Where We Go From "Here"

About 18 months ago my son, Daniel was diagnosed with Asperger's (a social disorder on the Autism Spectrum) as well as Sensory Integration Disorder (a sensory disorder where all his senses are heightened). The process of diagnosis in the medical field was overwhelming and then when school started, we had to go through it all over again. I guess the school district has to do it's own diagnosis in order to offer the right services.

At first I was irritated about that, until I realized how in-depth their diagnosis process is. There was a team of 8 people taking a special interest in my child over a number of months. They had interviews with him, they played with him, observed him and even interviewed his teachers and me.

In the end, the school diagnosed him with High-Functioning Autism. Which is a little bit different than Asperger's, but it still falls on the "Spectrum".

After all that diagnosing, I asked myself and the docs/specialists, "Now what?"

The doctor and the Autsim Specialist at the school both suggested that the first thing I do is read as much about it as I can. Normally I love to read, but some of the literature on Autism is bone dry. However I did find a couple diamonds in the ruff.

My personal favorite is a book called "Look Me In The Eye" by John Elder Robinson. He writes about what it's like to grow up with Asperger's. Not only is it entertaining (he was a very mischievous boy), but it gives me an insight into life as Daniel sees it. It's interesting to read about a social situation from the Autistic perspective. He approaches everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) with a very logical mindset. Even when it came to picking a mate. Little nuances such as sarcasm and humor are completely lost on him. Things that we find funny, he doesn't understand, but he will laugh at things that aren't funny at all to us. 

The thing that I have most appreciated about his perspective is his explanation of his logic. Once he explains it, it makes perfect sense and there's nothing rude in his intentions. His writing has helped me along to understanding Daniel.

Mr. Robinson wrote a chapter about what calms him that was particularly eye-opening. People with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) often can't stop moving. Whether it's tapping, flapping, waving, shaking, bouncing or shimmying they are almost always moving. They don't always know they're doing it and they can't always control it. Especially when they're excited. He talks about how calming it is when his wife "pets" him. He said that she will just rub his arm, leg, back or hand and he can stop the fidgeting right away.

I discovered this about Daniel a few months ago too. He was being really distracting during church (as usual) and I was desperate to find a way to make him sit still. I had him sit on my lap and I started scratching his back. Immediately he stopped any movement. I was amazed! I stopped scratching and right away he started moving again. It was like a little switch! Now he sits on my lap nearly every Sunday morning. (He's getting a little big though...)

I also recently joined a parent support group through the school district. I wasn't really sure how it was going to help, but I found that it was like a breath of fresh air to sit in a room and talk about behavioral communication with other parents who know what I'm going through. I can't wait until our next meeting.

My little sunbathing beauty!

Living with an ASD isn't very fun sometimes, and I've had to drastically change my parenting techniques with Daniel. He's an amazing little boy though and it's fun to watch him grow and develop in his own special way. His teachers are very helpful in coming up with new ways to teach him what he needs to learn and I'm very thankful for their insight. I have found people very accommodating everywhere he's gone. I only hope I can stay one step ahead of him!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

We left the castle bright and early for our long drive into Dublin. We had a flight to catch, but we also had a few last minute shopping stops we had to make. We parked the car and took a bus into the city so I didn’t have to drive with all the crazy city drivers. We got our shopping done in record time and had a quick lunch before heading back to return our rental car.

A common sight while driving in Ireland.

When we got to the rental car place, we had to repack again because of our newly acquired items, but packing is in my blood so it was pretty easy to make everything fit and weigh what it was supposed to. The dude who drove the shuttle back  to the airport was nutty! We hung on for dear life and thanked the Lord we arrived in one piece.

After checking in, we had one last domestic pint of Guinness before our plane took off. No celebrity sightings this time, but the flight was comfortable and smooth.

We arrived in London in good time and didn’t have to go through immigration so we were swimming in time! We dropped our stuff at the hotel and went into the city for some grub.

We remembered the amazing fish and chips we’d had at a pub right on the Westminster Bridge so we hit that for one last fish and chips meal. After dinner we caught the tube up to Trafalger Square and walked down the Mall with all the lamps lit. Around Buckingham Palace and a short jaunt through Hyde Park later, we were ready to head back to the hotel.

I’m sitting in a crowded terminal at Heathrow International Airport waiting for our delayed flight. It’s hard to not be annoyed because I’m looking forward to getting home. Since our flight was delayed here, we might not make the flight from Vancouver to Portland, but I’m staying optimistic. We’ll probably have to run, but I’m hoping we make it.

This trip has been amazing and we’re already thinking about bringing the boys back someday. There is so much we didn’t see and we think another trip is in order! First thing’s first though… let’s get home!

Rope Bridge and The Walled City

We woke up early(ish) the next morning to get a running start on our day. Our first stop was the Rope Bridge that we’d missed out on the day before. We arrived to freezing temps and strong winds, but that didn’t detour us from walking across a very wobbly rope bridge that was suspended over a several hundred foot drop to the rolling sea below! I thought it was thrilling! If we didn’t have to wait in line so long and if we didn’t have other things on our agenda that day I’d have stayed there a long time and just gone back and forth over the bridge.

Alas, we had to hike back to the car and bust it to the town of Derry (or Londonderry as the non-locals call it). Our stay at the castle came with a tour of the only completely walled city in Ireland. Our tour guide was very charming and entertaining. The tour was well done and we learned even more about the political unrest in the country. It’s amazing that there’s still a huge division between the Catholics and the protestants in the country. I don’t really get that whole thing, but then I guess old grudges really do run deep.

The wall around Derry.

We headed back to the castle for our fancy dinner and we were not disappointed! We each had chicken, something we’d not eaten in over two weeks! It was stuffed and wrapped in bacon and dipped in gravy. What’s not to like, right? We got a bottle of wine and dessert included in our dinner too. I think the funniest part of dinner was the appetizer (also included). I ordered their beef chili. Now, you’d think that beef chili would come in a bowl… not so much. They brought me a plate with tortilla chips, covered in chili and other nacho toppings. It was good, a little strange, but good. Apparently they don’t have a very large representation of Mexican people… the salsa that topped my plate of “nachos” was Pace.

I took my Bailey’s cheesecake to go because I was so full and we rolled ourselves up to our room and made an effort to repack our stuff before our departure from Ireland the next day.

Donegal Castle and the Giants Causeway

The Sandhouse Hotel is a pretty nice place to be. The breakfast is pretty nice because we sit in a dining room that overlooks the beach. They serve you on fancy china too. My fruit bowl was on a pedestal!

After our first breakfast here we went to the Donegal Castle. The coolest thing about that castle was the “bathroom”. It was a fairly large room with a wooden bench along one wall. The bench had a butt-sized hole in it. They said there was a shoot that went to a hole underground. It made both of us laugh… the first indoor plumbing!!











We spent most of the rest of the day relaxing. It was sort of a nasty day anyhow and we didn’t really feel like going out on the beach and getting wet and cold. It was nice to just hang out. We spend a good chunk of our afternoon sitting in front of our window watching a surfing class. We couldn’t believe that these crazy people would put on a wetsuit that went from head to toe and try and surf in the rain in freezing cold water. It was also very fun to watch them wipe out!

We woke early the next morning and left for Northern Ireland. We had a couple of things we wanted to do before we checked into our castle.


Our first stop was the Bushmills Distillery. I’m not really a fan of whiskey, but the tour was very interesting. Apparently Bushmills is the oldest licensed distillery in the world! They are also the only distillery in Ireland that does the entire process on the premises. I was happy that we skipped the Jameson Distillery in Dublin in favor of this one. As we went through the bottling rooms, she explained that they bottle Jameson’s whiskey for them! The barrels they use for some of their whiskey come from the US. They use second hand barrels from Kentucky because it gives their whiskey a unique character.

Of course, the tour came with a free drink. Even though I don’t care for whiskey, I have to admit that it was very nice. We opted for a taste of the 12 year, triple distilled, single malt whiskey. You can only find that at their distillery, they don’t sell it anywhere else in the world.

After the distillery tour we drove a few minutes to the Giants Causeway. It was a nasty day and since we were at the beach it was also very windy. You can imagine the lovely sideways rain we experienced. That part was a little disappointing, but we made the best of it. I took lots of pictures and I hope to frame a couple of them.

We wanted to go to the rope bridge too, but they were closing so we just headed to the castle.









Dungiven Castle was the big finale to our trip. I have to admit that I was a little bit underwhelmed. The outside of the castle was cool, but once we got inside we realized it had been completely rebuilt. It was still nice though. High ceilings, tapestries, suits of armor and candelabras  made the modern surroundings seem a little more old world. It was also a little bit frustrating that even though we were the only guests staying there, they put us in their smallest room.

Despite being in cramped quarters, we enjoyed our stay. It was nice to have a shower that actually had good water pressure… something we’d been lacking since entering Ireland. The bed was also the softest bed I’ve ever slept in! I’m still not completely sure it was worth what we paid, but it was comfortable.

Leaving Glocca Morra and Heading North

Monday was our last night at Glocca Morra. So Tuesday morning we packed our bags, ate another lovely breakfast and said our good­bye’s to our wonderful host, Michael.

We had a LONG drive up through western Ireland to get to our next hotel. We stopped along the way in the city of Galway. We were overwhelmed by traffic as we entered the city so we parked and walked through the streets. Galway was a lot like Dublin… very Americanized, but you still can find a unique Irish shop here and there. We decided we needed another CD to listen to since we’d been listening to the same one for days. The music shop was fun to explore and I got chatted up by an older gentleman I could barely understand. At least he was friendly.

After eating seafood for over a week, I told Eric I wanted some good old pizza. We found a Papa John’s in the city square that was just opening for lunch. We enjoyed our nice American chicken BBQ pizza with a couple of Cokes!

When we were finished with lunch we decided we’d had enough of the city of Galway. We found our way out of town and headed north to The Sandhouse Hotel.

The Sandhouse hotel was built in the 1960’s and is located just south of Donegal. It’s built to look like a luxury hotel from the early 1900’s and it’s just oozing character! Since it’s located right on the beach, it attracts vacationing locals. Our room is huge and features a lovely four-poster bed and a sitting area that overlooks the ocean.

After we checked in, we found a laundry place and a grocery store. We ate dinner in our room and went for a COLD walk on the beach. We warmed up with a couple of pints of Guinness in the sitting area downstairs before turning in early. Vacation is all about rest right? ; )

Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula

Monday marked the day I was most looking forward to! The town of Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula!!! Dingle is known for being one of the cutest towns in all of Ireland. Apparently Ireland had a “Tidy-town” competition 30 years ago and all the towns painted their storefronts bright colors. Dingle was charming and full of friendly people.

Dingle

Our drive into town had been long so we stopped in at John Benny Moriarty’s for lunch and visited Murphy’s Ice Cream. I had Bailey’s and coffee ice cream… I could die a happy woman! We also visited the Dingle Music Shop before heading out for the scenic drive around the peninsula. The shop owner was a riot and he had lots of helpful tips on where I should look online for an Irish flute.

Most of the scenic drive was on a one lane road that you had to pull over if you met another car, but it was worth every stressful kilometer! I thought the Oregon coast was beautiful, but it pales in comparison to the Dingle Peninsula! The hillsides are dotted with sheep and small homes, but the coastline is the most spectacular. Rocky cliffs give way to sandy coves and the water is the most beautiful shade of blue I’ve ever seen outside of a magazine. That was what most surprised me. You wouldn’t expect that color of water anywhere but the Caribbean!

We were fortunate enough to get sunshine the whole trip. I got to put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast. It was as cold as the Pacific on the Oregon coast, but very worth the numb feet! We really enjoyed the drive and frequently stopped along the road to snap pictures of the beautiful scenery.

When we got back to Dingle we walked all over the cute little streets. We visited several of the small shops and chatted with some very lovely shop owners. Once we’d worked up an appetite again we ducked into Murphy’s Pub (not to be confused with the ice cream shop) for dinner and a pint before heading home.

It rained most of the way home and we were very thankful it had held off while we toured the town. The best part of Monday was getting to skype with our boys! We’ve been trying to chat with them over the internet every few days. It makes the ocean seem not-so-big when you can see their smiling faces and see the projects they’ve been working on at school. They enjoy telling us about every little detail of their lives since we’ve been gone.

The Cliffs of Moher

We woke up on Sunday and had a lovely breakfast prepared by Michael. (Seriously, those pancakes… mmmm…) We had big plans to visit the Cliffs of Moher that day and we were informed that it would be an interesting visit because of the high winds already blowing in Ireland. We were told to be careful not to get sucked off the cliffs!   : O

It took some time to get there, and when we did we realized what they meant about being careful. Forget about walking, we could barely stand up straight because of the blowing winds!!!

We braved the high winds though and walked all along the cliffs. We were treated to amazing views and spectacular winds. I got lots of pictures, some of which I plan to enlarge and frame when we return home.

We were so cold by the time we got back to the  visitor center that we needed something hot to warm our insides. We stopped at the café for some coffee and browsed the gift shop for some souvenirs. Thankfully the weather held up for us. Just as we were getting in the car, it started to rain.

We sat in the car and ate a little snack before heading down to the little town of Doolin. Apparently Doolin is somewhat of a music mecca for traditional Irish musicians, so we were excited about hearing some great music at dinner time.

We visited a woolen goods shop and purchased an itchy sweater for Eric and ducked into some of the other little shops in town. The weather had really picked up at this point so we were mostly seeking shelter on our way to the pub for dinner.

We ate at a great little place called Gus O’Conner’s. We walked in the door and were greeted by a nice crackling fire. We even snagged a table close to it! My dinner was a disappointment, but that’s because it wasn’t what I thought I was ordering. Irish smoked salmon is cold smoked so it’s not cooked. I have a hard time eating anything with that raw texture and my plate was PILED with smoked salmon! I ate most of my dinner and Eric helped me eat the rest.

We enjoyed the music as we finished our pints of Guinness. We had a long drive home though so we had to duck out before the music session was over.

Thankfully we made it back to Glocca Morra without incident… WHEW!