On October 20th my mom, Abby, Kels, me, and Cheyanne all woke up at the crack of dawn to go walk for breast cancer. I've been wanting to attend the walk for years and this year I finally did it, it's the least I can do for Kathy. After walking around and missing the walk we were supposed to be in we hurried to the Autism Speaks Walk. We showed our faces, my mom raised money... I guess that's better than nothing? Next year I'm sure we'll be better prepared.
Manda showed up later on to walk with us, it was such a great experience. I'm so happy I have these wonderful people in my life to help support Cheyannie. Cheyanne had a minor meltdown and had a few random outbursts, it was pretty awesome having no one stare or gawk at us. They had several resources there, it was comforting to see how many people were out there that could understand our struggle.
A few days later I discovered we had bed bugs. I've been living in this apartment for two months and the apartment manager of course blames them on Cheyanne, saying she must have picked them up from school. It was definitely a bump in the road that I was not ready for, financially or emotionally. I threw out both of our beds and we stayed at my parents for a week, we're finally back home but I've woke up two nights itching immensely. I hate borrowing money from my family, but I hate bugs even more. The anxiety attacks caused by the lack of sleep those few nights and everything else had me extremely sensitive and I'm sure made everyone else think I was losing it.
The day after I found out we were infested with bed bugs was the ARD meeting at Cheyanne's school. The whole meeting was not what I expected and left Kathy and I baffled by what they had to say. She was on track with everyone else in her class, she had no behavioral problems, performs in group activities, social with all her peers, and lastly... she is viewed as a leader. As much as I'd love all of these to be true, I don't believe it. Apparently, no one there sees any signs of autism so all they have decided to offer her is speech (possibly after testing) and a tutor to come in during class if she needs extra help. Needless to say, I was beyond frustrated and hurt that they would dismiss everything I had to say. A few days later I get a call from an ABA therapist that lets me know my insurance doesn't cover the therapy she needs. That's when my meltdowns began. That's when I learned how to be an advocate for my daughter, as chaotic life has been lately I'm not going to stop fighting for her. I've found an advocate to come to the next ARD meeting that will speak for Cheyanne, I'm supposed to meet with her in a week and a half. Finding her has made me so much more hopeful that Cheyanne will get all the services she deserves. I've found a tutor, who was also diagnosed with Aspergers, to come help Cheyanne with her reading and writing.
Have to get ready for our meeting at work, to be continued........... :)
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