Raising Chickens and Special Needs Kids

[BYC910]

My almost 2 and a half year old son LOVES his first chickens. He has Autism, Global Developmental Delay, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Combined Expressive & Receptive Speech Delay. He almost died at 2 months old the day of his vaccines (STORY HERE) which resulted in respiratory/cardiac arrest, seizures, and a mess of other complications that left him pretty vegetative for several months following the event. Hes been slowly gaining ground, thanks to many specialists and therapists, but still doesn't like to interact is is mostly non verbal.

A few months ago we went to the farm store for dog food and my son was fascinated by the little chicks which resulted in repeated use of the words WOW and Yeah as well as eye contact! Well, it also resulted in Daddy getting him some of the little chickies too. He learned to be gentle with them very quickly and even started using my hand to pet them... His speech and occupational therapists were as blown away as I was.

Now, his chickens are 14-20 weeks old and he is still fascinated by them. Though they are no longer in the house lol. He now has a little chair he sits in outside by them. He will jabber and carry on and try to sing to them. It is very cute. Some days he is more interested in other things like his outside toys, but will usually chat with the chickens first. Were hoping to name them so he will be encouraged to say their names to talk to them. Right now they are all named he says"bok...bok..bok.." for chickens... Even with the therapist. Which is not only cute but a big improvement. She tried to get him to say the toy rooster said "cock-a-doodle-do" and he said "nun..no..no.." "bok..bok..bok.." For him, this is a very big deal, as he currently has only around 7 words he will say with any consistency. He was also not walking at all when we first got them. Now, with the help of braces as well, they are a motivator for him to walk outside. And that is pretty much the beginning of my sons journey with chickens and how they help him. There have been some worried about him being so young around them, but even with his compromised immune system he has never caught any illness from them.

I have had many, many, chickens in the past and am delighted my son enjoys them as well in spite of his struggles. We have a little mixed starter flock for now, mostly so he could raise the chicks, but most will be leaving for their new homes soon as was planned. I am still not sure if we will be keeping full sized or bantams for the long haul. In any case, the goal will be a small number of birds that are easily discernible from each other. I am having some difficulty locating the breeds I really want though, and may have to look into ordering hatching eggs for them. The hatchery chicks were a great start, but I hope to get him into chicken shows as he gets older so I know I have some work to do before that day arrives.

Thank you for reading my story. -K


Long awaited eye contact!


Using my hand to pet the chick.


He was trying to kiss her, lol.



Not so little chickens anymore.

This is such a heart warming tale . Hard not to shed a tear of joy for you . May god grant you the wisdom and strength you will need in the years to come .

 

[Henriettasmum]

That was one of the most uplifting stories I have ever read. I have a total and absolute belief in the therapeutic benefit of chickens and I'm very happy to see that belief upheld by your son's progress. Good luck to you all and very best wishes from Australia.

 

[Blooie]

Stories like Isaac's are the reason this thread exists in the first place! What a cutie pie, and seeing him with his chickens is an excellent visual reminder of what one little two-legged creature can do for another little two-legged creature. It made me smile for the rest of the day! Thanks for sharing Isaac with us - and for everything you're learning outside of the what cold books and articles tell us we should or should not be doing for these special kids.

 

[IsaacK]

This is such a heart warming tale . Hard not to shed a tear of joy for you . May god grant you the wisdom and strength you will need in the years to come .

Thank you. We know there is a long road ahead, but trying to look to it with hope and faith that we will continually be given the strength we need to meet our challenges.

 

[IsaacK]

That was one of the most uplifting stories I have ever read. I have a total and absolute belief in the therapeutic benefit of chickens and I'm very happy to see that belief upheld by your son's progress. Good luck to you all and very best wishes from Australia.

Thank you for reading our story, the chickens really have been amazing healers for him. He loves all animals, just like me.

 

[IsaacK]

Stories like Isaac's are the reason this thread exists in the first place! What a cutie pie, and seeing him with his chickens is an excellent visual reminder of what one little two-legged creature can do for another little two-legged creature. It made me smile for the rest of the day! Thanks for sharing Isaac with us - and for everything you're learning outside of the what cold books and articles tell us we should or should not be doing for these special kids.

Thank you for your kind words. I am glad our story made you smile because so much of his story, and others in my family who died from similar reactions, have been sad to read. Its been a tough process, especially when advocating for his care and quality of life often conflicts with some "professionals" opinions, but we've also been very lucky so far in the specialists and therapists that have been helping him. Most are very understanding, and a few are even chicken or animal lovers themselves. I edited the original post to add our names, as I realized things were a little confusing since I used the same name I use for school, which is my last name and first initial. Thanks again. -Kay

 

[BYC910]

Thank you. We know there is a long road ahead, but trying to look to it with hope and faith that we will continually be given the strength we need to meet our challenges.

We my wife and me and our other children have been on this road for 23.5 years . The lows are hard but the highs are worth all we have endured . When we first heard the word Autism we didn't even know what it was . Worse how to help him worse still doctors didn't know how to help him . Now there is so much that can be done to help children with autism . Hold on to hope never give up and pray is what we do . Along with all else that having a special needs child requires . His mother will not take no for an answer . Things that others say they can't get done she does and gives advice to others to help them understand the system and how it works . I think you will be fine and your son will keep getting better . It's the love of our children that gives us the determination to keep going and trying . And you have that love . Thank you for for sharing with us .

 

[Cynthia12]

Thank you. We know there is a long road ahead, but trying to look to it with hope and faith that we will continually be given the strength we need to meet our challenges.

You are amazing. That young man is one very blessed boy to have you as his mother. You will find that strength will keep on a coming. I love when you said...that long awaited eye contact. More miracles will happen in your life with him, that others are taking for granted. They don't mean to, but it isn't known completely just how blessed we are to have a child with no problems, until we have one that was given to us. We as mothers and family, really don't consider them as...problems do we? We just love them as they are, help them as needed, and are sooo very very pleased with each and every milestone taken. Made. Done. And when they do these things, they know that they have done something wonderful. Mothers like you and the rest of us here, make darn sure they know! We are just as excited and happy about them accomplishing something new as they are. You have some tough times ahead, but oh boy, those days of accomplishment in something they have worked so hard, and so long on, makes it all worth the effort that has been put into it. Those days make our hearts full, of love and acceptance of what we need to do to help them through the next one.
You have a darling young man there. Darling.

 

[IsaacK]

We my wife and me and our other children have been on this road for 23.5 years . The lows are hard but the highs are worth all we have endured . When we first heard the word Autism we didn't even know what it was . Worse how to help him worse still doctors didn't know how to help him . Now there is so much that can be done to help children with autism . Hold on to hope never give up and pray is what we do . Along with all else that having a special needs child requires . His mother will not take no for an answer . Things that others say they can't get done she does and gives advice to others to help them understand the system and how it works . I think you will be fine and your son will keep getting better . It's the love of our children that gives us the determination to keep going and trying . And you have that love . Thank you for for sharing with us .

You are amazing. That young man is one very blessed boy to have you as his mother. You will find that strength will keep on a coming. I love when you said...that long awaited eye contact. More miracles will happen in your life with him, that others are taking for granted. They don't mean to, but it isn't known completely just how blessed we are to have a child with no problems, until we have one that was given to us. We as mothers and family, really don't consider them as...problems do we? We just love them as they are, help them as needed, and are sooo very very pleased with each and every milestone taken. Made. Done. And when they do these things, they know that they have done something wonderful. Mothers like you and the rest of us here, make darn sure they know! We are just as excited and happy about them accomplishing something new as they are. You have some tough times ahead, but oh boy, those days of accomplishment in something they have worked so hard, and so long on, makes it all worth the effort that has been put into it. Those days make our hearts full, of love and acceptance of what we need to do to help them through the next one.
You have a darling young man there. Darling.

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. It is this type of encouragement from others who understand the path we walk that helps me greatly on those darker days. -K

 

[Blooie]

Got home from our cruise Saturday evening. But the kids met us at the airport - they took our car up there. Kenny was in renting a car for them to use since theirs is in pretty bad shape. There's only one reason they ever rent a car for a few days. Sure enough, Friday evening Kendra's doctor called Jenny back about a problem with Kendra's Mitrofanoff. They've scheduled emergency surgery (how do you "schedule" an emergency?) and they left the next day (Sunday) to head to Denver with Kendra. Her evaluation is this morning at 9 am and surgery is tomorrow. They'll either be revising the Mitrofanoff or re-doing it completely. This isn't how we thought this would all go - the MACE stoma is doing beautifully and performing exactly as it should. That's the little plastic cap in her tummy which we now use for doing the enemas. But the Mitrofanoff for cathing her bladder is totally messed up. It only worked well once, and that was the day they removed the indwelling catheter and then immediately cathed her via the the site, then had Jenny do it. It worked great. Three hours later when Jen tried it in the hotel, she couldn't get the cath in. They took her back, and even the doctor couldn't get it back in. They said that when they took out the indwelling, the channel swelled shut. So they forced the indwelling back in but didn't connect it to a catheter bag like it had been before - it was just the cath hanging out and capped off, and to cath her Jen just removed the cap and let it drain into the toilet. But it kept pulling out of position. There's a balloon to keep it from pulling completely out, but the balloon would get lodged up against the inside of her belly button and they couldn't get any urine out. Kendra was crying all the time and Jenny was having to keep pushing it back down into place. She was supposed to leave that in place for a few weeks, then call the clinic and they'd walk her through deflating the balloon and slipping the indwelling out, figuring that by then the swelling would be down and the Mitrofanoff would have finished healing.

By Friday morning Kendra was crying just having her shorts pulled up over it, so Jenny said "That's enough!" and called the hospital. Friday evening the doctor called her back and said they had to get her back in right away. So we loaded our suitcases into our van, sat with the kids for awhile until the rental car was ready, and then Katie rode home with us and stayed the night so the kids could leave super early the next morning.

Katie attends a camp every July - the Charles Campbell Children's Camp in Red Lodge, MT - for kids with varying disabilities and she was supposed to be up there in the mountains Sunday afternoon. The kids didn't want her to miss it. She loves it and this is her third year going. Initially she qualified because of her Autism and hyperaccusis. But she had such a great time, and she's a big help with the kids with more severe disabilities like Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, and Traumatic Brain Injuries. She pushes kids in their wheelchairs, wipes their mouths if she sees them drooling and a councilor doesn't see it right away, helps them with their fishing rods - they call her their "junior counselor!" We pulled up and the camp greeters and head of the camp were directing cars where to park. They didn't recognize our truck, but then Katie rolled her window down and waved. "Hey, it's Katie!! Hi Katie-girl! We've been waiting for you!" She just beamed. And she couldn't get rid of Gramma and Grampa fast enough!! First question out of her mouth was, "Is Jason here this year?" He's her special buddy - his Spina Bifida is almost exactly the same as Kendra's and she's "adopted" him when they are at camp. The head counselor told her he was down at the pond and she unloaded her stuff, showed us her cabin, gave us a hug and she was GONE! It's okay - they have an open Facebook page so the parents and families can keep track of how their kids are doing - so we can peek in on her. Always lots of pictures of the kids and their activities. It's an open Facebook page so if you want to see a bunch of happy kids having the time of their lives go visit, and see if you can spot Katie in any of the photos!

Now we just sit here and wait to hear from Jenny and Kenny. This surgery was supposed to make her life easier and more comfortable. I'm sure it will, once all of these initial complications are dealt with and resolved. They told Kenny that about one out of every hundred kids have some kind of issues in the beginning. That doesn't help when your kid is one of the "ones".


Katie with her two favorite Cabin Assistants - Jr. volunteers whose parents are Lion Club members.


In her cabin to show it to us, stash her stuff, and then she was off to find Jason.