Rocks, chalk, and schedules.

So wow. I didn't realize it'd been quite that long since I updated. I guess I have a lot to catch up on!

Therapies:
Speech is usually pretty successful. Bug doesn't do a ton of interacting with Kerry, our therapist, but he's pretty tolerant of her and he does display skills for her to see. He even was mimicking her when she was here last week, repeating to me what she said. We're still trying to get him to do cooperative play, that seems to be our biggest hurdle. Kerry also encourages us to keep things "fresh"--that we don't repeat things exactly the same every time, that we change up what we ask him to point at or look for in books, so he doesn't get stuck in a pattern (which he is inclined to do, for sure).

Occupational, well, is just not going as well. I really don't think it helps that we only see Lauren every couple of weeks, but Bug is just not as comfortable with her. Last week, he said in a high chair, with an apple slice wedged in his mouth almost the entire session. He wouldn't tolerate her touching him. I've also felt, and discussed with Lauren, that I didn't feel like we were seeing any benefit of the sensory activities we do. While he enjoys them, he doesn't seem more focused or "less-sensory". Lauren suggested that he could just be that low-sensitivity (that it takes A LOT of sensory to get through to him) or it could be that it's more of a hyperactivity issue rather than sensory-based.

OT was pretty frustrating. I was really disappointed with the feedback I got from Lauren, and Bug's behavior was not very inspiring either. We're going to give it another go, but might pursue private therapy if we really cannot get anywhere with the Early Intervention stuff.

Social:
We've been outside a lot lately, taking full advantage of the beautiful Virginia fall. Parks are a good place for Bug to get a little social interaction with peers, without it being too stressy. He does like to swing, but usually after we've done a good long swing he'll go play on the rest of the playground for a little while. He's been getting braver about going down slides (he was nervous about them for a while I think because he had gotten scraped up on one going down awkwardly). And every little interaction, little negotiation he has--taking turns, navigating the same "space" as another child--provides him another opportunity to learn.

Church has been going awesomely. I spent a lot of time in nursery with Wiggle and did some chatting with Sarah, the lady who's in charge, and she said that you can tell Bug's anxiety level is way down. She said he does some communicating too, which is great!

Romp n Roll has not been as good of an experience. We tried going to a different one and Bug just could not calm down, so we headed back home. Our best guess is that it's similar but not the same and that's distressing. I really hope we can get back there and have a positive experience so we can have it as a good, indoor playground. We also want to try a place called Jumpology, which is all trampolines. I think that could be a really good time!

We've had a few playdates too and Bug's done a pretty good job, even feeling sad when his friends leave!

Home:
Bug is still a big fan of his trampoline. He'll head in there a few times a day and has explored jumping on his knees or bouncing while he sits. We do have a "no food or drink while in the trampoline" policy that he's not too crazy about ;)

I also put together a schedule board for us so we can plan out our day using pictures.

In the top right corner is a "feelings chart" which we haven't had to use at all. It has pictures illustrating various emotions. The idea is that Bug can point to how he's feeling.

The rest of it is devoted to pictures of what we're going to do each day. While Bug obviously cannot tell time, the idea is that we can get him into understanding "first we do this, then this, then finally this." It also gives him a framework for when we're going to do things he's less comfortable with--therapies, Romp n Roll, etc. I still need to get used to using it and get a few more pictures of common things, but I'm hopeful that it'll provide some structure to the day and also empower him to help decide what we do.

I did just read a book written by a boy who has autism who doesn't like the use of visual schedules, but Bug doesn't seem too distressed when we have to change plans, so I think it's ok to use still.

I mentioned last time that Bug used chalk on a chalkboard at a friend's house. I remembered that Grandma S. gave Bug a little box that had a chalkboard on it, so we put a few pieces of chalk and a piece of felt for an eraser. Bug is a pretty big fan! He likes it when we draw on it, but he's done some good work on it too, which is seriously fantastic!

Yesterday he was saying letters as he was writing, which made me so very happy and excited! Bug has been doing really great with his letters. He now points them out occasionally while we're out and about. He also likes going through his foam letters and saying what they are. We do Starfall a lot too. I've been trying to show him how the letters combine to form words, since he knows so many and what they "say". He is just so drawn to words and books!

He also now will repeat the words from songs we hear on the radio and sometimes we think he tries to sing. I know with the ABCs he can sing a little of it. We are still trying to get him to understand that you can sing something or say something at the same time as someone. He is very used to us dropping off so he can "fill in the blanks" so it's definitely a work in progress.

So far Bug is pretty inconsistent about taking his omega supplement. Sometimes he doesn't mind at all and other times he just refuses. We do break it open into yogurt and such. I think it's more of a typical two-year old control thing rather than a taste or sensory thing. We also have not had much luck introducing new foods. He did taste (lick) a piece of chicken that Adam put on a fork, so that's really good, but mostly he won't try new things. I have a recipe for lentil tacos that I have planned, so maybe that will pique his interest. We have found that if we put it on a fork for him, he's at least somewhat interested, even if he won't taste it. The boy does eat a ridiculous amount of peas and beans and dairy, so I don't think his protein is in any way lacking! :)

Bug has also been soooooo into rocks lately. Everywhere we go we have to find a rock or two to hang onto. Mostly I don't mind, at least until he decides he needs to taste them. I remembered a box of rocks and shells I got from my sister, and I pulled out some of the bigger ones for him to play with and it's been a huge hit!




















He loves to hold onto them and place them on his belly. Adam will rub them on Bug's arms and he gets a huge kick out of that! In general though he really likes it when we draw attention to his arms and legs by running cars or rocks on him or massaging with lotion. He always gets this little smile on his face and you can tell he really enjoys the feelings. I think we need to do more of that, it's just a matter of getting him to slow down a bit!

Another REALLY cool thing we had happen yesterday: I was give Wiggle his lunch at the table and Bug spilled water. I told him to get the towel off the stove and pointed to it. He went over, looked for and found it, and brought it back and wiped up his mess! That is an enormous improvement! He definitely is catching on to us pointing at things and following simple directions which is super important and super awesome to see happen! Yay Bug! 

The other major thing for us is that with the fall weather brings some changes to clothes. So far we've made a pretty good transition into wearing pants. We also went up to 4T (seriously, the kiddo is a monster! Must be all that protein!) so we're still figuring out if there are certain clothes he doesn't like. He is handling the "some days it's cold and we wear pants, some days it's warm and we wear shorts" thing pretty well, a little less so at night, but there haven't been any huge meltdowns. We also bought him a new pair of shoes. I had been able to get the same shoe in a larger size the last time, but this time they didn't have it, so we got a pretty close style. He hasn't put them on yet, but I'm hoping that they fit ok and he is alright wearing them. Admittedly, I'm nervous about it. It's funny what worries you when you have a sensory kid. :P

I guess if I had to sum up, I'd say things are going really well. We're hearing a lot of speech, even if we don't fully understand. Bug seems willing to try new words and really does try to get us to understand. We're seeing him explore his world more and learn how to be a polite little man. I'm still hopeful that we can make some progress on the sensory side of things, but I think we are, even if it's not yet noticeable to me. Baby steps. :)