Finallyyyyyyyyy!!!! A NEW POST!

Hello Everyone!!

Finally, I have a new post!

I know that it's been a little over a month since I have last updated my blog. My reason for this is because of school. I've been very stressed out lately because of Mid-Terms and trying to pass them. Right now, school isn't going over so well for me and I'm trying to just make it through the day. Fortunately, Mid-Terms have been getting pushed back because of the snow. So, If you don't hear from me for a little while, it's probably because of school. I'm sorry about that. School has been very hard on me this year....for once school has been hard for me. This doesn't happen very often.

Before I go on, I would like to say that I finally got my Joan Jett shirt I have been wanting for a little while now. If you do not know who Joan Jett is....listen to her music NOW! It is pretty awesome if you like music not from this era. She also made the first all girl 70s Rock and Roll band The Runaways. This included some really great artists like Lita Ford (Lead Guitarist) , Cherie Currie (Lead Vocalist), Sandy West (Drummer), Jakie Fox (Bass) and of course, Joan Jett (Rhythm Guitarist). They made the famous song that most people probably know, Cherry Bomb. Kim Fowley, the same guy who also produced bands like KISS, was their producer. After they broke up, they all went their separate ways. Joan Jett went into a solo career then later became Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. They made some famous hits like I Love Rock&Roll, I Love Playing With Fire, Crimson And Clover, Do You Wanna Touch, Bad Reputation and Love Is Pain. These are also some of my favorites by her. Til this day, she still tours with the Blackhearts and works with Blackheart Records. Yes, I really know my music history because I am such a big music lover. Joan Jett is pretty amazing though when you find out more about her because she has done some pretty amazing things to get to where she is today. There is also a movie out now called "The Runaways" which is about how they got started and ended. It really is a fantastic movie if you are a fan of them. The movie and actor portrayal is incredible with Kristen Stewart (my favorite actress) as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherrie Currie, it's an amazing movie. I highly recommend it to Joan Jett/The Runaways fans.  Now that I'm boring you all half to death with my music history talk which I could talk about all day but wont, you guys are lucky trust me, I am going to update about Billy.


Billy has a new little crush on my friend Katie! He likes Katie!

Billy do you want to see Kylie?
"No Kylie!"
Billy, do you want to see Miranda?
"No Miranda!"
Billy, do you want to see Katie?

"Yes Katie! Like Katie, like Katie!"


Billy has been playing with his Mobi-Go which is like an Nintendo DX or DSi. If you don't know what it is or care to read about it, Click Here.

Lately, Billy has been having a lot of temper tantrums. The other day after school, he wanted to go out. So, we brought him to McDonald's. Billy didn't want to go to McDonald's though, he wanted to go to Hannafords. So, we said McDonald's first then Hannafords. When we brought him inside he just cried and cried. He did not stop. The only time he did was for 5 minutes to eat a little bit then he ran towards the door to leave. What child wants to go to the Grocery Store instead of McDonald's?


It was even better once we got there. When we got in the store he pushed the cart and knew exactly where to go. First, the fruit snack gummy aisle. We probably have every fruit gummy there is in our cabinet. Second, the frozen foods aisle for Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets. We already had some at the house but, Billy would not leave without his Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets.  So, when you see a 35 year old coming out of the grocery store in 30 years with only bags of Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets and boxes of Fruit Gummies....it's Billy!




Things have been pretty boring around here due to the massive snow storms we have been getting. They almost cover my bedroom window. By next week it probably will be covered because of the next storm on Wednesday. Billy has been having fun in the snow. He likes to sit in it then sink into the snow. Ha ha. The snow is so tall now that he will probably be covered by it fully by Thursday. In the last snow storm we went sledding and billy loved it. He likes to go down the hill in our front yard. Lucky for him on Monday we had no school, Tuesday we had no school, Wednesday we had a delay, Thursday we had school, Friday we had no school and tomorrow we may not have school. Then, Wednesday we are not going to have school and Thursday we could have a delay or no school. My mom is loving this!!!! NOT! As of right now I like it but, once summer comes, I'm going to hate it....Oh well, that's New England!




Anyways, I should probably go now and I would like to say thank you to those of you who are still reading this after my long break away. My next post may be a video because I made something for my blog. It's not finished yet but, it's almost done. There may be a special appearance from Billy too! You're going to have to wait in see though! So now, I'm going to leave you with a few questions about things in my blog.


1. Have you ever listened to Joan Jett/The Runaways/Joan Jett & The Blackhearts?
2. If so, what's your favorite song?
3. Do you have any band suggestions that you think I would like. I like any type of rock music from the 60s to the late 90s early 2000's.
4. To those of you in the New England area, are you sick of the snow yet?
5. What do you think the drawing is? No one knows what it is so guess away!


If you would like to answer these you can either in the comments section under this post or on the Facebook Link that you got the link to my blog from. If I'm Facebook friends with you (Family Members or Friends) I usually know when you post the link to my blog and I check it to see any questions or comments you may have about my blogging. If you have any Question or Comments please post them on here or Facebook. Thanks!

Day 10: Skype With Langstance

Let's try this again.... THE COMPUTER HASN'T BEEN COOPERATING AND THIS IS MY THIRD TIME TRYING TO POST!

Hello Everyone,

Skype

Recently, we got Skype for our computer. This weekend Billy and I have been using it to talk to our friend Lainee who lives a few towns over. We very rarely see her though because she goes to a different school than me. We have been friends for 9 years now and she has known Billy since he was born. Since Billy's diagnosis, they ( they being Lainee and her mom)  have noticed more differences in billy than we probably have. Whenever they come over, they always see something new in him. It's even better now that we are using Skype. Billy likes using it and hitting the computer screen. =/


School

R.I.P Christmas Vacation

Christmas vacation will officially be over in 6 hours. :(

I do not want to go back to school. I want to stay home and play with Billy in the snow. By the way, I'm failing English....anyone understand this? I do. My teacher is a big, fat, mean jerk. Just saying...

I also have two projects to do this vacation. Have I started them? Yes. Have I finished them? No. Will I finished them by midnight before the due date? Probably not. Will I finish them in school that day? Yes! Procrastinator? No. Smart about how to spend vacation? YES!

Autism How To Page

Today while I was looking at things to post today, I saw a E-How page about living with someone with autism. While reading this, I realized it would be perfect to put in my blog and would probably give me more ideas on what to write about. Here is the list that was put on the website and my input on things.

This font- website
This font- me

1.)Be sure to constantly address the stress that can occur when caring for an autistic individual by sharing responsibility and giving everyone in the household time for themselves.
---- I think that I have definitely been writing about this. I write all the time about how difficult it is.

2.) Utilize resources to help you with the care of an autistic individual.
---- Billy just so happens to go to Occupational Therapy. This is also known as OT. They help Billy with his Fine Motor Skills.

3.)Pay constant attention to safety in the home when you are caring for someone with autism.
---- This is something that we have to pay attention to all the time. When Billy was younger he used to try to run out the front door. One day, he did. We chased him up the street adn thankfully, the car driver saw him and stopped. Now, Billy doesn't do it anymore because we have 2 locks on the front door, 3 locks on the back door, an alarm on the front door and an alarm on the back door. I guess you could say we are on lock down. Billy also likes to try to rip the window screen by bashing his head through it. We now keep the windows locked at all times.


4.)Address the concerns of the siblings of the autistic person. Brothers and sisters of autistic children can feel embarrassed and frustrated at having to answer questions about their autistic siblings. They can also feel forgotten and neglected by parents who have to devote a great deal of time to the care of the autistic child.

----Okay, I have had the feelings of this but, you do if you have siblings anyways. It doesn't just happen if you have a sibling with special needs. I NEVER  feel embarssed about Billy. Yes, there are times where I am frustrated by him like, when he messes up my room after I clean it, when I have friends over and he randomly comes downstairs naked or when we are in public and he starts freaking out. NEVER would I be embaressed by him though. 


5.) Plan for the future of the autistic child.


----We already know this answer. Billy will be living in the basement with his kids who my parents will have to take care of, his wife and coffection of Matchbox cars that cannot be touched out of line or else he will scream.  I'm just kidding. Who knows where Billy will be in the future.




Below is the link to the article I got the information from.



Click Here for the link


ON A FINAL NOTE,

IF YOU COULD ALL TAKE A MINUTE TO WRITE A COMMENT ON HERE OR ON FACEBOOK THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ACCTUALLY READING THIS AND IT'S NOT THE SAME LIKE 5 PEOPLE. THIS COMMENT CAN BE SOMETHING YOU LIKED, DISLIKED, WANTED MORE OF OR JUST SAYING HELLO. IT COULD EVEN BE A LETTER. ANYTHING IS GREAT AS LONG AS YOU WRITE SOMEHTING. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

HAPPY 2011! FIRST POST OF THE YEAR!

Until Next Time,


Brianna

Day 9: When Will He Break Out Of His Solitary Shell?

Hello everyone!!!


Before I get started I would like to say that I hope everyone had a great holiday break. While you are reading this post, I suggest that you listen to this song at the link below. It is called Solitary Shell by Dream Theater and is an absolutely amazing song about Autism. If you cannot concentrate while reading the post and listening to it then please do so before or after reading. This really is an amazing song that describes Autism greatly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FVp2rw1BFQ

My favorite part of this song is:

"He learned to walk and talk on time
But never cared much to be held
And steadily he would decline
Into his solitary shell"
What's yours?

It's BACKKKKKKKK!
So, Billy's Tic's are back again. What does that mean? He has strep again! And what does that mean? Most likely I do too! It's great really....I love being sick on my vacation away from school.... :(

Billy is very cute when he is sick though. He says/does the weirdest things. Earlier today we got him dressed for the day. Well, he went down the hallway into his new bedroom (news about that after) and when he came back....his pull up and pants were off and he was laughing. Why he does this? I don't know but, it's really funny for right now.


"Blana Wake Up!"
Yesterday, the house was rearranged. Billy and Madelyn used to share a room so that I could have my own room. Now, I am living in the playroom in the basement, Billy is in my old room and Madelyn is in the same room she was always in. Well, Billy was very upset when we started to clean up his toys yesterday. As we moved the couches we somehow touched his car mat and he flipped! Billy had tears running down his face because he wanted his toys downstairs. He wanted this so bad that he came up to me and say "Blana go home!" Too bad I was already home. So I laughed and said "Billy I am home!" He then gave me a very evil look and said "Blana get out! Blana no home! No Blana home!"

It's official...I've been kicked out of my own house by my 5 year-old Autistic Baby Brother. Now, that's something to be proud of! 

Billy's really liking the new arrangements now though. He likes to wake me up. I went to sleep at 4 in the morning on Sunday night and Billy decided to wake me up at 8. So how does he wake me up you ask? Well, I felt something really hard hit my head and touch my eyes so I wake up and what do I see? Billy opening my eye lids and the Nintendo DS next to me along with a little boy using his little puppy eyes asking "Blana play Spider-Man game?". How do you say no to that? So he gets up on my bed and plays Spider-Man with Blana.

His new favorite game is also to come into my room and shut off my television if he doesn't like the channel.
It's almost like he's trying to angry. He knows whats he's doing of course because he's not stupid so, he runs away laughing thinking it's the funniest thing ever. Classic Billy move.

Christmas
Billy's Christmas was very good though. He got a scooter and loved it!  He likes to try to ride it down the stairs to see if he can make it. He still hasn't been able to succeed with getting within a foot of the stairs on the scooter. Since he knows he won't be able to go down the stairs on the scooter now, he tries riding it off the kitchen table chairs. Once that wasn't gonna happen, he decides to ride them one my parents bed. This boy just won't give up!

Pillow Pet
For Christmas I got a Bumble Bee Pillow Pet. Billy really likes it. Apparently, he's seen the commercial for them a few too many times though. As I write this he is looking in my mirror with the bumble bee as a pillow saying "It's a pillow," then folding it "It's a pet," Now unfolding it "It's a Pillow Pet!" Over and over again. Very, very cute.

Until Next Time,

Brianna

Merry Christmas!

Hello Everyone!

I know I said that I would be updating regularly but, with school work catching up...its really hard to update this and do school work. I will be updating my blog as much as I can. Don't worry! Anyways, above is a video I made with pictures of Billy. The song is called Solitary Shell by Dream Theater and it's an amazing song about Autism. All song rights belong to them of course! The second video is a video to my best friend Lainee who has helped me through a lot with Billy.


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Billy!

Day 8:Autisim Discoveries, Saying of the week, Book sneak peek.

Hello, readers!

Christmas is this week are you as excited as Billy and I? Billy can't wait for Santa Claus and opening presents. He is very good at opening presents.  This weekend I found some really interesting Autism articles online. Here is my imput on them.
Autism Discoveries
    Can Living Near A Highway Cause Autism?
According to TIME, if you live approximetly 1,000 feet away from away at birth you have a higher chance of getting Autism. Here's my reaction:........*crickets*......
Seriously? Seriously? A highway? The only interesting thing about this article is how far people are going to sell their merchandise. If living near a highway causes Autism...then my anxiety is caused from the farm up the street. How low can people get to selling magazines or getting hits online? Really? This has to be one of the stupidest things I have EVER heard. Then, they go on to say that th eair pollution or exposure to traffic has nothing to do with it...um, that would be a better cause than just living near one. If that's not the reason though....what is? NOTHING BECAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE!!! The vaccines that kids get has to have some sort of impact. Whether its the vaccine doesn't react the way it's supposed to but, doesn't show up differently through tests or doctors don't do them right, they have to be an impact on Autism.  Im sorry but, the highway thing...just antoher way to get views. It's like the lawsuit happening against McDonalds happy meal toys....SO STUPID!

LINK--  <http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/17/study-living-near-a-highway-may-contribute-to-autism-risk/


Bibliography:Melnick, Meredith. "Study: Living Near a Highway May Contribute to Autism Risk." TIME Magazine 17 December 2010: n. pag. Web. 19 Dec 2010. <http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/17/study-living-near-a-highway-may-contribute-to-autism-risk/>. 

Is Picky Eating Habits A Symtom Of Autism?
According to Time, picky eating at an early is a symptom of Autism. I laughed when I read this. Seriously? Are people just getting more and more stupid lately? I'm a picky eater...do I have Autism? No! Now people who see that thier children are picky eaters at an early age will think this...it's most likely not the case! Really...this is aggrivating that people are taking advantage of this disease for money and views on an article. Everyone is picky about what they eat. I'm picky about various things, my sister about meat and various others and my brother about meat and various others. This is getting really stupid....on to the next article! By the way, this author didn't even spell picky right...she spelt it Finicky in the tab but, Picky on the article....hmmm.

Read this for yourself though. Tell me what you think.

LINK-- http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004676,00.html

Bibliography:Alice, Park. "Is Picky Eating A Sign Of Autism?." TIME Magazine 19 July 2010: n. pag. Web. 19 Dec 2010. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004676,00.html.

A Genetic Link Between Anorexia and Autism?
By looking at the title, I'm not even going to start on this one....what's your imput?

Here's the link- http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1904999,00.html
Saying Question Of The Week
I'm mixing it up this week. I'm going to ask you a question and I want your imput on the answer. This is also apart of my book in a way. Here it is:

"What is normal?"
Book Sneak Peek
I heard the lady next to us talking about Billy and I shot her a dirty look.  I was now on the edge and didn’t want to be messed with. Billy can’t help the way he acts especially right now. I looked at him smiling like nothing was wrong playing with the IPhone. He looked so sweet and innocent. More and more people were staring now and talking about him. In my head I kept chanting ‘shut up, shut up, and shut up. Don’t talk about him.’ But, I couldn’t bring myself out to say these words.  Finally, my Mom came to the table with the food and Billy gave me the IPhone. I tried eating but, all I could see was everyone staring and talking about Billy. Repeatedly, I gave them all dirty looks. They didn’t understand that he had something wrong with him that he couldn’t help.  I sighed as they kept watching us. I wanted to scream out that he can’t help himself. Over and over again I looked at him. Billy was just sitting there peacefully eating his food. He was doing the Tics that were scaring me so much still but, I had to try to ignore them. The more I ignored everything around me though, the more things started to aggravate me. It felt like there were these voices in my head just screaming out at me. I wanted to stand up, run out of the restaurant and scream until I lost my voice but, I couldn’t. Instead, I sat there and stared at Billy. Would this ever end? Finally, we left and people stared at us as we cleaned up. On our way out I heard something though that really got me angry.

“Finally he’s gone. We can eat in peace.”

Angrily, I looked behind me getting ready to scream at the little old lady. Instead, I was a coward and went into the car holding back tears and staring at Billy doing this Tic. I thought about everything that just happened. How could anyone talk meanly about this little boy? How could anyone ever look at him the wrong way? Billy is the sweetest and happiest little boy there is. He’s in his own little world of toys and games and probably cookies and sweets. He just wants to be loved and live life happy. Maybe it will be harder than we thought though.  Maybe he won’t be ever considered ‘normal’. Whatever that is.

Day 7: Weird and Unusual

Hello Everyone,

I apologize for not being able to update my blog but, here's one that's sure to make you laugh. This is about the weird and unusual things that Billy does and will probably be short. Sorry, I'll update with a long post tomorrow.
Weird and Unusual
1.) You can't drive on certain sides of the road or else Billy will flip! If you drive on the left side of the road he will cry until you get on the right side.

2.)You can't watch any television show with laughter. If you watch any television show with laughter in it and Billy in even in the house, he will be blocking his ears for the whole time that show is on. He HATES it!

3.)You can't say the words flying or rain. No comment.

4.)He has to watch Nancy Grace every night. I have no idea why.

5.)You cannot say the words alligator or elevator. Billy gets them mixed up and things will go terribly wrong.

6.) If you don't get the Hannaford's brand wheat bread, he won't eat it. Somehow Billy knows what type of bread you give him.

7.) He has to sit behind the driver in the car for some weird reason.

8.) If his cars are in a line you one goes out of place because you moved it...RUN!

9.) If you read to him he will save you work and turn the pages for you. The only problem is that you will only be able to say one word because he'll flip it for you.

10.) He won't sleep in his own bed in his own bedroom. No comment once again.

Day 6: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Before I start I would like to say something...is there a such thing as a male cat being  pregnant? I think my cat may be the first! haha.
 The Good

"Billy, stop eating your sleeves!"
"Billy, the dog is not a horse! The cat isn't either!" 
"Chicken Dance! Chicken Dance! Chicken Dance!"
One of the up sides to living with someone with Autism is that you never know what they'll do. For Billy, something small can turn into something big, Something boring can turn into something exciting and something that we never knew about could become something we use on a daily basis. For each of these qoutes I just listed there's one crazy story.



"Billy, stop eating your sleeves!"This is a brand new one that acctually just happened today. I walked out into the living room from my bedroom and Billy was sitting on the stairs with half of his shirt sleeve in his mouth. Of course, he also looked like he was wearing a toga or, in other words, he looked like Tarzan. So, I walk over to him and say "Billy, stop eating your sleeves!" What does he do? He keeps eating them and eating them and eating them. Of course, he now has saliva all over his sleeves. Great...


"Billy, the dog is not a horse! The cat isn't either!" Billy likes animals. He thinks that some animals are not really what they are though. For example, Billy thinks that a dog is a horse. He also thinks that a cat is a horse. Now for those of you who don't know, our cat is a snob and thinks he's so cool. Our dog on the other hand thinks she's fifty percent dog, thirty percent cat and twenty percent human. So, when Billy thinks he's cool, he tries to ride the dog saying "Horse! Horse! Ride the horse!" After he can't ride 'the horse' he moves onto the cat. The cat now runs whenever Billy comes near him. Although, he does that to me too...



"Chicken dance!" "Chicken dance" "Chicken dance!" Billy now has a new obsession with the old dance, The Chicken Dance. Everyone knows the tune to this dance...."da da da da da da da da da dadadadadada da da da da da da dadada" Well, Billy has a new version of the chicken dance where he rubs his tummy and wiggles his butt. It's really cute. Another new one is Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Instead of eyes and ears and mouth and nose he goes eyes and ears and mouth and tummy.

The Bad
"Billy don't rearrange my books!"
 "Billy don't put your butt in the window!"


"Billy don't rearrange my books!"Billy has this game he likes to play when after I arrange my books by genre, shape,size,color, title and author he messes them all up again so that I can't find anything. He just thinks it's so funny. It's not. It's really not after you spend 2 hours arranging books...

"Billy don't put your butt in the window!" What's sad is that I acctually have to put this down. Billy likes to walk around the house with no diaper on. What makes this better is when he decides to go and stand in our front window. Need I say more?
The Ugly"Billy don't throw your diaper on the fan!"

"I farted!"

"Billy don't throw your diaper on the fan!"
Now, we get to the ugly. When Billy needs a diaper changing we know. How do we know this? Because he throws his diaper on the fan to see if it will stay up there while the fan is on. Another good spot is either on top of the fridge or in the sink. It's even better when he throws is in my face because he gets mad at me. That's great. It's really, really great...

"I farted!"
This one just happened not even a few minutes ago! Billy was climbing onto my parents bed and he farts. Then he gets a big smile and goes "I farted!" And bursts out laughing. Only he would think this is as funny as throwing his dirty diapers at my face.