Mini Grant

The State of Pa offers an Autism Mini grant for $500. 3 Years ago we opted to have a fence installed around the back yard. We wanted Max to be able to go outside freely and play without worrying about his safety. That fence was worth every penny spent!

We contacted a contractor who happened to be a good friend of ours.  He came and did all the measurements and wrote up our estimate. We then filled out our Appication for the mini grant and submitted the estimate with it. A few weeks later we recieved a check for $500 to be put towards the cost of the fence.

This grant can be used for many things! Please take this opportunity to use it! This Year we filled out our application for Max to take theraputic Horse Back riding lessons. We are so excited for him to start this! And how wonderful it is to have resources to help with the cost!


The packet will have all the instructions you need to follow . http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7iZqJT9Rn1sA9xFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZWIwN2ZwBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMwRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0g0NjVfODY-/SIG=133qvp07h/EXP=1363121642/**http%3a//www.dpw.state.pa.us/ucmprd/groups/webcontent/documents/form/p_012001.pdf


~Amanda

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

Blessings

 Time has gotten away from me! Our Life has been Full...Full of Thankfulness, Answered Prayers and Blessings! We truly believe that the Good Lord is answering Prayers for our Max! There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not in amazement of our Son and all that he is accomplishing.  We are incredibly proud of Him!

 Let's rewind back to Thanksgiving. We started to have suspicion's that Max may have Apraxia of Speech. I wanted to look into things further for him. He was trying so hard to say things but it just seemed like something was holding him back. Up until this point Max was only using one word at a time and some sign. I looked into taking him to a Speech Pathologist and our visit was for the week before Thanksgivng.

 Max was very upset while we were there. It was extremely hard for them to test him because he didn't want to cooperate. Someone new putting demands on him doesn't always go well. It breaks my heart everytime I see him struggle. He just didn't have a good day. So, more less we had no more answers after we left than before we got there.

  In this journey I am constantly learning and being reminded that life isn't about how I want it to be! Leaving that appointment I felt discouraged. Discouraged because I wasn't sure where to go from there. I remember praying and asking God what he wanted me to do now. I have always thought that if  Max was to talk he would talk and if he didn't it was going to be ok! However, what Mom doesn't long to hear their child talk?! I know it was frustrating for our Family because Max had a hard time communicating his wants and needs BUT I had to think of how incredibly hard it was on him! We had tough days...He would cry and then I would cry because I didn't know what he wanted.

 Then, Christmas came! And what a Wonderful Christmas it was! Max literally started talking in sentences on Christmas. What a Miracle it was! Pure Joy was brought to us that Christmas because Max was talking to us! The "I love you, Mommy and Daddy's and Thank You"s and everything in between has been the best gift we could have ever received. I feel that God was teaching us to be patient and wait till it was His time to do His work. I'm not always the most patient person (my Husband can tell you) and it is something that I need to work on!

 God has done a Miracle in Max and I really believe that! We also have so many people to be Thankful for who have worked to get Max to where he is. Our Families who have supported us and most of all Prayed for Max. All of Max's Therapists and Teachers I can't even begin to describe what a Blessing each of you are! And all of our Friends who have been there for us. I just can't thank you all enough! I do believe God places people in our paths for a reason!

We still have many things to work on and difficult times are still ahead I'm sure but we are focusing on the Positives and being Thankful for the Blessings we are given!
 
~Amanda



Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

I wanted to update Max's blog, More so for myself so I remember what life has been like lately! Max is turning into the most handsome Boy. He is soooo tall and most everywhere we go someone will mention how tall he is growing! He is still a Pappy's Boy and thinks he is the greatest thing ever! Max and I have "Our Special" times normally in the evening when he brings me his favorite book " Heaven is Having You"...sometimes we read this over and over and I never get tired of it! And more times than not I find myself getting teary eyed when I read this to him because it couldn't be a more perfect book.

His Signing and Vocalization are coming more and more! Some words that he uses often are Ball, Meme, Car, Milk, Eat, Egg and DVD. And he almost always tries to say a word that you ask him too! His personality warms my heart! He is extremely silly and very affectionate but when he is in a mood watch out! When he hurts or doesn't feel well he prefers Mom and if he has a boo-boo he likes me to kiss or rub it and tell him it will be ok!

He loves his V-Reader and it is really helping him learn his letters! He does really well with the touch screen so I'm thinking sometime here soon we may get him an Ipad.

Halle loves Max sooo much and their bond they have with each other is amazing! They know each other inside and out! She is a wonderful big Sister!

We have another Dr. appt Today. Max was on a antibiotic for 20 days( actually 2-10 day antibiotics back to back) for Ear infections and Sinus infections. We find out today if he will be reffered to a Pediatric ENT for further tests and such. Praying everything works out the way it is supposed to.

He continues to like School and his Teachers! He had a great obsession with Santa this Year that was the cutest thing! Max has ABA therapy every week with Billi and we love her! He continues to have his Eczema and we are praying he outgrows this.

So there you have it...I'm sure I will be back to update on our Dr. Visit!

Is it really September already??? Here we are at yet another start of the School Year. As most of you know Max has been going throughout the Summer. Which I feel is a very good thing! I think it may have been a hard adjustment for him, to have 3 months off and start back into things with that big of a break. I have gotten great reports from his Teachers and that makes me so happy!

So how are things going otherwise...well, pretty good! On the eating front we have made some improvements! However, he is having difficulty chewing high textured foods. This is going to take some time to get him there but we are making progress.

Receptively Max is extremely smart. He knows so much more than what we could have imagined. Every time his therapist or I try to do something "new" with him he already knows it! With that said he is just having difficulty getting it out! Don't get me wrong he can get his point across with plenty of other ways than talking but, right now seems to be the biggest thing. For some reason he just can't speak and for whatever reason that is, it is ok! I long for him to talk to me, but only time will tell. God has a plan and I need to trust in that!

So, how am I doing with all of this now that, it has been 2 years since his diagnosis! Honestly, I still have good and bad days. Faith in the Lord has carried me on the bad days. I am not perfect and I try my very best at doing the best I can for my Son and Daughter. People still have negative things to say or "their" opinion, on how I should do this or that. I'm not sure that will ever go away. We still struggle with certain situations when it comes to going places. Brandon and I know what he can handle and what he can't...from time to time people like to make their comments but I have learned that it's ok, if people want to talk that is fine. They just don't understand what our life is like.

Honestly, I have been wondering why the Lord picked me to be Max's Mom. There are days where I feel I fall short of being a great Mom. I am not perfect and I always wonder if I could be doing more for my children and what decision is the right one...although I may seem to have it all together, that is far from the truth. However, I couldn't be more thankful for the wonderful gift I have been given. To be a Mom is not easy, especially when one has special needs. But, I love these kids so much and as long as the Lord is with me, I know that I will be doing the right thing.

It certainly has been a long time since I have updated about Max. Though it isn't for the lack of thoughts or emotions, that's for sure. I had to go back and read about our last post so I knew where to start. So you all know that Max has started a special school to help with his needs. I can tell you that I know that this is where he is supposed to be. He is thriving there. There are amazing individuals that work with my Son and this has made the whole transitioning process much more comfortable for Him. We feel so blessed at this point to have such an amazing team of people who want to help my Son and who care for him deeply.


Max is an incredible little Boy. A little Boy whom has been a Teacher to his Mom through all of this. Learning through a child who has Autism is an eye opening experience. My life has changed so much for the better. While some days are exhausting and frustrating I know that God is here with us. One of the things I have realized is, I can't imagine someone going through this Journey not having the Lord in your life. And for this I am so grateful.


A couple months ago My Gram and I were on our way shopping and listening to the Christian radio station. A Woman, with a soft spoken voice started to talk in an interview, I was about half paying attention. Then when I heard the words...Autism and Max, I immediately became intrigued. I listened as this Mother gave a little bit of her life story. She had just written a book with her Father called "Dancing with Max". I knew that I needed to have it!


Friday I made a stop at the Friendship bookstore and found the book. I can tell you that this book is a God send. Emily Colson is amazing as she tells her story of living with her Autistic Son Max. As I read the pages and cried at some of the details of their lives, I realized that so much of this struck home with me. While each child is different and unique in their own special way, So many of her feelings are what I have felt.

One night while I was laying in bed thinking about my Children and Max and his special needs. I realized something. God knew that Max was going to have Autism. Whether or not he was born with it or something caused it, He knew Max's life. God knows every precious detail about my Son and what each day holds for him. I am eternally grateful for this wonderful promise from the Lord, that he will take care of us as long as we walk this Journey with Him.

Max has taught me so much and I am incredibly proud of him!

It's that time of year again. The weather is changing and when this happens I know that my Baby Boy will soon have another Birthday. It is so hard to believe that in a short 3 weeks, Max will be 3 years old! The other day I was looking back through old blog posts and pictures....it makes me sad to think of how fast He is growing. He has changed in so many ways through this past year. This year is going to be a little different for us. When Max turns 3 He will transition to a classroom that is designed to help children with Autism. I have many many emotions that I have dealt with about the whole classroom setting. I know that it will be good for Him in so many ways, but as his Mom I worry about Him. We did get to go and visit the classroom and the Teacher. While there He had his evaluation and I think we were all pretty impressed with how He did! I am anxious for this change for Him because I believe it will be a great thing but, I could really use your prayers. Please pray for an easy transition, that He will accept the change better than what we would ever hope. This is one of my biggest fears for Him.

I have been thinking alot about what the Lord would want me to do for Max and ways that we can help Him. Last week I was talking with Halle's teacher about Max and she gave me a hug and said "Amanda the Lord knows who to give those special children to, He knew that you would take great care of Max." Those words mean more than you will ever know. I thank the Lord often for giving me the patience I need to get through each and every day. We have great and wonderful days and they far out weigh the bad but we do have those days where I don't know what to do. But He always gets us through. We are making it day by day...

In Max's short 3 years of life, He has brought us great joy and has taught me so much. My priorities have changed so much. Life is different but it is a good different. I am so Thankful that he is my Son!

So here we are yet again at a new Season of our life...We appreciate all of your Prayers!

On Monday the last thing that the Dr. said to me before we got off the phone was "Amanda we are going to get your Son better". This was wonderful to hear. To hear that he is confident in Max's healing. It is so wonderful to have a Dr. supporting you!


Like I said Before, I know that some may think that this is all craziness! I know that some are going to look at me like I am foreign But I am standing my ground. I have everything written on paper and in my hands. Max's therapists were nothing short of amazing, listening and sympathizing with the new information handed to us. His Special Instructor Said "Amanda, I don't think that you are crazy and it makes me look at issues in a whole new light". She thinks that Max has so much potential!


Max's OT was extremely intrigued about everything. She has told me from the start that Max is like no other child she has ever seen. That Max has all his skills but something is holding Him back. Well little did we know that in the huge packet I received about all of Max's Blood, Urine and Stool samples, we found a HUGE piece of information. A side effect to having Low Beneficial Bacteria is a wide range of Food Sensitivities and Textures. She was amazed to hear all of this. From the start we knew that Max had all the oral skills to eat but we couldn't figure out why he wasn't. Things are slowly starting to fit together.

Over the Year and a half Max has had therapy we have created a great friendship with his therapists. They are so great with Max. His OT is insistent that we keep in contact with her because she wants to know how Max is progressing on his different Supplements.

I do have a very exciting update. Today we received all of Max's Supplements and Vitamins. I was very skeptical on how he would react to taking them. I quickly learned what to put them in whether it be his Food or in his Milk. The Pro Bio Gold, Vitamin D and Cod liver oil is given once a day in 3 different Milk Cups. The Super NuThera is mixed with applesauce. This went so much better than I ever expected. He took everything without even a flinch! I am so proud of Him!