We Came. We Saw. We Conquered.

Let me start by saying that even a year ago, we wouldn't have attempted something like this.  We tried a smaller scale version of this a few weeks ago and had a really good time.  We kicked it up a notch and had an even better time.  We took the boys to Bloomington's new Great Wolf Lodge for a couple days where they have a giant water park.

Before heading to the hotel we stopped at the Mall of America to have Tyler's phone fixed.  We ended up eating lunch there and had to practice patience while waiting for his phone to be ready for pick up.   I can't tell you enough what a difference Sunny makes for Charlie.  We are so entirely grateful for this sweet girl.

Charlie was tired of walking so I stopped with him and Sunny to wait for Tyler, Easton and Christian to go pick up Tyler's phone.  And this was the resulting downtime that was so badly needed for Charlie....right on the floor in the middle of the mall.

"Sunny, I think I see them coming!"

After the mall we went to the hotel, checked-in and hit the waterpark for about 4 hours.  Charlie had Sunny available to him the entire time.  While we were waiting for pizza to be delivered Charlie had a hard time staying regulated and needed a little extra Sunny-Love.  What can I say, we were all tired and hungry.  We all could have used a little extra Sunny-Love!

Charlie and Sunny had some time together in the lobby before heading out together on a hotel walk with Tyler while I stayed with the other boys.  Everyone slept hard to re-charge for another fun day at the waterpark today.  Since we had to check out about the same time the pool opened, we had to bring Sunny into the waterpark area this time while the boys swam (the day before Sunny stayed in our hotel room, secured in her kennel).  She watched the boys carefully as they played.  

Just before leaving, the boys got to have some fun in the arcade and Sunny was right by Charlie's side the entire time.  Even had time for a photo op with the giant Dragon at the hotel!

Tyler and I agree that we totally conquered these last 2 days with our crew and had such an amazing time with the boys.  We are so excited to do more adventures like this more often.  Now we're all home and exhausted.....even Sunny.

It's a tough work being such an amazing girl for Charlie!

This is what Autism can Look Like

We've had a lot of wins lately.  More and more wins each week it seems and we couldn't be more thrilled.  So it's only fitting that a tough day shows up...expected, even.  That's what today was.  A little tougher from the moment everyone woke up.  Charlie had a hard time regulating all day.  Nothing seemed to go right for him.  He had a difficult time vocalizing what he wanted throughout the day which made him go into melt-down mode numerous times today.  Sensory overload with noise didn't help and he tended to keep to himself today when he was regulated.  No matter how much rock climbing, tight hugs, Sunny love or swinging he did- a melt down would follow.  Bed time came and it was like the old days where Charlie just couldn't calm down, became anxious and then went downhill from there.  It's hard to figure out what he needs when 1- most of the time he doesn't know what he needs and 2- he can't vocalize what can help if he can recognize it.  Such a guessing game.  So this was the end result tonight.  This is what Autism can look like: pure exhaustion.  For everyone.  Tomorrow's a new day, friends.

You could tell Sunny wanted him to feel better.  She wanted to be near him and would steal little kisses if she got  a chance.  And when she did deep pressure with Charlie she was focused and wouldn't be deterred from her job. 

Invisible Disabilities

Since we've had Sunny full time now for a few months, we've been taking her everywhere Charlie goes...which is kinda the point of having her.  She helps him wherever and whenever.  For example, Bounce World.  It can be a sensory kiddo's dream or nightmare.  In Charlie's case, it's a little of both.  I took the boys to Bounce World a couple weeks ago to run some energy off on a day they didn't have school.  Bounce World is a large building filled with inflatable bounce houses.  Great place to get the wiggles out, but its FILLED with kids and it's loud.  It was packed when we first arrived and Charlie did ok for a little while.  The longer we were there the more difficult things got.  He slowly began having meltdowns and at one point laid on the floor screaming.  Sunny did exactly what she was trained to do, and she did it beautifully.  I took Sunny to Charlie and gave her the "full on" command where she lays on Charlie, putting pressure on his entire body to calm him down.  And it worked.  I wish it could have been caught on video because it was perfect.  After a few minutes Charlie was calm again and could play a little longer.  It was truly wonderful to be able to stay somewhere so the boys could play.

Church, Target, parks, Costco, grocery stores, school, wherever it is we go we get the same question from people "when will the dog be done training?", "where will the dog go when she's done training?" or we'll hear people comment to one another "we can't touch that dog, it's in training."  We were puzzled when we started hearing these statements.  It took Tyler and I awhile to realize why people think that we are helping to train Sunny. And then it hit us.  Because no one in our family has a visible disability and they don't think Sunny is ours.  Many people think we are helping to train her and expose her to public places during her training.  No one in our family is blind or has a physical disability or wheelchair bound.  They see everyone in our family appears "typical" and therefore don't even entertain the idea that Sunny belongs to us.  We understand.  We really do.  And we've taken the opportunity to help educate people more about service dogs and what they can do as well as disabilities that you cannot see.

Most of the time people are really receptive to hear more and we've had people ask tons of questions. It's totally welcomed!  Kids are so inquisitive as well.  I'm guessing people with Diabetes, PTSD, seizures,  or other invisible disabilities who have service dogs run into the same thing? When people ask us more we gladly will chat and answer their questions.  We usually tell them the types of tasks Sunny provides for Charlie- either in the community or at home.  And we tell them the difference she has made for him so far.  Huge differences.  Amazing, really.  We've seen a calmer Charlie with less meltdowns, a boy that sleeps better, transitions better throughout the day, rides in the car easier without screaming the whole time.  We can actually go places.  I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to go do some new activities!  Guess what?  We went to a hotel/waterpark a couple weekends ago and it was AMAZING!  It went so well and we all had SO much fun.  And, there was no aftermath meltdowns that disregulated him for days after the hotel.  We actually plan to go to a different indoor park in February.

So, no.  You can't see Charlie's disability.  You can't readily see Autism unless you're looking for his quirks.  But his need for his service dog is just as vital as it is to someone with a physical disability.