bountifulplate

  When Dominic was first diagnosed with Autism at 2 1/2, I truly had no idea what would happen when he turned 18 (which is now just 8 short months away) . Would he go to college? would he live in a residential facility? would he have a job? It is so hard to predict the future for any of your children, but especially for those with higher support needs. Today, marks the one-year Anniversary of Dominic's baking business, " Baked Goods By Dominic ." I have spent the past few days thinking about that. I read recently that just 32% of adults with Autism have paying jobs. That means there are 68% that are not employed. That is a HUGE number. I have told more than one person since Dominic's business started, it's not like someone was going to knock on our front door when Dominic turns 18 and say, "hey, I'm here to offer Dominic a job!"  We had to create an opportunity for him.  Living in Michigan, he can be in the school district until he is 26. We had ...

This Friday is Dominic's last day of 11th grade. He did part of 10th grade and all of 11th grade "virtually." While "virtual learning" has been good in some ways, there definitely has been one huge disadvantage. He has had seven seizures since March of 2020. All of Dominic's seizures, except the very first one, have been caused by anxiety/stress/change of routine. Each time he has had a seizure, I have had to call his Pediatric Neurologist and we discuss his medications. At Dominic's most recent in-person appointment, the Pediatric Neurologist basically said Dominic was at the top limits on his two current anti-seizure medications and she was very concerned about adding a third, especially since he was continuing to have seizures.  After some discussion, since Dominic also has Generalized Anxiety Disorder , we decided to treat the anxiety with a low dose of the generic version of Zoloft . Thank goodness he hasn't had any side effects and he has had ...

This month marks the one-year "anniversary" of Dominic being home full-time from school. When the Pandemic started, I guess I was VERY optimistic and thought it would only last a few weeks. Little did I know, that almost a year later, the Pandemic would still be raging on. It has been of a bit of a "learning curve" having Dominic here and my husband working from home (the hubby likes to call it a "preview" of what it will be like when he retires)!!  We have worked out a good system, so one of us is always home with Dominic. He can't be left alone because of his Complex Partial Epilepsy .  He has had six seizures since the Pandemic started, the most recent one was the beginning of January. Since we have had LOTS of extra time in our schedule, in June of 2020, we went from once-a-week private speech therapy to twice-a-week. It has been a pretty seamless transition from in-person to "virtual" learning with her. His private speech therapist h...

Yesterday was a HUGE milestone. Do you want to know what it was?!?!?! Well, I will tell you! It was five years almost to the day that Dominic has been going to his barber, Vince. Dominic was 11 when he went to Vince for the first time. He just turned 16 in July. Vince has watched Dominic grow from a boy into a man. In case you were wondering, both Vince and Dominic had on their respective masks during the haircut . They removed it briefly for the picture! So, for those of you without sensory sensitivities, getting a haircut can be challenging because of the bright lights; the noise of the hairdryers, people and the clippers; having someone touching their head and lastly, the smell of chemicals. For most of us, those things wouldn't bother us or we block it out. For those with Autism or sensory sensitivities, it can be very difficult.  Before Michigan lifted the restrictions for getting a haircut, I asked Dominic a bunch of times if he wanted me to cut his hair. ...

As we continue through navigating our new "normal," one thing in particular has stood out to me as far as parenting Dominic goes. No one can make it alone through this. I'm sure you have heard the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child."   Never has that been more true than doing these unusual times we are currently living in. After I had Lauren, I had two miscarriages. When I got pregnant with Dominic, I was worried every single day that I would have another miscarriage. I think I knew deep down from the time he was born that something wasn't quite right. When he was diagnosed with Autism at age 2 1/2, it surprised me, but not really. As the diagnoses started stacking up, ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder at age 3 and then Complex Partial Epilepsy five years ago, I knew that we needed additional support. Say what you will about Facebook (I know not everyone likes it), but for those parenting children and adults with disabilities (such as our fami...

This past Friday night was the second time Dominic went to the Tim Tebow's Night to Shine Prom . For those of you that don't know what that is, I will tell you!  For one night a year in February, over 700 churches from around the United States and the world host a Prom for those with differing needs. It doesn't cost a dime to attend and as long as you are at least 14 you can attend, there is no maximum age. There are dances at Dominic's high school (Homecoming, etc.)  and each time I have suggested to him to go, his response has always been a resounding no. He doesn't have enough language to tell me why he doesn't want to go, so it remains a bit of a mystery. I have my own thoughts as to why - too crowded, too loud and flashing lights. A prime setup for an Epileptic seizure. He's had 10 seizures in the past 4 1/2 years. There is a memory that is seared permanently into my mind from elementary school. This would have been approximately 1973 or so. We were ...

Did you get an allowance growing up? If you are parenting a child or adult with Autism, do you give them an allowance? I truly didn't even think about giving Dominic an allowance until about a year or so ago when Dominic's private speech therapist suggested it. My first thought was, "will he understand the concept of "earning" money for chores?" Dominic still struggles with knowing how much money is worth and how much something costs, so getting an allowance was the perfect way for him to continue to learn. We kept a chart with the date, his "chore" and the amount given (we came up with $2.00). I also kept a clear mason jar on the kitchen counter and every time he did his "chore,"  he got $2.00 and he put it in the jar. That way, he could see the money as it accumulated. I also printed out a picture of the Lego kit that he was working for from the Target website and attached it to his allowance sheet. Dominic is very visual, so seeing ...

Before I entered the special needs "world," about eight years ago, I had never met anyone with Autism. While I certainly don't proclaim to be an expert, I definitely know a lot more now than I did when Dominic was first diagnosed. Autism Speaks ( http://www.autismspeaks.org/ ) has an amazing website and if your child is newly diagnosed, please take the time to look at all the resources they have. Even if your child doesn't have Autism, chances are, you probably know of or know a family who does have a child with Autism.  Here is a great definition of Autism from the Autism Speaks website:  "Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. With the May 2013 publication of the  DSM-5 diagnostic manual , all autism disorders were merged into...