Am I the only planning freak?

I don't think I'm even half as much of a freak about planning as I once was. Believe it or not ... I've mellowed with age. Sure I was always able to be a little bit spontaneous, but not too much. But since the hubby is anti-planning I guess I've begun to stop battling.

Even with that admission I still can't believe what's happened this week and assume other parents must be semi-planners like myself.

I've been DYING for some sort of conference, seminar, group therapy session, anything related to CAS to be available to us. Everything I find at apraxia-kids.org and kidspeech.com have seemed to be local support groups or local seminars. (Those two organizations seem to be the go-to resources for CAS, but if anyone has any others please let me know). This week I finally get an announcement about the 2010 National Conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech and it's smack dab in the middle of the only vacation we've planned this summer (with two other families ... so it's non-movable). And then today I see a message on facebook from kidspeech.com, THE Nancy Kaufman Center, about a camp they have going on from June 28 - August 20. This camp seems PERFECT for Dylan. Of course it would mean us relocating to Michigan for the summer which doesn't sound like fun, but could be manageable with a little planning. But since I'm finding out on April 27 it doesn't seem possible for me to make it happen. I feel like they must have known about both of these events more than 2-3 months before they happen ... don't you think? Why weren't they announced sooner? Placed on their websites sooner?

We're a family who is willing to do whatever is necessary to help Dylan and I'm feeling so frustrated this week that doors keep being shut. Isn't some window supposed to open somewhere?

Vent fest

I know it's been a couple of months since I've written ... I apologize for the silence! We've been knee deep in normal life stuff, lots of therapy, lots of doctors appointments and a vacation. I will post later this week with a full update on where we stand with our progress, but this is just a post so I can bitch and let off a little steam.

You all know how much I love Dylan. Adore might be a better word. I think he's fan-freaking-tastic. He's so sweet and kind-hearted, yet a little mischief mixed in gives him that impish grin. I love, love, love all those things about him.

What drives me crazy is his stubbornness. Yes, I'm sure all of my family is giggling at this because they know exactly where he gets it from! However, it's really beginning
" to impede our ability to "help" him at home. I think this would be the case with or without CAS. He's so stubborn that he doesn't want any help. With anything. I'm sure much of this is general 4 year-old stuff; however, where Dylan needs the most help at this point in his life is with his talking. And this is an area where I've got many, many skills! (And so does Bryan - especially after 2 rum and cokes!) However, Dylan thinks every time we correct him we're beginning a 30 minute therapy session so he immediately shuts down.

Example from dinner tonight: Dylan, naturally, didn't want to eat what was served. From the grill - salmon burgers and a special burger for him, grilled mushrooms (at his request) and clementines. Should be the kid's dream meal, right? So, while attempting to convince him to just try the food I decided to help him properly say hamburger. He says something like "dadwoowa". We know what this means because the kids generally loves hamburgers, but it's taken us a long time to identify the word. I said it properly and very slowly, asked him to repeat it after me. He said "No mommy, I not do dat. I done now." And that was it. Multiply that times 300 and that's a typical day at our house. He speaks. It's garbled. Since I'm very proficient at speaking Dylan I usually understand it. I repeat it properly to him. Nine times out of 10 he says "No. I done."

How in the hell am I supposed to teach this kid how to speak when he won't work with me? He's been in therapy for almost 3 years now. He TOTALLY knows what it's like when he's "working" versus just playing or being normal. And he only wants to work when he's with a therapist or when he actually feels like it. Which I think is for about 5 minutes per week.

He does great in a therapy setting, but we all know that's not normal life. So, to me, it seems like the moment he walks out of therapy he falls right back into step with where he was before. I do my best to model properly for him, but if he won't repeat it and won't try then I feel like I'm failing.

Anyone have any suggestions for situations like this? I'm all ears.