OOOPS!! Must Have Been a Mistake!!! HA! You're Funny!!

In an attempt to get James everything he needs to be successful, our family has made very difficult decisions.  We moved from one of the best school districts in our state to a tiny town in the central valley because it had one of the best Autism ABA programs I could find >>Kendall School<< and was still local enough for my husband and I to commute to our jobs.  This meant uprooting our other child and tearing her away from her friends at the beginning of middle school.  She was not a happy camper:( There was light at the end of the tunnel, because the town also had a program that was perfect for her, the >>International Baccalaureate<<, when she got into high school.
James has done amazingly well in his program (so has Charlotte by the way).  He has learned to manage his Autism symptoms so well that his Autism isn't the first thing people see when the meet him.  Now when people meet him, his ADHD generally is what they immediately see.  So, last night, my husband and I took James to talk to the doctor about medications that may be able to help him focus more in school.  He is tricky though because he has epilepsy and a tic disorder as well.  Apparently the medications that would be the most appropriate for him would lower his seizure threshold and increase his tics.  (Awesome, little man already moves enough!).  In addition, the doctor didn't think that James may need the medications for focus because he is very bright and doing well in school.  (Uh.. ya.. little man has someone reminding him fairly constantly to stay on task.) This year he will have a aide for only the first week or so of school and then he is on his own.
Anyway, the doctor still needs to check with the neurologist to see about medication interactions and get back to us.  One of the last things she said to us before we left was that she didn't see AUTISM when she looked at James and maybe the diagnosis was a mistake.  My husband and I looked at each other and couldn't believe our ears.  5+ years of very difficult decisions, moves, intensive therapy, 40 hours of ABA a week, my entire life being consumed by getting my son what he needs to live in a foreign world and all I get is an OOOPS!  The James she was seeing was due to insane hard work for everyone in my family!

Never know when AUTISM will peak out
but James is ready!!!!

Blood, sweat, and tears and then more blood, sweat, and tears.  Day in and day out, nothing about what we can do to draw James out of his Autism.  Now that he is out she didn't believe he ever really had Autism because people don't recover from it.  To be perfectly clear here, James did not recover from it.  He has worked very hard to manage it.  He will continue to have to work very hard to manage it the rest of his life.  He is no less Autistic today than he was on 12/20/2006, the day he first received his diagnosis.  His Autism hasn't disappeared like some random rash.  It has, however,  relinquished its control over his life.  It has been beaten into submission, but it is still there.  It still peeks out and lets us know that it is still there.
So today, as I am digging deep to find my bliss, I know that I have done everything right.  I have vaccinated my kid within an inch of his life.  I have bulked him up with as many gluten rich foods as I can find.  I have stuck him in endless hours of ABA.  I have allowed him to watch TV and play countless hours of video games because they bring him joy (and I get a break.) I send him to school and will likely NEVER home school him.
James has blossomed on this plan. It was the right plan for him and our family.  I hope you find your bliss today knowing that the path your family is on is the right one for you.