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Brief History
Our son married and he and his wife had a son. Seventeen months later, a baby girl blessed them. They inquired about living with us after the mother’s hospitalization.
They moved in with us after the baby girl left the hospital. 14 months later; another baby boy joined them. They stayed with us for 3 ½ years, then they move out.
They lived on their own with the kids. 6 months later, we found out they were going to get kicked out of their apartment. Not sure why, and it really doesn’t matter.
They told us they could not take care of the kids anymore, so the kids moved in with us, but not mom and dad because they wanted to make it on their own. More.
Learning about the kids
So, my wife and I started raising 3 of our grandchildren beginning in February 2019. We started learning about the kids, what they liked, what they didn’t like, and how they were going to be since mom and dad weren’t in the picture.
During the months that followed, we found out that the oldest son had autism (autism spectrum disorder (ASD)). It encompasses a wide range of symptoms and severity levels. Some individuals may have significant challengers and require substantial support, while others may be highly skilled and need less help.
Our oldest son needed a lot of support. The doctors diagnosed him with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder).
Later, we received a diagnosis of autism for our youngest grandson.
Even later, the doctors diagnosed my daughter with extreme anxiety.
We have had the oldest son in therapy for almost 3 years and it hasn’t helped. Despite his boisterousness, he still cries a lot when he doesn’t get his own way, wants to break things, and used to throw things. He is extremely smart, but doesn’t believe he is doing anything wrong, so he doesn’t want to change. He has memorized the presidents, the states in the US and their capital.
My youngest son is copying what my older son did, but is also acting differently in some areas. For example, he is more sensory than my oldest grandson. My granddaughter does not want to go to sleep at night and because of that, is tired and somewhat grouchy the next day. She wants to argue about everything we say. She is also copying some actions of the boys.
How We found out about the conditions.
My wife has had early childhood development training, therefore she could identify what she thought were issues. So, we had the boys tested, and during one of the doctor visits, the girl was hyper and received a diagnosis.
We continue to seek ways to support the children, but the process is slow. Please share your thoughts.
We have used the following products. And although they have helped, we still deal with issues.