We are so excited that you have decided to look into the life of the Normal Beaty Bunch. We hope that these words will encourage you to fall passionately in love with Jesus and follow him with your whole life and heart!
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Monday, November 7, 2016

Praise God for TummyAches!

Posted in ,,, | 7:52 PM | by SuperMomma


Poor little Noah had a tummy ache after school.

He wanted to lay down.
He didn't want to play, 
or RUN!
WHEW!

So, we read books to big sister on the phone.



He practiced some commands with Rana, one of our Service Dogs.




One of the things that both Rana and Camelot do to help the boys calm down is apply pressure. The dogs will either lay their head on the boy's lap, or put their whole body over the child.  It has a unique calming effect on the boys.

Apparently Noah was feeling 'off' and he looked at Rana and said "Over!"  She IMMEDIATELY put her head on his lap, and he handed her a treat!

 Then, he'd move to a different position, and say "Rana! Over!" and she'd go right over to him and lay on him!!!

 Samuel got jealous of all the affection Noah was getting from Rana - so he got some treats and did the same thing with Camelot.  Cam was happy to practice- since he also got treats.

And poor Isabella ...  
... She's so jealous
... that she isn't a service dog 
... who gets treats 
... all of the time.
               And I'm thankful
for tummy aches
that keep little boys
from eloping!!






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Guests for Sunday lunch?

Posted in ,,, | 11:25 AM | by SuperMomma



You never know who will join us
for lunch
on any given Sunday
....
but really?

Bloomington Police?

Last Saturday, our Noah (almost 7 years old) eloped from our house and found that behind the houses at the end of our street there is a nifty little creek!  I followed Noah - for almost 45 minutes - through leaves and fallen trees and actually, a very beautiful little forest.  However, at the end of those 45 minutes, Noah fell in the deepest part of the water of this nifty little creek.  Even thought it was only about 3 feet deep, and very cold - HE LOVED IT.  (sigh)   

 Sunday morning, while I was getting ready for church, and Andrew was vacuuming, Noah sneaked over to the front door, moved the barricade, unlocked both locks, and RAN .... right back to the same spot he fell into the water the day before!   I called 911 - but Andrew was able to grab him before he jumped in the water.
Noah came home - and we had Titus babysit Noah!
See the leash - Titus has the green end
and Noah has the yellow end on his arm!

 Titus and Noah got tired of watching TV, and they ran outside to play in the back yard. 

 Right before lunch - while I was washing grapes & Titus was in the bathroom, Noah once again pushed the things away from the door - and RAN!!!!  I was home alone at this point with Noah and Titus.  So ... 911 has become my friend - and we talked again!  Two officers came, and they, along with help of neighbors and family, were able to catch Noah!  


YES - we have two locks on the front door, alarms on the door, and are even barricading the door when the boys are home.
YES - we are researching other options to keep that door locked. 
YES - we are putting alarms on the windows.
YES - we are out of ideas.
YES - we are in contact with professionals to get more help and ideas!

Yes... We trust God to protect ... even in these situations ...

YES ... We still do all we can to STOP the eloping!!

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Wednesday, November 2, 2016

My 5:15 AM view

Posted in ,, | 9:10 AM | by SuperMomma

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.

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Sunday, October 30, 2016

Sir Camelot is all OVER it!

Posted in ,,, | 7:29 PM | by SuperMomma



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.  



1 comments

He's a RUNNER!

Posted in | 1:45 PM | by SuperMomma

It's a gorgeous day today.
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 !!


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Saturday, October 29, 2016

LOOK! There's a squirrel!

Posted in ,,, | 4:25 PM | by SuperMomma

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Feeling judged makes everything worse.
    It isolates us, when what we need most is support. Please don't judge.  PLEASE.
  8. 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!) 

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Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Be like Miss Star

Posted in | 10:30 AM | by SuperMomma

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.




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