Wednesday, April 6, 2011

What's Next?

Wednesday is therapy day for Riley. He enjoys going and talking to someone who is neutral. I have no idea what he and his therapist talk about. I don't ask. It's not my business. The therapy is for him to feel better about himself. Wednesday is also an early release day for me. I was at school quite awhile, getting sub plans ready for tomorrow (I am out of the classroom on school business), and finding my desk. I still left early though. On my way home I came across Riley, almost all the way home from school. I drove him the rest of the way. When we got home he presented me with paperwork on a project he has to do for History. He has to do a report on Copernicus, an astronomer. After his appointment we stopped by the library to see if they had any books. Luckily for us, they had three total-two on shelves, so we snatched those up. He started reading them the minute we got into the car, telling me facts all the way home. This report should be a piece of cake as he's VERY interested. I just feel badly for any other students who may have been assigned the same scientist, because we have all of the books! Oh well, he'll use them, and then we'll get them back to the library.
Riley looks to be about two in this picture. I can't even remember where this was taken. Look at how serious he is about riding that horse.
LOOK at this one! So cute! Look how teeny Quinn was, and his face was just so round. Riley used to smile with teeth, in all of his pictures. We rarely see teeth in pictures now, unless we request.

Riley played baseball too, as Quinn does now. I think he played 5 seasons and then gave it up when the pressure (self imposed) became too much. The last season he played, his team won the championship. Riley never got one hit off the pitching machine that whole season. It was heartbreaking. He gets an idea in his head, and there's no changing his mind.

So where are we now? Hopefully things are stabilized at school for now. There's only 42 days left. We are awaiting report cards this week, I think. On the testing side, we mailed off our packet to the Regional Center of the East Bay. We decided to let them do the clinical testing for Riley, because I believe he can get in rather quickly. UCSF called again today, but we have to let that option go, because insurance will cover Stanford 100%, and decided it was silly to pay out of pocket. So we'll go to the Regional Center (apparently we can use their help down the line anyway, especially in terms of school issues). We are still keeping our Stanford appointment (remember it's a 9 month wait), and we'll use that as a second opinion. The plus about Stanford is they have a whole center devoted to research and methods to help Autism Spectrum kids. I am sure it will be worth the wait, but in the mean time, we can lean on the Regional Center for any support we may need, and we'll have some results quicker.

It feels good to know that we have things more under control now. We can move on with our lives. Riley will continue with his weekly therapy, but may take the summer off. He goes to his social group on Thursdays, at school. Kevin and I will keep checking his school agenda and monitoring his homework. He's already showing signs of better organization. Today, he started an assignment that's two parts, and due on Friday. He completed one part and decided to complete the other part tomorrow night. Works for me!

Think good Riley thoughts tomorrow. He has to visit the lab in the morning, for blood work for the endocrinologist. He's very nervous. Kevin is taking him in the morning. I'll stay here and get Quinn to school. I've advised Kevin to have Riley lie down when they take the blood, and to take along a juice pack for him for after (that's when he freaked last time). Hopefully he won't have to wait long. Kevin will take him to school afterward, and let's hope he's in good shape by time he gets to school.

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