Socialization

Not a very exciting title, but it seems like socialization is our big over-arching theme lately.

In OT, we've switched so we do fine motor (sit down) work before our friend J comes in. Thursday was our first time trying this, as well as not allowing Bug to put together the number puzzle. Bug did lash out once at Frances, and verbally protested a bit about the puzzle, but he sat and worked hard for 25 minutes. We did pop-beads with him, which was a brand new task. He actually really enjoyed the challenge and worked hard to connect the beads himself. When we had a long enough strand, I made in into a bracelet. He really liked how it felt and kept rolling it up and down his arm :)

When J came in, the boys went into the Lycra band swings (we call it the "cloud swing"). J was jumping and climbing, and while Bug didn't interact with him, he must have been paying attention because he started jumping and then throwing himself forward. He also tried to climb the ladder after seeing J do it.

Once school is over (3 more days!) we will add another OT session in per week. I'm so excited to see what we accomplish!

In speech:
Bug and Laura have been working on "has" and also paying more attention to the "who"s and "where"s both in books and in real life. Particularly, Laura has been getting Bug to acknowledge that Wiggle is with us too. It's hard to know whether Bug knows that Wiggle's with us and just ignoring him, or if he's really unaware. I think it's probably a mixture, but as Wiggle because more of a person and less of a baby, he's definitely making himself a focus. ;)

In school:
Honestly, I'm not sure what they've been doing in school. We haven't gotten much home lately. This is the last week (3 days for us) and I'm excited for it to be over.

Regarding the IEP, we decided that we don't want Bug in a full day program, regardless of the number of days a week. While I do think he'd adjust, I worry that it's not developmentally appropriate for a 4 year old--even an autistic one. It would also greatly limit our ability to interact with neurotypical friends and peers. After I let his teacher know that we would decline services, she talked to her supervisor and they suggested that we do home-based services one hour per week, so we can get a little developmental work from a teacher and also keep our IEP active. We plan on accepting that, it seems reasonable. I have a lot less stress this time, because I know that whatever we do, I can change course if things aren't working.

So what is our plan for school next year? Over the summer, I'd like to do a trial run of homeschooling. Bug and I will need some adjusting into new roles of "student-teacher" but I think he is more open to it than he used to be. On my part, I will need to work on planning activities ahead of time, and not getting dejected if they completely fail.

For socializing, over the summer I will be doing two Bible/book studies, so the boys will be in nursery care for that. We also have been making a better effort about going to church. Our schedule will be more open, so we'll be able to try out storytimes at the library, have more playdates and go to parks more often. Eventually I'd like to get both boys into a Romp N Roll type class, so we'll be looking into that again too.

I would so appreciate prayers as we try this out. We feel strongly that Bug deserves to be with "regular" kids as much as possible, and the best option for us is for him to be home. I will also be able to coordinate therapies better to make sure we're giving Bug the best care possible.  I'm definitely aware that I am adding a lot to my load, but I feel a lot better about it than I did last fall.

Whew. Let's switch to the super-uber-mega-awesome thing:

Bug gives Wiggle hugs now!!!!!!! Wiggle is very much in a hugging/kissing stage. He's constantly asking us for kisses. So cute. He'll even ask Bug, and then completely invade his space to get the kiss while Bug is like "Uh, what's going on?" Somehow this is always while we are getting on shoes. ;)

Anyway, so the other evening, Wiggle pretty much sat in Bug's lap. I think he fell over. Probably. And as I watched, but didn't get involved, Bug kind of put his arms around Wiggle. Wiggle got up, Bug followed and kind of picked him up. So we asked "Can you give Wiggle a hug" and he did!

I cannot tell you how happy I am about this! What a huge step forward for Bug. And good for both boys to know they are loved by their brother and able to be friends. :D **warm fuzzies**