Home Reno Update

I haven't posted much about the home addition/reno that's been going on for over six months because by now, we all feel like this about it (captured aptly by Little One).  The mental health toll is real and we're struggling.

The entire project, phases 1 and 2, was supposed to have been finished at the beginning of June.  The addition is relatively complete at this point and we have occupancy of our beautiful new kitchen and dining room plus the adjacent family room. The landscaping around the addition is taking shape, too.

However, the other side of the house looks like this as of today and there's no end in sight yet to the reno.

On the upside, we were able to donate our old kitchen and bay window to Habitat for Humanity which made us really happy.

To be continued...

School's (Sort Of) Out For Summer

The 2023/24 school year has come to an end and we're all very excited for summer.  At the same time, unlike in years past, we're also already prepared for the lessons of the next academic year which alleviates quite a bit of stress for me.  Under Ohio's new home school law that went into effect last October, there's less of a bureaucratic burden on home schooling families and the requirements are more flexible.  Accordingly, the level of materials I need to prepare are much fewer particularly since we have learned that less is more with two of our students here and that a fairly interest-based approach works best.  This is why some of us now know all about poop and MRI scanners.

With me our 8th graders will work on Science (the water cycle, landforms, vertebrates) and History/Social Studies/Government (presidential elections, US presidents, kids who made a difference plus culture of Armenia/Bulgaria).  Language arts and math will be covered through their other teachers that meet with them multiple times a week.  I have prepared about ten laminated info sheets by topic and a couple of sets of flashcards and that's all we need to start.  Any other materials will be located and provided throughout the school year based on the kids' progress and interest.

Our sophomore will be taking Geometry, Biology, Ancient History and an art class at her home school school and a History of Western Drama class here with me at home.  I have already selected the plays we will read and will formulate my lessons plans as we go.  Big Girl and I have agreed that we will try to complete this class with the required 130 hours by the end of December 2024 (we have started the class already and will go through the summer), so that she can focus on Biology and Geometry in the spring and prepare herself for the state testing.

Big Girl will also continue to work on obtaining her driver's license. She has completed all required education and passed all theory tests and will begin her lessons behind the wheel in an adapted car on June 18.

PSA: Iron Deficiency

We just experienced the results of undiagnosed, severe, long-term iron deficiency in a very scary scenario, so I want to mention some lesser known symptoms of iron deficiency here that may go unrecognized especially in individuals with complex support needs.  I am also adding details about how some of these symptoms were expressed in our case verbally or physically.

1) Whooshing in the ears: "My ears are humming."

2) Rapid heart beat: "My heart hurts."

3) Poor sleep: waking up multiple times per night and walking around

4) Poor growth

5) Restless legs: legs drumming on the mattress multiple times per night while asleep

6) Ulcers/cracks in the mouth: "I have sores in my mouth."

7) Sore tongue: moving tongue around the mouth vigorously

8) Brittle nails

9) (Increased) anxiety

10 (Increased) depression

11) (Increased) symptoms of ADHD

12) Itchy skin or rash: "All the clothes are itchy."

13) Poor temperature regulation: "I have a little fever."

We saw multiple specialists to address certain isolated symptoms, but until this week, there was no cohesive interpretation of what may have been underlying a slow physical and mental health deterioration, presenting itself in all 13 symptoms above over time.

In addition, if you take SSRI or SNRIs, please have your doctor do complete blood cell counts with some regularity and test for iron/ferritin levels etc. specifically as well.

Temps

Big Girl passed her BMV Knowledge Test today on first try and now has her temporary instruction permit identification card - well, the card is coming in the mail soon, so for now it's a print out.  She's ready to begin her driving classes with the help of Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.  She studied hard and earned this next step toward independence.  We're proud of her.

British Fairy Cakes

Big Girl's group of closer friends includes several teens whose parent/s are first generation immigrants (Sweden, Colombia, UK, Pakistan) which has prompted an ongoing joke this winter in our family about pastries from other countries.

After a sleepover with her BFF last weekend Big Girl and her friend surprised me with British Fairy Cakes in response to the joke.  Such a sweet gesture of them and yum.

Pathological Demand Avoidance

As our children develop, sometimes we recognize that certain aspects of their individuality can be classified into a diagnosis which does not change who they are but gives us fresh approaches to parenting and teaching.  We recently realized that one of our children has Pathological Demand Avoidance.  You can google it if you want the scientific details, but said child's teacher found a great summary from a book by a writer that has PDA (Calendar Girl by Sally Cat).

IAC Results Sessions 595-598

 The following referrals were issued in IAC session 595 which was held on November 16, 2023:

1) US dossier from May 2016 referred a male child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from July 2017 referred a female child aged 8 years and 9 months with features in health status

3) Canadian dossier from December 2022 referred a female child aged 10 years and 7 months with features in health status and a family history

4) US dossier from November 2023 referred an identified waiting child

5) US dossier from November 2023 referred an identified waiting child

 The following referrals were issued in IAC session 596 which was held on November 23, 2023:

1) Canadian dossier from September 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months with feature sin health status

2) Dutch dossier from September 2021 referred a female child aged 2 years and 9 months with features in health status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from February 2022 referred a male child aged 11 years and 6 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from October 2022 referred a male child aged 3 years and 8 months with features in health status and a family history

5) US dossier from November 2023 referred a brother and sister aged 8 years and 4 months and 7 years and 2 months with features in health status

6) US dossier from November 2023 referred an identified waiting child

7) US dossier from November 2023 referred an identified waiting child

 The following referrals were issued in IAC session 597 which was held on December 5, 2023:

1) French dossier from October 2020 referred a male child aged 2 years with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from February 2022 referred a male child aged 11 years and 11 months

3) Italian dossier from January 2023 referred sisters aged 5 years and 2 months and 8 years and 6 months with features in health status and a family history

4) Us dossier from March 2023 referred a female child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status

5) Italian dossier from April 2023 referred a sisters aged 10 years and 2 months and 9 years and 2 months with feature sin health status

6) US dossier referred an identified waiting child

 The following referrals were issued in IAC session 598 which was held on December 20, 2023:

1) Spanish dossier from July 2013 referred a male child aged 10 years

2) Italian dossier from September 2022 referred four siblings (three girls, one boy) aged 5 years and 9 months, 8 years and 11 months, 4 years and 6 months, 6 years and 9 months

3) Canadian dossier from June 2023 referred a brother and sister aged 6 years and 5 months and 5 years and 4 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from December 2023 referred an identified waiting child

5) US dossier from December 2023 referred sisters aged 11 years and 1 month and 13 years and 2 months

6) US dossier from December 2023 referred an identified waiting child