A Few FAS rants . . .

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Yucky! Yucky for Dustin to live through and yucky for us to deal with. Yucky to see my 12 year old boy struggle with simple tasks a 5 year old can accomplish. Just plain yucky.

Let's review . . . FAS = yucky.

I had a co-worker tell me that her daughter's midwife told her to drink a glass of wine. She said her daughter was overdue and that this would help her go into labor. HALT. You are telling a pregnant woman to drink alcohol. These professionals who tell their patients that's it's okay to drink any quantity of alcohol at any time during pregnancy should spend one day with Dustin. Let alone one's who suggest it. AGH! Stupidity abounds.

Let's review . . . professionals who advocate for alcohol = stupidity.

Dustin returned this weekend to the special needs program at church. We have been absent for a few months since his behavior was so horrible there. He did well. They had a Harvest Party on Friday evening and they had someone to escort all the kids around to each game. He had a blast and I love it when he gets one-on-one time with another adult and has as successful trip into the "real world". I took the other two kids to a birthday party at McDonalds and then we went shopping without Dustin. It was nice to have the littles alone, and I think it was good for them as well. All of us need respite every once in a while for our sanity.

Let's review . . . shopping without Dustin = calm.

I spent the other day talking to a friend about Dustin and the road we have been down with him thus far in our lives together. It is always nice to not only educate people about the struggles these children deal with, but how far he has truly come. It is so difficult to see the larger picture when you live through it daily. He really has come a long way. Hopefully the coming years will allow him the opportunity to grow and flourish even more. I have been noticing in the past few weeks the beginnings of reading skills. Dustin has come a long way when it comes to "functional literacy" with the curriculum in his MoMH classroom. They teach things like in/out, push/pull, open/closed. They also work on food site words and things that will help these children be more independent when they grow to be on their own, whether that be independent living or a residential facility. He has done well for the most part with the memorization. Lately I have seen a HUGE increase in print awareness and him trying to decode words. He doesn't have the skills to decode phonetically, but he does use the words that he does know or the pictures to attempt to decode what he wants to read. Oddly enough he can read most of the titles of shows on our DVR menu and our onscreen guide. It is amazing! I will take any little glimmer of hope I an get if it means his reading skills are finally emerging.

Let's review . . . Hope = peace.