One. Big. Update.

Hello, blog. I've missed you.
Hello, readers. Anybody still out there?

Rather than write a bunch of posts over the next week catching everybody up on what has been happening over the last few weeks, I'm going to update you all on everything here in one big update. I'll try to be brief, but since my month has been all about words, words and more words, it won't be easy.

I wrote a 50,000 word novel this month. And now I have a pretty crappy novel (but a still, a novel!) and an updated "Winner!" badge over there on the left. The novel is called Usually Sometimes Never.


Novel writing has become such an ingrained part of my days over the last month, that I can no longer guarantee the accuracy of anything I write here. The line between fiction and reality has officially blurred. At least until I find my truth glasses. (Ooh - truth glasses. Now that's something I could put in a novel!)
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Thanksgiving at my BFF's house went better than expected. Moe ate a lot of food, which kept him occupied and let us all eat. Jelly ate only ice cream, but she enjoyed drinking water out of my crystal glass. We still had to follow Moe around the house when we weren't eating, but I guess we Jeff is getting used to that. Also, Jelly pooped on the rug.
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All of Moe's genetic tests came back normal. While that's Good News, it is still somehow unsatisfying.
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The dog threw up in the back of my car yesterday.
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I had a flat tire over the weekend. There was a nail in the tire. This is the second time this has happened. I suspect my neighbor. (Not really, but again, would be a cool character.)
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When I put Jelly in the car after preschool yesterday, she said "no weapons!" I can only assume this was her political commentary on the use of pepper spray by police on Occupy protesters.
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We went to an awesome concert on Sunday called the Kizuna Family Concert. Professional musicians performed classical music for kids with special needs and their families. Moe and Jelly loved it.

Why, yes that is my child. Sitting. Like, in a chair.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. It's good to be back.

Searching for Answers

When Moe was first diagnosed, our developmental pediatrician, Dr S, ordered some blood tests to look for genetic abnormalities. Moe had had a rough appointment already, and was ready to go, so we didn't want to do the tests that day. We asked Dr S if the tests did find anything, would our approach to intervention be any different. She said no, so we decided to wait. Eventually the order expired and we never had the tests done.

Last year, as part of one of the research studies at Stanford, Moe had to get a blood test. It ended up not being that big of a deal, so I thought about calling Dr S to re-order the tests. Finally, last week, I sent her an email. I also asked her if she thought an MRI could be helpful. She said the MRI isn't indicated, but ordered the genetic tests.

I'm not sure why I want these tests done now, over two years later, but I've been feeling quite frustrated with Moe's very slow, and not necessarily steady, progress. Every autism book I read, even the ones without the miraculous "my child no longer has autism" endings, show children who make pretty significant progress. Even though I can see small changes in him, Moe's deficits in the major areas of speech, attention, and impulsiveness, seem not very different (or perhaps even more severe simply because Moe is bigger) than when we first started.

So this weekend, we took Moe to the lab and had the blood tests done. Moe hated it and cried quite pathetically the whole time. Jeff took him in while Jelly and I stayed in the waiting room. We could hear him and Jelly kept saying "Moe's crying. Let's go help him." I knew he wasn't in pain. He just hates being restrained in any way. Moe barely flinches at shots, but can't stand when I try to cut his fingernails. When Jeff and Moe were finished, Jeff confirmed my suspicion. Moe was quite upset before the needle even made an appearance.

And now we wait for the results. I'm more anxious than I thought I'd be, though I suspect we won't find anything unusual. If we do, we'll have the answers as to "why" and we may have a better understanding of his likely progress. And even if the results don't change how we approach Moe's interventions now, new research is coming out all the time. Many parents have long suspected that there are a number of autism sub-types, and being able to classify each child's particular type of autism may help direct - and develop - the most helpful therapies in the future.