ELLA

This morning, my heart is beating wildly with fire as I wonder at God's might!!! The journey since Ella was born has been full of sorrow, doubt, intense maternal & physical pain, nervous excitement, insecure surrender, peace, fear, tears, empathetic pain, belly laughs, joy beyond measure, heartbreak, weeping, depression, agony and unmatched rejoicing at God's amazing miracles!!!! This little girl has thrown us for more loops than a 100 mph wobbly roller coaster with unlimited loopty-loops and death-drops!  You know the story.  By human logic, this little girl shouldn't be here.  The one and only way she lives is because of God's grace, power and mercy. Last year, just after our HUGE leap of faith to pursue the adoptions of two little ones, we discovered that Ella had not only ADHD, a swallowing disorder and severe Sensory Processing Disorder, but also Autism.  This came as a huge challenge to what God had called us to.  We knew that God knew since the ...

" Autism is a complex neurobehavioral disorder that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills and rigid, repetitive behaviors. The disorder covers a large spectrum of symptoms, skills, and levels of impairment. It ranges in severity from a handicap that limits an otherwise normal life to a devastating disability that may require institutional care. Children with autism have trouble communicating. They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel. This makes it very hard for them to express themselves either with words or through gestures, facial expressions, and touch. A child with autism who is very sensitive may be greatly troubled -- sometimes even pained -- by sounds, touches, smells, or sights that seem normal to others. Children who are autistic may have repeated body movements such as rocking or hand flapping. They may have unusual responses to people, attachments to objects, resist...

How do you camouflage Autism? Can you somehow get magical clothes that make you "blend in" in the midst of flapping hands, shouting whispers, shouting shouting , jumping in terror and covering ears at regular sounds, spinning in circles, manipulating and inspecting an object for hours at a time, screaming at the idea of getting in a shower, stomping feet, biting, pinching, jumping away from a pat on the arm, and melt-downs?  If so, sign us up! I'd like to order the special "blend-in" clothes for WalMart (especially for the check-out lane), church and neighborhood purposes.  Machine washable preferably! Each of these places create the toughest arenas to regulate Autism symptoms and also end up creating the largest spectacle opportunities. While strolling down the isles of WalMart in the top toddler seat of a shopping cart, on most occasions, Ella can be seen (and heard) aggressively chewing on her bright green chewy (or poor little toy of choice) while sing...

Two weeks ago, we added two "A" words to our lists of diagnosis' for Ella: ADHD & AUTISM While the doctor was symptathizing and giving me tools to cope and greive, I was rejoicing because of the fact that we had a reason for our exhaustion!  Calvin and I weren't crazy after-all (or bad parents).  All of the paint-chip eating, poop smearing, diaper wearing, spinning, flapping, night terrors, screaming at peers, sensitivity to touch, inability to sit at dinner, need of routine at bedtime, inability to express emotion verbally, obsessing over certain objects and their mechanics, constant movement and inability to focus or listen to instructions had an explanation, finally ! For many families, receiving the Autism diagnosis is such a devestating blow, but for whatever reason, to us, it was a relief.  We understand that there is the possibility that Ella will never live on her own, will never drive, or even function in a "socially acceptable" ...