The Shepherd Who Stole the Show

Tonight was Tannehill School's Christmas program. An excerpt from the story was read followed by each class singing two songs. The pre-school and kindergarten were dressed as characters from the manger scene. Grant was a shepherd. Programs have never really been Grant's thing. He can't sing the words to the songs. His global apraxia (which affects all motor planning) makes it difficult for him to do the arm motions. In my eyes, if he stands on stage and faces the right direction and keeps from distracting the rest of the class, it's a success. Tonight was pretty successful. Ms. Wendy only had to re-direct him a few times through his classes portion of the program. He stood on the riser facing the front (most of the time) and in the end of the second song, even attempted a few of the motions. However, Danny and I could sense trouble brewing. We could see the gleam in his eye. I am not sure who decided to have him stand on the riser instead of on the stage, but that is neither here nor there. As his class was exiting stage right, Grant had been good as long as he could stand it. That's when he launched himself off of the risers on stage left, landing on his stomach on the stage. The whole crowd gasped (except Danny and I). Ms. Wendy rushed to his aid. As she was picking him up, Grant looks at me with a GIANT grin on his face and yells, "I FINE, MOMMA!" The crowd burst into laughter and applause. My mom and I laughed until we cried. Oh that boy! Many may not realize it, but those three little words that Grant yelled were HUGE! H U G E ! ! ! Yes, he caused a "scene", but I couldn't be more proud. For an apraxic child to be able to put together a spontaneous, complete sentence and yell it out in front of a crowd of hundreds is amazing and a fete to be celebrated! There were several there who understood the greatness of the moment and commented on how clear his speech was. Those comments and understanding blessed this little momma's heart more than words can describe. You see, part of those tears that were shed by me were of pride and thanksgiving. One word, one sentence, one "scene" at a time he is getting there. He is beating apraxia. Oh. That. Boy...

Halloween 2014

Best Halloween yet! Every year, I have picked out Grant's Halloween costume. I have asked him if he likes what I picked out and he has always said yes. This year I was looking at costumes and was sure he pointed to a ninja turtle costume. I had it in my mind that is what he wanted to be, until about a week and a half before Halloween, that is. We were in the car and I asked him, "You want to be a ninja turtle for Halloween?" To which he replied, "No. Inon Man." I asked him again and received the same response. For the first time, ever, he was able to tell me what HE wanted! Luckily Wal-mart had an Iron Man costume. I would have had one over nighted if I had to. Grant LOVES Halloween and everything there is to it. He loves the decorations and the mystery. This year he added new phrases. It spooty for it's spooky and it stareded Drant for it scared Grant. I love hearing him say them. His trick or treat is much clearer this year as well as his thank you. This year when trick or treating he would try to name whatever character handed him a treat (if they were in costume) - tant you dog! At school, they have a costume parade. All the students and parents gather in the gym. Each class goes on stage and then each student tells who or what they are dresses up as. Last year, Grant was unable to say batman, but this year... Oh this year... He proudly stood in front of everyone and announced"I Inon Man!" He's my little SUPER HERO!!!

A Strange Breed of Parents...

Apraxia parents are a strange breed. Why, you ask. We are the only parents on earth who celebrate when other parents would be thinking of punishment. How many parents do you know who celebrate when their child says a curse word? Apraxia parents do because it is a new word or a new sound. We live to hear each and every new sound and word. At times, we are known to celebrate when our kids get into trouble at school. Grants teacher uses an app called class dojo. This app enables her to post updates throughout the day regarding each students behavior/progress. The parents can look at their child's report on their mobile device. Positive marks are green and negative are bad. Grant and I always discuss his marks. He knows the difference in the colors. One day not too long ago and found a red mark. I was disappointed until I saw what it was for - talking out of turn. TALKING!!! I tried my best to reprimand Grant for the red mark, but I just couldn't.

Boys Will Be Boys

So Grant got into trouble today at school. For the first time ever, he was able to tell about it. When I asked him what he did, he said, "Push. hit. Box." After speaking with his teacher I learned he pushed another boy into he storage cubbies when they were getting their supplies out. While I was not happy about the incident at school, I was overjoyed that he was able to tell me about it. Later in the evening, he and Danny were home while I was at a meeting. As a result of the bad behavior at school, Grant was not allowed to watch tv and therefore had to keep himself otherwise entertained. Danny was feeding the chickens when Grant came running around the end of the house yelling "Fwy away! Fwy away!" while throwing something up in the air. Danny went to see what it was that Grant was tossing in the air, only to discover it was a dead bird he had found in our driveway. Oh that boy...

Ice cream strikes again...

Sometimes, you just have to laugh, right? Just now, Grant and I came in from swimming. He took his trunks off. I told him to go get dressed as I went to change. I walked back into the den to find him kicked back drinking the rest of his shake that he had gotten earlier in the day - in the buff. I sat down on the other end of the couch thinking, "I really should make him go put some clothes on. Nah, in a minute." I was enjoying the rest of my shake when Grant let out a yelp. I thought he had seen a bug or something until he let out a second yelp. I looked up to see that he had spilled his shake all over himself... and yes, nether regions included. No wonder he was yelping! I stood him up, grabbed his blanket to stop the rest of the shake from running down inside the couch. I went and got a towel to wipe Grant down with and to clean up the mess on the floor. No, I didn't get mad. I was giggling too hard. The look oh his face was priceless! Now he is in the tub and here I sit, still giggling as I type this. What can I say, but OH THAT BOY!

Ice Cream!

It is fun to think back to when the apraxia journey first began and how far Grant has progressed since then. Bear and I were talking about one such instance yesterday. A few years back, she and I went to McDonalds with Grant. We ate and let him play. When it came time to leave, Grant said "i-peem" which was Grantanese for ice cream. I went to the counter to ask one of the clerks if he could have a kiddie cone to which Grant said sternly, "NO! I-PEEM..." I tried explaining to him that is what I was getting as the clerk handed the cone to me. It was then that he again said "no" and pointed at the menu and started jabbering something that I couldn't even begin to understand until I looked up at the menu board and noticed the picture of the ice cream shake with whipped cream and a cherry on top. I turned to Grant and asked "you want an ice cream shake?" To which he giggled, squealed, jumped in the air and shouted "YEAH!" Oh that boy!

Apraxia Awareness 2014

The second annual apraxia awareness day took place on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Like last year, I made awareness ribbons and passed them out. Emailed the media and told anyone who would sit still long enough about apraxia. CASANA launched an intiative to have apraxia awareness day recognized not only in the whitehouse but in each individual state. Another apraxia mom, Danielle, got the ball rolling in Oklahoma and received a response. Senator A.J. Griffin drafted a resolution declaring it Apraxia Awareness Day in the state of Oklahoma and invited apraxia stars and their parents to be present in the gallery while the resolution was read into the record. Of course I jumped at the opportunity! Our little group decided to have matching shirts made. So on the 14th, Grant and I dressed in our blue apraxia awareness shirts, went to speech therapy and then headed to the capital in Oklahoma City. I explaine to him on the way up that this was a big day and that we were going to meet some important people. Upon arriving at Senator Griffin's office, we were treated so kindly. She and her secretary were so patient with our little apraxia stars. We took photos and then headed to the gallery. We sat and listened while the resolution was read into the record. Even though it was difficult to understand at times, due to the sound system, it was still touching. Then Senator Griffin recognized us in the gallery. That is when the most amazing moment of the day happened. All of the senators present that day, stood, faced us and gave us a standing ovation. Our little stars who are so often looked over or pushed aside for being different or difficult to deal with were BEING HONORED! They were being recognized for their hard work and perserverance. A moment I will NEVER forget! Since that day, more amazing things have happened. I had the opportunity to be interviewed by the local newspaper. Grant's story was on the front page! Because of that article, another apraxia mom from McAlester got in touch with me. We are support for each other and are working together to further raise awareness.

Greeeen Acres is the place to be...

Green acres is the place to be... Farm livin' is the life for me... Well, then again, maybe not. Wednesday night, Danny went to the Thunder game in Oklahoma City. He was going to feed the chickens before he left, but I, being the awesome wife that I am (lol)told him not to worry. I could handle it. Some one please slap me if I let those words roll off my tongue again. I put my oh so sexy chicken feeding attire on (t-shirt, shorts, ponytail and duck shoes), grabbed my egg collecting basket, chicken feed and headed to the coop. First rattle out of the box,I let one of his prized (favorite) ameraucana chickens out of the pen. Every step I took closer to her she took three away from me. I tried luring her with the dried meal worms but she is not as big a fan of them as some of the other chickens. Finally, Danny's Poppa helped me herd her back into the coop. Mission accomplished - catastophe avoided... for the moment. Some of our chickens are sick - one particularly sick. I leaned down to look at her and decided to pick her up to investigate a little closer - bad move. She let out a loud squawk and here came Robert the Rooster to her rescue. She ran off and Robert bowed up. Just as he jumped to flog me, I planted my duck shoe in his chest. He scrambled backwards, recovered and came at me again. Ding! Round two. This time he was met with a galvenized bucket I had in my hand (thank heavens). He ran one way and I ran the other - right out the coop door. I waited for him to go outside in his little chicken yard, then I ran back into the coop to block him out there while I finished feeding and gathering. Robert has no idea how close he came to being battered and fried. Maybe I should follow Mickie's lead and get ducks...

Memories

Isn't it funny how a song, a sound or a smell can throw you back in time faster than any time machine ever imagined? Not too long ago, I dropped my car off at the local tire shop to be serviced. They were kind enough to give me a ride to work. I opened the door of 90's model Ford Pickup truck and the smell of cigar smoke came waifting out. As the engine started the radio began to play the local am country station. I closed my eyes and for a brief moment I was heading to the stockyards with my papaw. The smell of diesel sends me back to the bus depot where I waited so many times as a child to see my daddy come pulling up in an eagle bus. Oh how proud I was. That was MY daddy driving that big bus! Just last week, I sad outside in the early morning. Between the humidity in the air, the rooster crowing and the chickens clucking, it almost felt as though I was at mam-maw's waiting for breakfast to be ready. Ah... thank heavens for precious precious memories!

IEPs and Standardized Testing

Just the title of this post makes me go GRRRRRRRRRR! How on earth is a person to develop something "individualized" from something "standard"? There is nothng NOTHING standard about my child. I would like to tell the government what they can do with their "standardized" testing. Gant was evaluated twice. Both results were pretty similar. He is labled as being "intellectually disabled". Polictically correct term for mentally retarded. I have news for the goverment and their tests - my child is the farthest thing possible from mentally retarded!! He is smart, he is intelligent, he is imaginitive, he is loving, and he is going to prove them wrong! In the mean time, I will focus on the positive side of this label. Because of it, he receives the maximum amount of help possible and will therefore overcome!

Titty

Ah, the fun of having a child with a speech disorder. You have to have a good sense of humor otherwise you may not make it. A somewhat stray cat has adopted mom and dad. Grant is intrigued by this cat. He is constantly looking for him ouside. He will stand out in the yard yelling "Oh TITTY TITTY, where are you?!? Here TITTY TITTY! EAT, TITTY TITTY?!?" Grant is so sweet and genuine when he talks about and to the cat, but I can't help but giggle a little when he says titty.

The Flash Strikes Again!

A few months ago, Danny, Justin, Maceo and Michelle played in a disc golf tournament at Chandler park in Tulsa. Kim, Grant and I tagged along. Before heading out to shop, we hung out at the park with the golfers for a bit and then headed to the nearby play ground to let Grant unwind a bit before the shopping began. Chandler park is a large park and was busy that day with cars, people and flying discs. Grant was the only child on the playground. Kim and I visited as he played. I looked up at one point to see him climbing on the fence. I told him to get down and kept talking to kim. A milisecond later, I looked back up to see Grant blazing a trail across the park. He had already run across a road and was darting out through the middle of the disc golf course. All I could picture in my mind was him getting knocked out cold by a disc or getting hit by a car. I took out after him yelling for him to stop. I heard one dad say "Man that kid needs to be the running back on a football team." I yelled at Grant again "William Grant, stop right now!" Evidently in Grantanese that means "kick it in overdrive" because he glanced over his shoulder at me and ran faster. Thankfully another man took mercy on this poor chunky momma and asked if I wanted him to stop him. I gasped "please". He was able to grab the hood of Grants jacket bringin him to a screaching halt. Needless to say, play time was over. Oh that boy!

My Super Hero

Here is my super hero.  He doesn't normally wear a cape and a mask.  He can not leap tall buildings in a single bound, no webs shoot from his wrists, he can't fly, but I think he is AMAZING!  Not too long ago, I was having a pitty party and wondering "Why, God? Why my child?"  I have often voiced this question out loud.  Then one day at work He spoke to me.  I was working on cases of children who had been neglected and/or abused.  God said to me, "You ask why Grant.  What do you think would happen if I had chosen one of these children instead?"  Wow!  It was then that I realized that Danny and I had been chosen for a most special mission - to do our best and be our best to be the parents and advocates this amazing little man deserves.  Why God chose me, I may never know.  I sit and watch Grant as he works so hard to do things and say things that come so naturally to the rest of us.  No matter how difficult the task, he presses on.  He is so determined to do what others do and communicate with other people.  If he is unable to say the words, he always finds another way to communicate his message.  Just this morning, we were outside, he was playing and I was sitting, enjoying the moment watching him.  He looked at me and said "Momma" and started beating his chest like Tarzan, then he stood up, leaned forward and threw his arms behind him like batman does when he is flying (and of course Grant had on his Batman pj's), then he ran over grabbed my hand, turned away from me and put his other fist in the air just as Superman does when he is saving Loise Lane.  Oh little man, you have no idea just how super your momma thinks you are!