It has been a while!

Here we are at another cross-road. Moving to MIDDLE SCHOOL next year. Its hard to believe Whitney is going into 7th grade.

We are zoned for a school I would not wish on an enemy, so the hunt for a home begins. We have our eye on a beachside school, but it will mean a lot more driving for us, at odd times of day due to start times of school. They have a smaller school with a great supported ESE unit. I talked with someone from UCF Center for Autism last night whose friend is the teacher, and she was very glowing. We are setting up a visit to make sure it is the right fit, then a joint IEP meeting will be held with that school. I'm making a little portfolio for Whit to help introduce her to the new staff - likes, dislikes, strengths, triggers....I think it will help the transition.

Let's see, some catchup:

We are still seeing the neurologist in Orlando. Love her lots. We are really struggling with weight (53 pounds at age 12 is below all the normal charts...yes below the CHART, not the line), so we are trying an antihistamine that has a side effect of hunger. Day 5...she ate her entire breakfast. I am encouraged, but she is mapping longer. Have to watch that. We also doubled her Carnetine. That basically helps clean metabolites out of the cells and moves long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria.

We spent 2 years without milk...we saw some slight changes, but nothing to get excited about...so we moved Whitney onto a gluten-free diet this year and put her back on milk products, including ensure. We all think the GF diet has produced a profound change. We know she does not have celiac disease, but I think she is sensitive to gluten. The instances of behavioral melt-downs have almost stopped at school and at home. If she eats gluten, we can almost guarantee seeing some sort of anger/extreme frustration reaction. She is so much better at controlling her emotions. Yes, that could be maturity, but we are going to continue that diet. Its pretty easy...so much replacement food available. She does miss pizza, so I give in when we are at our favorite restaurant with nothing planned the rest of the night. That does not seem to have lasting effects - maybe 12 hours of iffy issues.

Whitney is shooting up so tall though...she is shorter than others in her grade, but boy she is growing fast. I think it has been a good 2 inches since august based on letting her hems down. She is over my shoulder now. WHEW.

Whitney has a lovely nanny now. Paige is just a part of our lives. She lives in the poolhouse, so in emergencies she is right here. She helps Whit with her homework, and we have seen a lot of improvement with her having time to spend on that rather than the rushed after-work job we could do. Paige has some nursing experience too, which has been a great help to all of us.

We added a wheelchair this year, after Aunt Erin said.."why not?" It has made such a difference for very long walking days like at amusement parks. The crying and whining has almost disappeared. It was a mental hurdle, but she needs it to be comfortable. I'm glad we made that decision.

Well, that's all for now...I'm sure as we transition to Middle School I will be posting more.