Autism and Research

Over the last few years we've spent many, many hours at our favorite Autism medical center. We've had evaluations, therapy sessions, meetings with licensed clinical social workers and physicians of all sorts.  In the last year we began to participate in a study for siblings of ASD kids.  Baby Girl has been evaluated twice now for her development.

The first study she was ahead on some things (motor skills) and a bit behind in communication skills.  The most recent study she was ahead on motor skills again, but she is even further behind in regards to communications.  It's hard to say why she is behind.  Is there a true problem?  Does she not flex her communication skills beyond vocalization because there are so many people attending to her?  Am I too good at reading her body signals and anticipating her needs because she is my sixth child?  Is it that I am splitting attention between her and her other siblings so I just don't practice skills and sounds as much?  

I don't know the answers now, and I'm not sure when or if they will become apparent. I've been so focused on her lack of weight gain and getting her to clap and wave that I admit I've neglected verbally "labeling" items and trying to get Baby Girl to duplicate sounds.  

She also has more sensory issues with sound than I realized.  Up until now I thought she just hated her bath.  All you had to do was shut the bathroom door while the bath water was running and she would start crying.  Once in the tub she would cry and cry and try to stand up all the time.  She screamed when we had to wash her hair and rinse it with water.  One of the researchers suggested perhaps it was the sound of the water running that was scaring her.  

As an experiment for her last bath, I ran the water before I brought her into the bathroom, and gave her some new bath toys.  No tears were shed.  A breakthrough to be sure.  I'm not sure if it was the new toys or the already run bath, but we'll find out when I give her next bath with the water already run.  (I'll keep the new toys out of sight for a minute).  

Part of our struggle with Baby Girl's weight is she seems to have texture issues with some of the foods I offer her.  Toddler foods often have milk in them, so I have to work to find safe alternatives she can have.  Quite a few times I've given her a allergy safe "toddler" food and she just spits it out.  The most common denominator for why she spits the food out is texture.  I'll keep trying, because I know it is important to expose her to new things, but it worries me nonetheless.  

So is my baby heading towards being high functioning on the autism spectrum like her brothers?  I don't know.  We'll keep working with her and watching her.  I am grateful we are a part of this study so  professionals can keep a fairly close eye on her.  At our next visit we should have a better idea of how she is doing.  

In the mean time I'm going to ramp up my efforts to increase her communication skills.  If I recruit her older siblings perhaps it will benefit the whole family.  

Wish us luck.

Review of Vintage Mickey

As I was thinking of countdown activities to do with my kids, the idea came to me to have the family watch every Disney movie ever made.  then I realized 1) If you count sequels and all live action movies, it is a verrrrry long list, (more movies than watching one a day for a year).  2) Not all of the Disney movies have tie-ins in the parks.  That being the case, I decided to tweak the list to include original animated movies (no sequels) and all movies that inspired attractions found in the Disney parks.  This opened up Star Wars and Indiana Jones for viewing.  

So how to organize my list?  We own some of the movies Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, etc.  Some of them I know we will have to borrow from Netflix or the library.  If you are interested, I will be posting the list in a PDF format in the future so you can use it for potential countdown activities.

Walt Disney once said, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."  So, following Walt's advice, I decided to start with the mouse that started it all.  I looked online to see if I could lay my hands on Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse film.  It turns out it is part of a collection of short films with Mickey Mouse starting in 1929 called, Vintage Mickey. When I was looking for an image for this post, I found that Disney has now uploaded Steamboat Willie and other original shorts to YouTube. 

This review will include our ASD point of view.  

Steamboat Willie starts out with Mickey Mouse steering a steamboat and whistling--an image I think most Disney fans are familiar with.  The cartoon progresses and we find Mickey being chased off the wheel and yelled at by a "Pete"-like character.  Mickey is apparently the hired hand.  Minnie boards the boat and has her music she is carrying eaten by a goat.  Mickey cranks the goats tail and it begins to emit music from its mouth.  I think it was "Turkey in the Straw".   Mickey Mouse then proceeds to run around and manipulate or "play" other animals to create additional music.  

My kids were appalled by Mickey's behavior.  They couldn't believe Mickey was so rude he would pull off suckling baby pigs to pull on and play music with the mother's teats.  At one point Acroboy, who loves Mickey Mouse more than anyone I know, exclaimed, "I hate Mickey!"

The next short wasn't much better.  Mickey tries to get barnyard animals to help him build an airplane.  He finally succeeds by modifying a car in a cartoonish manner and pulling off the tail feathers of a frightened turkey to create the plane's tail.  Once he has a working airplane, he takes Minnie up in the air.  He tries to get a kiss from her and when that doesn't succeed, he does some aerial acrobatics that scare Minnie into his arms.  Then he kisses her and she slaps him. She is not really having any of it and manages to leave the situation by parachuting out of the plane and using her bloomers as a parachute.  

My kids were once again outraged by Mickey's cad-like behavior.  

This is a challenging collection of cartoons for kids on the Autism spectrum to watch.  My kids don't pick up on social cues and rules naturally, and I often have to let them know the rules for acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and now we watch a movie where a beloved character is breaking all the rules I've taught them.  (Don't touch other people's things, respect other's personal space, don't touch, hug, or kiss unless you've been given permission, etc).

I had to explain to them that the cartoons were at least eighty years old (and older) and it was a very different society than the one we live in today.  I had a history teacher who once taught us to not judge the past by today's social mores.  Now I find myself trying to pass that lesson on to my children.  

My husband and I could see other reflections of early twentieth century America through the pastoral setting of most of the cartoons.    We have seem to have completed the shift from the agrarian based society to an urban emphasis.  

Towards the end of the collection, Mickey Mouse begins to act more like the lovable character we all know.  The last cartoon was of a surprise birthday party Minnie threw for Mickey.  There was piano playing and dancing and it made my kids laugh.  Acroboy decided Mickey Mouse was okay after-all.  

******

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to wrap this review up.   Like I told my children you can't really judge the past based upon today's societal norms.  I personally am not a fan of slapstick (though I watched my fair share of "Tom and Jerry" in the past).  The humor in these cartoons is often outdated and slapstick.  (Mickey stealing kisses was funny in 1930, but would get him hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit in 2013).  I enjoyed watching "Vintage Mickey" for the educational value of seeing what was considered funny in the late twenties and thirties of the last century, as well as comparing and contrasting the leaps we have made technologically in the film industry since the first film.  (Brave is worlds apart from Steamboat Willie).

This film was more challenging for my children to watch.  My kids didn't really know how to handle a Mickey who did not abide by the rules of what we've taught them is acceptable behavior.  (Why should Mickey be allowed to invade the personal space of others or not respect their belongings?)  They are at an age where they appreciate slapstick more than I do, so they enjoyed some of it more than more than I did. 

All in all it was a mixed experience.  I can recommend this movie for its educational purposes, but if you watch it with your kids, be prepared to explain differences in humor from different eras.

Baby Girl has reached 20 pounds!!

We had a follow up appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist.  We are going to continue to treat baby girl for acid reflux and then we will rescope her in August.  When we weighed her I was extremely happy to find out Baby Girl has finally reached 20 pounds.  She just barely crosses the 20 pound mark, but she does cross it!

I'm grateful for the continued prayers on my little girl's behalf.  We're not out of the woods yet, but I am confident that a loving God knows what is best for us.

Family Activity: Butterbeer Beverages

My kids are HUGE Harry Potter fans.  When we went to Universal IOA, we also bit the bullet and ate at the Three Broomsticks. The atmosphere there is pretty good, but the food is pricey (it cost us over $100 to eat there) We had a challenging day and you can read about it here:  {{sigh}} 

I thoroughly enjoyed my fish n' chips, and my husband enjoyed his food.  The kids either did not care for theirs, but ate it anyway, or they wanted to let it go to waste.   I ate a lot of what was left on their plates.  

We were even of split opinions on the Butterbeer.  I loved it, my husband liked it and the kids gave it mixed reviews.  Two of the boys did not like the foam.

A couple of years ago Lawboy came home from a Harry Potter activity with some homemade Butterbeer.  It was really gross.  The stuff at the park was much better.  After a lot of searching I came across this recipe for Butterbeer.  It is still very sweet, but much closer to what we had in the park.  I am going to copy the recipe and link below, but I think the next time I make this I will either useless of the brown sugar mixture, or just less brown sugar.  

Frozen Butterbeer
http://prudencepennywise.blogspot.com/2011/04/harry-potter-world-and-butter-beer.html

Servings: 4

Ingredients

		1 cup light or dark brown sugar
		2 tablespoons water
		6 tablespoon Butter
		1/2 teaspoon Salt
		1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
		3/4 cup heavy whipping cream (divided)
		1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
		Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

Directions

Frozen Butterbeer

(adapted from Fox News Recipe)

Estimated cost: $6.00 Place your cream sodas in the freezer about 30 minutes before you plan to have butterbeer. (This recipe takes about one hour because of cooling time.) 

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer. Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes). Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the vanilla extract. 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes. To serve, in the bowl of a blender, combine about 1/4 cup brown sugar mixture, 1/2 cup cream soda and two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Blend until smooth. Pour into glass and add additional cream soda to fill to the top. Stir with a spoon to blend. Top with whipped cream mixture. Repeat.

13 Tips and/or Mistakes to Avoid When Taking Your Autism Spectrum Child(ren) to Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter

This post used to be titled, "Why I Won't Be Taking My Autism Spectrum Children Back to Universal Islands of Adventure"

I generally try to be pretty positive, and I realized my post and title were not at all positive.  So I'm rewriting this post in the hopes that my mistakes and errors will help someone else--especially if that someone else has a child(ren) on the Autism Spectrum--have a better time than we did. If you want the quick list, head to the bottom of the post. If you want to understand the story behind the post, keep reading. 


To be fair, I feel I should tell you I have spoken with a couple of other moms who had a completely opposite experience to the one that I had.  But like I said--if my experience can help others avoid the same problems, then at least something good can come from our experience.

*******

I am fortunate that my kids are high functioning on the spectrum.  I know others who are not as lucky. Even though the kids are high functioning, we still have challenges.  While they don't seem to notice if they infringe on other people's personal space, they become quite agitated when others stand close to them or inadvertently bump them.  They have a difficult time waiting for long periods of time.  We have a range of sensory issues from those who get overwhelmed by sound and light (or lack of light), and those who seek more stimulation.  We have phobias of spiders, bugs, dark, heights, storms, etc.  It makes for an interesting life--let alone vacation.

These same kids who can hyper focus on one subject LOVE Harry Potter. If you have an ASD child you know what I mean.  I know more about Minecraft, Pokemon, dinosaurs, wolves, owls, Mario, trains, planes, whales and dolphins than any one person should know about.  This is because ASD children will often find a subject that sparks their interest and will learn everything there is to possibly learn about that subject and then want to tell you everything they have learned. 

I didn't mind the Harry Potter obsession because I found the books equally as entertaining as my children did.  I took the children to a weekend long release party for the final book where a town transformed itself into Hogsmeade. There were giant chess games and a sorting hat for children, as well as throngs of people dressed up as Harry Potter characters.  My favorites were the girls I saw dressed up as house elves.  They were adorable.  And I still chuckle when I think how the bathrooms in the library were renamed, "The Rooms of Requirement". 

We loved the experience of the town transformed, and were thrilled when we heard Universal was creating Hogwarts and a wizarding village complete with shops like Zonko's and Ollivanders.

****
You will recall with this post, that we used the Harry Potter theme to tell the kids we were going to Orlando.  We were really looking forward to it.

To prepare for our trip, I tried to do some research into the rides at Universal.  I wanted to know what height and health restrictions existed, as well as what rides my kids might find too scary.  (If you've read this post, you'll recall my kids freaked out at "It's Tough to be a Bug", and "Stitch's Great Escape".   I had a difficult time getting all the information I wanted from their website, so I decided to call.  The employee I spoke with on the phone was extremely helpful in me figure out in advance my kids would not do well with attractions like, "Twister", and "Spider-man" and even might find Harry Potter challenging.  He assured me they had Guest Assistance Cards (called Passes there). We also realized there would be a lot of rides Acroboy would miss out on because of height.

I relayed the information to my children and they decided it was worth the risk--they loved Harry Potter that much.

When we first arrived at U:IOA, we purchased our tickets and then found Guest Relations.  It was only then that we were told that Universal did not issue any GAP's when attendance was "low" and the "average" wait time (of the whole park) was about 20 minutes.  Not only that, the GAP is not good for a few of the rides--"Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" being one of them.  I'm sorry to say the employee at Guest Relations was pretty rude when we were requesting assistance. 

Disappointed, we moved on into the park.  We pretty much made a beeline for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Overall park attendance may have been low, but I'm pretty sure they were all in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  



See the crowds?

I knew from my research that would should have gone straight for "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey", but my kids had to take in everything at their own pace.  And sometimes no matter how much coaching you do before hand, this is not a battle you are going to win.  I did not want to start the day with meltdowns because I dragged them to the Forbidden Journey. (In retrospect they might have been smaller than the meltdowns that happened because we didn't make a beeline there).

Depending on which way you enter the Wizarding World, you will come across the "Dueling Dragons" coaster first.  My kids could not resist the pull of a roller coaster and rode it.  One of them came off the ride in tears because he was overwhelmed and the rest enjoyed it.  When I asked the overwhelmed child (Lawboy) about it later he said the coaster was, "Awesome!"  Hmmm.  Not how I remember it. Funny how time can change how we think about things.

The shops also pulled them in, and I have to admit the shops are very well done. 

We approached the castle and encountered an employee directing patrons to the line and checking heights of children. We saw him turn a family with a son who was too short away.  Knowing our youngest (Acroboy) was too short we asked where we should wait and were directed to the gift shop.   He never asked or offered the child swap option.  We had talked to probably half a dozen employees at this point and were never once told about the child switch option.  I don't know why it didn't occur to me to ask, but I didn't.  Now that I think about it, I think the entrance to the child swap is even in the gift shop, but I was ditsy from feeling so frazzled.  Navigating ASD kids through a new experience can be a challenge, but it can also be rewarding.  I was feeling challenged at this point.

In the past at other amusement parks ::coughdisneycough:: when we all approached a line together and someone didn't make the height cutoff, we were told then and there how we could switch off riding.  If anyone from Universal comes across this blog I ask that you train your employees to offer this option. (Please at least make it clear to frazzled moms like me where you go for child swap). 

The estimated wait time was 45 minutes.  This is twice the limit of what my kids can typically handle, but they trudged on.  One of the kids was already in tears (remember that roller coaster?), but wanted to go on Forbidden Journey so badly he tried to "suck it up".  An added problem was bags are not allowed on the ride, so my kids checked their fanny packs into a locker and did not have access to the DS's the whole time.  My husband and I kept texting throughout his wait.  It gotta say it was a train wreck.  Whirlwind kept bumping into others, trying to climb on things and caused general chaos.

I was so upset at the messages I was getting (and admitedly a little hormonal too), that I went to a second Guest Relations booth inside the park. I emotionally explained to them about my boys and their challenges--wanting to know what, if anything, could be done to help my boys.  Bruce was very sympathetic, and issued us a single GAP even though it was light attendance.  The GAP is not good for Forbidden Journey, though he tried to make a note for us to use it on it.

Eventually we all joined up again.  The kids were pretty tired and agitated. Only Whirlwind wanted to go anywhere near "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" again.  The rest of them wanted to just sit quietly and rest for a bit.  They assured me I wanted to go through the queue to see everything.  I gave the GAP to them in case they changed their minds and wanted to go anything.

I should have kept it.

I did enjoy looking at everything, but Whirlwind was having an even harder time waiting and having others in his proximity.  I tried to keep him distracted by asking him to point out things to me he had seen the first time around. It didn't help that the couple in line in front of us kept stopping the line so they could take pictures of them standing in front of significant props or rooms.  The rooms were definitely photo worthy, though I think I would have made a different choice in that situation.  Finally Whirlwind and I got to a point where we volunteered as solo riders and we passed them up. 

As Whirlwind and I were exiting the ride (over 45 minutes from the time we entered the line) I encountered the second really friendly and helpful employee of the day.  Elizabeth with curly hair asked how I enjoyed the ride. Poor girl did not know what had happened before this point in time.  I commented about the lack of child switching as an option.  She informed me that there IS child swapping--in fact they have an area devoted for parents and younger siblings to wait.  She apologized and told me if I brought back Acroboy, she would give him a certificate for him to come back and ride (a future express pass as it were) when he was the proper height to ride.   I did so, and she was gave us the certificate and wished us a good day. 



At this point everyone was pretty exhausted and hungry.  We entered the Three Broomsticks to eat.  It was a very popular place to dine.  We were hurried through the queue and sent to a kiosk to order our food.  We never once saw a children's menu amongst all the menu boards.  This is what was on the menu:
* Rotisserie-smoked chicken
* Chargrilled ribs
* Turkey legs
* Fish and chips
* Shepherd’s pie
* Cornish pasties
* Potato leek soup
* Split pea soup
* Ham soup

My children's sensory issues extend to food.  This was not an ASD kid friendly meal.   I now know there IS a children's menu which includes chicken fingers and mac & cheese.  Once again we were rushed and no help given to point out kids menus.

We ordered Butterbeers for everyone and some of the kids thought the foam was disgusting. Only after spooning it off did they drink it.  The rest of us loved it.

Lunch for my family of seven was over $100, and I hate to say not worth it.  There was a lot of wasted food because the kids didn't like what they had ordered.  I'm sure we would have done better ordering off of the kid menu since it is has chicken fingers and mac & cheese. 

We wanted to see Ollivanders, so I jumped in line while my husband took the kids around the shops some more.  Firstborn loves owls, so he adored the owlery.

When I was close to the entrance, I texted my husband and he brought the kids.  I had previously let the people behind us know I was going to be bringing my family into line, but that they were waiting elsewhere because of issues related to to Autism.  They were kind and gracious.

It was pretty amazing to go inside Ollivanders.  I was filming right away and to our delight, Whirlwind was chosen to pick a wand.  It was the single best part of the day by far.  Whirlwind had saved all of his money throughout the trip to Disney and held off on buying anything because he wanted a wand so badly.  Saving his money and delaying gratification was a major accomplishment for him. Major accomplishment.  Big.  Huge. Ginormous.  (Are ya starting to get the idea?)  :D This was a proud mama moment.

Whirlwind got to buy his wand, though we had to deal with a small meltdown from Princess Ballerina.  She did not have any money left for a wand and had not been chosen.  I tried to gently point out that at least she could say her brother had been chosen for the wand ceremony.  The other sweet children we entered with did not have that pleasure--to them some random boy got picked.  Additionally she had just spent her souvenir money the day before buying a Belle costume for her 18" doll from Target.

Funny thing is in all the time that has passed since the trip, I've only heard her lament the lack of wand twice.  I'm pretty sure that was a jealousy motivated meltdown.

We left the Wizarding World of Harry Potter finally and went to Jurassic Park.  The ride was wet and cold and the dinosaurs were too much for Acroboy.  We decided to blow off steam in the dinosaur play area next to the Pteranodon Flyers.  The kids saw Pteranodon Flyers and "had" to ride it.

It's too bad they have all of three working flyers.  (Really--I paid attention to who was getting on and off and how many flyers came in between).  It makes for a ridiculously long wait.  Seriously.  Three working flyers--two riders per flyer, you do the math.  By the way, the estimated wait time of 20 minutes was waaaaaay off.  (So, no, we didn't get to use the GAP here either). 

We let them run around for a long time in the dinosaur play land.  The sun was setting and we it was getting colder (for November at least).

At this point everyone's nerves were shot, they were overstimulated and ready to just leave.  We walked around counter-clockwise towards the entrance, but no one had a desire to ride or do anything else.  All the waiting and waiting and waiting and then hyper-stimulation in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter left us exhausted.  Even though we had finally gotten a GAP, no one wanted to ride anything else.

For a one-day visit to IOA and food it cost us nearly $800, and in my opinion it was not worth it.  I understand the more days you visit, the cheaper it becomes per day.  However, with unless you are REALLY into roller coasters, or getting wet,  this park doesn't have much to offer.

If you decide to go, I wish you better luck than we had.  My tips/advice:

1. IF you can afford it, staying at one of the official Universal hotels will get you early access into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and a less crowded meal at the Three Broomsticks. Personally even at the off-season when we went, we can't afford it, but more power to you if you can. 
2. Get to Islands of Adventure early and make a beeline for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  Do not get distracted by anything else.  Annnd good luck with that.  I couldn't pull it off, but I hope you can. 
3. If you can't get there early before the park opens, you might want to make the Wizarding World of Harry Potter your last stop. I understand now that things often slow down towards the end of the day.
4. They DO have child-swapping.  Don't let anyone at the ride gates tell you otherwise.  Ask away until you find it.
5. Bring your electronic gadgets to pass the time, BUT make sure they are small enough to sit in a secure pocket. This will ease the time spent in line. 
6. If park attendance seems to have picked up, check again for a GAP.  
7. There IS a children's menu in the Three Broomsticks.  Know your options before you go, ask to see it or split the meals.  
8. Split the Butterbeers until you know everyone likes it.  
9. The line for Ollivanders is long and often in the sun.  If you have proximity/waiting issues like we do, have one member of your party wait in line until you have about 15-20 people in front of you.  Call in your group at that point.  Explain early on to the people behind you what you are doing and why you are doing it.  Most people are understanding when they know you're working with disabilities. 
10. I think the fact I was filming Ollivanders from the second we stepped in the door and that Whirlwind was right in front of me AND the right age (tween) for "needing" a wand helped him get chosen. BONUS TIP:  Prepare everyone for the possibility that none of them may get picked.  If by chance one of them does, teach them to look at as a family victory.  "Isn't it great for all of us?"  That might be a challenge too, but it mostly worked with our family.   
11. Keep your kids distracted when you are near the Pteranodon Flyers so you don't have to ride them.  It will also be a challenge, but you'll thank me later.  (They are kind of noisy when they are overhead so be prepared to sing a Barney song or something).  
12. Buy your tickets before hand and/or look for deals.  I confess we bought ours at the gate even though I know better than that. 
13. Skip the park all together, make your own wands and watch the movies over again if you are not into roller coasters.  You'll save a boatload of money that way.  

Good luck!  I wish you a stress free and wonderful visit. 

Acid Reflux Repeat

When Baby Girl was tiny, she had a difficult time sleeping unless she was being held. 

She also spit up a ton. 

Our pediatrician suggested putting her on an acid reflux medicine to help her and it made a world of difference.  She could sleep, she was less fussy, and we didn't have to resort to a keeping a large blanket underneath her to catch all the spit up anymore. 

As she got older and could sit up more, we backed off the medicine.  We worried about the long-term implications for her liver.  We also thought the problem had resolved because the spit up became infrequent and almost rare even when we didn't give her the medicine.

I got a phone call from the GI doctor today.  Baby Girl's biopsy show some inflammation in her feeding tube. Baby Girl had been dairy free for at least a month when she had the procedure, so the doctor was not sure whether it was residual inflammation from the milk allergy, a different food allergy, or the acid reflux we thought she was over.

After we talked for a bit, we decided to treat Baby Girl for acid reflux for at least eight weeks.  At that point the doctor will perform another upper GI scope.  If there is inflammation, we are looking at an additional food allergy.  If it has cleared up, it is more likely to be acid reflux. 

So I'm off to the drug store to get her prescription.  Maybe she will gain more weight if she can keep it in her stomach.  I'll keep you posted.

Acroboy Has Graduated from Speech Therapy

Right as school is ending I received a letter from the speech therapist at the elementary school.  It stated that Acroboy has met all of his speech goals and services would be ending. 

I'm not sure how to feel about this. 

I'm pleased that he seems to have met all of his goals, but will he remember everything he needs once school starts again in the fall?  Will we have other issues that will become more prevalent? 

I think his teacher is nervous too. 

I did receive one piece of good news for us though.  The incoming kindergarten class is not large enough to warrant three teachers, so his teacher will be advancing to first grade with her students.  I think most of the kids in the class are excited (all of them opted to stay with her), but I am especially looking forward to this move since she knows Acroboy so well and we already have good communication and reinforcement between the two of us. 

We'll see what the summer and fall bring.