For the past month, I have been filling out paperwork to get Jacey ready to start services through the Autism Waiver. Officially, she was finally ready to go on September 1st. Everything was put together that had to be done and we had a habilitation aid (hab aid) scheduled to start working with Jacey Monday through Friday from 2 - 6pm, starting yesterday. We ended up knowing the individual that was going to be Jacey's Hab Aid. He stayed for the full four hours yesterday just hanging out with Jacey to get her comfortable so that she will want to perform the different goals we have outlined, for him. I got a call this morning saying that he had quit, stating that the he just wasn't cut out for that line of work. I was so excited to have things in place SOOO quickly. I am grateful that he chose to leave the job quickly rather than hang out for some time and then quit. Needless to say, it was a disappointment because they are currently short on Hab Aid's and there is no one to replace him. So nothing is scheduled for now with ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis).
On a happier note, I finally got the video that 4 Paws wanted showing Jacey and everything about us. It was just over two hours long. Also, Jacey has started in a self-contained Special Education Preschool. It is in "town", so I get to be her bus driver and take her there everyday, all 16.1 miles one way. She is doing fairly well and as her teacher put it, "She's not one of the one's that stands out." (Meaning she is fairly content with minimal meltdowns.) She has speech twice a week, OT (Occupational Therapy) once a week, and we are working on getting PT (Physical Therapy) worked into her IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for once a week. I know, it's amazing how many acronyms you learn as a parent of a special needs child! Needless to say, she is pretty content at school - they have a sand table that is also used as a water table occasionally, they have baby dolls, a little kitchen area, and more. She's usually found transferring the water or sand, whichever it is for that day.
It's funny because a few days ago, while working on our video for 4 Paws, I thought about how Jacey's "need" of a service dog may not have been as great as some of the other children I know receiving them through 4 Paws. And then today HIT! Let me brief you on it...
We've noticed in the past six months or so that Jacey has gotten a LOT happier. Believe me, she still has her moments but they seem to be fewer and farther between. Until today. After I arrived at the preschool to pick her up, she noticed an open door that I hadn't seen. She bolted for it. I had to set Kenna down and run to get her. She had just barely made it out the door, which turns out to be a door to their play area. After that, she didn't want to walk the same way Mom was going. She'd rather sit since she wasn't getting to go out "her" door. My arms were a little full between carrying Kenna, Jacey's lunch box and her coat. It was quite the fight to get her to our van. After fighting her to get to the van, I was pooped. I still had all afternoon to wrangle her. My day became that much longer as she cried and screamed the entire ride home - all twenty something minutes!
Getting home where she could run didn't soothe her enough and so I continued to listen to her cry. It didn't help that Kenna decided to chime in and become a little duet with her sister. Both girls were demanding my arms and my attention. I figure it was at least three hours of Jacey crying for long periods of time with short bits of silence (I assume to catch her breath). :o) Jacey was tired, as evidenced by several yawns. But we have cut out her naps so that laying down with her at bedtime would become a max of twenty-five minutes, compared to an hour and a half when she was taking naps.
Needless to say, my sweet little reminder chimed in today to tell me that yes, her "needs" for a service dog are just as great as any other childs. I was also reminded of the sanity the dog will bring to me. ::sigh::
I am so grateful to be heading to Ohio THIS year. I thought for sure that we would still be fundraising well into 2011. I've had the men and women on Trapperman.com and the individual donors in my mind a lot lately. Without them, we would not be going to Ohio in eighty-two days.
I had to go to the bank today to figure out where three unknown deposits to our Donation Account for Jacey had come from. Two of the three were made in cash. In case you are one of those three mystery deposits, thank you for your donation to our account. Jacey is a very special little girl to have so much love surrounding her. Hopefully soon, there will be a fence surrounding her as well! :o) That one is still in the works because of numbers.
Until next time...pray for my sanity!
