ESY fail

Sammy's bus picks him up at 8 and on Tuesday (day 2 of ESY) I woke up late. Guess what time? Yup 8am. It was certainly a gift that everyone slept in but not so great that he missed his bus on a day we were going to a party at the beach. He decided he certainly wanted to go to school and got in the car but by the time we were ready there wasn't much time left for program so I kept him home and off he the beach we went. We had a magical time together. Sam made friends and so
it was a fail for me but a total WIN for Sammy

Field Day 2013

Today Sammy had field day. His temporary school location is beside a giant park. I love the location with the exception of the nightmare that is parking for events.

Today was field day and I took Nate, Grace, and Evie with some help from Tyler to cheer on Sammy and have lunch with him. His friends all sat with us for lunch and I really enjoyed their company. We all played Simon Says and talked about the weaknesses of different Super Heroes.

It was really beautiful ( by my standards) and I enjoyed the warm. I wore Evie and brought our umbrella stroller for Grace. Nate was super well behaved and so was Grace. They played on the playground with Tyler while I hung out with Sam and his friends for a bit. They came and watched some of the games and it was just a great time.

The para that worked with Sammy on the MCAS this year came over to make sure I knew how proud of him she was. She told me that he dd a great job and really worked to the best of his ability and then some. It's nice to hear good news sometimes.

Team sports are hard for Sammy. I can still see how difficult it is when I look at some of the photos. you know the ones where he is facing the opposite direction everyone else is, or when he just looks confused. Then Something awesome happened while he played hockey. He got into the thick fof things and shot the puck 3 or four times. It was so cool. in fact I was so excited I forgot to take a picture. he also shot 2 baskets!


So much has changed in the last few years. This is Sam and the little neighbor girl a few years back

and this is them now.

Time flies doesn't it

I Love You

Sam has a new stim.
I see him doing it almost all the time. In places that we are quiet (church, stores, and school) he makes it a soft breathy sound. When he is alone or outside he does it and he is loud. It's constant. When he is watching TV or playing video games. he's very good at being discreet around his friends. I worry about what that kind of control might cost him. I worry that he is afraid to be himself and be OK.

I wish my boy had a world that understood him. Where people didn't say things like "see He showed empathy , he can't be autistic" or " he seems fine to me"
I want him to be in a place that people defend him and love him. I am grateful because our team does that for him. The kids in his class don't understand. They tease him for his weird behaviors, foods, and clothes choices. They tease him at lunch for his allergies and get mad that they cannot bring the snacks they want to.
But, Our TEAM stands up for him. The school Nurse goes in and talks to the kids about how serious allergies are to protect Sam and kids like him. His principle cheers him on when he makes the right choice. She returns my calls every time.

it's because of these people  working with Sam every day that I think we hit this next milestone ....


Those of you that read know how hard it is for Sam to say he loves me will understand how awesome this new development is.

He keeps repeating it to me,over and over again.
He sounds like he means it.
He hugs me every time he says it

In light of the chaos here I am amazed. It almost makes up for his new stim of sudden yelling in short bursts...