I have taken the break from blogging for personal reasons. Specifically, I am getting divorced, after 18 years of marriage. I don't care to elaborate much, other than to say that the kids are doing well, and their dad and I are working together to ensure that this transition to a new normal is done with the best interest of all three of our children in mind. I was requested to stop blogging about Erika during this period, and I found it in my best interest to do so.
While I know that new challenges lie ahead, I am looking forward to this new phase in my life. I am eagerly anticipating my return to work, and the great news is that Erika has made great progress this past year, affording me the opportunity to move forward with my career.
Erika's New School
It's only fair to give you an update about Erika at this point. In January, 2011, Erika started taking Risperdal. So much has been written about Risperdal by the Autism community; I have read many accounts from parents reporting "zombie-like" effects from this drug. However, we have seen nothing but positive effects for Erika, and I feel a tremendous responsibility to other parent-advocates to report Erika's experience with Risperdal, and the significance of the resulting behavioral changes on her life in just one year.The effects of the Risperdal were apparent relatively quickly; after two weeks on a low dosage (0.5 mg twice daily), Erika became noticeably less compulsive and able to manage her behaviors. Whereas before she was defiant and combative (occasionally resorting to physical assaults), her overall anxiety level became much more controlled. With the anxiety under control, she is able to focus on the world around her. Far from being "zombie-like," she is much more "Erika-like." We have been enjoying "the real Erika" very much.
During the 2010-2011 school year, Erika's teaching staff saw her at her worst (behaviors escalating through Christmas, 2010) and at her best (throughout the Spring, until the end of the school year). Toward the end of that school year, if there were moments when Erika refused to participate in activities and work assignments at school, the staff were able to reason with her, re-direct her, or encourage her to complete the tasks at hand 90% of the time, with relatively little effort. We were thrilled with this progress, and we have had similar experiences at home during this period.
For the 2011-2012 school year (her 4th grade year), Erika moved up to the classroom of older children, right next door to the previous year's classroom. Her behavior and ability to focus and engage with her teaching staff carried through to the start of this school year last September, and by the end of October, it became obvious to her teacher and me that Erika no longer belonged in the same restrictive classroom environment. Erika was now a misfit amidst the other ASD children in this class; she was the calm in the room, surrounded by constant movement and chaos. She dealt with her situation fairly well, but this was clearly no longer her least restrictive environment.
Between the end of October and Christmas break, we put the wheels in motion to move Erika back to our home school district. By the second week of January, she started at her new school (that's considered lightning speed, by all accounts, for getting a student transferred from an ISD program to a less restrictive program back at the home school district).
For the first time since kindergarten, Erika attends the same school as her triplet brother and sister. She has only been there for a few weeks, but all reports are that she is doing great. She is even surprising me, as her teachers are reporting that she can sit and listen to some classroom "lectures" alongside her non-disabled peers for as long as 45 minutes at a time, without being disruptive. Pre-Risperdal, even five minutes without causing significant disruption would have been unthinkable. Erika spends time in the general education classroom for reading time, and for all of the "specials" (art, music, gym), including any special activities that happen in the gen ed class. Her peers (many of whom are friends of her brother and sister) have rallied around her, offering to support her and help her whenever they have the chance.
I know that she is benefiting tremendously from the inclusion at her new school. An important consideration in removing her from her former classroom as quickly as possible was that Erika was beginning to model some behaviors of other children in her classroom. This did not serve her well in her former classroom, but modeling her peers does serve her well in her new environment.
Life 2.0
Although I could elaborate, that is the extent of our great news that I am able to share at this time. As for me, I am looking forward to many more online projects in the future, once my new beginning is official. I am currently studying advanced search engine optimization (SEO) techniques as well as in-depth web analytics, and I'm hooked. It's right up my alley, and I cannot wait to start some exciting new projects.Stay tuned, and God Bless
Erika's Mom
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