Off the Beaty Path

  Differences with the boys and their autism indicators:     - Repetitive Behaviors / Stimming  ( Stimming, short for self-stimulatory behavior, refers to  repetitive, purposeless movements or vocalizations that individuals engage in ): Johnathan stimming when he was little was very noticeable as he often flapped his arms. He would do the same motions over and over again and was hard to redirect him. Charles, on the other hand, did not have physical stimming until much later. Most of his stimming when he was young was continuous sounds, such as humming or per random sounds. It wasn't until Charles was older that we began to see the arm flapping and flicking his fingers.     - Sensory Issues: Johnathan has always struggled with sensory issues since he was little. The first one that presented itself was he hated to have anything on his hands. 'Messy play' was not in his wheelhouse. Johnathan did not like to get anything on his hands and if he did it had ...

Our boys are opposites in many ways. I always use the analogy that Johnathan is an iceberg and Charles is a mountain. Many can easily list Charles' many great traits like his sense of humor, his care-free spirit, and his contagious laugh. Johnathan though is not as an easy read for people because so much stays 'hidden'. To have met Charles is to know him. He holds nothing back when he is talking with others (even if it's inappropriate for discussion). He is loud, talkative, and wants to be the center of attention. Charles wants to share his knowledge about everything he knows. He loves to please people and can often be talked into doing almost anything. He is a sponge for information and can't wait to tell you all about it. His catchphrase seems to be 'I saw it on my tablet' and he loves to watch videos about everything.   Johnathan, on the other hand, has a lot that lies below the surface. He is quiet, thoughtful, and takes a while to accept people. Due to ...

 We love to eat in our home and love to experiment with many different foods and recipes. When we learned Johnathan had autism we wondered what that would mean for Johnathan's eating habits. We had people tell us repeatedly that the foods Johnathan would eat, would be greatly limited. I had experienced other autistic students that had a very limited variety of foods they would eat. Other students had to eat a restrictive diet because certain foods could cause stomach irritation. Michelle: We were told that we basically needed to invest in hot dogs, peanut butter, and macaroni and cheese because that was the only things that Johnathan would eat. With both Jim and I being 'foodies' this was a great worry for us because there is not a whole lot of quality nutrients contained in those foods. I remember when we started introducing baby foods to Johnathan there wasn't much he wouldn't eat. Reflecting back on it now it was probably an indicator that just because others hav...

This is a little of a different post from us. This post was originally written in April 2020 and was post to Michelle's blog posts she wrote that year. The post talked about how we travel and ideas and strategies that helped us have successful trips with Johnathan. Please enjoy reading this past blog as we will be updating soon with new information of other places we have traveled and more ideas/strategies we have gained. People are amazed to find out how much we travel and how far we are able to travel with Johnathan with no issues. The secret to our great ability to travel is simple.  We started him traveling early and always plan before we leave for the trip.                         At least once a year we take the 12-14 hour car ride back to Western part of New York to spend time with Jim's family. The first time Johnathan went on this trip he was 2 months old. I'm sure for a lot of moms of little babies would never ha...

So in 2010 life was taking many different twists and turns as we prepared to welcome our second child while our first was being diagnosed with Autism. We tried to figure out what these new 'adventures' meant in our lives. We never really discussed what Johnathan's diagnosis meant to our family and if it would effect the way we would parent. When Charles was born in September of that year we became parents of two boys and we prepared to find our new normal. I'm not sure in that first year if we ever even talked about what we would do if Charles was autistic too. There were differences in the boys from the moment Charles was born. Johnathan always liked to cuddle and being wrapped in his blankets. He slept best held in the arms of a loved one and loved to nap. Charles was the opposite - he was not a cuddler and hated to be wrapped in a blanket. When we'd try to swaddle him he'd whine and move until he freed himself of the blanket. While thankfully he slept through...

 We live in a time where people are always talking about finding the proper work / home balance. As parents of two children that have additional needs has brought this balance to front and center of our lives. Over the years our jobs and duties have greatly affected our home lives and maintaining a balance. Jim: As I stated before when the boys were born I was working at a job that included a 3 hour commute every day. Many times that commute could be longer depending on accidents, construction, and/or weather. For the longest time I left before the boys were up and wouldn't get home until it was almost time for them to start getting ready for bed. I lost out on a lot of time with them and it took a toll of the bonds I was able to build with them. I worked hard to be the best at my job and put a lot of extra effort into everything I did. It took a lot of mental exertion and many days I would come home so drained it was hard to be at the best for my boys and wife. Michelle: While J...

How we got from his diagnosis to our current journey. As we said Johnathan was 3 when he received his educational diagnosis and a year later he received his medical diagnosis of autism. We have met and worked with many doctors and service providers over the years. Here is a overview of some of the services he has received: Johnathan had 4 months of early intervention services for speech and developmental therapy before turning 3. He then began attending an at-risk preschool for three years. He received occupational therapy, Speech, and ABA therapy while in attendance at the preschool. Unfortunately the school did not offer summer school services so for 3 years we searched for speech and OT services from outside providers. The first summer we went to our local hospital to continue Johnathan's speech therapy. This was a difficult experience as the therapist had a clinical student working with her. This student did not understand the structure of Johnathan's non-verbal tendencies ...