The tests are in!!

I finally got all Harrison's tests in as ordered by the doctor we took him to.  The hair sample wasn't a big problem; we just took him in for a hair cut.  The blood sample, well, it took a bag of gummy treats and two DumDum suckers to get him through that.  The stool sample, let's just say that nature takes it course.  The urine sample was the hardest to get, mainly because Harrison is not yet potty trained.  The lab I got his blood work drawn from gave me these bags to attach to him, but they came off.  I sterilized the catch basin on his little toiet and sat him on it, reading him books for 15-20 minutes at a time, but minutes after I get him off and his diaper back on, he goes.  This is where I had to get creative.  I took our portable DVD player and set it in front of him when he was back on his training toilet and kept giving him juice, milk, and anything else I thought might help, and halfway through the first Thomas the Train DVD, he went, I had my sample, and we were all happy!  Now I'm just waiting for the test results.  I'm anxious and nervous all at the same time, but I guess it is all overridden by a sense of determination.  I am determined to help my little boy get better.  I can say that I don't care what the test results say because Harrison will always be special to me, no matter what.  But I do care what the results say because it is part of the grand scheme of helping him develop to the fullest of his potential, whatever that may be.  And whatever that turns out to be is more than I could have ever asked for.  He is making good gains.  Currently, I am working on getting him to look me in the eyes when he asks for something, and this is quite a struggle, but I am not giving up; I simply can't.  Many times, I gently hold his head so he is looking at me, and he still averts his eyes.  But I can tell he is trying to look at me; he wants to but is struggling with it.  I take my work ethic from him.  He is working so hard at this (and everything else) that it makes me even more proud that he is my son.  He is the best little boy in the world.  And he has gotten it.  A few times, while I was holding his head, he looked me in the eyes and asked for something.  Just a few days ago, he was running around the basement when he stopped, looked me in the eyes, and asked for the same thing again!  I just about lost it.  I call these moments "chears through tears". One of Harrison's classroom aides, who is watching him this summer, also has an autistic child and is also on a GFCF diet, so that alleviates that worry.  She (along with her backups of another aide and the teacher) is going to try to put time into working towards his IEP goals.  In addition to all this, I am trying to train myself in ABA.  I found a book that is really good in explaining the philosophy behind it, reinforcement methodology, and has many, many lesson plans for ABA.  I just started reading it, and I know it's going to be hard, but it's going to be worth it.  I have to do it; it's for Harrison's good.  I am also working with his teacher to structure the days I have off (2 or 3 during the week) much like a school day.  Then I have his OT (and maybe ST if the bozos at the insurance company gets their act together), and there's also a weekly play group for autistic children at a local university (about an hour away).  I had to go and buy a planner for the first time to keep all this straight.  A relative of mine said that it seems like alot, but I don't think so.  I think about what Harrison is going through, and that is alot.  I will scour the four corners of the earth for things to do to help Harrison get better.  I look at Harrison and how hard he's struggling and working at the things I'm trying to teach him, and I would not be able to live with myself if I didn't work equally as hard.  This, most definitely, is a labor of love.