He starts school in four weeks. What is that? CRAZY I say.
So much has been going on that I don't even know where to start. I think I will have to just post the reader's digest version. I don't think I will have time to get into all of the details.
- Improvements in articulation
- Mastering 8 to 12 piece puzzles patiently
- Copying block patterns on the table versus on top of the display
- Happy, patient and very calm
- Still stimming covering the ears, minimum humming, and fingers in the mouth. I guess his teeth are bothering him and about to fall out? Not sure.
- Can now use yes and no appropriately though it has to be to topics he knows. I can ask "Do you like the Red Sox?" and he will proudly say YES (even though he knows nothing about baseball). Therefore, I know he still doesn't comprehend it all, but we are getting much closer now. I especially enjoy it when I say "It's sleepy time!" and he replies "no thank you." ha ha ha ha
- Continues to use kisses, hugs and "I sorry" to get us to forgive him or get what he wants. Hard to cover up the smiles on our faces when we are trying to be firm and act mad. But it's so incredibly cute!
- Cried the other day when a boy that was here at home playing with him left. He was very upset. He has never cared whether anyone other than mommy and daddy left the house. He was having such a good time interacting with the other boy. We could not believe it.
- He knows my name and daddy's name too!
ON TO THE BIG NEWS!
We just returned from Disney. Yes, I said it. Disney.
Those who read my blog KNOW all about my last Disney experience.
If you want to catch up read and relive my pain, it's here: http://asdqueenbee.blogspot.com/2008/02/not-so-magical-disney-trip.html
Well, my friends, it happened. The magic of Disney finally happened for us. Maybe it was more the magic of "parents spending too much money on helping a child through therapy, biomedical and pure will" but I will go with the flow here and pretend it was the Disney magic.
The number one change this time? Grandma did not go with us. Sounds mean but boy did it make a difference. Imagine! I was able to call the shots on my own child! What a concept!
I did not make any morning character breakfast reservations this time. We got up and spent hours in the hotel room having breakfast and fixing his lunch and dinners to be with us at all times. This takes forever, especially if you add the supplement concoctions that involve measuring and dividing 18 supplements into healthy fruit smoothies for him to eat after his meals. Phew! What a pain in the you know what!
I took a single burner and toaster oven to make sure all of his food was cooked and stored in stainless steel without a microwave.
We charged his DVD player and had reservations for lunch and dinner at different parks.
We left the hotel at our leisure. No hurry, just playing it by ear. Other than the meals, we paced everything slowly.
Well, he had a blast!
Here are the highlights:
- As we strolled by "It's a small world," he jumped out of his stroller, looked at us, said "YEEEEES!" and ran to the entrance. We ended up seeing this attraction five times. Luckily not all back to back. Wow! He was so happy, clapping and engaged.
- He rode Dumbo, the teacups, flying carpets, carousel, the train, Pooh, and even met the characters under the big tent! We used the GAC for everything, and it was such a blessing as usual. He loved the parades too!
- We had lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern near an outlet (for his DVD player). We love it there. While at lunch he said twice "I so happy!" WOW!
- He pointed more this past weekend then he has HIS ENTIRE LIFE. No joke! while at Downtown Disney he wanted to go back to the Lego store and he tugged my hand while pointing to it and said: "LOOK!". Huh? A child with autism pointing? No way! Well, yes way!
- Dinner was at the Plaza Restaurant where we were introduced to the allergy menu. Did you all know about this? A BINDER with all of the ingredients in everything they carry and items not on their list. He tried the Tapioca Buns and had them down before I even took four bites of my meal!
- While we were leaving, we caught a fireworks display which just topped off the night for him. He covered his ears and rightfully so (it was like bombs!), but he had the biggest smile on his face and kept urging at me "Mommy! Fireworks 1,2,3, go!" whenever there was a break in between. Too bad I was not on the control board. :)
- Not ONE tantrum during the Magic Kingdom trip!
- We also went to Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Sea World. Yup! He rode all shuttles patiently, waited to get on rides and just listened to me like he never has before!
- The aquarium and Nemo ride at Epcot was his favorite. He is still asking for Nemo now. Unfortunately, he now has a Nemo obsession again and has not stopped watching the movie. The plus side of it is that he is actually watching the entire movie which he never did before.
- We also caught the Illuminations fireworks show at Epcot which was just heaven for him.
- Sea World was also very nice. He loved when Shamu jumped and splashed everyone!
- I cannot wait to go back and see if this was real or just a fluke.
- He has grown so much this summer already. The ABA and new supplements seem to be doing a lot of good. It's the first time in a very long time that I am witnessing progress. I feel like he understands a lot of what I am saying. I was able to talk to him about animals and give him lots of information while in Orlando. He gave me amazing eye contact and was so patient the entire time.
- Only time will tell if this will continue but we are finally feeling good about his treatment.
Things coming up for us:
- We decided to continue the ABA afterschool for 10 hours a week once school returns.
It's never-ending, but at least there is a lot of significant progress now that helps us keep going and keep our focus!
