Today marks one year since Bug was diagnosed with autism. On one hand, it seems like ages ago, and on the other, it seems like yesterday. I could say a lot about how I felt and how we've struggled and overcome challenges, but instead, I think I'll let Bug's day speak for us.
This morning, Bug had me adapt a Starfall song to use different letters "Listen to the short b sound...".
This morning, Bug went into my room, said "Feel the grass" and we ran our hands thru the wheatgrass. Then he said "Grass on head" and when I brought it closer to him, he rubbed it on his head.
This morning, while getting ready for OT, Bug put on his own shoes, did "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" touching the correct body parts.
During OT, Bug hopped along a puzzle, tried to kick a ball, followed multiple-step directions.
During OT, Bug only swung for a few minutes (requesting that I swing him, not Frances). He got out because Wiggle was pulling interesting toys out of the closet.
During OT, Bug climbed into the ballpit, where Wiggle was. Then he requested that I go in the pit too. Then he kept flopping himself down in the ballpit because it made me laugh. Then he requested Frances come in the ballpit. Bug shared a space, about 5'x6' with three other people. We engaged in parallel play.
Then Bug decided he should stand on the edge of the ballpit and jump in. It was amazing.
This afternoon, Bug and I wrote letters in chalk on the driveway. We walked on the letters. Bug traced them with his broom.
This afternoon, Bug repeatedly asked me to spray water at him with the hose, moving closer and farther away to see how far I could get him.
I cannot put into words how proud I am of this boy. He has grown so much and continues to meet our challenges. I have no idea what will happen in the next year, but I'm excited to see how we grow!
Showing posts with label OT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OT. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
What happened in February?
We've had a busy month, it seems like forever since we've had a "normal" week without changes in schedules due to therapists being out or snow days or days off from school.
Home: Sleep has been off for everybody. Before the time change, Bug had been getting up veerrrrry early. He's really into knocking on doors lately, so he'd knock on his door or our door. A lot of times it would disturb Wiggle, and suddenly the whole house is up at 6 am. Not so much fun.
We've been watching a lot of the movie "Enchanted" and Bug loves us to sing along with the songs and he even has us act out scenes from the movie. It's quite cute, but it does seems that we've made it into too much of a routine so we'll need to start branching him out a little. It can be very hard to find the balance between letting him enjoy something and it becoming too much for him. Part of the problem is that I like having a break in the afternoon (and also giving him a break after school or therapy) so it's easy to just let him pick something out so I can have some peace. I'm hoping that as the weather gets nicer again we can spend more time outside to blow off steam.
In good news, Bug can now get his pants on completely by himself! He also can get his shirt on, but a lot of time puts it on backwards. He seems to be a little big more flexible about clothing, being more cooperative about putting on warmer jackets and different shoes to go outside. I'm hoping to keep pushing boundaries with him, I'd love to get him into khaki-style pants too!
We've also noticed him having an increased interest in new/different foods. He's told us "yes" when we asked if he wanted a cheeseburger and let us offer foods (but not taste them) a couple times. He also ate a chunk of raw green pepper! Frances said that as we're able to get his sensory systems regulated, it'll be easier for him to expand his comfort zone. :)
School: Bug has been super about getting ready for the bus and heading to school. Today we even had to rush because the bus was early and he handled it perfectly. Beyond that, I think things are going about the same. Bug is resistant about doing fine motor activities, but will do them with protest. He does seem happy when I look at his projects or mention what they're working on.
Speech: Laura made a valiant attempt at working on categorizing things, but Bug is just not there yet. He seems to have some understanding, but really struggles to group things together. I don't think it helps that we don't ever really talk about things being "vehicles" or "money" so it's more novel vocabulary than he's used to. They're working on prepositions and big/little now, and it's a bit easier, and I think more important. I also plan to work with him on this with the Bad Piggies game on the phone, talking about where to put the pig, motor, etc.
One partial success: Laura has been able to get Bug to use a weighted lap pad a few times. The first couple of times, she noticed quite an improvement in his focus. I'm hoping that we can continue offering it to him, so he has options to help him stay regulated while he's working hard.
OT: OT has been a bit wild. Miss Frances was out for a couple of weeks while she took her exam and we've had to shuffle days/times because of the snow too. Bug has handled it very well. He worked with our sub therapist, Victoria, pretty well, although she struggled to get him to do much fine motor. He has started using a new swing, a flat swing with an innertube on it for safety...like a tire swing with a bottom. Eventually we'd like to get him to use the rope to swing himself, but right now he likes the therapist to do it for him. Frances is working hard with Bug to get him to be able to get his socks and shoes on by himself. Socks are really hard, especially since Bug typically doesn't use both hands. We also noticed last week that Bug has some motivation to use scissors to cut (he even cut his pretzels into pieces!) which is a pretty complex action! I wish we could find a way to make prewriting more enjoyable for him!
Sort of on that note, a story I want to record (and will probably reflect more on in another post):
Bug had been saying a bunch of letters, that seemed like they should be words but Adam and I couldn't figure it out. Finally, after watching one of the Planet Earth shows, I realized that Bug was saying a lot of the letters (not completely in order) of "Ocean Deep"--one of the titles of the episodes we watched. I found a paper and pen, wrote out "Ocean Deep" and showed it to him. He got this smile and giggled the way he does when we figure something out. :) Then he said more letters, and when I went to write them, he took the pen and I *think* tried to write too! I would absolutely loooooove to help him learn to read and write/type, because I think it would really expand on his communication skills. It's always fun to see these little flashes of understanding from him.
Well, I think I got us about caught up. I need to stop leaving big gaps, because A LOT happens in a month around here!
Home: Sleep has been off for everybody. Before the time change, Bug had been getting up veerrrrry early. He's really into knocking on doors lately, so he'd knock on his door or our door. A lot of times it would disturb Wiggle, and suddenly the whole house is up at 6 am. Not so much fun.
We've been watching a lot of the movie "Enchanted" and Bug loves us to sing along with the songs and he even has us act out scenes from the movie. It's quite cute, but it does seems that we've made it into too much of a routine so we'll need to start branching him out a little. It can be very hard to find the balance between letting him enjoy something and it becoming too much for him. Part of the problem is that I like having a break in the afternoon (and also giving him a break after school or therapy) so it's easy to just let him pick something out so I can have some peace. I'm hoping that as the weather gets nicer again we can spend more time outside to blow off steam.
In good news, Bug can now get his pants on completely by himself! He also can get his shirt on, but a lot of time puts it on backwards. He seems to be a little big more flexible about clothing, being more cooperative about putting on warmer jackets and different shoes to go outside. I'm hoping to keep pushing boundaries with him, I'd love to get him into khaki-style pants too!
We've also noticed him having an increased interest in new/different foods. He's told us "yes" when we asked if he wanted a cheeseburger and let us offer foods (but not taste them) a couple times. He also ate a chunk of raw green pepper! Frances said that as we're able to get his sensory systems regulated, it'll be easier for him to expand his comfort zone. :)
School: Bug has been super about getting ready for the bus and heading to school. Today we even had to rush because the bus was early and he handled it perfectly. Beyond that, I think things are going about the same. Bug is resistant about doing fine motor activities, but will do them with protest. He does seem happy when I look at his projects or mention what they're working on.
Speech: Laura made a valiant attempt at working on categorizing things, but Bug is just not there yet. He seems to have some understanding, but really struggles to group things together. I don't think it helps that we don't ever really talk about things being "vehicles" or "money" so it's more novel vocabulary than he's used to. They're working on prepositions and big/little now, and it's a bit easier, and I think more important. I also plan to work with him on this with the Bad Piggies game on the phone, talking about where to put the pig, motor, etc.
One partial success: Laura has been able to get Bug to use a weighted lap pad a few times. The first couple of times, she noticed quite an improvement in his focus. I'm hoping that we can continue offering it to him, so he has options to help him stay regulated while he's working hard.
OT: OT has been a bit wild. Miss Frances was out for a couple of weeks while she took her exam and we've had to shuffle days/times because of the snow too. Bug has handled it very well. He worked with our sub therapist, Victoria, pretty well, although she struggled to get him to do much fine motor. He has started using a new swing, a flat swing with an innertube on it for safety...like a tire swing with a bottom. Eventually we'd like to get him to use the rope to swing himself, but right now he likes the therapist to do it for him. Frances is working hard with Bug to get him to be able to get his socks and shoes on by himself. Socks are really hard, especially since Bug typically doesn't use both hands. We also noticed last week that Bug has some motivation to use scissors to cut (he even cut his pretzels into pieces!) which is a pretty complex action! I wish we could find a way to make prewriting more enjoyable for him!
Sort of on that note, a story I want to record (and will probably reflect more on in another post):
Bug had been saying a bunch of letters, that seemed like they should be words but Adam and I couldn't figure it out. Finally, after watching one of the Planet Earth shows, I realized that Bug was saying a lot of the letters (not completely in order) of "Ocean Deep"--one of the titles of the episodes we watched. I found a paper and pen, wrote out "Ocean Deep" and showed it to him. He got this smile and giggled the way he does when we figure something out. :) Then he said more letters, and when I went to write them, he took the pen and I *think* tried to write too! I would absolutely loooooove to help him learn to read and write/type, because I think it would really expand on his communication skills. It's always fun to see these little flashes of understanding from him.
Well, I think I got us about caught up. I need to stop leaving big gaps, because A LOT happens in a month around here!
Monday, January 26, 2015
Growing Up
The theme lately for Bug has been growth and maturing.
While we've been fighting off multiple rounds of sickness, Bug has been amazingly accepting of the lack of routine. Even if he is unhappy about something, he typically doesn't get too worked up, and calms down very quickly. I had to take him to the doctor last week, and I was amazed at how cooperative he was. He definitely wasn't happy about being there, but he stood on the scale by himself for the first time and made an effort to comply with the doctor's requests during the physical exam. Eventually the anxiety/uncomfortableness did take over, but it was a much better experience than we've had in a long time.
Miss Frances and I have noticed a huge improvement in Bug's willingness to try new fine motor activities and explore his surroundings. She tried a Lite-Brite with him for the first time, and after modeling a couple times, physically helping him once, he was able to put the pegs in by himself! He even seemed to like it!
He doesn't love coloring, but will do a little at least. We are still working on getting him to draw lines, but again, while he isn't particularly interested, he's at least not resistant. I've been trying to relate it to letters, which at least provides some motivation.
Today I met with his teacher and school SLP to review his IEP. We made a few changes to his goals (adding stuff about improving transitions and requesting help when needed) but for the most part, Bug is making great progress and everyone is super impressed with how well he's doing! :D Even at school he's beginning to step outside his comfort zone. His teacher said that while he has a hard time being in the gym (because of the echoing--too much sensory input) he's started to explore and move away from the teachers. He also engages in parallel play with the other boys in class, which is a HUGE step forward!
I've got some sensory ideas to run past Frances to help Bug focus a little better in speech and school, and want to work on some of the fine motor stuff at home too. I feel like we have a little bit more opportunity now that he's not as resistant and we can do some activities with both boys.
All around, we are so proud of this kiddo and how much he's grown in the past year. It's hard to believe that we've only been in private therapy for about a year!
 |
| Mentally and physically...I feel like I just sewed him new clothes! |
While we've been fighting off multiple rounds of sickness, Bug has been amazingly accepting of the lack of routine. Even if he is unhappy about something, he typically doesn't get too worked up, and calms down very quickly. I had to take him to the doctor last week, and I was amazed at how cooperative he was. He definitely wasn't happy about being there, but he stood on the scale by himself for the first time and made an effort to comply with the doctor's requests during the physical exam. Eventually the anxiety/uncomfortableness did take over, but it was a much better experience than we've had in a long time.
Miss Frances and I have noticed a huge improvement in Bug's willingness to try new fine motor activities and explore his surroundings. She tried a Lite-Brite with him for the first time, and after modeling a couple times, physically helping him once, he was able to put the pegs in by himself! He even seemed to like it!
Today I met with his teacher and school SLP to review his IEP. We made a few changes to his goals (adding stuff about improving transitions and requesting help when needed) but for the most part, Bug is making great progress and everyone is super impressed with how well he's doing! :D Even at school he's beginning to step outside his comfort zone. His teacher said that while he has a hard time being in the gym (because of the echoing--too much sensory input) he's started to explore and move away from the teachers. He also engages in parallel play with the other boys in class, which is a HUGE step forward!
I've got some sensory ideas to run past Frances to help Bug focus a little better in speech and school, and want to work on some of the fine motor stuff at home too. I feel like we have a little bit more opportunity now that he's not as resistant and we can do some activities with both boys.
All around, we are so proud of this kiddo and how much he's grown in the past year. It's hard to believe that we've only been in private therapy for about a year!
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Lots to report!
It's been too long. We've just been so busy, so I guess that means there's a lot to update!
We finally got the full diagnosis report for Bug. I was getting a little worried because we were told 4 weeks, then 4-6 weeks, but we have it now, which is a relief. There was nothing too surprising in the report, it was mostly just a more detailed, clinical version of the preliminary report that we received shortly after his clinic. There were a few good suggestions about things we can work with Bug on, so I'll be sure to share it with our therapists.
I also got Bug pre-registered for Early Childhood and took him for a hearing test. He did much better than I thought he would--or worried he would. The audiologist did a great job with him and we were able to get accurate information. The only thing she noted was a processing delay which we've known about. She did recommend that we have his hearing checked again when he's more open to having earbuds put in his ears. Right now he just doesn't tolerate that at all.
I'm still working to find ABA. We are able to get in to the Virginia Tech clinic for Pivotal Response Treatment training in October, which is much later than I want. I put out a few inquiries with other places and am hoping we can find something sooner. It's frustrating because I'm really scraping around trying to find info on PRT clinics and trainings and I feel like it shouldn't be this hard. But I'm determined to make it work. I did also just order the PRT Pocket Guide and am hoping that I can use that to at least get started.
My goal is to start in home therapy this summer yet. I reorganized the playroom to be more autism/sensory friendly and I'm hoping to get Bug used to doing some work at home with me. He's been great about Legos, but I've tried to get him to do some work that our speech therapist sent home with us and he is seriously resistant. I know it'll just be like everything else, that we have to start a routine and ease into it.
Right now at home we are having some struggles with Bug being tired and cranky and resistant to us. I'm hoping it's a short-lived phase because it's draining for all of us to be at odds all the time. We also seem to have lost his good requesting phase "Mommy/Daddy, I want ____ please". He's gone back to just "Mommy/Daddy, _____" and needs A LOT of prompting to do the whole sentence. Hopefully we just need a little maintenance.
Outside of that, speech is going very well. Our normal therapist, Laura, is on maternity leave and we now see Kathy. It took a couple of sessions, but Bug has transitioned very well and does great work with Kathy too. She is really working hard to meet his sensory needs to help him focus. Deep pressure (like squeezes and hugs) seems to be his favorite right now. On Wednesday she brought me into his classroom so I could see what they'd been doing. She had him match a physical object (cup, plate etc) to the picture of the object and he did well. Then she took those away and just asked him to give her or touch the picture of an object and he couldn't. With help, he would touch it. So we've been trying to work with him at home to respond to that type of question/request. He usually will do it if we're looking at a book, but when I brought out the cards that he used with Kathy he was really resistant.
On the OT side of things, it seems like we've been going through a lot of sensory stuff lately. All last week Bug was pushing his head into things like the couch, or had me squeeze his head between my hands. I talked with Geri about it and we're going to try a brushing protocol. Basically, I'll use special brushes that provide deep pressure and "brush" Bug 5-6 times a day, for a minute or so each time. Geri said that if we can do it that frequently for 5 or 6 weeks, we should see a lot of good results, but even less frequently has benefits.
I'm happy to say that Bug has been trying new gross motor activities both in therapy and at parks. This past week he started rocking himself on the little springy horses at the park and is getting really good at climbing the various types of ladders. We've been working with him to use the big boy swings and he seems to be ok with the idea, so I'm hoping we can move to those from the baby swings.
Fine motor tasks are still hard for Bug to sit for. He is getting excellent at Legos and even will build his own towers without us asking. In therapy, Geri has to work hard to get Bug to sit for a task, even if it's something he can do, like a puzzle. Not sure how much of this is a ASD thing versus a 3 year old thing though.
We've been doing very well with "eerlrs". Bug is now doing therapeutic listening for about 10 minutes at a time twice a day. Our goal is to get him to 30 minutes/time, but sloooowwwlllly we are making progress.
All in all, he's still doing so well. I'm hoping that if we get a good routine in place that will help clear up some of the behavioral struggles we've been having. The last few weeks have been busy and it's been hard to maintain any schedule, so hopefully we can fix that up! Here's hoping we have another good week in therapies and I know the rest will fall into place eventually!
We finally got the full diagnosis report for Bug. I was getting a little worried because we were told 4 weeks, then 4-6 weeks, but we have it now, which is a relief. There was nothing too surprising in the report, it was mostly just a more detailed, clinical version of the preliminary report that we received shortly after his clinic. There were a few good suggestions about things we can work with Bug on, so I'll be sure to share it with our therapists.
I also got Bug pre-registered for Early Childhood and took him for a hearing test. He did much better than I thought he would--or worried he would. The audiologist did a great job with him and we were able to get accurate information. The only thing she noted was a processing delay which we've known about. She did recommend that we have his hearing checked again when he's more open to having earbuds put in his ears. Right now he just doesn't tolerate that at all.
I'm still working to find ABA. We are able to get in to the Virginia Tech clinic for Pivotal Response Treatment training in October, which is much later than I want. I put out a few inquiries with other places and am hoping we can find something sooner. It's frustrating because I'm really scraping around trying to find info on PRT clinics and trainings and I feel like it shouldn't be this hard. But I'm determined to make it work. I did also just order the PRT Pocket Guide and am hoping that I can use that to at least get started.
My goal is to start in home therapy this summer yet. I reorganized the playroom to be more autism/sensory friendly and I'm hoping to get Bug used to doing some work at home with me. He's been great about Legos, but I've tried to get him to do some work that our speech therapist sent home with us and he is seriously resistant. I know it'll just be like everything else, that we have to start a routine and ease into it.
Right now at home we are having some struggles with Bug being tired and cranky and resistant to us. I'm hoping it's a short-lived phase because it's draining for all of us to be at odds all the time. We also seem to have lost his good requesting phase "Mommy/Daddy, I want ____ please". He's gone back to just "Mommy/Daddy, _____" and needs A LOT of prompting to do the whole sentence. Hopefully we just need a little maintenance.
Outside of that, speech is going very well. Our normal therapist, Laura, is on maternity leave and we now see Kathy. It took a couple of sessions, but Bug has transitioned very well and does great work with Kathy too. She is really working hard to meet his sensory needs to help him focus. Deep pressure (like squeezes and hugs) seems to be his favorite right now. On Wednesday she brought me into his classroom so I could see what they'd been doing. She had him match a physical object (cup, plate etc) to the picture of the object and he did well. Then she took those away and just asked him to give her or touch the picture of an object and he couldn't. With help, he would touch it. So we've been trying to work with him at home to respond to that type of question/request. He usually will do it if we're looking at a book, but when I brought out the cards that he used with Kathy he was really resistant.
On the OT side of things, it seems like we've been going through a lot of sensory stuff lately. All last week Bug was pushing his head into things like the couch, or had me squeeze his head between my hands. I talked with Geri about it and we're going to try a brushing protocol. Basically, I'll use special brushes that provide deep pressure and "brush" Bug 5-6 times a day, for a minute or so each time. Geri said that if we can do it that frequently for 5 or 6 weeks, we should see a lot of good results, but even less frequently has benefits.
I'm happy to say that Bug has been trying new gross motor activities both in therapy and at parks. This past week he started rocking himself on the little springy horses at the park and is getting really good at climbing the various types of ladders. We've been working with him to use the big boy swings and he seems to be ok with the idea, so I'm hoping we can move to those from the baby swings.
Fine motor tasks are still hard for Bug to sit for. He is getting excellent at Legos and even will build his own towers without us asking. In therapy, Geri has to work hard to get Bug to sit for a task, even if it's something he can do, like a puzzle. Not sure how much of this is a ASD thing versus a 3 year old thing though.
We've been doing very well with "eerlrs". Bug is now doing therapeutic listening for about 10 minutes at a time twice a day. Our goal is to get him to 30 minutes/time, but sloooowwwlllly we are making progress.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Great Week!
Bug has just been on a roll this week!
Speech: Laura has Bug working hard and he is doing a great job meeting her challenges! Today he actually requested a specific book from her. He does this more frequently at home now, but it's good to see he's willing to work with others on it too. They're still working on the difference between "I want" and "I like" but he's at least doing full sentences, which is great.
At home I've been noticing (especially today) how far Bug has come. We hear lots of full sentences and he responds fairly quickly to familiar requests ("Get your shoes." "Can you pick ____ up?" etc). Today he and I were in my bed and he asked for his blanket. I said "Your blanket is in your room." and he climbed down, got it, and came back. This sounds so trivial, but he used to just say "blan, blan" and if we said where it was he'd say "get, get". It is so rewarding to see such strong progress from him!
OT: We had a really good OT session yesterday. Bug immediately went for the tent swing, and cooperated with Geri to get his shoes and socks off before getting in. She initially wanted to only do about 15-20 minutes in the swing, but his "M'Gewi, I...I want swing please" got him a full 30 minutes. She then got him to complete a few small tasks and rewarded him with swinging. Nothing extraordinary, but it was a good start and a good way to show him that he'll get what he wants (swinging) if he does a little work for her. This is basically the same system Laura uses in speech.
We also have done the headphones/listening therapy with him. He seems ok with the concept, but won't keep the headphones on for more than a minute (and that's pushing it). I've been trying different places (driving, at the grocery store) and different activities with him to try and distract him while he's wearing them. The most successful is to do something tactile with him like play with cars or put lotion on him. We've kind of dropped it the last few days so I'll have to pick it back up again.
I've also made some headway with lining up therapy for him. The ABA clinic I contacted called me back and is going to check with our insurance to see if there's a way for us to get at least some of it covered. The out-of-pocket costs are just too high for us--I would need to get a full time job to cover therapy and childcare while I was working, and even then I don't know that would be enough. I did contact a clinic that runs through Virginia Tech too, they do an intensive parent training clinic on ABA techniques. It would be quite a hike, but I'm hoping there would be a way to accommodate us.
I also got a hold of the Early Childhood coordinator to get a child study set up for Bug. This would be the first step in determining what services we could get through the school system and getting an IEP. So at some point this summer we'll have the child study done.
I did talk to our pediatrician and he recommended that we do the genetic testing. The two main benefits for us would be knowing if it's a genetic issue that would potentially affect our other child (or children, at some point, maybe) and also if it's attributed to a syndrome we'd have a better idea of what to expect in the future (future issues that might come up, or how much progress we'd be able to make). I'm not in a huge rush to line up the appointment, but I should probably put in a call.
The other big thing for us: POTTY TRAINING. As the Bug would say "Oh-me smokes" (Holy smokes). I can't believe we're attempting it, but we are. This is a three day weekend for us, so I figured we'd give it a hard push. So far, I'm very please. Bug seems to be ok with (not super thrilled about) wearing underwear, which is a big relief. He was initially COMPLETELY resistant to sitting on the toilet, but I've been able to break it down into smaller steps to ease him into it and that made for fast progress. I'm going to detail this out, mostly if another parent stumbles across it.
We are not using a small potty for two reasons: 1) Bug is really so big I don't think he really fits on a little potty very well and 2) It would add another step/transition that I'd like to just avoid. **Note, if you don't care about the actual process, skip the blue text below**
We're doing a 10 minute cycle--every 10 minutes I take him to the bathroom. It's exhausting, but apparently successful with autistic kids. You praise them if they're dry, reward them if they "go" and sternly tell them that they need to go in the potty if they're wet. So he's great about heading up to the bathroom, turning the light on and getting out of his pants. After that, things broke down almost completely. He wouldn't use the step stool to sit on the toilet. So for a few tries, I had him step on the stool (with help) just in the middle of the floor, not near anything. Then when he felt comfortable with that, I started moving the stool closer and closer to the toilet. Typically it seemed like it took about 2 cycles to get used to each baby step. Then we worked on sitting him on the closed toilet. Then things broke down again when we tried with the lid up. Bug is super uncomfortable about this and really tenses up. I tried to push the issue but he really was bothered so after speech we just laid off. I bought a potty stool off Amazon. We have a little seat that goes over the normal one, but he is not ok with that either.
I figured we'd just give it a rest until we get that thing. I thought the handles would be nice for him to hold onto. So naturally, twice this afternoon he's ASKED to go potty and has sat briefly on the normal seat. :P He is still quite nervous about it and I have to keep my hands around him so I can't show him that he can kind of prop himself up. He seems ok sitting for a while. I put a basket of books and a couple toys in the bathroom for him to look at. He is good about flushing and washing hands, so we've got a solid take on the process at least. We decided that we're going to slow down a bit and take him every half hour just so we can keep the process fresh and make some progress on being ok on a regular seat (seeing as he'll have to go potty at therapy and playgrounds and possibly school). Once we get the potty stool then we'll be more intensive again.
I'm super proud of how well he's handled it so far. No meltdowns, super cooperative for the most part. He understands at least that "potty" means go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet. Hopefully it won't be a stretch to pee and poop. I have a few worries about the actual training part too, but I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. First we have to be ok sitting on the toilet.
I am grateful that we've had all the evaluations because it's given me a better idea of what Bug gets hung up on. One of his biggest weaknesses is motor planning: He doesn't always know how to move his body the way it should move. We saw this in OT and I see it regularly at the park: Bug will climb up a ladder to a slide, or an open climber and freeze because he doesn't know how to get his feet out from under him to sit at the top of the slide, or he's at an angle on the climber that he'd be more bear-crawling than climbing and he can't figure out how. It's kind of a coordination thing.
Today in the bathroom, we worked on stepping on the stool not near anything so he could focus on that and get the feel of how to do that. Then we worked on turning around on the stool (ie, stepping up facing the toilet, then turning to face me). Then lowering him onto the toilet seat. It didn't take long at all for him to realize, ok, I can do this, this isn't so different from what I do normally. I've learned that this is what it's going to take sometimes. And it's a little baffling that sitting on a toilet is stressful but kneeling on the couch arm and leaning over a gap to danging his torso in the trampoline is not a big deal at all. :P But it is what it is, and we'll help him figure it out all the same.
Speech: Laura has Bug working hard and he is doing a great job meeting her challenges! Today he actually requested a specific book from her. He does this more frequently at home now, but it's good to see he's willing to work with others on it too. They're still working on the difference between "I want" and "I like" but he's at least doing full sentences, which is great.
At home I've been noticing (especially today) how far Bug has come. We hear lots of full sentences and he responds fairly quickly to familiar requests ("Get your shoes." "Can you pick ____ up?" etc). Today he and I were in my bed and he asked for his blanket. I said "Your blanket is in your room." and he climbed down, got it, and came back. This sounds so trivial, but he used to just say "blan, blan" and if we said where it was he'd say "get, get". It is so rewarding to see such strong progress from him!
OT: We had a really good OT session yesterday. Bug immediately went for the tent swing, and cooperated with Geri to get his shoes and socks off before getting in. She initially wanted to only do about 15-20 minutes in the swing, but his "M'Gewi, I...I want swing please" got him a full 30 minutes. She then got him to complete a few small tasks and rewarded him with swinging. Nothing extraordinary, but it was a good start and a good way to show him that he'll get what he wants (swinging) if he does a little work for her. This is basically the same system Laura uses in speech.
We also have done the headphones/listening therapy with him. He seems ok with the concept, but won't keep the headphones on for more than a minute (and that's pushing it). I've been trying different places (driving, at the grocery store) and different activities with him to try and distract him while he's wearing them. The most successful is to do something tactile with him like play with cars or put lotion on him. We've kind of dropped it the last few days so I'll have to pick it back up again.
I've also made some headway with lining up therapy for him. The ABA clinic I contacted called me back and is going to check with our insurance to see if there's a way for us to get at least some of it covered. The out-of-pocket costs are just too high for us--I would need to get a full time job to cover therapy and childcare while I was working, and even then I don't know that would be enough. I did contact a clinic that runs through Virginia Tech too, they do an intensive parent training clinic on ABA techniques. It would be quite a hike, but I'm hoping there would be a way to accommodate us.
I also got a hold of the Early Childhood coordinator to get a child study set up for Bug. This would be the first step in determining what services we could get through the school system and getting an IEP. So at some point this summer we'll have the child study done.
I did talk to our pediatrician and he recommended that we do the genetic testing. The two main benefits for us would be knowing if it's a genetic issue that would potentially affect our other child (or children, at some point, maybe) and also if it's attributed to a syndrome we'd have a better idea of what to expect in the future (future issues that might come up, or how much progress we'd be able to make). I'm not in a huge rush to line up the appointment, but I should probably put in a call.
The other big thing for us: POTTY TRAINING. As the Bug would say "Oh-me smokes" (Holy smokes). I can't believe we're attempting it, but we are. This is a three day weekend for us, so I figured we'd give it a hard push. So far, I'm very please. Bug seems to be ok with (not super thrilled about) wearing underwear, which is a big relief. He was initially COMPLETELY resistant to sitting on the toilet, but I've been able to break it down into smaller steps to ease him into it and that made for fast progress. I'm going to detail this out, mostly if another parent stumbles across it.
We are not using a small potty for two reasons: 1) Bug is really so big I don't think he really fits on a little potty very well and 2) It would add another step/transition that I'd like to just avoid. **Note, if you don't care about the actual process, skip the blue text below**
We're doing a 10 minute cycle--every 10 minutes I take him to the bathroom. It's exhausting, but apparently successful with autistic kids. You praise them if they're dry, reward them if they "go" and sternly tell them that they need to go in the potty if they're wet. So he's great about heading up to the bathroom, turning the light on and getting out of his pants. After that, things broke down almost completely. He wouldn't use the step stool to sit on the toilet. So for a few tries, I had him step on the stool (with help) just in the middle of the floor, not near anything. Then when he felt comfortable with that, I started moving the stool closer and closer to the toilet. Typically it seemed like it took about 2 cycles to get used to each baby step. Then we worked on sitting him on the closed toilet. Then things broke down again when we tried with the lid up. Bug is super uncomfortable about this and really tenses up. I tried to push the issue but he really was bothered so after speech we just laid off. I bought a potty stool off Amazon. We have a little seat that goes over the normal one, but he is not ok with that either.
I figured we'd just give it a rest until we get that thing. I thought the handles would be nice for him to hold onto. So naturally, twice this afternoon he's ASKED to go potty and has sat briefly on the normal seat. :P He is still quite nervous about it and I have to keep my hands around him so I can't show him that he can kind of prop himself up. He seems ok sitting for a while. I put a basket of books and a couple toys in the bathroom for him to look at. He is good about flushing and washing hands, so we've got a solid take on the process at least. We decided that we're going to slow down a bit and take him every half hour just so we can keep the process fresh and make some progress on being ok on a regular seat (seeing as he'll have to go potty at therapy and playgrounds and possibly school). Once we get the potty stool then we'll be more intensive again.
I'm super proud of how well he's handled it so far. No meltdowns, super cooperative for the most part. He understands at least that "potty" means go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet. Hopefully it won't be a stretch to pee and poop. I have a few worries about the actual training part too, but I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. First we have to be ok sitting on the toilet.
I am grateful that we've had all the evaluations because it's given me a better idea of what Bug gets hung up on. One of his biggest weaknesses is motor planning: He doesn't always know how to move his body the way it should move. We saw this in OT and I see it regularly at the park: Bug will climb up a ladder to a slide, or an open climber and freeze because he doesn't know how to get his feet out from under him to sit at the top of the slide, or he's at an angle on the climber that he'd be more bear-crawling than climbing and he can't figure out how. It's kind of a coordination thing.
Today in the bathroom, we worked on stepping on the stool not near anything so he could focus on that and get the feel of how to do that. Then we worked on turning around on the stool (ie, stepping up facing the toilet, then turning to face me). Then lowering him onto the toilet seat. It didn't take long at all for him to realize, ok, I can do this, this isn't so different from what I do normally. I've learned that this is what it's going to take sometimes. And it's a little baffling that sitting on a toilet is stressful but kneeling on the couch arm and leaning over a gap to danging his torso in the trampoline is not a big deal at all. :P But it is what it is, and we'll help him figure it out all the same.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Breakthrough!
We had our fourth OT session today. Bug started out hesitant again, although he was more exploratory than he had been the last two weeks. He did roll balls down the slide with Geri again, but other than that mostly he refused everything we suggested ("No alright"--we hear this about a gajillion times a day now. :P ). He got rather attached to a couple of pieces from a puzzle, but wouldn't put them in and ignored Geri as she was doing the rest. We tried a different swing, one that he really liked on his first session, but he wouldn't go on with Geri or with me. Finally, towards the end of the session, Geri said she'd put up an enclosed swing--but she didn't thing he'd like it.
He immediately ran to it and said "Swing. Swing." Geri asked if he wanted to swing and he said "Yes please" and let her help him inside. She swung him around for probably 10 or 15 minutes (stopping every so often to check on him) and when she said it was time to be all done because our session was over, he was super sad. Once he got out he ran over to a rope ladder and asked to climb. So Geri held it steady and he climbed almost all the way up. Then he tried a lycra hammock too.
I think Geri and I were both relieved to have a more successful session. She was so surprised that he liked the enclosed, but honestly, we've kind of noticed this more lately.
Case in point, this weekend we were at a friend's house and they have one of those backyard trampolines, enclosed by a net. Bug loved it. He did lots of jumping in it, smiling and even was aware of himself in regards to the other kids, it was great to see. But our attempts at the trampoline area have failed. OT has a small exercise trampoline that Bug doesn't care for, but the same size one that's enclosed at our house, he's totally fine with. He also had good success with a cuddle swing at his autism evaluation, prefers the baby swings to normal ones at the park (or even the ones that just have a back and no front restraint).
I have noticed that he gets uncomfortable sometimes, like you can see how unsure he is about physical play. Not all the time, but a lot. I'm beginning to think there's actually a lot of anxiety there--which makes a lot of sense. If you're not getting a lot of input about where you are in space, it's hard to feel confident in your ability to move around a lot.
Geri also gave us headphones and cds to start the listening program at home. Ideally he'd listen twice a day for 30 minutes each. He can be doing appropriate play, or we can do it while we walk or ride in the car, but we should try to avoid it while he's fixated on something (like when he lines stuff up on the table). This could be a slooowwww journey with him. We have to get him to put on the headphones and tolerate wearing them--a lot to ask a 3 year old. But we're just going to give it as much effort as we possibly can and hopefully we'll move forward with it.
Our dear friends also gave us a little basketball hoop for Bug. He was playing with it at their house--which surprised Adam and me--and they let us bring it home. Bug really enjoys it. He asks to sit in the hoop (which I won't let him). He also really likes to get the ball wet in the water table and then drop it through the net
It is so so good to see him play with a toy appropriately (meaning not just studying it). And hey, if he becomes an NBA star...I mean, he's on the right track height-wise ;)
I'm also starting to get coordinated and get the ball rolling on the recommendations from the autism group. Yesterday we got a preliminary report that basically just summarized what we talked about last week. One of the things mentioned in the prelim report that they didn't say anything about last week was doing genetic testing. I guess with an ASD diagnosis they recommend it because there are some disorders that have a stronger than normal correlation. I want to talk to our pediatrician though about whether he thinks it's necessary because I've never heard that you should before this point.
I also called our insurance to discuss therapy. It's highly recommended that we start ABA (applied behavior analysis) with Bug, but I had been told previously that it wasn't covered. Today I confirmed it isn't. So I need to talk to the clinic and see what other options are out there. ABA is not cheap, I know, but it is a pretty highly recommended and effective therapy.
I also need to put in a call to the school system to get Bug scheduled for a child study. We are going to have an IEP drawn up to see what services we can get and decide whether they'd be beneficial or not.
I also found another therapy, called RDI (relationship development intervention), that intrigues me a bit too. It focuses more on helping autistic kids engage in social relationships, and is parent-led rather than therapist-led. I bought a book written by the creators of the therapy so I can learn more about it (once I do, I can explain better. The first two chapters were all neurology and I was a little baffled ;) ) There isn't an RDI consultant near us, but apparently they can do training over videochats which would still work.
Ooh, the other thing I forgot was that last Friday I was able to sit outside Bug's room and listen in on his speech therapy session with Laura. It was really neat for me to hear him work on stuff and say full sentences--and also to hear how well Laura does with him. She is so good about acknowledging that he wants to be done and then pushing him just that bit further to finish a task. I'm hoping that I can listen in on sessions more often to get a better idea of activities they're doing so we can replicate at home. He is making solid progress with speech, so we feel very good about it :)
That's about it and the Wiggle is up, so it'll have to do. Glad to have a more positive report today!
I think Geri and I were both relieved to have a more successful session. She was so surprised that he liked the enclosed, but honestly, we've kind of noticed this more lately.
Case in point, this weekend we were at a friend's house and they have one of those backyard trampolines, enclosed by a net. Bug loved it. He did lots of jumping in it, smiling and even was aware of himself in regards to the other kids, it was great to see. But our attempts at the trampoline area have failed. OT has a small exercise trampoline that Bug doesn't care for, but the same size one that's enclosed at our house, he's totally fine with. He also had good success with a cuddle swing at his autism evaluation, prefers the baby swings to normal ones at the park (or even the ones that just have a back and no front restraint).
I have noticed that he gets uncomfortable sometimes, like you can see how unsure he is about physical play. Not all the time, but a lot. I'm beginning to think there's actually a lot of anxiety there--which makes a lot of sense. If you're not getting a lot of input about where you are in space, it's hard to feel confident in your ability to move around a lot.
Geri also gave us headphones and cds to start the listening program at home. Ideally he'd listen twice a day for 30 minutes each. He can be doing appropriate play, or we can do it while we walk or ride in the car, but we should try to avoid it while he's fixated on something (like when he lines stuff up on the table). This could be a slooowwww journey with him. We have to get him to put on the headphones and tolerate wearing them--a lot to ask a 3 year old. But we're just going to give it as much effort as we possibly can and hopefully we'll move forward with it.
Our dear friends also gave us a little basketball hoop for Bug. He was playing with it at their house--which surprised Adam and me--and they let us bring it home. Bug really enjoys it. He asks to sit in the hoop (which I won't let him). He also really likes to get the ball wet in the water table and then drop it through the net
 |
| He also likes to be as naked as we let him be |
I'm also starting to get coordinated and get the ball rolling on the recommendations from the autism group. Yesterday we got a preliminary report that basically just summarized what we talked about last week. One of the things mentioned in the prelim report that they didn't say anything about last week was doing genetic testing. I guess with an ASD diagnosis they recommend it because there are some disorders that have a stronger than normal correlation. I want to talk to our pediatrician though about whether he thinks it's necessary because I've never heard that you should before this point.
I also called our insurance to discuss therapy. It's highly recommended that we start ABA (applied behavior analysis) with Bug, but I had been told previously that it wasn't covered. Today I confirmed it isn't. So I need to talk to the clinic and see what other options are out there. ABA is not cheap, I know, but it is a pretty highly recommended and effective therapy.
I also need to put in a call to the school system to get Bug scheduled for a child study. We are going to have an IEP drawn up to see what services we can get and decide whether they'd be beneficial or not.
I also found another therapy, called RDI (relationship development intervention), that intrigues me a bit too. It focuses more on helping autistic kids engage in social relationships, and is parent-led rather than therapist-led. I bought a book written by the creators of the therapy so I can learn more about it (once I do, I can explain better. The first two chapters were all neurology and I was a little baffled ;) ) There isn't an RDI consultant near us, but apparently they can do training over videochats which would still work.
Ooh, the other thing I forgot was that last Friday I was able to sit outside Bug's room and listen in on his speech therapy session with Laura. It was really neat for me to hear him work on stuff and say full sentences--and also to hear how well Laura does with him. She is so good about acknowledging that he wants to be done and then pushing him just that bit further to finish a task. I'm hoping that I can listen in on sessions more often to get a better idea of activities they're doing so we can replicate at home. He is making solid progress with speech, so we feel very good about it :)
That's about it and the Wiggle is up, so it'll have to do. Glad to have a more positive report today!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
OT--slow goes
We had OT today. Bug fussed when we pulled into the driveway but was calm and compliant about getting into the office. He didn't want to go in his therapy room, he first ran down to a different room and I had to bring him back. Once inside, he started back up on the cling-to-mom stuff. We tried to give him some time, but eventually Geri encouraged me to keep him from sitting in my lap so he would be more likely to explore the room. He was a little bit better about going around looking at and fiddling with the equipment, but every time Geri would try to enter his space or talk to him, he would run back to me. We did have a smidge of success when he took trains from her, and then in the last 5 minutes, he was OK with her handing him balls to roll down a slide. He then was pushing a swing but when she asked if he wanted to go in, he reverted back to clinging again.
I. Am. So. Frustrated!
Number one, I feel like he's putting us on a bit. Last week he truly did seem anxious, but today I got more of a power-play feeling from him. Or perhaps, he behaved the same because that's what he remembered from last time.
And that's the problem. Geri wants to keep the room the same next week to build comfort and familiarity, but if he's found a rut, changing things up would actually be more beneficial.
Number two, what the heck happened?! He was plain old excited his first session and did great, and now he won't even swing? Which is weird because he typically loves swings and swinging should help calm him down.
I just have no clue. I feel like we're playing a game and I don't know any of the rules and I can't see the board either.
I do recognize that this might be some rebellion against all the therapy and evaluation we've put him through. It's been a long week. We have speech tomorrow, but I think we're going to try for a relaxing weekend. I had hoped to attempt potty training but I think it's better to wait.
Oh Bug. You make us fight for every tiny success. You're worth it though.
I. Am. So. Frustrated!
Number one, I feel like he's putting us on a bit. Last week he truly did seem anxious, but today I got more of a power-play feeling from him. Or perhaps, he behaved the same because that's what he remembered from last time.
And that's the problem. Geri wants to keep the room the same next week to build comfort and familiarity, but if he's found a rut, changing things up would actually be more beneficial.
Number two, what the heck happened?! He was plain old excited his first session and did great, and now he won't even swing? Which is weird because he typically loves swings and swinging should help calm him down.
I just have no clue. I feel like we're playing a game and I don't know any of the rules and I can't see the board either.
I do recognize that this might be some rebellion against all the therapy and evaluation we've put him through. It's been a long week. We have speech tomorrow, but I think we're going to try for a relaxing weekend. I had hoped to attempt potty training but I think it's better to wait.
Oh Bug. You make us fight for every tiny success. You're worth it though.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Crash and Burn
One of the frustrating things about Bug is that sometimes success or failure seems completely arbitrary and outside of our control. After our first OT session going very well, last week's was a 100% failure. Bug was fine going in to the office and to the therapy room, but after that he didn't want anything to do with Geri or any suggested activities. He did climb into the ball pit but came out extremely quickly. He tried a tricycle but wouldn't ride it in the hallway and started crying every time we tried to encourage him to do anything with it (like turn around). No swinging at all--really surprising. He got very upset quickly and spent a lot of time clinging to me--again, really surprising. He seemed kind of scared and we really couldn't figure out why. We also tried the headphones and he absolutely didn't want them on him. Big bummer.
So when we go this week, it's going to be a "start at square one" deal I guess. I think it'll go better as we establish a routine and he establishes trust in his therapist. I have been working on telling him that OT is about having fun and playing games and that he will always be safe. We do expect him to still use words and sentences when appropriate though (he really rebelled against this on Thursday). I do wonder if he'd do better if I wasn't in the room. Wiggle comes with us and is a bit of a distraction and Bug uses me as a safety net, so he can get away with more if I'm around.
At home we are having a lot of frustration too. Almost all engagement from Bug comes in the form of reciting books or phrases from tv. Sometimes he becomes completely fixated on a phrase and wants us to repeat it over and over. A little bit of it is ok, but when that's all he wants to do, or if he insists on saying things incorrectly, I lose patience for it. He of course deserves time of his own to do his own things, but when he's insisting that you repeat something exactly as he says it when it doesn't make sense, it's a little nutty. It's like we're playing a game that I don't know and he won't explain to me...I bet he feels like that with us sometimes too.
Sadly, I don't know that he plays with any toys in the "traditional" manner anymore. (As much as it breaks my heart to say it) He often gets upset if we try to play with them or show him. Physical play is still popular, but especially when it comes to a 45+ pound child, there's only so much we can do with that. He is becoming more tolerant of hearing us read books aloud (Wiggle frequently requests books now).
We kind of don't know what to do. He's pretty cooperative and tolerant of games in speech but when we get home we can't replicate to any success. Our plan is to pick a couple of games that we want to play and model and encourage those with him. Everything is a delicate balance between encouraging but not pushing too far. He often responds negatively but actually does seem to be enjoying things, so you always have to try to call bluffs. We also want to work on more play with Wiggle and hope that Bug learns from that and will join in (this is what happened with the books).
I am praying hard that OT last week was a fluke. I don't want to have the same types of experiences we had with Early Intervention OT. I'm also becoming anxious for a diagnosis so that we can open doors for more resources. We are just at a frustrating point right now. I know that no progress comes quickly. That this kid requires us to always keep looking at the big picture while we plug away at our short term goals. But gosh would I like to see him pick up some of the skills he lost...
So when we go this week, it's going to be a "start at square one" deal I guess. I think it'll go better as we establish a routine and he establishes trust in his therapist. I have been working on telling him that OT is about having fun and playing games and that he will always be safe. We do expect him to still use words and sentences when appropriate though (he really rebelled against this on Thursday). I do wonder if he'd do better if I wasn't in the room. Wiggle comes with us and is a bit of a distraction and Bug uses me as a safety net, so he can get away with more if I'm around.
At home we are having a lot of frustration too. Almost all engagement from Bug comes in the form of reciting books or phrases from tv. Sometimes he becomes completely fixated on a phrase and wants us to repeat it over and over. A little bit of it is ok, but when that's all he wants to do, or if he insists on saying things incorrectly, I lose patience for it. He of course deserves time of his own to do his own things, but when he's insisting that you repeat something exactly as he says it when it doesn't make sense, it's a little nutty. It's like we're playing a game that I don't know and he won't explain to me...I bet he feels like that with us sometimes too.
Sadly, I don't know that he plays with any toys in the "traditional" manner anymore. (As much as it breaks my heart to say it) He often gets upset if we try to play with them or show him. Physical play is still popular, but especially when it comes to a 45+ pound child, there's only so much we can do with that. He is becoming more tolerant of hearing us read books aloud (Wiggle frequently requests books now).
We kind of don't know what to do. He's pretty cooperative and tolerant of games in speech but when we get home we can't replicate to any success. Our plan is to pick a couple of games that we want to play and model and encourage those with him. Everything is a delicate balance between encouraging but not pushing too far. He often responds negatively but actually does seem to be enjoying things, so you always have to try to call bluffs. We also want to work on more play with Wiggle and hope that Bug learns from that and will join in (this is what happened with the books).
I am praying hard that OT last week was a fluke. I don't want to have the same types of experiences we had with Early Intervention OT. I'm also becoming anxious for a diagnosis so that we can open doors for more resources. We are just at a frustrating point right now. I know that no progress comes quickly. That this kid requires us to always keep looking at the big picture while we plug away at our short term goals. But gosh would I like to see him pick up some of the skills he lost...
Thursday, May 1, 2014
The Return of OT!
We had our first OT session today. I was really pleased because Bug remembered going there and didn't make any fuss about going into the office or heading back with our OT, Geri. While we were waiting in the waiting room, he kept asking for the plane, because there was a Little People plane there when we came for his eval. I was prepared for a bit of a struggle, but there none! :) Way to go, Bug!
Bug tried a little bit of everything, but didn't seem particularly drawn to any certain activity. He did the swing he did during his eval, slide down a slide into the ball pit (which he wasn't too sure about), tried another swing that he seemed to like a lot, and even held on to the ropes so he could help move the swing. Another COOL activity that he enjoyed was bouncing on an huge innertube that was hung from the ceiling. He was a little unsure about it at first, but I think he didn't know how to get on and whether he'd be safe. I worked with Geri to assure him that he'd be ok and she helped him on and then things were ok.
(I will have to ask next time if I can take pictures, so you can see what I'm talking about)
Probably my favorite moment was when she set up bowling pins for him to knock down. She helped Bug roll the ball a couple of times then tried to have him do it himself. He kicked the ball (which he NEVER EVER DOES!) and then walked over and knocked all the pins down himself. Had to laugh at that, he did knock the pins down, just not the way we expected him to. :)
He also did some simple (non-jigsaw) puzzles but was very resistant to a fine motor game where he'd "feed" a dog bones.
I was glad I got to sit in on his session. I got a few good ideas on activites (like bowling and a bean bin) I can incorporate at home. I need to encourage him a little bit more to do more than read books, but it can be really difficult. Also a lot of times he needs help being physically shown how to do activities. When they were rolling the bowling ball, Geri put her hands over his so they could do it together. I definitely feel like I need to work more on one-on-one activities with him.
The other thing Geri and I talked about today (that I've discussed a bit with her before and with Lauren, our old OT) is starting a therapeutic listening program with Bug. They use a program called Vital Links. Basically the child wears special headphones and listens to a cd that has music that is enhanced and designed to trigger brain activity that helps the child better regulate themselves. The list of benefits on the website is pretty extensive. Our goal is to start him off in therapy with it and then possibly do it at home as well. The biggest challenge for a young child is that they typically don't want to keep the headphones on. It'll be a slow process, but hopefully very beneficial!
I thought was pretty neat was that Geri mentioned that Bug was talking a lot more this time than at his eval. It's funny how when you're in the thick of it every day you don't notice it, but when she said that I realized that yeah, actually he's making really good progress talking to us to communicate wants. We still have struggles, but we're at a much better point now than we were even a month or two ago!
I tried to not get too involved today and let Bug establish a relationship with his therapist. A few times I helped her understand him or assure him but mostly he worked with her, which is great. I'm so proud of how much work he does and how much he's accomplishing!
Bug tried a little bit of everything, but didn't seem particularly drawn to any certain activity. He did the swing he did during his eval, slide down a slide into the ball pit (which he wasn't too sure about), tried another swing that he seemed to like a lot, and even held on to the ropes so he could help move the swing. Another COOL activity that he enjoyed was bouncing on an huge innertube that was hung from the ceiling. He was a little unsure about it at first, but I think he didn't know how to get on and whether he'd be safe. I worked with Geri to assure him that he'd be ok and she helped him on and then things were ok.
(I will have to ask next time if I can take pictures, so you can see what I'm talking about)
Probably my favorite moment was when she set up bowling pins for him to knock down. She helped Bug roll the ball a couple of times then tried to have him do it himself. He kicked the ball (which he NEVER EVER DOES!) and then walked over and knocked all the pins down himself. Had to laugh at that, he did knock the pins down, just not the way we expected him to. :)
He also did some simple (non-jigsaw) puzzles but was very resistant to a fine motor game where he'd "feed" a dog bones.
I was glad I got to sit in on his session. I got a few good ideas on activites (like bowling and a bean bin) I can incorporate at home. I need to encourage him a little bit more to do more than read books, but it can be really difficult. Also a lot of times he needs help being physically shown how to do activities. When they were rolling the bowling ball, Geri put her hands over his so they could do it together. I definitely feel like I need to work more on one-on-one activities with him.
The other thing Geri and I talked about today (that I've discussed a bit with her before and with Lauren, our old OT) is starting a therapeutic listening program with Bug. They use a program called Vital Links. Basically the child wears special headphones and listens to a cd that has music that is enhanced and designed to trigger brain activity that helps the child better regulate themselves. The list of benefits on the website is pretty extensive. Our goal is to start him off in therapy with it and then possibly do it at home as well. The biggest challenge for a young child is that they typically don't want to keep the headphones on. It'll be a slow process, but hopefully very beneficial!
I thought was pretty neat was that Geri mentioned that Bug was talking a lot more this time than at his eval. It's funny how when you're in the thick of it every day you don't notice it, but when she said that I realized that yeah, actually he's making really good progress talking to us to communicate wants. We still have struggles, but we're at a much better point now than we were even a month or two ago!
I tried to not get too involved today and let Bug establish a relationship with his therapist. A few times I helped her understand him or assure him but mostly he worked with her, which is great. I'm so proud of how much work he does and how much he's accomplishing!
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