Blog entries for Christine Garton

SAND It is NOT Too Late!

Christine Garton

Because SAND is brand NEW to this area, this will be an evolving program- learning as we go. Since there will be a wide range of disabilities as well as ages (4-adult), we will be able to develop this program more and more as time goes on. It is through PARENT Participation, that this program will become what we envision in the future.

SAND will concentrate on one sport, one season at a time. The chosen sport for this Spring/Summer season will be T-Ball/Baseball. Based on ability le [...]

"I love you" means so much more

Christine Garton

speech has developed, the second thing we anxiously await to hear are those three little words, "I love you."

Scott can say it. I remember how thrilled I was when he told me "I love you." It was not long before I realized that he did not understand what he was saying. To him, those words had no meaning. They had become habit words. It became his standard response when we told him "I love you." But that was ok! I had waited so long to hear him say those words [...]

You say "My child has ADHD" and eyes roll.

Christine Garton

which have a special need.

Our second child has Autism, diagnosed 4 years ago. He is moderately autistic, borderline severe. At almost 8 years old he is cognitively 2 or 3. However he is very smart and now has developed a sense of humor. He makes us laugh everyday. He has a severe speech delay and his potty training is coming along well. He walks on his toes almost exclusively and he chews everything. He goes through a lot of shirts. But aside from those autism things, f [...]

Our Christmas Miracle

Christine Garton

earing the crackling of the wood burning. We roast marshmallows and sometimes even enjoy a hotdog every now and then. Love it!

The fireplace heats every room except for Scott's. Because of his autism, we have to keep his door locked during the night. Scott wakes up much earlier than we do (between 4 and 5 am), so to keep him safe we keep his door locked from the outside. If we did not he would wander all over the house and even attempt to get outside. Keeping his door locked is impera [...]

AUTISM-Parenting on a Whole New Level

Christine Garton

with toilets. Since he was old enough to reach the handle he has always flushed. As a smaller child, we could keep him out with a baby gate. Not long after he would push them over, so we upgraded to the knob protectors. Then all of his physical therapy paid off and soon he was strong enough to squeeze and turn the knob. So our next upgrade was to lock the knob from the inside and use a coat hanger to open it. Hi-tech huh? Shortly after his flushing tapered off and we were ab [...]

Children/Adults with Disabilities!

Christine Garton

urrently seeking the needs of all ages, 4 through Adult.

What can I do to help the program? You can help us by volunteering your time as a member of the planning committee. We are also seeking adult volunteers to assist children on the field as well as coaches to help us pull it together.

There are 2 ways to submit information;

1. Online: visit FSN Sandhills website, Click [...]

Summer Lock Down, Stir Crazy... (or close to it!)

Christine Garton

oom. He is very content playing computer games or the playstation and watching movies.

If I try and get him out of the house, he throws a temper tantrum. So we just stay put. It is much better than enduring, sometimes 2 hours, one of his tantrums.

So when Monday comes and the kids are on the bus, I will celebrate by taking my self out for breakfast, getting my nails done and then I will come home and take a nap.

I can't wait!!

To other Parents of Children with Special Needs!

Christine Garton

Did you know that I am also the program coordinator for Family Support Network of the Sandhills? www.fsnsandhills.info

An organization that I am proud to be a part of! Check out the link and see what I can offer you and your family!

Our GI trip to DC

Christine Garton

so has acid reflux as well as incredible constipation. Scott has not had a regular bowl movement in the last 2 years! Could you imagine? He has to have a weekly dose of Myralax to help him. So it was a good thing to get the referral.

So she referred us to Chapel Hill. If you have had to go the Chapel Hill for any kind of specialty appointment you know about the waiting lists. When I called to schedule his appointment, the next available was in October. That was 5 months of waiting! To long [...]

5/5/07...This Week at our house

Christine Garton

Scott will be 7 in less than 2 weeks. There are few things that we can buy for him. So we usually end up getting the same things as before; matchbox cars, Thomas stuff and keyboards.I am blogging about his newest gift- A NEW KEYBOARD!Since he was 2 years old, he has always owned a keyboard. Of course these were your Dollar General keyboards. Cheap plastic-bad sound. But still he loved them. This keyboard will be his 7th one. I hear him playing one now as I type this.Because he is Autistic he doe [...]

4/28 - This Week at My House...Cont'd

Christine Garton

So to continue with my Easter Story.

Side note: My husband was just standing over me while I was typing this. "What are you doing" He says. He does not get why we blog.

Anyway...

After the rocky start to our trip, you will be surprised to hear that the rest of it went very well. We stopped only once for lunch and potty.

We stopped, somewhere on 64 close to the VA/NC border, at a McDonalds. This must have been the only McDonalds in town because everyone [...]

4/28 - This Week at My House...

Christine Garton

I know in my first blog I said that I would try and do a weekly post. HA! That was now a month ago. Seriously, I want to post often, because believe me my weeks are always full with something interesting to say!

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After my first post East [...]

Parenting a child with a special need

Christine Garton

I just want to introduce myself to the Sandhills bloggers! My name is Christine Garton and I have written lots of different things before; letters, flyers, proposals and even newspaper notices, but nothing as personal as a blog.

I chose to do this because I think that hearing from a mom of a child with a disability would be a good addition to the blogging world. You will also find that I actually have quite a bit in common with many families in the Sandhills area!

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