Raising Chickens and Special Needs Kids

[Blooie]

Well, more bad news for Kendra - her Mitrofanoff is plugged again. Worked well for a couple of days and went to heck in a hand basket this morning. She just can't catch a break. Kids head back to Denver August 1st. In the meantime Jen will just go back to cathing her the old way. It normally just doesn't happen this way - usually if there's going to be an issue in the double procedure, it's with the MACE, not the Mitrofanoff. We're all getting discouraged.

 

[Cynthia12]

Oh man.

 

[NotAFarm]

hugs and prayers @Blooie for all of you!

 

[sdubski]

Well, more bad news for Kendra - her Mitrofanoff is plugged again. Worked well for a couple of days and went to heck in a hand basket this morning. She just can't catch a break. Kids head back to Denver August 1st. In the meantime Jen will just go back to cathing her the old way. It normally just doesn't happen this way - usually if there's going to be an issue in the double procedure, it's with the MACE, not the Mitrofanoff. We're all getting discouraged.

Poor Kendra So sorry she's going through all of this.

 

[pinebarrens]

Hi, my kids don't struggle with the medical issues that many of y'all's do, and I hope you won't think I'm minimizing those by posting here. I have two sons, and I'm very grateful for their robust physical health. Their special needs are of a mental/behavioral health kind. My older son has The Diagnosis Formerly Known As Aspergers Syndrome, and anxiety. My younger has ADHD, and... possibly something else going on there too, but not sure yet. Apparently they both have IQs in the gifted range, which is wonderful, but in many ways actually complicates their issues.

Our family life can be stressful and exhausting, and my husband and I never do feel wise enough, or patient enough, for the task of raising these kids. Having our little flock of chickens over the last six months has been a really great experience for our family, and given us opportunities to bond over a shared hobby that we very much needed.

 

[Cynthia12]

Welcome! I know a couple going through what sounds very similar to yours. They have twins that were born way early, and because of things that happened as they were in the NICU have some mental problems. Very hard work for this couple! I don't know how they do it. It seems the Lord gives us what we are personally able to do.
Glad the chickens are helping out.

 

[TexasLisa]

Well, more bad news for Kendra - her Mitrofanoff is plugged again. Worked well for a couple of days and went to heck in a hand basket this morning. She just can't catch a break. Kids head back to Denver August 1st. In the meantime Jen will just go back to cathing her the old way. It normally just doesn't happen this way - usually if there's going to be an issue in the double procedure, it's with the MACE, not the Mitrofanoff. We're all getting discouraged.

Awwwww, I am so sorry Blooie. Prayers going up for Kendra and family.

Hi, my kids don't struggle with the medical issues that many of y'all's do, and I hope you won't think I'm minimizing those by posting here. I have two sons, and I'm very grateful for their robust physical health. Their special needs are of a mental/behavioral health kind. My older son has The Diagnosis Formerly Known As Aspergers Syndrome, and anxiety. My younger has ADHD, and... possibly something else going on there too, but not sure yet. Apparently they both have IQs in the gifted range, which is wonderful, but in many ways actually complicates their issues.

Our family life can be stressful and exhausting, and my husband and I never do feel wise enough, or patient enough, for the task of raising these kids. Having our little flock of chickens over the last six months has been a really great experience for our family, and given us opportunities to bond over a shared hobby that we very much needed.

Pinebarrens, you aren't minimizing anyone. Glad to have you on this forum. Every diagnosis has its own set of problems. You will meet some fantastic STRONG people on this forum. Come back and visit!

 

[ValerieZ1984]

We are getting chicks next spring, but I have two children, both boys who both have autism. Jacob will be 6 in September and is high functioning. He is crazy about all animals. Currently, he is obsessed with the live feed of chicks on the Animal Planet channel on Roku. First thing in the morning he runs for it to see if its on. I think hes going to be very pleased when the real things arrive!
Logan is 4, and pretty severe. He doesnt speak, just yells, growls, whines, and makes other sounds to communicate his mood. He stims a LOT, pretty much nonstop. The flapping Im fine with, the teeth grinding... well Im desperately trying to find something that works for him in that aspect. His incisors are going flat on top. Im not sure if he will care about the chickens or not, Im hoping they spark something in him.
I fully understand not feeling patient enough, everyday can have its own struggles.

 

[Blooie]

Welcome to the thread! @pinebarrens As my wise little sister once told me, "The degree of my problems don't minimize yours....it's not about competition, it's about compassion." Our Katie is 10 years old and has high-functioning autism. Her little sister Kendra (4) has Spina Bifida and more severe autism. Those girls are my heart - Gramma's girls through and through. We are very glad that you found us, and welcome you to this very special group. Some folks here have kids with varying disabilities,and some are here because they care and their hearts tell them to come by once in a while and offer some prayers and support. I used to be very bad at hijacking threads to talk about (or whine about) my girls, but then I started just posting updates in one place and simplifying things all the way around.

@ValerieZ1984 We finally are getting a handle on Kendra's tooth grinding. We found these thingies (don't you love high-falutin' medical terms?) that go around her neck. You can get a couple of styles - we tried the one that looks like a candy necklace (the beads go all the way around) but she didn't like that one around her neck at all. She has pretty thick hair and we think that because of the texture it pulled those fine hairs on the back of her neck. So we got another one. It's like a pacifier almost, but doesn't look like one and isn't made of the same lightweight stuff. When she'd grind, we'd simply slip it into her mouth and she could bite on that all she wanted. At first she spit it out, and almost melted down. But we just kept at it, not saying a word or making her keep it in there. Soon, all on her own, it got to the point where she'd put it in her mouth and grind away for a few minutes, then drop it back around her neck. We have noticed that she doesn't reach for it nearly as much now - again, all on her own. We've learned that the best way to deal with some of the autism issues is simply to guide, then give them time. They are IN there, doggone it - they think, they reason, they react and they try to comfort themselves from sensory overload. They just do it differently! I'll try to find a link to where we got the sensory necklaces and come back and post it. Shoot, I don't know, you may have already found them and they didn't work for your son.....it was just a thought.

I don't know if either of you have had the chance to read the article https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/kids-with-disabilities-can-enjoy-chickens-too, but it goes into how the chickens have made a difference in Katie and Kendra's lives and gives some tips on how to safely introduce the kids to the birds.

Kendra is doing okay except for the Mitrofanoff. Frustrated because it will make her life - and ours - so much easier and more comfortable, but until we get this closing off issue resolved it's been a struggle. She's trying hard to be patient with us, but she has been so through so much since June 1st that she's beginning to pull into a shell of sorts. It almost seems like she's losing trust in us. We WILL get this fixed, and just keep working with her in the meantime.

 

[Blooie]

Back with the links....the first one on this page has the one we finally found that works well for Kendra, since she's non-verbal (for the most part) and despite her Autism has a strong, independent streak in her! It's the tourquoise one pictured first.

https://funandfunction.com/sensory-...3&fun_solution=67_12&help_with_solutions=1683

This link has lots of chewies, and there are so many choices!

http://www.autismshop.com/chewables-sensory-items/?sort_by=position

There are lots of other places that offer chewies. The hardest part is getting them to use them at first, but then we're all used to doing that, right?