Tag: Autism
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Give It Some Time
This is a picture of Tony’s current AAC device that was taken right after he requested to watch one of his favorite Tinker Bell movies early Thursday afternoon. And as a picture, it communicates even less than our little man did in the asking. You don’t know how long it took him to make these…
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Speech Device Battle Coverage Update & Notice to Cure
This is an impromptu post for the week, and my originally planned post with a few videos will still be running on Friday. I will do my very best to keep that one much shorter. More than a month ago, someone forwarded to me the original media alert sent out by the Autism Society of…
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Speech Device Update: Denial Received & Initial Response
Today, Andy and I took turns waiting at home to sign for a letter from the department of the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities that handles applications for speech devices regarding their ultimate decision on the recommendations of the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) evaluator. For those of you new to this blog, I will…
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Checking In With OT
Over a year has passed since our last occupational therapy (OT) update. Shortly after our last post about what we were working on with her, Amara went on maternity leave and another therapist was covering as our little man’s OT provider for a few short months. We are grateful Amara was able to resume working…
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Vacation for Two
Our last family vacation happened over two years ago. The extent of the work required to pull off that trip successfully left me feeling far more strained and stressed than if we’d stayed at home. Frankly I can’t recall a time when I was so pleased to return home. For Hannah though, we had still…
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February Gratitude & Reading
To Amara For roughly a year and a half now, you have patiently come into our home once each week to provide Tony’s occupational therapy. Since that very first visit I have been grateful for your positive attitude and your willingness to meet Tony where he is at. You have a wonderful way of listening…
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Additional Information: New Speech (AAC) Device Policy by AZ DDD Disputed
My sweet husband Andy reads each of my weekly posts. After reading last month’s post “So Many Questions,” which was written about the challenges our family had been experiencing trying to obtain an updated and medically appropriate speech device for our son (whose current device has been malfunctioning for nearly a year now), he noted…
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Sleep Band-aid
Simplicity and I have a very complicated relationship. Sometimes I can be comfortably entwined with something that is stripped down, and others I feel that all of the details of a particular situation are demanding an acknowledgment from me with equal force. Sometimes the way I write about our experiences is just a product of…
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New Year’s Mombie
Miss R is the sweetest. Our little band of public therapy rompers encounter her sometimes at one of our local Target stores. She of the fabulously sparkly scarf, brimming with kindly energy and enthusiasm, asked me January 1st, 2020 how my day was going. Only after hearing the sepulchral dustiness of my answer, and glancing…
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The Ghosts of Christmas Left Behind
A couple of nights ago, Andy removed much of our outdoors holiday light display, leaving only remnants of bush netting with lights that might discreetly pass undetected during any roadside scrutiny from the HOA until he has enough spare time to finish the job. Inside our home, three deflated stockings still grace the walls…and one…