5/28/08 Update

Update on Ben: I know many of you often wonder how Ben fits into the picture and although we don't talk about Ben on this website very often, rest assured Ben gets plenty of attention:) Ben is not aware of Tyler's therapy for the most part and when he is home when we work on things, then he's usually included in what we are doing. Just rememeber, a lot of Tyler's therapy includes play activities or bath time, etc. Ben is included in all of that. OT and speech are at daycare and OT includes Ben in a lot of the activities. Ben also get special time with dad and grandma ever other Saturday when he gets to go somewhere fun. Mommy and Ben have a special night out on a weekly basis so that he can get one on one mommy time, so believe me, Ben is getting plenty of love and attention :) He's probably more lucky than most twins that's for sure. On a health note, Ben had his annual physical with the cardiologist today. He still has a small hole in his heart, but it should not cause a signifnicant impact on his life and they expect it to close by the time he is 6. Just a reminder, if he is ever injured or goes to the dentist, he does require antibiotics to prevent infection to his heart. We go back in 2 years to check on it again, other than that, no problems.

As for Tyler, he was back to normal at dinner time last night so we aren't sure what happend yesterday, maybe he was just worn out. He was really doing well with feeding himself with a fork. We are also anticipating the results of his urine test any day to move forward with his biomedical therapy. Grandma is coming this weekend, yeah.

Mom and Dad are planning a 5 year anniversary get away in July. Aunt Susie will be watching the boys so we are beginning to put supports in place to make sure the transition for Ty ler is easy. She's collecting pictures of her daycare kids, home, camper, etc. so we can start showing Tyler pictuers and talking to him about what he'll be doing and who he'll be seeing. Thse types of things help Tyler deal with changes in his routines.


I have google alerts set to send me any story in the news that talks about "autism"...this story is horrific. All of you can prevent things like this from happening by talkign to people about autism, what it means and teaching tolerance. It's just awful.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Kindergarten ASD Student "Voted Out" of class By Peers
St. Lucie teacher reassigned after student 'voted out' of class By Colleen WixonOriginally published 10:12 a.m., May 27, 2008 Updated 06:30 p.m., May 27, 2008PORT ST. LUCIE — Morningside Elementary kindergarten teacher Wendy Portillo has been reassigned until further action may be determined, according to St. Lucie County School District spokeswoman Janice Karst.Last week, Portillo held a vote in her classroom in which kindergarten students "voted out" 5-year-old Alex Barton, who was in the process of being tested for Asperger's Disorder, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex's mother, Melissa Barton, said the vote was taken after classmates were allowed to tell Alex what they didn't like about him.The class voted Alex out of the room, by a 14 to 2 margin.Portillo was reassigned out of the classroom at the district offices on Friday, as soon as Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon heard about the incident, Karst said. She said it could be up to two weeks before the district's investigation on the matter is concluded.Portillo has been a St. Lucie County teacher for 12 years, and at Morningside Elementary for nine, Karst said.Barton said Tuesday morning that Alex had officially been diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. He is not in school, but misses the one friend he made in the classroom, she said."He's a little better today," she said. "He's just being Alex."Barton said she thinks Portillo should be fired."She has no business being near children at all," she said.As to the news of Portillo being reassigned, Barton responded, "That's just a slap in the face."