Please Help Travis Go To School

We took all the kids roller skating Saturday night at the Macon Skate Center with Aunt Jessi and Uncle Dutch. It was the first time on skates for both Travis and Loree. Loree caught right on but Travis had a little trouble with the concept.

One of the refs, Roy Johnston, who volunteers up at the skating rink was very helpful. He took the time to skate with Travis and help him along. He was totally awesome. Not many people would take the time out for a 6 year old who can't master his skates.

They are having a benefit for the ref this weekend because he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Please see his page at roy.maconskatecenter.com/ and come on out to the skating rink for the benefit.

My oldest son, Marc Anthony, and his cousins, Kale and Miranda, had a concert tonight at school so we gathered all the kids up and went to watch them perform. They all did a wonderful job playing their recorders and singing with their classmates.

Travis, who usually can't stand crowds, was very excited. He stood in the back of the auditorium with his uncle Andy and cheered for Marc. It was really cute because at the end of every song, whether it was one Marc was in or not, Travis would yell "Go Marc!" or "Good Job, Marc" at the top of his little lungs. He really enjoyed standing in the back because he could dance while they were playing and jump a bit when he cheered his brother on.

I'm particularly proud of Marc, as well. He always does well with performances but he did something else that really amazed me tonight. There is a little boy in his class who is handicapped. He was standing right next to Marc on the front row and you could tell that it was really difficult for him to stand for very long. With his ADHD and other issues, Marc is usually a child who doesn't like a lot of physical contact but he could tell this young boy needed a shoulder to lean on, literally. He stepped a little closer and helped his friend stand for the whole performance. It may not have meant much to other people watching but to understand how Marc feels about his personal space and to see him let down the wall to help someone else was really touching for Gigi and I.

I got a lot of pictures of the concert and I hope to post them soon. I will send out another post as soon as I get them out of the camera.

Heavy snow last night led to a snow day for all three of the kids today. Guess what disrupting their normal schedule does?

It is absolutely crazy here today. Kids screaming and jumping and running. They say "silence is golden but duct tape is silver." It makes sense now...

On a more serious note, I hope everyone is having a safe day today and staying inside where it is warm. Keep your chin up and listen for the sound of my sanity snapping.

Travis participated in his schools Christmas Pageant last Thursday night. It was really a great performance. You could tell he was nervous but he did really well. As soon as I get some pictures uploaded, I will post them to the blog.

It was really amazing to watch how he interacted with his classmates. He tried to keep up with all the dance routines but he had a little trouble. Marc sat in the back of the hall and kept doing the dances with him so he could look out and get a cue on the next step.

He even had a couple of brief speaking parts, which was really cool that he was included.

On a seperate note, he had another new achievement yesterday. He drew a picture of a cat and in very neat lettering wrote the word cat above it. It may not sound like much to you and I but, for Travis, this was a huge achievement. We are very proud of him.

http://www.leecountytimes.com/parent-training-helps-children-with-autism/

A recent study shows that autistic children need more than just medication. A study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which was part of the NIMH Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) Autism Network, was published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Children involved in the study were divided into two groups. One group received drug treatment and the other group received a combination of drug treatment and parental training. The parents of the second group of children attended 11 training sessions over the course of the 24 week study.

While both groups showed improvement over the course of the study, the children whose parents went through the training sessions showed greater improvement.

What does this tell us? Your children need you to participate in their therapy. By taking an active part in their therapy, you will greatly increase their chances at making progress. It may be difficult to keep up with doctors visits, counseling appointments and parental training. It's sometimes hard to find time to fit these things into your schedule. But it is very important to your children and their future. Make the time and be a big part of your childs care.