Dance Therapy

Just got the following email, thought I'd pass it along:

An all new, Special Needs Dance Class is starting in Hooper!!!
Dance Image Studios is offering dance instruction for ALL special needs children.
Any age, any disability, boys and girls. Everyone is invited!
Classes start July 7th. Call right away!
Janeal Cox 801-985-1586 or email at janco7@msn.com
Hope to see you there!

No, I Haven't Fallen Off The Planet

I've just been REALLY busy. I started delivering newspapers every morning, and now I've discovered a new meaning of the word "tired". I only THOUGHT I was tired before.

Many exciting things are happening on the homefront here. The biggest news is that my dh finished his PhD in Theoretical Astrophysics! He was BLESSED to get hired as an Assistant Professor at Missouri Western State University. He will be teaching Physics and Astronomy. We are excited (and nervous) about this next step in our lives. We currently live in Utah, so this is going to be a big change for us. My dh is flying out to Missouri the 2nd week in July to find us a place to live. I can't go because I have to work, and we can't afford the airplane tickets anyway. My older boy will be at Scout Camp, so it would just be me, dh, and Marshall, but that is too expensive. DARN! Once we find out where we're going to live, the real work begins! Marshall will be starting Kindergarten out there, and I think he's going to need an aide to work with him. His fine motor skills are still very poor, and he has a lot of trouble with social skills. I try to teach him that he doesn't need to talk to EVERYONE he ever meets. ~Sigh~ It's a slow process.

I get a little overwhelmed when I think about moving to a new state and having 2 kids starting a new school. I'm not sure what I need to do to ensure Marshall gets the services he needs. Utah (and especially our school district) has been one of the WORST places to live when you have a child with Asperger's. He is too smart for the Title I preschool, but not delayed enough for special education services. We had him in an integrated pre-school this year, but he hated it. He was the only kid there who was not wearing diapers. The other kids were mostly working on talking. You can't get Marshall to STOP talking. :) In April I had finally had enough, and just kept him home. It wasn't worth the price I was paying.

I'm not sure if I ever came on here and shared the news, but we did finally get an official diagnosis. He definitely has Asperger's Syndrome. I'm not sure I completely understand what the doctor wrote so I'm copying it here.

Multi-Axial Diagnoses

Axis I 299.80 Asperger Syndrome

300.02 Anxiety

782.00 Sensory Integration Difficulties

Axis II V71.09 No diagnosis

Axis III No known complicating factors

Axis IV Problems with: other psychosocial and environmental problems

Axis V Current GAF- .50

Past Year GAF- Unknown

Does anyone know what that means?

Drama Queen?

Does anyone else ever feel like other people must think you are a drama queen? No one has ever said this about me but I feel like some people think it. I feel like I am always in recovery from some crisis. People don't understand that even doctor appointments that have become "regular" to us still have the ability to take me out emotionally/physically/ mentally that day. Besides all of the regular money, work, family crap that everyone in the world goes through I feel like I always have extra stress to deal with and extra stressful events to make work.

Some examples: I have taken my son to the ER every 3-4 weeks since April. He has had a broken arm, stitches and he almost lost his teeth (tripped and face planted in driveway). His botox didn't take this last time and they don't know why. His braces have needed to be adjusted because they were giving him sores. He has started to be extra defiant in school. The doctors are now getting worried about him not gaining weight (too skinny). Potty training is not only going badly but has put both JT and me into fits of crying (we have since given up for now). Along with the usual not talking and the difficulties with that.

Now add on the fact that my husband's car has had everything go wrong with it including (but not only) it setting on fire, huge oil leaks, parts needing to be replaced, the computer part of the car (ECU) getting programmed wrong so it won't communicate with his car, etc. And while this is going on my car died and we had to buy a new one. Then this weekend some jerk broke into our garage and stole my car along with my husbands tools and some other things in the garage.

All of this has happened since April. I already felt like when people asked how things were they saw me as some drama queen who made mountains out of molehills. No matter how hard I try, my life always sounds like some sort of melodrama. Is it me? Do I make too big of a deal of things? Does anyone else feel like this?