Thank you all! I'm headed out to take mom up to the hospital.

My dad fell through his barn roof over the weekend. He is currently in ICU with 2 cracked vertebrae, a broken shoulder and a huge scalp injury. Thankfully the cracked vertebrae are not causing any neurological issues. In truth we are very blessed that he is still with us. He's got an intense recovery ahead of him and my poor mom is just getting past my grandmother having an emergency cardiac issue two weeks ago. Thanks!

I didn't read the books as a kid but my youngest enjoys them. I will hang my head in shame and admit I've been calling them Berensteen Bears. No idea why - may have heard someone call them that. I've never looked closely at the covers apparently.

If everyone decided to go out then every family unit pays their own. If one person invited everyone out then they would pay for everyone.

I would call the hospital and verify you were told the right thing. My kids have been through the surgery area of our hospital more than 20 times between them. We have never been asked for photo ID of them - only of parents. What a strange request.

Wow - I've been out all day and just came back to all these wonderful posts. THANK YOU all for your thoughts. I want to come back tomorrow and respond to some individually but just a few responses - ~ I have not read the book (honestly it doesn't look like something I'd like) If dd decides to read it further, however, I will so we can discuss it. ~ It was given to her by an adult who she has been visiting with from time to time. ~ I was not told by the adult that she was giving dd the book. Knew nothing of it until dd brought it to us last night. ~ I LOVE the recommendation of Joni. I loved that book and think it would be a great one for dd to read. ~ Dd is the one who is not sure whether she wants to/should continue to read the book (and I agree with her). At 16 we really don't monitor what she reads. She is very good about filtering books so we haven't needed to keep up with her reading materials for quite a while. ~ I do not see how there can be anything redeeming in this book for dd at this particular time (if ever).

If you've read this book I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Someone put it into my 16 yr old's hand and suggested she read it. They felt it would be a help to her in her current struggle. Dd is currently in treatment for a new autoimmune diagnosis which centers around chronic pain. She is also dealing with some emotional adjustments and some depression. In the midst she is struggling to find her place in church, with God etc (we are a non-denominational family. Dd was raised in church and considers herself a Christian). So, someone at church gave her this book to read. She came to dh and I last night with the book (which we've never heard of before) asking if she should continue to read it. She's at the point where they discover the murder of the young daughter ( :eek: ). Had I known the content of this book I would have read it first but we didn't even know she had been given it. She's not sure if she should continue or just give it back. Reading reviews online I have no idea how this book will be of a help to her. The base line story seems so harsh. So, what says the hive?

:grouphug: :grouphug: praying :grouphug: :grouphug:

Congratulations! Praying that her stay in NICU will be short and you get to cuddle her soon :grouphug:

So happy to hear he's home. Prayers continue as you move forward :grouphug:

This is going on my next shopping list! Thank you. :thumbup: This is a huge need around here!

Thank you all! Your ideas and estimates were right on the money. :hurray:

:grouphug: :grouphug: No experience to share but :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I would return them all. They don't do what they were sold to do. We had a situation with clothing like that once. Didn't perform as expected on the label. There were no questions asked and a full refund was given. It was WM as well.

The therapy we were getting approval for is ABA. It was the first time we had to provide that documentation. Until they asked I had no idea the clause even existed in our policy. We are changing companies in a few months so it will be interesting to see if they require the same. A friend's policy had the age of 10 so, if a company has such a clause (and I don't know that all do), the age is variable. ETA - found this link http://www.asha.org/Advocacy/state/States-Specific-Autism-Mandates/ It shows some information state by state. I'm in FL and the 'age of 8' (for dev dis not specifically ASD) is stated here. Very interesting. We've been here since his birth and have never had to prove his age at dx but ABA is the first ASD specific therapy we've requested. He has other reasons that qualify him for speech, OT and PT.

On a practical level - some insurance companies require an ASD diagnosis by a certain age in order to cover services. We ran into that with ours last year. We had to provide medical documentation that ds had his diagnosis before the age of 8 or they wouldn't cover the therapy we were requesting. Agreeing with everyone above on other reasons to get him a proper diagnosis.

All 4 out at one time in my teens. Both my older kids had their's removed during ortho/braces.

If he is currently in ps and is only pulled for one year won't the ps district just automatically advance him to 9th when he is re-enrolled? We're in a different state - dd was in ps for 6th (only part of the year) came back home for 7,8 and 9 and then decided ps was best for the rest high school. When we went back to the district there was no question of grade. They automatically put her in 10th based on her previous ps record. I would think with a student who has a strong academic record it will be a hard sell trying to get the ps to go with 8th when they 'know' he should be in 9th.

I saw taco plates the other day at another store. Meant to go back and get them . Thanks for the reminder :thumbup: We love our tacos. We tried the flat bottomed shells that are supposed to stay upright. They did not work out well.

Thanks umsami! Great hints. Yes - NCH is in Medical City. Seems like the middle of nowhere - doesn't seem to be anything else around but houses. We will be back and forth and use 417 so a Sun Pass is probably a good idea. Last trip down one of the automatic coin collectors was in a mood and told me I still owed 50 cents 3 times! Thankfully I'm not still stuck there throwing in quarters.

I'll check them too. Thanks.

This is good to hear :) Thanks! I'm used to adding 20 to 30 mins to travel times at rush hour where I am but I'm driving right into the thick of things around here.

Dd and I will be at Nemours Children's for an 8 am appointment later this week. We live several hours away and will travel down the night before staying near Arnold Palmer Children's. Mapquest puts the travel time at 24 - 26 minutes. Does anyone live in the area and can give me a real time idea of how long it might actually take during morning traffic to arrive at NCH at about 7:30 from APCH? Or a general idea of how bad Orlando traffic is at that time of day? Thanks!!

Saw them being put out yesterday (FL) but at regular prices for the most part. They will wait a while to put out the sale prices. Then I'll have fun :lol: