Ah...the pitter patter of little feet
at 5 am in the morning
does NOT bring
warm fuzzy feelings.
3 half naked boys
2(empty)
ice cream
cartons
1 VERY tired momma.
All about death
13 years ago
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Sir Camelot is all OVER it!
Meet
Sir Camelot
-
Service Dog
Camelot has a lot of jobs in our family - but one of his main tasks is behavior disruption. When he 'senses' that one of the boys is about to have a meltdown, he is supposed to nuzzle them, lick them, snuggle them - to help them calm down.
Last week, Samuel (8 years old) was having a major meltdown/crying fit. Camelot RAN inside and started licking his face!!! Immediately, Samuel stopped crying and sat and started to hug Cam! Meltdown DISRUPTED!
Sometimes, we guide him to sit 'over' the boys - on their laps or over their whole body - when they are crying or anxious.
(Sometimes - we have a boy do an 'over' on Cam - like here with Noah and Cam)
Today, Elizabeth (our 16 year old) ran away again from her residential placement. Samuel is very distraught about this. He is scared, it's cold outside, and it's dark, and he is very worried about her. He has 'shut down' - not talking or responding much at all.
Samuel's job after supper is to feed Cam. Cam is VERY hungry - and wants to eat FAST. Tonight - he climbed onto Samuel's legs and laid his head down. A PERFECT example of the 'over' command. However, Cam seemed to be more worried about Samuel than he was about his food.
This is TWICE in one week that Cam 'did his job' without being guided to do it!! Thank you Jesus that the '4 Paws Magic' is starting to show itself in the Beaty house.
WAY TO GO CAMELOT!!!!!
fyi - we were in the MAY 2016 class.
He's a RUNNER!
It's a gorgeous day today.
A warm, a slight breeze,
a beautiful day to take a walk.
A warm, a slight breeze,
a beautiful day to take a walk.
Or to run.
Noah is on a running spree - he's succeeded escaping from the house 4 times so far - with an additional 9 more attempts!!!
So - whether he decides to take a nap in the street ...
... or play in the gravel ...
... or watch the water ...
... or re-position all the yellow flags ...
... it has become obvious that
running seems to be Noah's favorite past time today.
Our goal for the day ...
is to stop the escaping !
We've barricaded the front door !!
Saturday, October 29, 2016
LOOK! There's a squirrel!
So many times we use the joke about ADHD kids - We can be having a somewhat normal conversation with out kiddos - and suddenly one of them yells "LOOK! THERE'S A SQUIRREL!" and we've lost them!
Kiddos with ADHD are hard to parent. Sometimes, they are hard to LOVE....and especially they can be hard to TEACH!
Life is even harder with MORE THAN ONE kiddo at home with ADHD .... I've lost count of HOW MANY of my sons have ADHD...I try to count - but they move so fast I can't keep up!
Here's a bit of info about ADHD and my son. Share this with your friends.
- It’s not his fault he behaves this way.
My son’s brain works differently than other kids—it’s a neurological issue. He’s not doing these things on purpose. Believe me, if he could better control his impulsivity, hyperactivity, lack of focus and overblown emotions, he would. It’s no fun to struggle with these things. - It’s not my fault he behaves this way.
I may not always do the right thing as a parent, but my parenting isn’t the cause of his challenges. Yes, I discipline him. And when he acts out, I give him consequences. But what works with other kids often doesn’t work with him. Or it doesn’t work every time. Sometimes I blame myself, even though I’m not sure what I’m blaming myself for. - ADHD is complicated.It’s not just about being “hyper” or not listening. What you see isn’t even half of it. He struggles in all sorts of ways you may not even notice—with things you may take for granted in your own kids. Turning in homework. Keeping track of time. Organizing his things and his thoughts. Applying what he knows one day to what he needs to do the next.
- He’s not being rude or defiant.Well, he can be from time to time, just like any kid. But the behavior you may see as disrespectful (to me, or to other people) isn’t really that. Once my son realizes he’s been hurtful or made others unhappy, he feels terrible. He doesn’t mean it.
- We’re both trying as hard as we can.
We make schedules and checklists to try and keep things on track. We role-play ways he could have handled things differently. He works hard every day to keep it together at school, even if it means losing it when he comes home. I work hard to not lose it when he does. It’s exhausting. - Putting my young child on ADHD medication wasn’t easy.I don't like medicine. I avoid Tylenol. But the ADHD medication truly changed his life. It’s not everyone’s choice, but it was our family’s choice. We work CLOSELY with our son's Psychiatrist to determine which medicine and how much to give him. I just don’t want people to think I did it lightly.
- Feeling judged makes everything worse.It isolates us, when what we need most is support. Please don't judge. PLEASE.
- He’s so much more than his ADHD.
If people could look beyond the challenges, they’d see the person I see. He’s funny and smart. He’s loyal, almost to a fault. He picks himself up when he falls, and tries again. Most important, he has tremendous empathy. And unlike many people, he shows it all the time.
(Thanks to www.understood.org for putting this material into an easy to understand view of my heart!)
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Be like Miss Star
I recently read a blog about the struggles a family has with people questioning her daughter's diagnosis of Autism. This blog starts out like this :
I’ve seen the looks.
I’ve heard the whispers.
Nobody actually says it to my face,
but I see them wonder.
“Are you sure she has autism?"GO ahead and read the rest of " When People Wonder If My Daughter Really Has Autism" ... It's spot on!
Here's the difference in our life.
I don't see 'looks'.
I don't hear 'whispers'.
People actually DO say it to my face.
"He doesn't have Autism."
The pediatric specialist: "He looked at me. He doesn't have Autism."
The school Speech Therapist: "He answered my question. He doesn't have Autism."
The school Occupational Therapist: "He can sit in a chair. He doesn't have Autism."
The pediatric psychologist: "I am an educated person. He does not have Autism."
Then this one from a pediatric neurologist: "Who even diagnosed him with Autism? Easter Seals Autism Diagnostic Clinic? Are they even doctors anyway?"
sigh. It doesn't really matter to any of those people whether he has Autism or not. Please just do your job and help my boy.
To the specialist - he has seizures. That is your job. Help with that.
To the Speech Therapist - He CANNOT answer questions. He cannot think through answers. Help with that.
To the Occupational Therapist - He can sit, however, he canNOT sit still. He cannot keep his shirt on at school. He needs to run. He needs to jump. Loud noises bother him. Bright lights bother him. Help with that.
To the psychologist - Yes, you are educated. But you do not KNOW my son. You do not understand the anxiety and fear he experienced by looking at your cheek and saying "Hi". That is the ROUTINE that I taught him.
To his school teacher, and his principal, and his music teacher, and his PE teacher, and all the other staff that work with him every day:
I appreciate all you do. It is very weary to deal with my son all day. Thank you. PLEASE....remember my son has struggles ... He is not normal.
Do not look at my son
and think that he is being defiant.
Defiance means he needs punishment.
LOOK at my son
and think of him struggling.
Struggling to keep his shoes on.
Struggling to hear your voice above the din of the ceiling lights
Struggling to hold his pencil, instead of throw all of his crayons.
STRUGGLING ...
Be like his bus driver, Miss Star. Miss Star understands that his 'behaviors' are not typical Miss Star understands that his "sticking his middle finger up" is his lack of social skills, and not defiance. Miss Star HELPS him.
Be like Miss Star.
 |
| BE LIKE MISS STAR! |
HELP him through his struggles. He WANTS to do his schoolwork. He WANTS to play with other kids. He WANTS to sing songs. He is a good kid inside. Help him.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Unexpected....blessing!
Once upon a time ...
... in a land far away ...
there lived a little boy who wanted a service dog.
He got his service dog.
He was so excited and lived happily ever after.
The End.
Sometimes things just don't work out the way we plan.
.....like the time we rented our house to friends...and they trashed it.
.....or the time we had a miscarriage
.....or the time a little boy got his service dog.
Then, some 'well meaning person' walks up and says ....
"Remember, God doesn't allow anything you can not handle"
"God works all things for the good."
"Blah blah blah."
...and yes, all of that is true - and I believe it - but in the moment of that pain and hurt and disappointment, I DO NOT want to hear that. My response is
"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT 'GOOD' IS ....
I WANT TO BE ON THE 'OTHER' END OF THIS!"
Now, back to our real fairy tale:
That little boy,
his momma and daddy,
and his 9 siblings
all wished and prayed for a service dog.
God gave them a special service dog and that little guy was so happy.
and then he SNEEZED. and he SNEEZED. and he SNEEZED!!!
Sometimes - being on the other end of the 'God working all things together for good' - isn't easy either.
One week ago, 4 Paws For Ability posted this: "Rana, a service dog, needs a new placement. Her boy is allergic to her."
Well....here is the rest of the story:
We are driving home from 4 Paws For Ability with Rana. She specifically has been trained in Behavior Disruption - which is exactly what the Beaty Bunch of Boys needs!
We praise God for allowing us to adopt Rana!
The little boy,
along with his momma and daddy,
and his siblings
were very sad to see Rana leave their family.
The Beaty Bunch of Boys
prays hard for the little boy
and his family,
that they will trust that God is working things out for them.
The End.
Friday, November 7, 2014
PSST! This is worth reading!!!!
We asked you to pray a while back about us pursuing a service dog for our boys. We need to raise $14,000 towards this dog.
At times I feel very overwhelmed ... and I begin to doubt if God has that much money.
and very patiently, God says "Trust me."
(and the song that is playing right now - is "God's love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out of me!" )
Here's part of an email exchange today between me and the founder of 4 Paws:
4Paws: And if you could send me s special email to pass along to one of our families who already has a dog. I can't tell you their name. They prefer to be anonymous. Okay curious?
They were touched by your story and donated $7,000 to help.
Me: WAIT! Someone donated $7000 to the Beatys? REALLY ???
4Paws: I can’t tell you who except it is one of the 900+ families who already have a 4 Paws dog. But yes, they were touched by your adoption story
God's love NEVER gives up on us .... He is so faithful (even in the bad times too ) but in the good times I am reminded to brag on God!
So - If I'm figuring my math correctly - we're at just about 73% of our goal....We need less than $5000 now to finish!!!!!
Praise be to God!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
