Somewhere in the midwest, the following message is left on an answering machine... Fall, 2000 Well, here we are, school's started again. Thank goodness! P.J. has a problem with summer vacation being too long. He starts getting "mean" and then comes the pottying in his pants and wetting the bed. P.J. did finally have his teeth fixed. Five caps, five fillings, and a lot of turmoil. The lawyer I inherited did manage to come through for us and we were able to take the money out of P.J.s trust, but because he made a big mess out of the whole thing, I ended up haveing to pay back 4 years of SSI , almost $7,000.00 out of the trust so now, if he needs anything when he gets older or has the chance at an education, there will be nothing left for him to do that with. Much of the mess was due to the lawyer's lack of knowledge and caring of what autism is or of the life we lead but he did cause one mistake I'm happy for. He had all of the procedures prepaid. That, however didn't come without it's headaches and setbacks. In making out the check for the facility where the dental work was to be done, he chose a facility that gave a lower estimate, not where P.J. was already scheduled! It was supposed to be done 'in hospital' in case there were any problems. We ended up in an 'Out- patient Surgical Center' and am I glad we did! P.J. received such personal attention there that I know he wouldn't have gotten in a big, busy hospital. The nurses were so nice; they talked TO him, not AT him. It was a really good feeling to be somewhere where they went out of their way to make you and your child comfortable. That was so helpful to me! I was so worried that something might go wrong. You never know how it will be the first time your child has to have major medical treatment done and he can't tell you if something isn't right. Also, I don't do well in public settings, it can be very stressful for me, but you have to be there for your 'babies'. We're all they've got! P.J.s Mom Dec. 2000 The holidays are here. Soon it will be time for Christmas vacation, the most dreaded time of the year for PJ. He loves school so much that even a four day weekend is too much time away. I did find him the most wonderful gift this year for Christmas. He is so hard to buy for because he lacks so many play skills and we're running out of space for books and things to "juggle"! I bought a stero. Talk about "music soothing the savage beast". He loves classical music. The day it came I hooked it up and that was it! He danced around the house; no screamimg, no hitting. It was the first time in over a month (that's when our other stereo died). It was wonderful, so I went out and bought him CD's for Christmas. The new year didn't start out so well....but it's ending nicely so far. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!! And please...sign our guestbook. Let us know what you think...or let us know of any thoughts or suggestions you might like to share. God bless and keep you all in His care. PJ's Mom A january FEAT newsletter ran a lovely article on 'music therapy' and efforts made to integrate it in special-ed programs. Click here to read |
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