The Neuropsych Jitters

We're off to the Neuropsych this morning.

Blink has woken up the most cheerful and social he's been in a month. "Hi, little miss E" he greeted his little sister to my shock and amazement.  He offered to share candy with her (um, please ignore the fact that I let them have a little piece of candy with breakfast!). Both of these small acts must seem so commonplace and ordinary to those not on the spectrum.  But for us?  Highly noteworthy.

Wonderful, fantabulous, hallelujah, right?  Yes.  Except part of me is getting nervous. If he's this charming and wonderful at the appointment, will they be able to see his issues?  I felt the same way at his first evaluation.  Worry worry worry.  I thought I was beyond this!  

Crazy Quilt

Here I am, the night before the big neuropsych evaluation.  I've gathered reports and updates and evaluations from school, occupational therapists, teachers, attempted the neurologist (still forthcoming, oh well) and and and....it isn't sounding like a very long list now but let me tell you that was a mighty thick packet of documentation. And I can't help but wonder, will the neuropsychologist have read all (any?) of this info she requested?

I managed to (at the last minute) call in favors and child care swaps and get coverage for both appointments. No small feat, this. My schedule is so complicated and my level of general overwhelm so high that I realize I need to do this kind of thing at the last minute.  But it's all tied up now.

Still, I'm a bit nervous. Will Blink cooperate?

I'm directing all this nervous energy right now in two directions.  One is a quilt project that is perfect for me -- a project that delights in turning quilting on its head by actually benefiting from what is usually my downfall:  a lack of precision.  I'm quite excited about this project.

The other is a new online tool that at first glance, has nothing at all to do with quilting. But as I play around a bit on Autism360, I am struck by the parallels.  This site, launched by the  Autism Research Institute offers me the chance to upload personal information about Blink's specific strengths and challenges, treatments we've tried, and other salient information. Theoretically, this can be used as a way to track his progress -- pretty exciting concept on its own, in my opinion.  But what's really cool is that this info is used (without any identifying information) to identify others who present similarly to Blink and I can at a glance see how this subgroup has responded to various treatments.  This could prove tremendously helpful.

So how is it like a quilt?  Just as scraps of old dresses (and ahem, fabric store purchases) that on their own are not particularly meaningful or special, so too are the bits and pieces coming together on Autism360 to form a really complex and useful aggregate.

Now, let's just hope I finish my quilt *and* Blink's profile on Autism360.  Because in both endeavors, follow-through is the key...eek!