Updates...

[trek]

As we move into a new year please update us on your child(ren)

[Nancy.]

This year was a tough one. My youngest had her first grand mal seizure and two MRI's. We go back to the neurologist in January. So far no more seizures that we can see.

We are raising money for her next service dog as her current dog has been diagnosed with arthritus of the spine. He has a limited time to work but he will retire with us so that is good. We lost our older boxer which hit her very hard especially because of all her early losses but she came through it pretty well.

We do therapeutic riding with our youngest weekly and that has proven to be a very good fit for her. We are still looking for a good speech pathologist but finding one who is trauma trained is difficult.

Trauma and fear of someone taking her or hurting her is still a contant although she is now fully attached to us at least - although the affects of her early abuse and neglect still remain.

Looking forward to a good year next year!

[trek]

Nancy: Thanks for updating. I'm sorry to hear about the service dog. Please keep us updated on the SLP hunt.

2012 has been a good year for my boys. Middle school has been a blessing for Grant age 13. I cannot say enough about Grant's inclusion teacher who went from 6th to 7th with a small group of kiddos. I'm starting to focus on transition to HS, and getting Grant to think about possible career after HS. We are lucky to live in a county that a great career HS option where students can study such things as construction, designing, agriculture, homeland security, teaching.
Grant's major challenge this year has been his speech-he has stuttered since age 4, but it has gotten more severe this year so we resumed private ST with a stuttering guru in Atlanta. We can only afford monthly visits due to expense and distance. I think Grant is finally staying dry at night Holt is in 2nd grade and struggling with writing, but no one but me seems to think it might be an issue. He can write legibly, however, his scores at the end of kinder on many motor skills were way below normal so he has to work harder IMHO. Than, there is the language issue-he was a late talker (age 3), and is understood for the most part, but I think it is affecting his writing and ability to organize his thoughts on paper. I did not want to have him retested now, but will if his March mock writing is still below grade level. On the positive side he loves to read, and is figuring out division ("opposite of multiplying mom").

[Nancy.]

You know, it's really good to hear about a teacher that does a good job. A good teacher can make such a huge difference to a child and their family. You may want to post to Brice (ask an advocate) about strategies for getting Holt some of the services he needs.

My olderst (17) is applying to colleges - it's so unbelievable that she is so grown up and it all went by so FAST. I don't know what I will do when she goes off to college - I will miss her so much. She has been so great with her sister. We are blessed that her school has pretty amazing teachers - her AP Art History teacher is truly a cut above.

I just hope we survive the last of the college essays LOL!

Nancy