Echolalia....Echolalia

I swear Autism is fun at times...frustrating at others...it's nice to be able to laugh once in a while though....

Harley's echolalia is getting worse...everything, and I mean EVERYTHING I say to this child, the last word of my sentence is repeated...sometimes it's more than the last, but typically the last one...so now we have this thing going....

Harley repeats the last word I say...

I follow it by "echolalia" and he says "echolalia"....I did this at the pediatrician's office once and she about fell on the floor laughing...

I like to make people laugh.

I think I'm gonna upload a crapload of pics today....I have GOT to get some of these pics put onto CDs...since ALL of my camera cards are overflowing, so if you're a picture person, who likes to look at our pics...come back soon...and ENJOY!!

I'll probably try to get some up on facebook too...man I am so far behind in my pics!

When Harley says....

Mom you really need to go to sleep...you know he's planning some trouble. He really has no emotional attachment to tell when you need something or feel something...

Andrew had taken the others out for a while today so I could rest. For some reason I am having sensory issues, when the noise gets too much I am on total overload...BUT he left Harley home because Harley wanted to play PS2 and we figured he would stay downstairs and do that

WRONG!! Harley came a trollin' as soon as he heard them pull out of the driveway...pacing around, acting like he was watching tv, reading the newspaper...I knew something was up!

He went to his room for a while and I actually was able to relax...was about to fall asleep when I heard the rustling of a plastic bag in the kitchen. I called to him...what are you doing?....

Nothing mom...You need to sleep!! I start to get up off my perch on the couch and he starts to scream (talk about sensory overload on my part?!)...you gotta lay down...go back to the couch...go now...I need my marshmallows....

Ahh, I love the way autistics can tell on themselves without even a second thought! LOL

Scheduling conflicts

No school for Harley today...He has an appointment with his psychiatrist...The only time we could schedule it for is 10:30...well school starts at 9:05 and in order for me to load/unload/reload the two little ones, sign him out of school, and get to the appointment, I'd have to get there about 9:30...just not worth sending him for the morning. I have the same problem with taking him back to school...not only that but he tends to have major meltdowns when he's driven to school (you know, it messes up his routine to not ride the bus to school and to arrive in the middle of the day). So for everyone involved it's best just to keep him home for the day...

Now AFM: I woke up with a major case of sciatica...it's been switching sides the last couple of days but today it is SEVERE to where it is painful just to walk...picking up Zachary is extremely painful! Hell, even sitting is painful! So trying to load both boys in/out/in/out/in/out/in/out of the car seat (at home to get to the school, at the school, at the appointment and upon arrival at home)...oh man I can't imagine how much pain I would be in after all that?!

Well here's where the scheduling conflict comes in...Harley has to be dropped off at behavior therapy at 3:30 since he can't be picked up at school (and they won't pick him up from home if he's not in school). That means we'd have to leave at 3...Andrew has to be to his job by 3 at the latest...Zachary's speech therapist is here from 2:45 to 3:45 so I won't be able to drive Harley (and I really don't want to reschedule Zac's speech therapy--especially at the last minute!) Then Harley has to be picked up at 5:30...but Andrew now has a client from 5-6pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday...

Typically on Mondays we leave here at 4 and go to Andrew's job and drop off his time sheets, then pick up Harley on our way home from that, but now that Andrew has that dinner time client he has to do his paperwork earlier so he can be back here by 4:45 to go to his client.

So the one way we can do it...Let Andrew go to his job for paperwork and take Harley (Andrew has to take an inservice test at work today though and don't know what we'd do with Harley). I wish behavior therapy would just let us drop him off early! Then he could drop off Harley on his way home. When he leaves for his lunch time client I could drive to pick up Harley and return home about the same time he does from his client so I'd have help unloading the van if my sciatica is still acting up.

Our biggest problem is getting him there at 3:30....I wasn't thinking he'd be home today when I scheduled Zac's appointment for speech therapy...*sigh*

And totally off topic: Could sciatica be a pregnancy symptom? LOL

Oh yeah and with this pain, I probably won't get much done in the way of my housework. At least I got a lot of it accomplished yesterday...Just minor things like loading the dishes and sweeping the floor and vacuuming before the speech therapist arrives. I definitely won't be braving the stairs to do laundry today!

Gearing up for quite a day!

Harley gorged himself last night ... ate a whole box of chocolate donuts (this kid's getting sneaky and somehow managed to sneak a box of chocolate donuts into his room). It seems he also absconded two bananas, add to that a cheese sandwich with ketchup and some chocolate milk...) Well he vomited it all out! -- just as I was about to drop into bed for the night since yesterday was a crappy day too..

So I have all sorts of linens to wash...including blankets. Thank goodness my washing machine is extra large capacity that way I don't have to go to the laundromat with all these kids! I'll have to buy him new pillows though...those I just threw in the trash!

Tyler wakes me up to SCREAMING bloody murder...saying HOT! He has diarrhea and it burned his butt. Found out that Andrew gave him pear juice yesterday and didn't water it down! This happens every time!

Zachary -- he had shots yesterday...I thought he was just getting just one since he already had his flu shots -- SURPRISE! He got SIX! So he's being clingy (which I really don't mind, he doesn't take time to snuggle much anymore!) -- BUT I have to get some of the laundry done...I'll be doing laundry all day! -- Oh yea and Zachary is fine, but on the way to get his shots, he vomited this wonderful concoction of lunch and curdled milk all over himself, the van seat and his car seat yesterday. He's not handling the switch to regular whole milk from formula well at all! I switched him back to formula for now and we've had no more episodes...Thank Goodness!

Robert & Kelly get to come home today and stay till Friday of next week -- which means they will be here for Christmas!!!

We were planning on starting with our annual Christmas Cookie Bake...IDK after dealing with all these bodily fluids if I'm really up for making cookies all day long...

TMI: (remember how to read invisible ink?)--Ovulation day is quickly approaching...of course Andrew is working extra early hours and so he's been napping twice a day for 3 hours at a time, getting up just in time to go back to work...and he has a toothache...so I guess no bd'ing for us in the next few days this won't be our month after all :(

I somehow twisted my knee yesterday so it's swollen up like a balloon and hurts to put any weight on it...great day to have to run up and down the stairs doing laundry all day!

Ahh, the first day of winter break for the kids...and still I have Christmas Shopping to finish :D

Halloweens Past

Halloween 2006 Kelly was a kitty, Tyler was a frog....Robert decided he's just too old to dress up for Halloween (a first time for me! YIKES! What do you mean my kids are too old to dress up for Halloween?)....Harley?? He was a giraffe, no...wait, a dalmation? Or should he just go as a construction worker? Here's the answer but if you want to know how the 'decision' came about, enjoy reading below:


Each year we have the dilemna of what does Harley want to be for Halloween? Last year he decided to be a giraffe (and that's what he told everyone who asked him the question we all hear at this time of year: "What are you going to be for Halloween?"). We got the costume and then he refused to wear it...sigh...An hour before leaving for Safe Halloween Festivities at our local high school, Harley decided he wouldn't get any candy if he didn't have a costume....(thanks to the bigger kids!!). You think he would wear the giraffe? Of course not....

We took a step up from past years, where we have a 'back up' costume which consists simply of a bright orange vest he can wear over this clothing or coat...Since he doesn't wear hats (oh, the joys of having kids with sensory issues!!) that was the extent of the costume...he was a construction worker.

Last year we changed routine (and the fact that we had to be ready within a 1/2 hour before we had to leave for Safe Halloween by this point)...We got a plain white tee shirt and put some black dots on it with a sharpie...The beginnings of a dalmation costume (not bad if you ask me for having to think it up in 5, 10 minutes!!). He donned some black pants and then disappeared...Where is Harley?? He was hiding out in his room with the black sharpie drawing a wonderfully crooked 'dot' around one eye....


He wouldn't let me touch it up!! He still enjoyed his trip to the Safe Halloween!!

A couple of nights later when we went to go trick or treating (on Halloween night)...He wouldn't allow us to paint any dots on his face, so he wore just the tee shirt and a pair of black pants. In Colorado it's usually so cold once darkness dawns that you end up having to zip up your coats and wear mittens or gloves...Well, in all essence, this made it look like Harley was not wearing a costume at all...BUT he still got candy!! And that's all that matters to him!

Oh, by the way to remove permanent marker from skin you can use two things (these two things combined removed the 'eye patch' Harley painted on himself!)...Baby oil (and let it soak in a little) topped with some generic makeup remover and then washed with plain soap and water.

Harley at the Taste of Colorado

Ha! I bet you thought I'd have a picture here...

We took the light rail to downtown today with Harley & Tyler. I intended to get some pictures, but it just didn't work out. Harley was totally oversensitized by the number of people there. He was acting pretty autistic on the train on the way there to the point that I just KNOW that the lady sitting across from him was dying to know what his 'issues' were...Even the trains were crowded with Standing Room Only...

We got off the train and there was a street performer who was doing a comedy act dressed as a robot. I thought he was great but I had a hard time hearing him over Harley's crying and clawing...Now if you recall Harley LOVES robots...Everything is turned into a robot (my vacuum cleaner included!)...BUT he was absolutely terrified of this guy...kept calling him the enemy and hiding behind me screaming. Instead of people moving aside to allow him through the crowd, they stood there and gawked at him like he was some kind of freak. I just let it happen...I didn't do any autism awareness today (shame on me!)...Finally the crowd cleared and the performer came over to talk to Harley which sent him into total spasms. (We did explain to the performer that he has autism, and the performer had knowledge of the disability and began a discussion with Andrew while I was dealing with Harley). It was funny in a way...I used to cry when he acted like this in public...Now it doesn't faze me anymore...I can only imagine what the general public was thinking...

First stop when we got to downtown was a McDonald's...At Harley's insistence. I figured OK, he probably won't eat anything else that's served down here and this is probably cheaper anyhow...So we got him some McD's.

We got to the area where the street vendors were and things didn't improve much. He kept seeing things and saying there was too many enemies...So we walked down the 'service' side of all the street vendors selling food --the backside where you can't buy food!...There was just TOO much of a crowd to try to maneuver Harley through...So at the end of it all there was no opportunity for me to grab a bite from one of the many, many vendors (I was thinking by going it might juice up my appetite since it's been lacking...).

We found a tent where they were selling tie dyed stuff and Harley decided that was the place to be...He bought a tie dye baseball cap (we've been trying to get him to wear a hat for years with his fair skin, red hair and freckles!) I must say he picked a wonderfully colorful hat! It has all the colors of the rainbow on it!

As soon as he was done shopping there, he insisted we had to leave before more enemies showed up...(It was getting more and more crowded). We were two blocks away from the 16th Street Mall shuttle...Had to walk through throngs of people and he was just freaking out...some lady with a stroller came by swearing at him with the F word and nearly ran over both he and I...THIS TIME I would've said something if I had had time to but she was cruising along at quite a clip! Harley didn't hear her or he probably would've freaked more. Andrew and Tyler were behind us (as close as they could be anyhow, with all the people) and saw it all go down...

It seeemed we were entering a clearing in the crowd and Harley began to calm down...Then all of a sudden the band on the KYGO stage began playing and singing (really loud since we were next to the speakers). There was an area marked off for some reason (not sure why) by those metal barrier things and Harley tried to escape the noise and crowd through there and was stopped by security...This guy was in no mood to hear an explanation so we could ask if we could cut through the area. (There was absolutely NOTHING in the area marked off--just big open sidewalk!!). So I held one side of his head to my body and placed my hand over the other ear and walked as fast as I could (with a child's ear pasted to my belly anyhow!)

We finally made it to the mall shuttle bus stop and the first bus was too crowded for any more people to fit, so Harley had a FIT! So we began walking towards the train in the hopes of catching the next bus at the next stop -- and hoping it wasn't too full! We made it two stops before we found a bus with enough room to let Harley sit...All the previous busses that came by were standing room only.

Well, we made it to the light rail and Harley was so happy to be getting on the train homeward bound! The first two trains were the wrong lines, so we had to wait for the D train, but he managed to understand...

After arriving home we asked Harley what his favorite part of the day was...(he doesn't understand the word favorite, so we actually asked him what he liked the best...He responds with "the wind up toy" ...Heck that was the toy he received in his happy meal at McD's!!??

Would I have changed anything that happened today? Probably not! Harley needs to be exposed to these types of situations and I'm glad that I'm around to help him do so!

I found this Blinkie

It says it all!

I am going on an adventure! - A sad story about Harley tonight

Since this blog's name is Harleyisms, I thought I would include this Harleyism. It's not a fun one and in fact has probably led to this, my 4th night in a row with severe insomnia...Therefore, I hereby disclaim that I am batty at this point! I even tried to get a nap in twice today, but my body just wouldn't let me relax (or was it my mind?).

We tried to get Harley to eat a chicken salad sandwich tonight with us (rather than making him something totally different -- Like a PBJ! or Pancakes or waffles). In the past, we've been successful at getting him to eat chicken salad in a tortilla (like a wrap) or even some chicken and cheese on a tortilla (a quesedilla - mom style). Tonight, he would have no part of it. He took one bite (I really should give him credit for doing that much) BUT then he spit it across the table! It nearly made me gag (I can't stand the thought of someone throwing up or the sound or smell of it!--and the sight of the chewed piece of bread just nauseated me). I managed to keep my cool through it (and my cookies too!). The next trial was to ask him to try to swallow a bite...that began scratching me on the arms and screaming and kicking/jumping up and down with all his might...That just set off Andrew and he did a take down on Harley to 'try to calm him down'. EDIT I personally think this was a little extreme! Take downs no longer work and just upset him and escalate the problem nowadays. Harley has also figured how to get out the various holds (since we don't really hold him hard or anything). So in my efforts to now calm both Harley and Dad down, dad gets upset that I intervened and feels that I am calling him a bad parent. In the meantime, I have to leave the dining room because Tyler is totally freaked out by everyone's behavior!

Suddenly Harley announces he's going to go on an adventure. (BTW, that means he's leaving the house -- atleast he announces it now?! - I'm kind of glad he's verbal now!). I am already in my nightgown (NOT my pjs with pants which is what I usually wear!) -- At the same time Dad decides he is going to go out the back door because he can't stand listening to Harley while I try to deal with him, since I felt "he has substandard parenting skills". Well, how am I supposed to deal with Tyler (he was dressed, but I wasn't and there was no way to just pick him up and carry him off with me) and deal with Harley for all intents and purposes ready to run away??? I had to ask dad to stay in the house and deal with Tyler so I could deal with Harley. (Harley is now at the point that he rages all the harder if he even sees dad because the take down was traumatic to him. I finally get a chance to run after Harley (still in my nightie!) and he's halfway up the street (thankfully it's a dead end street, but at the end there's a greenbelt) and it's nearing 7:00 and beginning to get dark....I can't stand the thought of losing Harley (or any of the other kids either!!).

I talk with Harley and he decides that dad is possessed by an evil character he's made up in his mind...I tried to explain that dad was frustrated, but Harley was convinced that dad was angry....I asked Harley if I could at least go home and put my clothes on since the neighbors don't want to see me in my pj's...He just can't bring himself to come home but said that I could go home and he would 'go on an adventure by myself'. I couldn't very well do that! So instead I tried to reason with him and tell him that he would need shoes to go on an adventure (thinking I could sneak in and put clothes and shoes on myself). He still wouldn't have any part of it. Well the dog (Summer) had followed us -- she follows us everywhere!! She showed me that when I say help Harley she actually butts up to his side and brings him along for me...It worked! I've gotta remember to get her a special treat.

I talked Harley into standing on the edge of our property line (he wouldn't go into our yard because dad was on the swing in the front yard and Harley was still having his raging episode and was worried that dad was possessed by an evil monster! (all this because of a take down because of not wanting to eat a chicken salad sandwich?). I talked dad into keeping an eye on him to see where he will go, but to NOT follow him...I managed to get my clothes and shoes on and then talked Harley into getting the dog's leash to take her on a walk...I even managed to get his shoes for him and he put them on (no socks, but hey one step of progress is better than none at all!).

EDIT: I actually left a part out there..While I was in getting dressed Harley decided to get into the van. When I came out Andrew had him 'cornered'. When I was talking to Harley about getting his shoes on and taking the walk, Andrew insisted on staying put. I asked Andrew to move and give him some personal space (he was waaay too close to Harley and he needs his space when he's this upset). Andrew began yelling at me till I was in tears about how I think he sucks as a parent and that I think he's an @$$hole...I didn't say anything of the sort, but now the neighbors probably think that I called him those things. This morning when Andrew and I were talking about it, he explains to me that he was in Harley's face because Harley was calling him names and telling him how mean he was....who's the adult here?

We got about one house down and Harley began hallucinating that there were cameras watching him, armored tanks coming to attack and three headed dogs...By this time, dad had put Tyler in his stroller and decided to walk a couple of paces behind us. I talked Harley into taking a different route around the block to 'hide' from the evil things he was seeing...We ran into a neighbor who decided to strike up a conversation with Harley, the dog and dad. We talked for about 15 minutes. By then Harley was ready to head back home because he felt 'it's safe now'. When we got home, dad apologized to him and got Harley crying all over again. It's so hard on him, he's just starting to grasp the idea of feelings and takes it so hard sometimes. It's heartbreaking to watch....

I discussed with Harley that if he ever wants to go on an adventure, he needs to take a parent or Robert or Kelly with him--that it's not safe for him to go on an adventure alone. He just doesn't understand any safety rules and I am now so worried that he's going to hallucinate back in time to this episode and decide to leave the house. I gotta get the ADT guys back out here and figure a way to get our door chimes set louder or get a second speaker installed in the hallway (or my bedroom), or get it set to alarm all the time?

I am such a nervous wreck that he's gonna leave I'm not able to relax....Well of course there's other things keeping me awake too but I am so worried about losing my precious little boy!?

Heck, if you've actually read this whole thing, you've gotta be a real friend! I can't really vent to anyone else. I can't vent to 'my ladies' -- I'm so sure they are tired of hearing all my 'woes'....It sure feels better to get it all out in some way shape or form though -- even if no one reads it.

Going to a new school

This year I am going to be in 5th grade! I will be going to my new school. Here’s a picture of the door I will be going into to go to school each day.

The school symbol is a roadrunner.

Going to a new school will be fun!! There are lots of new kids to be my friend!

There is a nice library with lots of books.


There is also a computer lab with LOTS of computers in it. I LOVE to play and work on the computer!


In the cafeteria, there is a cool traffic light. The light tells us when there is too much noise.


I already met some of my teachers. They were nice and let me play with some of their toys.

I met Ms. Duncan, the talking lady. Here’s a picture of me with Ms. Duncan.


I met Ms. Thomas. She will be my teacher when I am not in the 5th grade classroom. Here’s a picture I took of her at the meeting!!


I also met Ms. Grimes. She will help me when I go to the 5th grade classes. She is a speech therapist like Jackie and Danielle.


The principal is a nice guy. His name is Mr. Linton. Here’s a picture I took of him with Tyler, mom and dad.


I can’t wait to start school on Wednesday August 22, 2007 so I can make new friends and play on the playground at recess time!!

What you are allergic to?

This is the way he actually talks, but seems I'm always modifying it so that it sounds more 'normal' (OOOpps! I should say Neurotypical??).

Caution: Do not sneeze when he's around. He will HOUND you to know what you are allergic to. The poor kid's got so many allergies that he figures anyone with a tickle in their throat or a sneeze of any sort means they are allergic to something!

First it was Tyler. He just had to follow me around for 5 minutes asking what he was allergic to because he had sneezed. He just wouldn't accept that Tyler is not allergic to anything that we know of, he probably just got dust in his nose...So Dr. Harley has now diagnosed that Tyler is allergic to dirt!!

Then it was a random stranger in the grocery store. When he asked her "what you are allergic to" she couldn't understand him. He hounded me wanting me to ask her his question (it would help if he didn't 'whisper' things when he speaks). I tried to explain that you can't ask that of people you don't know, but he insisted on following her through the store to figure out on his own what she might be allergic to. So Dr. Harley made another diagnosis - she's allergic to Shopping...I explained most ladies ARE NOT allergic to shopping but maybe their wallets are??

I can't wait for cold season to get here...I wonder how hard it will be to explain some people sneeze when they are sick and not necessarily because of allergies...

He can be so LITERAL!!

Well, trying to get Harley ready for his transition into a new school has not been as easy as he made it seem last spring! I took him by the new school three times last Friday. This is how it went:
Try #1: Kicked, screamed, scratched and couldn't get him out of the van (or even out of his seatbelt for that matter).
Try #2: No screaming or other episodes...The door of the van is open!! A step in the right direction
Try #3: Got him to actually open the door as if he was going to get out of the van...Nearly got one foot out of the van!! Of course, the school was being locked up about the time I came around to help him out of the van...This coming Friday is another day.

HOWEVER, I did finally get his social story written about "going to a new school" (I may just post a copy of it here and let him read it on the internet!! - Maybe things will go smoothly if he thinks someone other than me wrote it???). He has finally explained to me the problem!:
It is NOT a new school. It is an old school!

OK, so be so literal on me. . . See how long it takes me to catch on!!!

Andrew-ism of the DAY!

OK, so it's not a Harleyism today. . . My sweet husband couldn't remember the name of the cat. . . Scooter. . . He says. . I know it starts with a P --- Ok, so I guess the spelling of the cat's name should be Pscooter! Funny how the P reminded him that the cat's name was Scooter!

And I finally uploaded pics of before and after haircuts!! These are from Tuesday!
Tyler before:

Tyler AFTER:


We MIGHT start painting the baby's room today. Since they are both boys, we're going with a green color. . . We'll see if we end up painting other accents. . .