SERVICE DOG FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY

The last half of 2021 has been HARD you guys. We’ve lost four family members since the beginning of October. Six people total, if we include friends, since July.

I’ve had these great ideas for fundraising…most of the supplies are still sitting on the rocking chair ten feet from me. But here we are at Giving Tuesday and I haven’t been able to pull much of it together.

So, if you would consider us for a donation on Giving Tuesday (or any other time) we’d appreciate it.

Paws 4 Autism is a not for profit group that trains and places special dogs with special people. We rely completely on the fundraising efforts of our member families to continue providing dogs to families that make some of the biggest differences you may NEVER see.

For instance, you may not see my son have a panic attack when he’s in new and unfamiliar situations. You may not see another of my sons melt down in the hall at church.

What you’ll probably see is a bond between these pups and their people that looks sweet, but is just so much more than that.

We were lucky. Bandit and JJ matched while we were fostering Bandit during training. This allowed JJ to find his dog much sooner than we expected, but we haven’t met our fundraising goal yet. What that means, though, is that ALL of the money we raise, goes back into the program and is directly responsible for helping more families find that missing piece that makes all the difference in their quality of life.

All funds raised this holiday season will be matched (uptown $2,000 per family) by a generous donor. It’s an amazing opportunity to make any donations we receive go twice as far.

If you want to make a straight donation, that can be done on JJ’s page, here:

JJ’s Donation page

BUT, I will also have a holiday ornament fundraiser featuring pet themed sayings as well as snarky sayings for 2021, so please watch for that.

Thanks for stopping by, and please, feel free to share so we can try to get this opportunity in front of as many eyes as possible this holiday season ❤

XOXO

Alta and JJ

That Time I 3D Printed Pipes for my Bathroom…

This statement is technically true, but maybe not in the way you think.

One of my absolute favorite things to do as an artist, is to create something that starts out looking one way – like paper, for example – and then working to make it take on some realism.

I’m trying to take those ideas and skills with me into 3D printing.

You may remember, we used 3D printers for some of our Paws 4 Autism fundraising for Bandit, JJ’s autism service dog. We made ear savers and 2020 Toilet Paper ornaments to commemorate the year (those are still both available).

But when I’m not busy printing for fundraisers, my printers get used for other things. Things that might be helpful around the house.

We’ve been redoing our hall bathroom upstairs. It has a kind of an ocean theme, but one that’s very easily removed so we can go a different direction if we ever choose to. This bathroom is the one that got the light switch I printed that had gears.

Well. We needed a hand towel holder and a TP holder. So I printed pieces that look like and fit together like pipes we could use for this.

We went from this

To This

To this

I used gray PLA filament. This is the same type of filament I used for the ear savers and the 2020 TP ornaments. It took some time to print, and I had to reprint a few pieces to get the right sizes for my needs. But you can see that they were individual pieces that actually threaded together. I bought the file online, and the designer did a great job with these. There are so many ways to mix and match to get what you need.

So then the next magic step began. The pieces required a couple of priming passes, a couple of coats of copper colored paint, and an oxidation spray. A lot of people sand between primer coats and painting coats, but I wasn’t going for a smooth, shiny, flawless look.

And we ended up with these.

So, there you have it. I 3d printed pipes for my bathroom 🙂

And while you’re here, I’ve got some other 3D printing fun to share in the next couple of days. It will be the next fundraiser for JJ, Bandit, and Paws 4 Autism. So don’t forget to come back 🙂

As always, if you’d like to donate to JJ’s fundraising page, you can find it here: Help JJ

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Adding Dyslexia to the List of Things that Makes My Son’s Life Interesting

We got a dyslexia diagnosis for JJ this week.

So I’m having a moment and processing it through writing. But this is just one more reason a dog will be helpful for JJ to be able to go back to school. One less thing he’ll have to worry about and he can feel safe focusing on the actual learning.

I looked into the reading and writing method that was recommended at JJ’s eval the other day. It’s a structured literacy program that works very well to help kids with dyslexia learn to read and write in a way that’s working with their brains.

 

It’s just another $3500 or so 🙄 So on top of this new cost and the cost of homeschooling and the fundraising for his dog, we’ll need to come up with close to $25,000 so he can access his FREE education safely and NOT fall behind.

 

After our experience trying to get an IEP after our autism diagnosis I don’t think we would have gotten any additional help with the dyslexia either. He was denied an IEP in first grade after his autism diagnosis, because they “didn’t see it” (the autism) and he wasn’t doing badly enough. However, he was struggling socially BIG TIME, and that was the main bulk of what I was asking for help with, and the language arts class because *I* knew already how hard aspects of language were for him. But, we were told no.

 

For our dyslexia diagnosis, our evaluator said his skills were scattered and it wasn’t a clear cut and dry case, but the dyslexia was there.

 

Knowing that the school used a very narrow, literal definition of autism to exclude my son from additional supports, I wouldn’t expect them to “see it,” with this diagnosis either and allow any additional supports. Although, I’m sure we could expand his 504 to add in a few more things. Unfortunately, a 504 is about as successful as a restraining order when someone wants to hurt you. Both only work if everyone involved cooperates. That hasn’t been our experience. And there’s very little recourse if the 504 isn’t followed because the burden of proof is on the parents’ shoulders and we’re not there to witness things in person.

 

Also, many of these tests are out of pocket. Insurance does NOT cover them. Their justification: it’s an academic issue, the schools should be taking care of this, you paid for it with your taxes. So families are left to come up with the money to have their kids tested when the schools either a) fail to test them, or b) “don’t see it” but as a mom, you KNOW there’s more going on.

 

And guys, the testing isn’t cheap.

 

So, here’s my take away.

 

1. Access to a FREE public education is NOT free for my special needs son, unless I don’t care that he’s getting bullied (physically, verbally, racially), or being left behind academically when he’s capable of more – which I do.

 

2. I’m so glad we made the decision last year to start homeschooling. I think my son would have fallen through the cracks. Now I just have to figure out how to teach my son in a way that works best for him, which is no easy feat. If I can afford a tutor that knows how to teach him, great. If not, it’s on my shoulders and both options involve a stress on my bank account.

 

3. Our school district has a wide range of people, I think. From those living VERY modestly to those on the other end of the spectrum. I believe our area covers a lot of different people and situations. So I don’t believe we’re a “rich” district or even a “poor” district. I think we we have a lot of variation. But I do believe we actually have the resources our special needs kids need if the gate keepers of those resources would authorize their use.

 

If it’s this hard for me to get my special needs son resources that our district has available…what about the moms and kids in districts who don’t have these same resources available?

 

I may have to fight for my son to access resources at the school level, but at least we have them.

 

What happens to the children in schools with less resources? How are they supposed to access resources that aren’t actually available?

 

They can’t.

 

And these same moms, how are they supposed to be able to come up with the money for independent evaluations?

 

I believe there’s brilliance in the upcoming generations and we’re losing so much of it.

 

I believe that I’ll be able to find a way to help my son find his wings and soar within his limitations, even without the school’s help. But the loss of that future brilliance and societal contribution, those kids that could change the world for the better if they didn’t fall through the cracks…who’s going to help them?

 

 

Thanks for stopping by

xoxoxo

If you’d like to read more about JJ’s story, you can go here Help JJ

We’re also selling ear savers to use with your mask if you find yourself needing to wear one. All the proceeds go to JJ’s fund raising. You can find the blog post here

Ear Savers for JJ there’s also a link on his fundraising page for these. It’s a gray box above his story.

 

 

Autism and Touch

In case you don’t know, touch can be different for people on the autism spectrum.

It can range from physically painful, to uncomfortable, to almost not feeling at all.

My 7yo falls kind of in the middle, with some tendencies toward not feeling physical things as much. He’s considered high functioning on the spectrum.

It’s a strange world for him. He WANTS the hugs and affection, but at the same time, it makes him uncomfortable.

I’ll ask him to come sit next to me on the couch and put my arm around him to snuggle. He’ll lean closer, but doesn’t melt into me. He stays kind of stiff. And he never initiates.

Except today…

While we sat side by side at church, he threaded his arm through mine to link our arms. Then he tentatively laid his head against my shoulder.

This might not seem like a big deal, but it was ❤️ He still struggled with the closeness and how much he should lean in and how completely he should let his head rest on my shoulder.

BUT HE DID IT!

I’m so grateful for those tender moments and hope I’ll never be too busy to appreciate them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Xoxo

Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

Our foster son (soon to be adopted- yippee!) just met with the Developmental and Behavioral clinic today. I’m sure you can guess from the title, we received an autism spectrum diagnosis. To be more specific, Autism Spectrum Disorder with Global Delays with Speech Impairment.

We knew we had some delays. He’s been in physical therapy since he was three months old.

We knew he had speech delays. He’s been in therapy for that for the last seven months or so.

He’s pretty caught up in PT, but still lagging behind in speech. Although, I believe his receptive speech isn’t too far off target. But his expressive is still significantly behind.

They gave us a severity level of 2 – or moderate…

We figured something was up. Knew this was a possibility. But I kind of expected a mild case (a 1) if we received any diagnosis. So this 2 is kind of throwing me a little. I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was to hear the words.

I’m pouring over the stacks of papers they sent home with me and have barely scratched the surface.

I’ve called and texted numerous people to give them updates since they’re involved in the case. I think I remembered everyone…

And with that done,  I’m now dealing with hearing the words and what it means for our family. What it means for my son. And what I keep coming back to is the fact a whole world of resources and help just opened up for us.

Obviously no one WANTS a diagnosis that complicates things. But we don’t get to choose. My daughter didn’t want a epilepsy. My sons didn’t want ADHD. Depression and anxiety? Nope. My kids didn’t want those either. Migraines? Scoliosis? Please. But you know what? We have them. We live with them. We manage and thrive with them whenever possible. Sometimes we win, other times we take a small break before getting up and trying again.

This diagnosis is no different. And there’s help to learn and manage our stumbling blocks.

I didn’t have access to that support before today.

My brain thrives on information and I have access to it. How wonderful is that? We’re so blessed to live in this time of medicine. I’m grateful to be in this moment when there is more help for my son than ever before.

We’re hoping that with time, the early interventions already in place, and adding more services specifically for this leg of the journey, we’ll be able to help him move from a moderate level to a mild level. There are no guarantees, but we’re going to do our best.

WE ARE SO BLESSED.

Crafting and Speech Therapy

My littlest kiddo is developmentally delayed. One of the delays is speech. The evaluation report used big scary words like “severe” and “profound deficits” in describing his delay.

At about 16 months old, his skill set was equivalent to that of a 3-6 month old.

So we’ve been doing speech therapy. He’s making progress even though it’s kind of slow going, but we have great people with great ideas and experience to back him up 🙂

We’ve introduced signs, and he’s starting to get the hang of things now that he’s realized that communication makes his life better 🙂

In addition to signs, we have pictures. The idea behind these is that he exchanges the pictures of the things he wants for the actual things he wants.

The therapist had a good system that worked for her when she’s working with kids, but it wasn’t as quick and easy as my situation needed. I needed something easy to get to and easily portable.

This is what I came up with 🙂

I have things he knows the signs for, as well as words we’re starting to work on. I’ve also included family members’ pictures so we can add signs for their names, too.

I used my Silhouette program and machine to size and cut the pictures then laminated them. Lastly, I punched a hole in the corners and slid them on a binder ring. This ring is then attached to my belt loop. Easy to carry, always at our fingertips and I can continue to add pictures as necessary.

My hope is eventually, he’ll be speaking verbally. If he can’t, signs are good, too. The pictures are a good starting place for both and a good back up for him.

Thanks for stopping by!

Xoxo