My funny boy

The funniest thing happened today, Torin and James were playing upstairs after his bath and Torin was swinging his arm across his chest like he was saying aw shucks. Well I looked at Torin and said "It looks like you're saying get er done. Well clear as can be he said get er done! I about fell over in shock. It was the clearest he has ever spoken a word. My sweet boy who rarely speaks repeated it perfectly. He is such a little goof.
Liam has really started picking up words so now they talk together and I know it's helping him. I'm so blessed to have these boys in my life. I don't know what I ever did to deserve them. They make everyday better even with the hard thing we go through i know its worth it because of them! They are my Rock:)

Awesome Day!

Well my day so far has been amazing. My big boy used the potty today and he hasn't had a single accident today. I know they will happen but I haven't had to clean one up today so far:) Im so proud of him. I know it's going to be harder due to the autism and lack of verbal communiction but he is awesome and I know he can do anything! I love you Torin...and of course I love my Liam too.

hmmm...

When i tucked the boys in tonight I couldn't help but wonder what would happen to Torin after James and I were no longer here. I know this is something every parent of a special needs child thinks of at some point but I can not shake this thought tonight. I know he is only 2 1/2 and he is way ahead of most at this point but that knowledge is not comforting me.....

Potty training

After about 30 accidents yesterday I can honestly say this is going to be harder than I thought. I spent the entire day cleaning carpets and washing laundry.
Today isn't going any better as far as the accident issues but at least today Torin has learned to take his wet underwear off , put them in the dirty clothes pile and how to put clean ones on. He is also able to say and sign potty and say poop and pee. So that in itself is progress to me. Go Torin!!!!!

Big Boy Time

Torin got his "REAL" Big Boy bed this week and he loves it! I love it too, because now I can lay in bed with him and read bedtime stories! Woo Hoo!!!!
Since Torin is getting so big and making so many big boy changes I figured it's time to really potty train him. We've tried before but never really pushed the concept but not this time. We are prepared and starting tomorrow. It's such an important skill for a person to have and i really think, no... I KNOW he can do it:) Torin is such a smart amazing little guy and I'm so proud of him. He faces everyday with a smile and I wish I could be more like him.

Changes

Well it's been a while since I have posted on here. So much has been going on that I really haven't had the time but since daddy took Torin to see the Sand Gnats play tonight I FINALLY have a chance.
So where do I start... We moved into a new house that has just been wonderful for our family. Torin and Liam now have their own rooms and we have a great big yard that Torin is in love with. He has also made friends with a 2 year old little boy that lives next door to us. It's great to see them play together. Torin will stand by the backdoor daily looking for Coleman. It's too funny.
We have also been very busy with Torin's therapy schedule, chelation and preparations for PSI.
He has therapy 3 times a week now, speech, special instruction and occupational and WOW have they helped. He is like a new little boy. His speech has improved so much these past few months which is such a blessing. He is now up to 27 words and 25 signs and he seems to understand everything now. It is truly AWESOME!!!!!!! On an average day he uses about 5-7 words but its a start and I couldn't be happier. He has learned to trace lines and cut with scissors and put on his flip flops.
His new favorite thing to do is to play dress up. I spend most of my days now being chased by a dragon or cookie monster.
His bond with his little brother continues to get stronger and they are always together. He hugs and kisses him all the time and is always trying to give toys to him. It is just the most precious thing in the world.
God has blessed our lives with these two beautiful children and the miracles i see taking place in them daily is priceless.

An amazing Easter

What a busy week we had, Chelation, Church festival, Sunday school and Easter Sunday Service. We all had such an amazing time at the church festival on Saturday. They had a bounce house, games a petting farm and pony rides. It was the first time Torin had ever been on a horse and it won't be the last. The smile on Torin's face when he got the chance to ride one of the pony's was priceless, his eyes were completely filled with joy and life. I am definitely going to get him into some sort of riding therapy now.
He was not too fond of the Easter bunny at church or the one at the mall this year and has developed a little case of shyness and separation anxiety this past week. Ever since starting his treatments we've been seeing some mild changes in his behavior. More meltdowns, lining of objects, hand flapping, upset stomach and the separation issues. He does seem more alert though and has been learning things alot faster so that's great. Hopefully the negative side effects will subside soon. All I can do now is pray for God to heal him, his future is in his hands now and i just have to trust that things WILL get better. God is amazing and can do miraculous things....just you wait and see.

Easter Buuny

We took the boys to see Cotton Tail yesterday at the mall and Torin thought he was great until he had to sit on his lap. Needless to say it too 3 attempts and many plastic eggs to finally get him to sit long enough for the EXTREMELY patient woman taking the picture to get a shot with both boys in it. Oh memories.....LOL

Weekend in North Carolina

We went up to North Carolina on Friday to pick up My husbands Grandmother and bring her back to Savannah with us. We got home today and I must say for being in the car so much this weekend the boys did AMAZING. We had a few minor melt downs but nothing to serious.
It was absolutely beautiful up there and the weather was gorgeous. We took the boys to play at the park yesterday and they had so much fun. Liam got to swing and Torin got to climb on everything. He is so brave!
While we were gone Torin learned the sign for hat and brush teeth. He also made up the sign for cookie( he imitates cookie monster) and penguin( he gets up and waddles like a penguin). He is just to smart!

Empathy?!?!?!

So I noticed today another problem I need to start addressing with Torin and that is his lack of empathy. Now I don't know exactly how concerned a typical 2 yr old should be when someone is hurt but I do know that Torin does not seemed phased at all.

Liam was sitting on the floor next to Torin this morning and he fell over. When he couldn't get back up he began to fuss and he laid there for a few minutes crying while I finished unloading the dishwasher. Torin never even looked over at him, he just continued playing with his toys.

Now I am completely at a loss when it comes to this. I have no idea how to even begin teaching something like this to a special needs child. Hopefully someone will have some ideas.

OT Evaluation.

Torin went to his OT evaluation this morning and did so good. Almost too good! I'm so proud of the progress he has made in such a short time. My boy is a genius :). They have to submit the request to the insurance company so it could take up to 4 weeks to get started. He scored average on the fine motor and poor on the hand eye so hopefully that will be low enough. I can't believe I was wanting my son to do badly. He needs this therapy so bad. Fingers crossed everyone!
Oh and he's high functioning.....I knew this already but I love when a professional tells me.

Chelation week 2

Torin went to his 2ND round of Chelation and it didn't go quite as smooth as last week. It took a little longer to find his vein today so my baby wasn't happy. But like last time as soon as the IV was in he calmed down. They also took some blood from him today to check him for strep. He has become violent this past week during his tantrums which is so unlike him, he is usually so calm and loving. This week he has also picked up another autistic trait...lining up of objects. This has never been a problem before so of course I wanna know why its starting so hopefully this test will let us know.
He is only 2 and yet he is so strong. Watching him go through all of this makes me so mad because... I did this to him....sure it's companies and our country that are allowing are children to be poisoned but I allowed them to directly inject these toxins into my child. I wish I could undo it but unfortunately I cant. So my mission from now on is to give him the best care and treatments I can and to help other mothers going through the same situation.


Now on a positive note....Liam my beautiful 7 month old boy was tested for allergies last week because of his eczema and the results were GREAT! He has no allergies. Yay now we can switch back to regular formula and get him off of the soy. This is something I have been so concerned about since soy formulas contain a lot of aluminum and high levels of estrogen.

Mr. Smiley

He is watching his all time favorite movie.....Happy Feet

Potty Training?!?!?

Well I have to admit I have been "Extremely" inconsistent when it come to potty training Torin. I have started and stopped so many time that it has to be confusing him. But this time is going to be different....I hope. He has a new potty chair, books, stickers and special treats for the potty. I know he is still young but I know he can do it!

He always seems to amaze me!

Well we have just returned home from an amazing Church service and lunch at Cracker barrel and the boys are sleeping well. What a wonderful day this has been. Torin greeted me this morning with an actual "Hi". It's amazing, he has never said that word to me. Sure he will wave and occasionally we will get a bye bye but NEVER a hi! Then driving home while watching his signing time DVD in the backseat I saw him signing the usual "shoe" but today we also got to see a new sign from him..."socks". He is such a little smarty. I just love my boys to no end. They both amaze me everyday and make me so proud to be their mommy. I am so hopeful for their future and I have faith that God will take care of them and heal Torin. I see it everyday in him, little by little he is healing and it is such a miracle.

The Beginning to now.....

Torin was born 5 days late with the help of induction. He weighed 8lbs and was a perfectly healthy baby boy. He was growing, thriving and meeting all of his milestones. I was extremely concerned about vaccinating my precious boy but at the advice of his ~at the time~ pediatrician i gave in. He showed no bad effects from the vaccines but the ugliness would later reveal it's self. He did suffer from chronic ear infections and was constantly prescribed amoxicillin but other than that he was absolutely perfect, everything we had ever wanted (and still is). Around 12 months is when i began noticing things. He had no words however he babbled all the time, we were really concerned about his hearing because we could call his name 20 times and he would not respond He also made NO eye contact. It was as if he was in his own little world. We found out we were pregnant with Liam when Torin was 13 months old. With that news I was even more determined to find out what was wrong with my child. We had his hearing tested and when the results came back perfect we were told "he's a boy... he's probably just ignoring you". My father in law had mentioned numerous times that he thought he was autistic but being in denial I blew it off. We mentioned these things to his pediatrician and she also blew it off. She saw no signs of autism and said he's probably just going to be a late talker since we do have a family history of late talkers. I pursued speech therapy anyways and finally at 22 months old he finally started receiving help. At 23 months he was evaluated by a developmental pediatrician who gave us the devastating news....AUTISM! My heart broke and my world crumbled. My husband was in a new state "GA" where we now live and I was still in Florida preparing Torin, Liam and myself for the move. Getting the diagnoses without my husband with me was unbelievably hard. Thankfully my mother was with me and I had a lot of support from both my family and my husbands. We moved to Georgia in October and that's when things started to turn around for the better. We got Torin in to see Dr. Ramos and with the help of him and Kim Spencer we began changing his life well actually all of our lives. We immediately put Torin on a Gluten Free Casein Free diet and within days his eye contact was normal. He is also receiving MB-12 injections and is taking a number of supplements, DMG, and multivitamins. Torin had been developmentally behind and still is in many areas, but within 6 months his eye contact returned, he will now respond when talked to, he now knows who mama,daddy and baby brother are as well as all our friends and family! It's as if his brain has become clear. He can follow simple instructions, is learning to jump and kick a ball he can sign more, eat, all done, air plane, baby, shoe, and bird. He can now say bye bye, night night, tickle tickle tickle, Mama, Dada, ball and make various animal sounds. He has the most amazing speech therapist and Torin absolutely adores his time with her. He has made unbelievable improvements in such a short time. It is truly a miracle. He was treated for a yeast overgrowth probably due to the multiple treatments of amoxicillin and had his first Intravenous Chelation just last week. He has excessive amounts of lead and mercury in his poor little body so hopefully this will help. I'm excited for his future, I know that he will continue to improve and he will be able to do great things.