Mama's Learning

Geesh, the past week I feel like I've been in school again. I finished VCU's course that had good initial information, and now I've completed an Autism Internet Module on PRT--the therapy we want for Bug. It is so wonderful to be able to access so much information online, even if it does take a bit of hunting to find what I need. I still want to complete the course that's offered online through Michigan, so I guess that's up next. And, one of my friends gave me a book filled with learning activities for three year olds, so I've got some good ideas for what I want to do with the kiddos this fall.

We did get more info on the Medicaid waiver and well, we just don't know if we'd qualify or not. We are making some progress with Adam's work, they're looking into covering ABA, so prayers would be MUCH appreciated. It would be such a blessing and a relief for us to be able to just go through insurance and we would have a lot more options than what we do now.

I also got in touch with the clinic at Virginia Tech and it looks like we will be doing PRT training in late October or early November. They're not quite sure how it'll work, I guess they have a lot of interest so it might be a group training. We'll see I guess. The good thing is that we're guaranteed a spot, so we just have to sit tight for a while.

Final Mama note: I'm going to start working to get things a little bit more organized and put up a list of sites, books, etc, that we've found helpful so far. I figure that even if it helps one person out, it would be worth it.

Alright, Bug stuff:

Speech: Bug is working so well with Kathy. They're doing a lot with verbs and talking about what people/things are "doing". I guess Bug's favorite activity is looking at flashcards that have pictures of actions on them. Bug really likes the ones that involve slides and swings, so Kathy saves those for last as a reward for doing the other ones. It's always so cool to hear him say full sentences like "He is swinging" :D

At home, we are having some confusion with "you" versus "I"--Bug will often say "You want ____" when he wants something (because when he says "I want ___" we respond "You want ____"). Pronouns are often tough for ASD kids, so we're working to reinforce the "I" again.

We are also doing a bit of potty training, pretty much on Bug's terms. It seems like in late afternoon, Bug is done with diapers and sometimes even requests undies, so we're giving it a slow go. So far we've had one accidental success and a lot of wet undies. We'll get there. I'm glad at least that he's interested and pretty compliant about heading to the bathroom. We just need to work on him relaxing enough and sitting long enough to be successful. I'm struggling to find rewards or reinforcers that work for him. He does like playing Angry Birds on my phone but it doesn't seem to be a strong enough reward for him. So I guess I have to do some brainstorming.

I've also tried a bit of prewriting with Bug. I filled a cake pan with a little bit of salt and let Bug put his fingers in it. He seems very into exploring it and getting it everywhere, so I've been trying to get him to try doing single strokes. We need some work, but I'm glad that he's interested in it.

 I also put together a very mini-sandbox (out of a small under-the-bed tote) and both boys really love playing in the sand. And dumping it all over our driveway. Sillies.

In OT, Bug tried a lot of new things this week! He bounced on an innertube, played with cars on a ramp, rode a scooter and even pedaled a trike a little bit! He didn't do as much swinging as he had been, which was kind of surprising. Once again, he enjoyed the "motorcycle" swing and going down the slide backwards. He does seem to be "done" with OT usually around the half hour to 45 minute mark, and tends to be more resistant towards Geri's activities, but we've been coaching him through. I do have a hard time because I never know exactly how involved I should get, but I always try to praise him and encourage him when he looks towards me.

I'm hoping that we can start incorporating some PRT during our day-to-day activities and slowly start building everybody up to a couple chunks of "work" time each day. For all of us, it'll be an adjustment as we learn new habits and skills. I just have to be persistent and keep trying even if we hit bumps.

He just cracks me up. So excited about the camera flash!