Current Issues and Past Progress/Vice Versa

We tend to have really really good days and some bad days whereas in the past, we would have good days and some really really bad days. Last year, with the start of 1st grade, we had some major major obstacles. I had to walk him up to school every day, which was hard with the crazy cold winters here and a baby named Tyce. Slowly, the special ed teacher helped us to the point where I was finally able to just drop him off. We had lots of issues with focus..LOTS of issues with this. He also tapped things constantly and would make noises, which was disturbing to other kids. He started in mainstream, but ended up being in the resource room more than he was originally supposed to be. This was comforting to me in many ways because he was getting the attention he deserved and needed. Xan slowly became more socially aware. We invited his ENTIRE class to his 7th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese and he did AWESOME!! It was the perfect evening :) We decided to hold him back and keep him in 1st grade again and boy was it worth it. This year, he is getting lots of 100%'s on his spelling tests. He is whizzing through flashcards, both subraction and addition. The concrete stuff is much easier for him to grasp. The abstract stuff is still harder than it should be. Math is also very hard. Not quite sure he is understanding the connection between everything. He isn't tapping things as much as last year and the noises aren't near as bad. His handwriting has improved a ton. We are blessed to have a neighbor in Xan's class with him this year. I get to watch the two hold hands as they walk into school together in the mornings :) I take kids in the morning and my neighbor brings Xan home. Xan's current issues are focus (much improved from last year), anxiety, takes him longer than it should to fall asleep at night, getting overly emotional in situations, talking back to me, wandering eye at times, still will not wear buttons and sometimes gets distressed over certain shirts, clapping/stimming, conversational problems (won't stand still and look at people for extended periods of time to complete conversations). He gets mad when playing Wii...(so does the rest of the family though!) I enrolled Xan on the basketball team at the boys n girls club and we didn't prepare him like we should have. It was heartbreaking to see him cry because he did not understand the formal game they were playing :) That is our fault. He did great with practice, but the formal games are making him feel down about himself :( I gotta talk with him tonight more about simple instructions in playing basketball. Tomorrow's another game. What we are doing with Xan now: Giving him fish oil/vitamins...things to help the brain function better. He is gluten free, but we are not near as strict as we used to be. He does get a burger and fries from McDonald's minus the bun. He LOVES GattiTown in Evansville which serves pizza. We do let him have regular pizza on occasion. I have noticed that things like gluten and dyes do not make him puke all night like they used to. I am hoping this means his gut has improved along with his immune system. Our previous food allergy test showed a mild allergy to corn and beef and I believe one more thing. This time, it just showed mild shellfish. I still give him enzymes with dinner. I took him out of speech and OT and decided to focus more on social stuff. He is in basketball and also takes gymnastics on Tues evenings. I do lots of "school time" with him...basically every week night. We will do worksheets, read books at times, games, flashcards, etc. I like making his brain focus on other things other than Heathcliff :) I guess that's it for now...trying to catch up after not posting for like 2 yrs is way too much :)