thanks again for putting in words what is in my heart. -- Ann -------------- Original message -------------- From: nechapasi@... _http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0, 4088827.story_ (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0,40\ 88827.story) here is the tribune article link... **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Thank you for your kind words...Thank goodness we have each other and we can rely on each others strengths, knowledge and kindness to get us through the day! Ellen Ellen Garber Bronfeld egskb@... Re: Letter in the tribune I just wanted to say that this is a beautifully written letter and thank you for writing it. I wish I had the ability to write like this. It so touched my heart. I know that I wouldn't have been able to make it through alot of my days without the help of everyone who works with my son and the support of friends and family. Thanks again for putting in words what is in my heart. -- Ann -------------- Original message -------------- From: nechapasi@... _http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0, 4088827.story_ (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0,40\ 88827.story) here is the tribune article link... **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I was given a copy of this article before it was published. This is an amazing mom who articulated heart-warming gratitude and a heart-breaking decision. I admire her and grieve with her. I wish her and her family a peaceful New Year. I know our paths will cross at Starbucks in 2008. Pearson Administrator, ELS Program 847-831-5100 x416 jpearson@... On Dec 29, 2007, at 8:55 AM, nechapasi@... wrote: > _http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0 > , > 4088827.story_ > (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0,40\ 88827.story > ) > > here is the tribune article link... > > **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes > (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I know also and she is an amazing advocate and parent. I too admire her and I commend her on her strength and her decision to do what she feels is best for both and her family. Happy New Year to all the amazing people we have had the pleasure to " meet " through IPADDU. Your Co-moderators, Laurie, Marie and Ellen Ellen Garber Bronfeld egskb@... Re: Letter in the tribune I was given a copy of this article before it was published. This is an amazing mom who articulated heart-warming gratitude and a heart-breaking decision. I admire her and grieve with her. I wish her and her family a peaceful New Year. I know our paths will cross at Starbucks in 2008. Pearson Administrator, ELS Program 847-831-5100 x416 jpearson@... On Dec 29, 2007, at 8:55 AM, nechapasi@... wrote: > _http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0 > , > 4088827.story_ > (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-1225ledeletterdec25,0,40\ 88827.story > ) > > here is the tribune article link... > > **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes > (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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