August 7 2009

After 2 months of ABA he knows @40 picture cards, can do @15-20 commands and has worked into a 2 hour a day session. He is doing MUCH less sorting and a whole lot more PLAYING. I have started doing the brushing therapy again and he is a lot more vocal. The OT said a lot of families she has worked with have reported the same thing when the brushing starts. HE is having a weird day . Lots of stemming and I am getting in as much therapy as I can with him around arm flapping and refusing to pay attention.

aba update

We have been doing the ABA for over a month now and
are pleasantly pleased and are constantly amazed at what
Teddy knows.We have worked into 2 -1 hour sessions a day .
One of his favorite activities is dividing up
shapes after he has filled the shape box (I have a few extra) .
He correctly divides them into groups of 3 , 2 and 1 . I was so pleased to see
this. He is also correctly id MANY pictures. He will give you a "high five"
and is picking up requests quicker than when we first began. He enjoys
small pieces of cheese and Popsicles for his treats. Please be in prayer as
our State is going to be voting on a measure to ensure that insurance companies
MUST pay for ABA therapy for autistic individuals.

ABA

Have 3 ABA's with Teddy under my belt now. Not easy to keep his attention after a bit so I need to come up with some new things to keep his attention. We are almost up to 30 min. a session . I need to work up to 4 hours a day. WE are working on cat,horse, banana, apple, shoe, nose, belly, head
we use pictures and toys of them and I am using M&M's for reinforcement.

Meetings this week

Met with the Speech Therapist and she wants me to have a:
-diary of what he eats this week
-list if his favorite things
-and a set of pics from his daily life to make for picture exchange .
She is going to train me to do a bit of ABA so I can give him therapy at home we will be working toward 2 hours daily.

There is supposed to be a video on you tube that is @ 20 min . long that explains
the terminology etc... will be looking it up tonight.

Teddy has already peed in the potty this morning. He has not woken up dry yet so he is not quite ready for the serious potty training but we will be working more serious at it this summer.

I also found out he made the easiest transition to 3-4 year old program of any of their autistic kids they had. He made social progress and is right on track with his peers in some areas. They will have a more detailed rubric next year that will be incredibly helpful in keeping up with his progress.

Sunday ...sunday

I was really getting a message from church yeaterday when they came and go tme out of the sanctuary. Teddy who I had dressed so cute in shorts overalls had a blow out. There was piles of poop on the floor, in his pants, on his shoes....I got it cleaned up as well as possible and they finished it off. I was in tears by the time we left. On the upside he sure likes going outside right now and does a good job staying with us. LAst year he was like a hunting dog headed for the horizon!

autism-not the road I expected to be on....

I keep waiting for a child to show up who talks and eats more than chicken. He's not coming for a while....I have a sweet little guy who is affectionate, independant (as a kid like him can be) and inquisitive (in his own way) about the world. He looks like a regular child (till he starts flapping and posturing and making his noise. )
I cried for the first time a bit the other night. I am trying to be strong and believe that God will re-route this boy's brain. He is not dying, he has a high IQ, he is beautiful to gaze upon and lovely to hug and kiss...why am I grieving?????? Because I want a "normal" child. I feel God is forgetting about us down here...where's MY miracle? I am tired of smiling for the world to be a good witness. I am tired, scared, and sad.