"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller

Monday, July 26, 2010

Happy 4th Birthday, Brycen!!!

How ironic that blogger just told me that this is my 100th post on this blog and it's about such a great topic! Brycen turned 4 on Saturday and was spoiled all day with toys, fun things to do, family that visited, an awesome Thomas the Train cake, all ending with an overnight slumber party with Grandma & Grandpa at the campground!

The highlights of Brycen's day are as follows:

  • He touched a fish that Uncle Pat caught!

  • He practiced casting off a dock on the lake.

  • He played ball outside.


  • He worked on hopscotch outside.

  • He opened presents that consisted of many Thomas and other train paraphenelia.


  • His babysitter brought him balloons (including a Thomas one) and a home-made balance beam made by her and her dad.


  • He smiled so big when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him!
  • He ate a big piece of chocolate cake!

He had such a full and exciting day with many people he loves and all kinds of things he enjoys doing!
Can't believe my baby boy is 4 already and starting his second year of pre-school in a month! It seems like yesterday that we were walking into the hospital, anticipating the induction and his arrival...and out he came, all 8lbs 5.4 ounces and even 2 weeks early and the love of our lives!

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Autism and Our Family

"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.

Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!

Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.

Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.