A little more part II.......

Oh dear - he's got that look again...........

I remember one night about 9 years ago now, Brandon was 6 years old and the batteries in his "Kermit" were dying and Kermit was talking very slow. Brandon had a fit - tears were pouring from his eyes and he was "scream crying", usual behavior when something quit working. I decided right then that I was NOT going to let "batteries" control my life any longer. I stood there with the screw driver in one hand and batteries in the other and I looked him straight in the eye and told him to stop crying and I would fix it for him. Well, obviously this didn't work on the first take - that would have been a divine miracle - however, I held my ground and eventually he stopped crying and I changed the batteries for him. I continued this lesson religiously and one day he handed me Kermit and I asked him if it needed batteries and he shook his head "yes". I was busy so, I told him to set it on the counter and I will do it in a minute and he sat it down and walked away - no crying - no screaming - he understood.

We began to use this "exercise" in many different situations that needed to be addressed and I know it has helped him to be more open to change, become more patient and helped him to learn and understand better. The most important thing is that we make sure we follow through with what we tell him but then again, don't you expect that from others? It wasn't always easy, this exercise was trying on both of us but it's calmed him down, taught him patience and helped his brain to learn a different behavior. Perserverence is the key.

Brandon has come so far in the past 9 years and he continues to grow and learn every day. This year he competed in "Special Olympics" through school - bowling and basketball (individual skills class). He absolutely loved it and believe it or not, he's pretty good at shooting baskets! He took the bronze in the Bremerton Tournament for scoring the most points in his age group.

I must admit that once you experience these kids competing in special olympics athletics, you realize that they are capable of so much more than you ever knew possible.........what a great program.

Brandon out -


Pack The Gym Night at Sumner High School
He shoots and he scores!!



A little more...........

Spring break has gone pretty good, considering the weather sucks. Of course Danielle, who has been staying with Brandon, may completely disagree.

Monday Cooper, the little ankle bitter, got loose in the house and because he didn't know her, he began to bark at her and show his teeth. This would then prompt Austin, the Rotweiller/Shepard, to get up and protect Danielle by puttng Cooper in his place which usually results in Cooper rolling over and putting his hands in the air.Yesterday, Danielle locked herself in the garage (with the ankle bitter) and because Brandon was sound asleep upstairs, she was in quite a predicament. Unfortunately, she pushed a button that opened the garage door and Cooper, who also happens to be quite a runner, escaped. Now, Danielle is locked out of the house and Cooper is on the loose. Although this hasn't been the easiest week for Danielle, she has done a fantastic job and there has been no harm done to anyone or anything. So relax Danielle - you done great!!
I will pay for any and all therapy...............

Brandon is very, very good about entertaining himself and considering that he has been out of school all this week one might think he would be getting difficult to keep busy however, that's not the case. Although routine is a big part of Brandon's day and school is part of that routine, Brandon has gotten so much better at accepting change in his world.

There was a time that something as simple as replacing batteries in a toy created major meltdowns in Brandons world - MY GAWD! THE TOY QUIT MAKING MUSIC!!!!!!!! I tell you, we frantically searched for batteries and tools to change them so that the screaming and crying would stop!! All part of the Autism.

Brandon used to come home from school and scan the house to see what was different - what was moved or replaced or new - he always spotted what ever it was when it occurred. Don't be fooled into thinking that your special needs child isn't smart - they are smarter than you give them credit for.

One day I experimented - I moved a tiny figurine, maybe 3 inches tall, from one place to another and would you believe he noticed it was moved right away! Not only did he notice it had been moved but he searched the house, found it and returned it to it's original place. I found it so interesting how his mind worked. He doesn't do that as often now or at the same intense level as he did then because he has learned to accept changes however, there was a time that it mattered to him and would throw his world off  kilter until things were as they were suppose to be - the way that Brandon knew they were suppose to be.

Fascinating don't you think?

Brandon out -

We miss you every day Kendall

Spring Break Begins!

Today is day 2 of  Spring Break and Brandon slept in until 10am - lazy head. One might think that (Prince) Brandon might have been up late because he "could", without consequence, continue to play with his toys until early hours of the morning, or perhaps he attempted to pull an "all nighter" and whoop it up with his friends Elmo, Shrek, Thomas and "Blue". Neither are the case. Simply put - Brandon loves to play and he loves to sleep - taking after his mother. Considering he refuses to stop growing - his body requires all the sleep he can get, including his after school naps that he's become quite comfortable with.

At first we were very concerned with the fact that Brandon appeared to be overly tired when he would come home from school but we attributed that to the fact that he started high school and it was a more demanding schedule than that of middle school. Although that may account for a part of his tired behavior, it didn't seem to explain all of it and since Brandon is non verbal, in terms of forming complete words and sentences, he could not explain to us the way he was feeling  - all we could do was observe and take action based on those observations.

We had read an article about childhood diabetes and we thought Brandon may be displaying some of the symptoms. Of course, we were throwing ourselves into a paranoia that was birthed from the fear of not understanding what was going on with him because he couldn't tell us and NOT knowing what was wrong with him caused us to build on the fear that we created. This comes with the territory when you have a child that is non verbal - you have to diagnose and disect everything.

As it turned out, a simple blood test eliminated the fear of Brandon having diabetes and our self imposed stress. The simple fact of the matter is that he's 15 and he's a growing boy............

I wonder what time the Prince will rise tomorrow??

Brandon out -

Now GET OUT - I'm tryin' to sleep here!

The creation of the blog begins

Today is a very important day.  This blog has been in the makings between minds and ideas for over 5 years. We've finally been able to get the help and direction needed to make it happen with the collaboration of two family's coming together with a single cause.

Over the years, as we have raised Brandon, taken him on adventures, trips, or even just just taking him to school, we have had to overcome many obstacles, and have discovered many rewards and routines to make it all worth while, all at the same time discovering new abilities that we never thought possible with his condition.

Our 15 year old son has moderate forms of both autism and cerebral palsy.  We, as any other parents, have wanted to give him as many experiences in his childhood as possible, but with his conditions, have always wondered how he would react, how he would take things, and how we would go about executing the plan to achieve everyones expectations.  We've found that in most situations, things work out, so long as everyone's attitude is where it needs to be. 

What we aim to accomplish with this blog is not only to have an event diary of events and adventures we go on, but also to branch out to others with similar situations and interests, to help them better understand and accomplish their goals.

Here's a video of brandon doing one of the things we never would have guessed that he likes to do, but that he thoroughly enjoys, regardless.

We look forward to the future of this blog, and the many benifits it will bring to us, and to everyone who can relate.

Thanks for reading, and till next time

Brandons Daye.