A little piece of heaven

I really love this quote:

:: Children ALWAYS Cooperate ::

Parents often feel frustrated when their children
don’t “cooperate” — when they don’t go along with the
parents’ stated intentions.

Today, no matter how your child behaves, take the
perspective that your child is *always* cooperating
with you — if not behaviorally then *vibrationally*.
Children sense their parents’ “vibes” and reflect back
a similar vibration, often exaggerated in their
behavior.

For example, if your child is impatient, ask
yourself how s/he might be “cooperating” with
you vibrationally. “In what way(s) have *I* been
emanating an impatient vibe?”

If your child is resistant, ask yourself, “Am *I*
being resistant in some way?” Look beyond the
obvious and *feel* for an answer.

Fortunately, it works both ways, so that when you’re
feeling joyful, your child will “cooperate” with that,
too. But depending on your established patterns of
interaction, it may take some time for your child’s
*behavior* to reflect your positive vibration.

From EnjoyParenting.com

Nathan is fully back to himself, and has regained what he’d lost. His teacher is thrilled to see him “back”, as am I and everyone that knows him. Which is funny because a couple of months ago I felt that where he was, was not enough. I wanted him to be stronger, more head control, more trunk control. Right now, today…I’ll take it! I’m thrilled with exactly where he is right now. I’m thrilled that he is back to his happy giggly kicking wiggling noodly self. I’m thrilled that he is back to cruising in his pony, bossing us around with his dynavox, charming us with his cuteness.

Another “notch” on the belt of acceptance. One notch closer to full unconditional acceptance. One step closer to accepting him, and life, just the way it is. A few steps away from the constant worry of “am I doing enough” and a few steps closer to the knowledge that the most important thing, by far, is his happiness.

Funny how paradigm is everything, right? A shift in paradigm changes EVERYTHING about our reality!

Today we introduced a ton of new content on the Dynavox and he was SO EXCITED. We made it so he had a lot more “chatting” opportunities and he thought that was amazing. He couldn’t stop telling us about all of the places that he likes the most, like Disneyland, Tita’s house, and camping. I had so much fun watching the wonder in his eyes as he realized he could do more than play games and make choices…he could TALK to us! It was the perfect early day mother’s day gift.

And of course I can’t leave his sister out of this post…because Dorje and Belle always go together.

Today’s Belleism:

We gave Nathan a bit of chocolate as a reward during his speech therapy. I left some chocolate out that we didn’t give to Nathan. A little while later Belle came to me and gave me a big hug and I asked her where she got the brown stuff on her face. We figured out that she’d stolen the chocolate so I said, “Isabelle” (in a semi-stern voice). So she hugs me tight and then starts showering me with kisses. Of course I couldn’t help but burst into fits of laughter!

Where, oh where, does this kid get this stuff? How did she learn to use kisses to get her way??!! Who is teaching her this stuff? Cuz it sure ain’t me!

PS – I did get some great ideas for posts…for those who emailed suggestions – THANK YOU, I am working on a few different posts, just getting all the pics and content ready!

Today it struck me that Nathan alone is like an economy.

He needs a business manager. That’s me. Here are some of the things that I am CURRENTLY working on:

– Scheduling his PERCS surgery
– Finding an AAC clinic and setting everything up (paperwork etc)
– Getting his wheelchair (appealing with insurance)
– Switching his medicaid away from a managed car plan
– Changing Regional Center coordinators
– Finishing parent-training hours for ABA so he can start his ABA intensive
– Scheduling appointments with his therapy team
– Getting him assessed with the current usage of the Dynavox
– Dealing with our lawyer and the school district
– Ordering his supplements and replacing ones that we are running low of
– Renewals for his MB12 shots from a compounding pharmacy
– Creating new pages for his Dynavox

And so much more.

He receives services by many people to help care for him and improve his quality of life:

– Physical therapist
– Occupational therapist
– Full time nurse
– Medek practitioner “master” plus someone who comes to our house to DO medek with him daily
– Feldenkrais practitioner
– Aug Comm therapist
– Rolfer
– Homeopath
– Acupuncturist
– Chiropractor
– Music therapist
– Horse therapist
– ABR trainer
– Respite care worker
– Pediatrician
– Orthopedist
– Neurosurgeon
– Gastroenterologist
– Orthotist

These are the people that he sees on a regular basis.

His needs are many. He needs physical rehabilitation. He needs vitamins and supplements. He needs help with communication. He needs special educators. He needs doctors to look after western medical type stuff. He needs equipment – lots of it.

Staying up to date on rehabilitation and medicine and developments in the care of people with cerebral palsy is also important, as it helps to find out what’s going on so we can improve his quality of life.

And let’s not forget the fact that he IS ALSO just a regular kid, and needs to have fun too! And since he can’t have fun like regular kids can (for example, on a bike, running around at the park, etc), we also have to find ways to cater to his needs for him to have fun.

Why am I mentioning this? I realize I am kinda stating the obvious. I guess it just struck me just how much goes into caring for a child with such extreme needs like Nathan. I’ve been doing it all along, but in my usual chaotic halphazard way. Writing it all down makes me see exactly what’s entailed, how many people are involved, and how many different thing are involved!

And my point? I don’t know. Sorry. Guess this is mostly a ramble. I was just writing my todo list. And I caught a glimpse of the big picture too. So I posted. Anyways. I’ll get back to it 😉