Will's Got Skillz

Despite all the craziness that we are currently going through with Will, he's doing some pretty amazing stuff too. Check it out:

Of all the boys, I think Will most enjoys watching Jonathan play the guitar. I caught Will plucking away at the strings all on his own. He had been singing each note he plucked.. at least until I turned the camera on (naturally)

Michelle found a really cool website that has an alphabet game that Will can enjoy without very much assistance from us. It's so neat to watch how focused he is on the letters. That horn growing out of his forehead is a reaction to a mosquito bite.

Because of the boys' intense therapy program schedule throughout the summer, we thought that making our backyard a fun place to be, might offset their hard work with some great play at the end of the day. All the boys love this monstrosity, and Will especially so.

Random Pics in May

May was a busy month for us. Who am I kidding.. every month is busy for us. Uncle Phil was out here with a buddy to work on some things around the house. It was cheaper to fly him out here than it would have been to attempt to find any tradesmen in Calgary who wouldn't rip us off. His visit coincided with Auntie Boom's and we had a fun time with her for a few days. Michelle (my cousin) joined our family on May 8th. She's here until mid-August to work with the kids and generally help us keep our heads above water. Granny arrived within a day of Michelle and we enjoyed a nice visit. Granny was able to be here for Jake's actual birthday, then Nonna & Pop followed after and were here for Jake's party at the end of the month. It was a busy month, but lots of fun. Enjoy some random pics..

the boys were so happy to have both Auntie Boom & Uncle Phil here at the same time

I'm sure no one else is interested, but I thought it was pretty cool that I managed to catch a photo of this hummingbird, caught in a moment of rest before he buzzed off again

love this shirt purchase

Poppa saying good-bye to Will. This is Will's latest 'obsession'. You can't give one kiss without following through with twenty while counting aloud.

just a random big-horned mountain sheep we saw near Longview

family pics on Jake's birthday

Will has been stealing people's sunglasses lately. This one with Aunt Sally is especially cute

Granny enjoying the view at Lake Minnewanka

If you look very, very closely, you might be able to see the often-hidden mammal grazing in the deep woods

Graze, Michelle! Graze!

This might look silly to you.. but we could not stop laughing. While Carol stood in the middle of the road that borders Banff Springs Golf Course to pose for this picture, cyclists and one car full of young guys drove by and shouted "nice picture lady!!!" -not realizing that her arm was stuck out at the odd angle to pretend she was petting the elk that the guys could not see yards away from her.

Friendship & Birthdays

These posts are long overdue. I have so much to catch up on and so little time.

I wanted to share some snippets at Jake's 6th birthday celebration from last month. He was spoiled rotten (as usual). On his actual birthday, he invited friends, Ella & Joshua out for lunch at Boston Pizza followed by some fun at Rucker's - like a small Chuck E. Cheese, minus Chuck E. and minus the cheese. Michelle joined me on our fun adventure.

Jake poses with Josh and his cool new gift

Ella spoils Jake with some spy gear - his latest phase of favourite things

she's just so cute, I can't resist posting her photo

these three had so much fun at lunch. They couldn't stop the giggles

Someday he's going to kill me for this one..

HUGE birthday cake. It fed everyone at the table. Admittedly, I did take the photo from a funny angle to exaggerate its size, but it really was huge.

Later at Rucker's.. there were a million games and all the kids wanted was to pay a buck to 'fish' out a piece of 5 cent candy

After a long afternoon, the kids fight sleep in the car with their newly won hats

We really did have a great afternoon. I anticipated that it might get a little crazy, but the kids surprised me and behaved themselves.

Petting Farm Trip

Monday morning was a really fun day for us. Timing was in our favour for once and the twins' school had an organized field trip to a petting farm on the same morning that Jake & Jonathan had the morning off. We all went together and it was especially nice because for Jonathan and I, the whole time wasn't spent chasing Owen or Will because their teachers were there (Monique, Erin & Courtney). We just got to enjoy the day.

Here are a few photos from the past week to keep you happy:

Owen, Erin & Will

Dad & Will on the wagon ride

Jake practising for his GQ photo shoot

Owen riding the pony

Will (with Courtney) NOT wanting to ride the pony

Our three little pigs

I think they were looking at goats in this picture

from L to R: Jacob, Will, Owen M., Owen & Harry

Owen was smiling and happy the entire morning. It was amazing to watch how much he loved seeing all of the animals, compared to our days at the Knox Farm last year, when he was so complacent and disinterested

Milking goats - Will & Erin in background, Monique and Owen in front

My apologies

For all of our friends and family who look at the blog for updates on the boys, I apologize that I haven't been keeping up my end of the bargain by posting anything. Things are a little stressful around the house these days and even when I have had the time to write, I struggle with what I want to disclose on the blog, or how to word my feelings on certain issues that we are dealing with. We're winding down to the end of the school year, there are a lot of special events, a LOT of appointments and meetings with schools/professionals pertaining to the kids and a lot of scheduling adjustments to prepare for the summer months. Jake and I will be leaving next Wednesday for our visit back to Ontario and a trip to Disney! As exciting as this is, there has been no time to think about it because of all the preparation required.

We are dealing with some heavy stuff with Will at the moment and some of you may know that I am referring to his running away- bound for the Bow River. It has caused some huge disruptions to our home life and his therapy program is in the process of being drastically altered to accomodate prioritizing this 'behaviour' as the #1 issue to work through. I will provide you with a proper update on that one shortly.

So in the meantime, bare with me and I will do my best to get back in the swing of things as soon as I can. Rest assured if I'm worrying anyone, we are all okay and we are very fortunate to have the help of my cousin, Michelle, who is staying with us until mid-August.

We'll catch up soon!

Well Isn't This Interesting...?

I don't want to play a role in feeding paranoia, but I came across this article today and found it quite interesting. There is NOTHING conclusive to it, and at this stage it remains simply an observation. I will be curious to see what the outcome of any testing may show however.

Officials probing possible link between N.J. school, autism

Home News Tribune Online 06/20/07
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NORTHVALE — Officials and environmental experts are investigating a high incidence of autism and learning disabilities among children born to teachers at a special-education school here.

An informal poll taken by officials at St. Anthony's revealed that 14 of 39 children born to faculty members since 1997 had a learning disability — three were diagnosed as autistic and 11 experienced speech and language delays. The poll relied partly on teachers' recollections.

St. Anthony's has served children with varying degrees of autism for 30 years, and currently has about 100 students. The property is owned by the Newark Archdiocese and leased by the Northern Valley Regional High School District, which administers the program.

Testing options for the building were scheduled to be discussed at a meeting Tuesday night. In the meantime, summer programs have been moved out of the building, Superintendent Jan Furman told The Record of Bergen County.

The archdiocese has conducted twice-yearly asbestos tests as required by law, spokesman Jim Goodness told the newspaper, and the school district conducted an air quality test that revealed no irregularities. Health officials said the school will also be examined for lead and volatile organic compounds.

"What I've been told is it's learning disabilities encompassing physical handicaps, neurological, autism and a broad spectrum," borough health officer Angela Musella said. "The bottom line is you can't draw any conclusion. We are still gathering information."

A federal study made public earlier this year found New Jersey had the highest rate of autism ever recorded in the United States: one in 94 children, and one in 60 boys. The overall rate in 14 states surveyed was one in 150 children. In New Jersey, a study released in 2000 could not find a cause for a high number of autism cases in Brick Township.

Very Cool News..

This is just what we've been waiting for:



Levy Gets Serious About Autism
(http://www.canada.com/)


Alyssa Schwartz, canada.comPublished: Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Toronto -- Canadian comedic icon Eugene Levy has taken on a surprising new role, and while it’s one extremely personal to him, there’s also nothing funny about it. While he’s best known for his colourful characterizations and over-the-top supporting roles, Levy’s voice was notably serious Wednesday as he appealed to Canadians about the need for a national autism strategy.
“This is a cause worth fighting,” said Levy, who agreed to become a spokesperson for Families for Early Autism Treatment (FEAT) following a request from a cousin who has an autistic son.
FEAT is fighting to get autism treatments – which can cost families up to $80,000 a year – covered under medicare. Autism and autism spectrum disorders impact children’s development of social and communicative abilities and can range in severity. Some sufferers are able to achieve a fairly normal level of functioning while others may be completely unable to interact with others or to live unassisted.

“At the time (my cousin asked me to get involved), I knew as much about autism as you do,” Levy said. “I kind of knew what it was, I knew people that had children with autism, but that’s about it. I really didn’t know much about it at all.”

In an interview following a Toronto press conference Wednesday, Levy said the more research he did, the more he was just shocked by the toll autism takes on families. “Families are mortgaging their houses and taking extra shifts just so they can give their kids therapy. This should be covered under medicare. Families shouldn’t have to go into the poor house and become destitute just to give their kids some help.”

Currently, coverage for applied behavioural analysis (ABA) varies from province to province. Alberta, for example, funds up to $20,000 a year while Prince Edward Island assesses coverage based on income. But intensive treatment has been shown to allow a normal level of functioning in nearly half of autistic children.

“Children who receive this treatment can show remarkable improvements that enable them to be a part of society,” said Senator Jim Munson. Citing research from Harvard, Munson told reporters that covering treatment could save Ottawa some $1.5 million per autistic child. It’s estimated that there are some 50,000 children and 150,000 adults living with autism and autism spectrum disorders in Canada.

Under FEAT’s proposal, ABA would be universally funded in Canada and training and certification for therapists would be stepped up to improve access to treatment across the country.

“Addressing the problem is expensive,” Munson acknowledged. “But not addressing it is even more expensive.”

Levy acknowledged that autism and the issues surrounding coverage are probably way off most people’s radars. “If you’re not aware of it, it’s probably something you don’t think twice about,” he said.

Which is exactly why he was so eager to get involved. “There are a lot of great charities out there,” he said. “I’ve been involved with Sick Kids Hospital, I’ve been involved with Gilda’s Club and a lot of other organizations … but these are all major organizations that are up and running. They are able to get a lot of donations and have their own advancement and everything is covered under medicare. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, it’s all covered. This is not covered and it should be.”

For Norrah Whitney, the single mother of Lucas, an 11-year-old autistic boy, Levy’s involvement comes not a moment too soon. “It is such a relief, I can’t even describe it in words to you,” she said. “I think it’s going to raise the public awareness profile of autism through the roof.”

In addition to spending the last 10 years fighting for universal autism funding, Whitney has also spent the last year engaged in her own battle against cancer. “I have to find the energy to do this,” she said, when asked how she copes. “I have a child with autism and he needs this treatment and he’s made incredible, remarkable progress with this. I have a happy, funny, engaging young man as a son and he was really struggling as a young child.”

Currently, Lucas’ treatment, which Whitney estimates to cost about $55,000 a year, is paid for by the Ontario government under a court injunction. “Every day I wake up and if we have funding, we have funding. It’s always a wait and see – there are no guarantees,” she said.