Reno Results

We finally got our Reno results and can move forward, problem is getting Dylan to take his medication.

So basically we found out that he has a high percentage of Strep and gut bacteria that is most likely making its way to his brain.  He would be a good candidate for GCMAF because he has really high Nagalase levels, but unfortunately that is unavailable at this time.  We are supposed to put him on all these supplements as  well as an antibiotic that was going to be $2000 to buy here in the US so we ordered it from a Canada Pharmacy for about $90.  We are also supposed to give him some kind of Injections that has something to do with Vitamin B12 and put him on Oxygen, but I really don't know why.  I asked if we were supposed to meet for the results but they just emailed them instead and then when I asked about the food part and if we need to cut something out was told they don't give that unless you meet.  I just don't know what to do with these guys because there is definitely a culture barrier in the way the pass on information, but I don't know that I want to push it much more because we can't even get Dylan to take this medicine.  It is all in pill form and well he is 5 and can not, will not swallow a pill.  We tried mixing it in things like applesauce and even apple juice and force feeding him, but not working and we don't want to traumatize him more.

I heard about compounding medicine into a cream and letting the body absorb, but they said that wouldn't work.  I asked about compounding it into a liquid, but again that won't work.  Basically we paid $3000 for good to know information but until we can get him to swallow a pill, there is nothing we can really do about it! So for now, we sit on this information and hopefully down the road we can put it to good use!

Utah Autism Academy

This past Summer I started looking into options of Autism schools for Dylan because I had the rude reality thrown at me, that the wait lists are LONG!  I left messages for a couple of the schools in Utah County but didn't hear back from them for a long time.  Finally someone from Utah Autism Academy called me back, after a month or two, and told me that you could sign up for the "Interested List" but that list is anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 years long.  I figured that was fine because I love the preschool he is at and the teacher is my friends Mom so I am very comfortable having him in there.  I was more thinking Kindergarten anyway, so I signed him up in June.  I got a call in early November saying they had an opening and they had reached Dylan's name, I was completely shocked/caught off guard and was not expecting this call for another year.  I felt torn on what to say to them.  So I asked a few questions and found out our insurance would not cover it any way, so that made the decision easier.  I asked if he could remain on the list and she said that would be fine and they could let us know when another opening was.  I figured by that time he would be out of preschool and I would be fine paying what we had to pay.

I text Brandon to tell him of my surprise call and to also forget about it because our insurance didn't pay CRAP for this service.    At the same time, I would do anything to get him this service because I think the one on one and more hours including summer time, will help tremendously.  I just figured we would continue on Preschool and cross this path when the next opening popped up.  They didn't tell me how much it would be but "Quite a bit, as in most families can not afford it on their own with out insurance" we would figure it out when the time comes.  Well Brandon called me and we talked and then he called back and said he thinks he has an option for different types of insurance, so to find out what kind of insurance would be good for their services and we would look into it.  So I called her back and got a list of insurances.  Lets just say this timing could not have been any better and Brandon realizing there were different options has given us hope once again.

I have been talking to UAA and found that the other option Brandon has is going to be great for this service.  The timing was perfect because open enrollment was 2 weeks later and so talking to both the insurance company and UAA we have hope and would get him enrolled as soon as they had another opening.  We were concerned because this new insurance cost us more out of pocket and we didn't really want to switch if we had to wait another year to year and a half and pay for nothing really.  They had a informational meeting for the UAA so we went to ask questions and to meet Linzy that we had been talking to.  After the meeting they met one on one with us and said they would look into their list and give us an estimated time of when they could get him in.  When an opening comes up, they go down the list and whoever can commit first gets in.  They knew how hard we were working on getting things set up just for this opportunity and knew an opening would be coming up the first of the year, so they called all the other prospects and no one else would commit to starting then.  I think most people are kind of waiting for Summer time when the class they are in is over and they have to move on to something else.  That was our original plan because Dylan regressed over the Summer not having the consistency so that was the time frame I really hoped for when signing him up.  Linzy called to see if we decided to go with this new insurance, which we did because SelectHealth pays shit for Autism services we are now finding out, and she was beyond excited!

She told us as long as we will commit to starting him in January then he is next on the list and they will have an opening for him.  She wanted to see about starting the preauthorization process now so that he could start right away in January, but because of insurance and the hassle of going between 2 insurances, they want to wait until January.  So I don't know his exact starting time, but I am beyond thrilled that we are getting him in here!  I am also beyond saddened to pull him out of his preschool because that is all we have known for the past 2 years and I love it and I love the teachers he has had.  I like to think that they have a bond with Dylan and will be sad to lose him, but I hope they understand this is for his future!

As hard as the last 2 1/2ish years have been on us, things have seemed to fall in place.  First, his preschool!  As soon as I saw Sherry, my fears were put to ease.  I knew she had a son on the spectrum and that she could handle him.  I have had nothing but good experiences with her and her class.  Now this!  The timing was perfect!  Had they not called when they did, enrollment would have been over and we would be waiting another year or so to switch insurance companies.  So basically that would be another year or longer of not having this one on one intensive services.  From what I understand, ABA therapy can be at least $50,000 a year or more, so insurance is CRUCIAL.  I love that they have worked so well with us and already I feel they love my son and haven't even met him!  Let's just hope(which I think it will) this experience remains very positive as it has began!  Between (hopefully) getting Dylan on this medication for the Reno Dr and getting him in this program we have high hopes for what's to come his way this year!

Costco

I took Dylan and Desi to Costco the other day and as we were checking out the cashier tried making small talk with them.  Dylan just turned away and the lady was like, "Well Ok."  You could tell she thought he was being a little rude because obviously he is old enough to make conversation.  My mind raced because I didn't want her thinking he is a rude little boy, because he is not, but I didn't want to make her feel dumb either.  I spoke up and said, "he doesn't talk."

She was like, "Oh, he really doesn't" (but she was sincere about it) so I said, "Yes, he is Autistic and nonverbal, but oh how we would love to hear his sweet voice."  I told her I didn't want her thinking he was being a rude little kid, but that is why he didn't respond.  She was very sincere and I don't think I made her feel bad so I think my job was done.

I figured this day would come because when they are little and don't respond it is no big deal, but now that he is obviously older and should at least respond with eye contact then people will notice more.  I love that this was a positive experience and hopefully they continue this way for a long time.

Boys Sleep Over

The other night Boston surprised us and said he wanted to sleep in Dylan's room to help "calm him down" because he was pretty hyper that night.  We kind of laughed and said "Ok, we'll give it 5 minutes and see how it goes!"   I really didn't expect him to stay in longer than that, but I jumped in the bath and left it up to Brandon.  While I was in the bath I heard Brandon talking to the boys, so I assumed Boston had knocked on the door and wanted out, but when I said something to Brandon about it when I got out of the bath he said Boston was still in there.  I never heard Boston but could hear Dylan in there bouncing and laughing away.  After about 1 1/2 hours it was silent and I did my nightly routine of checking in on Dylan to see if there was damage done.  As soon as I opened the door, I could smell poop so I started searching the floor but found nothing.  I opened the toilet and there was quite the load in there, ha ha.  I then figured Boston had somehow fell asleep during the commotion and that was done after he was asleep.  I snapped this cute picture of my two cute sleeping boys:

My Momma heart melted because unfortunately this does not get to happen at our house and this was the first actual boys sleeping together for them.

When they woke up the next morning they were both all smiles.  We asked Boston about the poop and he knew about it, but we asked why he didn't tell us because we wouldn't have wanted to sleep in the stinky room.  Well, my suspicion was confirmed because he has always been somewhat interested in the toilet in Dylan's room and I think he decided to pee in it himself.  It was a good excuse to try it out I guess ha ha.  I guess the boys also had a bathroom party as well, but at least it was a clean(or as clean as that situation could get) one!

Morning Cuddles

For a good month me and Dylan had our special morning routine and about the only time that I could lay with him and relax and enjoy the moment.  I would go in in the morning and lay by him and it was my favorite part of the day.  I went to exercise at the Church one day but was stressing about getting home in time for this, that is how important it was.  Unfortunately, life and school got in the way and I rarely get that anymore.

Energy Work

Let Down, Morbid, Careless and many more energy readings like this, but looking back really quick on my blog those were 3 I had reported having been picked up from Dylan while we did the ASA Balance treatment way back when we started this journey. I am pretty sure there were more disturbing reading then those but for the sake of time, I am just going to leave them here.  Brandon's cousin, Danielle, has a friend that has been finding out some interesting family information through Energy work and so I keep going back to these readings.  I was very concerned when they would tell me his readings because they said he could be picking up on others energy and so it concerned me on "whos" energy he was picking up.  I certainly hoped we aren't exposing him to that type of energy!  When Danielle's experience happened I really wanted to look into this more for Dylan's sake for this reason.

We went to California for 2 weeks and decided to see if we could meet up on our way home and have her check Dylan's out for us.  She confirmed my suspicions and makes you a bit sad to realize that he is being attacked this way, but apparently according to her and her mentor, they came up with the same number, they have never seen anyone have so many entities attacking him as Dylan has.  What does that mean, there is a lot of not good energy swarming around him.  Abuse is really strong in him as well, she said that could have been carried down for generations upon generations.  That really stressed me out because I sure hope we aren't somehow adding to that because I know we aren't abusive parents, but maybe things we say really puts him down.  I don't know, but I have made a point to not say negative things even jokingly around him, just in case.  It is hard and sometimes you just have to speak out loud and I am sure it hurts him, but that is as abusive (other that a butt spanked occasionally) as we get around here.  I am being honest because this is not an easy thing and I know we are all guilty of venting when he is not cooperating or making things easy on us!  Mental Illness is strong through my Mom's side and Lori's side and have attacked him, so he has that hurdle to jump as well.  Some of his emotions she read that she cut off were the same type of things they would say at the Chiropractor but also, "why am I different," and things like that were read from him.

We were curious who he has on the other side battling for him, just as we are here battling for him.  He has Ezekial for a biblical angel.  Then she said he has 10 constant angels protecting him, 3 being relatives.  2 have been here since birth and happen to be Brandon's Great Grandpa on his Mom's side and his Great Grandpa on his Dad's side(this one being in charge).  The next one got a little interesting because she said this one came when Dylan was 2 years and 3 months old!  Why is that interesting?  That was about the time he pulled the barstool over on his head and the regression began.  I honestly was prepared for her to say it was Grandma Gene at that time, but it isn't.  It is (and I may be off a generation or so) my Dad's Great Grandpa or Great Great Grandpa on my Grandpa Clarks side.  She said maybe they knew something was about to happen or happened and sent more help.  All I know is he can use all the help they can give.  I don't know if I am supposed to really talk about this, but I really want Dylan to know this stuff one day, so therefore, I am documenting it!

 Also, she sensed that he is holding on to some memory but for now we do not know what that memory is.  I have racked my brain trying to think of any traumatic memory that it could be, but it is not.  She said it has nothing to do with Brandon and I, so that makes me feel good, but then worry about what it is.  I am convinced it could be something passed down to him, but who knows.  He is storing this memory right above his ear which according to Britney's research, is also the part of the brain that is where SPEECH comes from.  Coincidence, I think not.  I really hope we can get down to it and bring that beautiful voice out soon.

She set up a lot of protection for Dylan and we are to continue keeping him protected.  We need to build up his spirit and help him to truly understand he is here for a reason and he is loved and needed more than he knows.  We have to seek and ask for the help of these angels because we have our Free Agency that they can not override but if we ask for help they are there when asked.  The others they are free to do what they want and put all sorts of unkind things in our mind, so we are going to do our best to keep him safe and sound and surrounded by love and light!( I am being a little short on this post just because I really don't want to put something out there to harm all the good energy, but like I said I really want to have it documented for Dylan someday.)

Reno, the next adventure!

So it has been A LONG TIME since I have posted anything on here, I just can't believe Summer break is here and gone already! Dylan had 5 weeks of Summer school through the Summer and loved(or maybe not so much)it!  I really think he likes school but I know he LOVES his TV and watching shows and ransacking the kitchen all day long, so I think he hates leaving the house for that reason!

I think I may have mentioned in a post earlier that we were going to a Dr in Reno that is out of Belgium?  I don't remember for sure, but that is where I will play catch up!  Unfortunately, we haven't seen much more progress from stem cells but his skin is oh so soft now, so even if paying all that money was just to get soft skin, I will take it!  I really think they have done some magic on the inside of his body and maybe one day they will manifest themselves but I guess we just need to be patient, right?  I am not completely giving up on the stem cell idea, but think that we need to have his body in a better position to see more healing and I think if we were to try stem cells another time, then we may try Cancun next.  They use the childs own stem cells from bone marrow and do things a little differently, however, it is more invasive and a little scary for a young child.  Some people argue that doing it this way the cells would go directly to the brain where others say that the way we did it, it still goes to the brain.  I am watching a few families on Facebook that have now gone to both places to see if they notice any changes and their opinion comparing the two clinics.  For now we have found a new route to go!

One of the Mothers that I have become friends with(facebook friends at least) posted about taking her son to Reno where a Dr from Belgium comes once a month, the results sounded very promising and so we decided to go that route for now.  Here is the results that she posted that got us excited to try it out:

"Through blood work and stool samples, we have learned the following:
- Trey's body creates a very high amount of bad bacteria that travels from his gut, to his blood stream, creating him to have neuro inflammatory issues.
- He has the same symptoms as anyone with dementia would have. 
- His MTHFR tests came out normal, and the doctor said this is very strange with autism, because usually this is A HUGE factor, when it comes to autism. This means he has a regressive form of autism, not a genetic form. This means it is easier to reverse, since he was not born with it. This was triggered by the seven vaccinations he was given (at once), which caused issues in his gut, because he could not handle them. That is where it started.
- The expression of his disease is neuro inflammatory syndrome, which is driven by LPS (intestinal bacteria). What supports this theory is that he has vey high Perforin. Perforin is made by white blood cells when there is an infection.
- He has high D- lactate levels in his body. We do not make D- Lactate. D- lactate comes from bad bacteria in the body.
- His only food intolerance is egg. Any type of eggs.
- He also tested for very high Prevotella, which is a gramnegative anaerobe bacteria, that produces a lot of toxins.

This doctor is amazing. We have a treatment plan that starts tomorrow. I recorded our whole visit and if anyone would like to listen, I can send it to you. He is from Belgium, so he speaks directly with not very much enthusiasm. Haha, but he is a genius and has treated so many kids and people with many different issues. I know it sounds too good to be true, but he said he can help Trey. He said every child who has seen him and followed his plan, has come out of this. A twelve year old girl who has been seeing him for some time, just started speaking! How miraculous. How miraculous will be the day when we hear our sons voice again. I know this won't be instantaneous, but at least I can have hope again."

After reading this we knew we had to give it a try!  I scheduled an appointment to go in June.  We went down there and had a little scare.  When we got to the appointment the Dr did not have Dylan on the schedule, so I showed him the email with his nurse that books the appointments and he said we were in the right place.  (You go to the college in Reno and it turns out this is a Professor and so it is all based on studies, but it's all the same thing in the end right?)  I was starting to freak out in my mind thinking that we had just traveled 8.5 hours for nothing, but thankfully, he was more than willing to still see us.  We went over Dylan's story and he told us information on what they do and what they think is leading up to more cases of "autism."  I should have wrote this all down back then because I don't remember everything. He also felt Dylan's stomach and said he could feel something between his small and large intestine that was leading him to believe he is a "regressive" case and one that has a chance of being treated!  The good thing was we just needed to run some blood work and get a stool sample!  The bad thing, he needed to be fasting!  We had not been told this information and had just gone to eat that morning wasting time until the appointment.  A little frustrating because we then had to rebook and drive that 8.5 hour drive the following month just for blood work! (Had we been thinking we probably could have stayed an extra night and seen if they could squeeze us in the following day, but we didn't think of that until we were more than half way home!)

The idea is to heal the gut by giving some antibiotics and then supplementing certain things his body is lacking throughout his life.  We asked the Dr if he believes the barstool had something to do with Dylan's regression and he said he doesn't know if it does, but we aren't the first ones to come in with a story like that.  He also said that he does not believe Dylan was born this way but sometime during gestation the proteins started being blocked and going in different places than they should have, so we just have to get that back on track and we should start seeing changes!  They have just been studying this for about 3 years and there are 5 different Drs similar to his protocol but they are all seeing pretty good things.  I asked if he would need to be on this treatment for life and he said probably because his body is not producing things correctly and this would help keep it flowing.  Also when asked if the body will get used to the medicine did he have a chance of it quit working and have to switch around, he said it is mostly supplements that he will be given so that shouldn't be an issue, however, it is new so that is not a guarantee.  He told us once his gut is healed, he could refer us to another professor at UCLA that can help reprogram the brain.  We also asked about vaccinations, because you bet I am scared to death, and he said he is not anit-vaccination  but we do need to get his body in a good position before subjecting him to them.  He said that one professor has actually came out with a simple urine test that you can take to show if your body has any infections at the time and is able to accept them.  That makes me angry that that is out there and it is not practiced, because we need to take every precaution to protect our children and yes I now have mixed feelings about this subject.  I will have to worry about this when the time comes though.  Because if we fight so hard and, God willing, get Dylan in a good position and then a simple shot sends him back, I WILL NOT BE A HAPPY MOMMA!  We will have lots of prayers before that is done to my little boy, but I can't worry about it right now!  This is the main points I remember of the meeting!

We went back the following month (end of July) for blood work.  They had given me an envelope and jar to collect his stool.  When we got into the hotel that evening I was able to get the sample we needed.  He could not eat anything from midnight until his appointment that was at 9 or 10, so we made sure not to have anything in the hotel.  We got there and when we saw the lady taking the blood we knew she was in for the shock of her life.  We had been told it was a nurse that deals with children all the time, but not our Dylan ha ha.  She was a very petite oriental women and no helpers.  She tried getting blood in his arms but the veins weren't all that great and then with him fighting with us didn't help much either.  Brandon tried suggesting his foot but she didn't catch his drift so I had to rephrase it and that is where we got the blood.   She had to get a lot of blood, like 6-8 vials full.  On the 5th or so one, I noticed the blood wasn't going in the vial and then realized his foot was turning blue and then realized Brandon was holding his leg so tight, trying to keep him still, that the blood circulation was cut off.  He loosened his grip and then she was able to get a little bit more blood.  However, it stopped a little into the last vial. She asked the professor if that was enough or if she would need to get more.  We had to poke his other foot one more time to fill up that last vial, and then he was done!!  We were so relieved to have that part over and hopefully won't have to do something like that again in the near future! 

As we were about to leave they handed us one more container for a stool sample(oh we also had to have him do a urine sample while we were there).  When they gave us that we mentioned that we already gave them one and then that is when they said they need two samples?!  Why the heck were we not told this before.  He had pooped first thing that morning and I honestly almost grabbed it out of the toilet "just in case" but then figured that was crazy, ha ha.  They said we could bring it back anytime during the day and they would be there until 3 or something like that.  I asked if we could mail it in and they looked at me like I was crazy!  I think the culture difference has made communication not so great, but don't get me wrong he is a nice guy, just not great at letting you know what they need beforehand.  We decided we would just stick around in Reno and wait and hopefully have another sample sometime soon, wishful thinking right?  At this point, we had pretty much planned on staying another night because Dylan pooped earlier that morning and I just knew he would not need to go again until after they left the office.  Brandon and I are the parents that jokingly but seriously argued over who would change Brielle's first poopy diaper(which I won because she pooped when the Pediatrician came to look her over and told Dad that there was his first diaper ha ha) and we are now "Poop Cleaning Experts" and it doesn't phase us much when we have to clean it from random places!  Now there is a positive in all this madness, right?!

We went out to eat because we had starved the poor kid and prepared ourselves for another long day.  Lori had the other kids but had plans the next day, so we had my Dad pick up the kids so they could stay at their house that night.  We are beyond grateful to our families support, without them, none of this could be done.  We knew the kids had a place to stay for the extra unexpected night and were good to go.  After we ate, we decided to find a mall that we could go walk around and waste sometime.  We went in there and Brandon decided out of pure desperation and a whole lot of wishful thinking that he would take Dylan in to see if there was anything.  He literally walked back out in minutes and I started to walk off.  Then I realized he had just told me Dylan had gone!  So I started following him in but then didn't want to be in the Men's restroom, so I told him to bring out a piece(yes we are talking about poop like it is a piece of gold).  I figured he would bring it on a paper towel or something but instead he brings it out bare handed.  I run into the Women's bathroom and grab a paper towel and he puts it on there and then I run back to the bathroom to scoop out a chunk of this wonderful piece of Poo!  It was seriously amazing and we have never been so excited for Dylan to poop as we were that day, because it was only 11 or 12 at this time, AMAZING!  We headed to the car and back to college and dropped it off and headed for home!!!

We are now waiting for results and was told it would be about 6 weeks, so we should be getting these results within the next week or two and I can't wait!

School Certificate

Dylan brought this home on the last day of Summer School:

I love that he got the award for improving on understanding of words!  That is a great step in communication and like I have said that is what I am seeking.  Communication in any form, I will take!

Making his own bed

For some reason, Dylan has decided to set up camp on his floor.  When we go in his room at night to see the damage(pee, poo, nothing) this is usually how we find him.  For some reason, this floor or pillows, makes him sweat super bad so when we pick him up to put him in his bed, he leaves behind a puddle ha ha.

What we've been up to

Life has been crazy lately, we have had our ups and we have had our downs but we are here and we are surviving.  We have had a few weeks where Dylan's behavior has gotten bad as in hitting us, slashing around on the ground when he doesn't get what he wants and attempting to bite.  He is a strong 4 year old so if this continues, it is very worrisome.  I was actually checking his backpack daily thinking there would be a "bad behavior" note from his school, but it took a couple weeks and then this showed up:

Luckily, I haven't seen one since and he has seemed to chill out a bit.  Until yesterday when he bit through Brandon's shorts when he was frustrated that we were keeping him in his stroller so we could try and watch Brielle and Boston's Gymnastics performance!  Lori ended up out in her car instead of watching like she had come to do.  See it doesn't only affect us trying to watch the others do their things, but it also affects the grandparents from seeing stuff.

We were able to go to a little celebration thing for Autism families where they had all sort of games and activities set up for the Autism community.  It was fun and I was surprised at everything they had especially because it was FREE.  We ran into Melani from Early intervention!  She was excited to see Dylan and I was glad that she remembered him and was the one that spotted him.

 Dylan has decided he does not want to where diapers at all, not even at night.  We decided to put a little "potty training potty" in his room, hoping he would use that instead of the floor.  It is hit and miss, but his room quickly became a piss pot and smelled terrible!  I didn't even like to walk in his room because who knows what you were walking on and it just felt nasty!  I took it upon myself to tear out the carpet and lay down some hard floor.  I talked to a lady at Home Depot and she suggested Vinyl Floor Planking that is waterproof, so I went with that.  I called RC Willey and it was going to be like $800 for them to do it but I was able to do it for around $300.  It is no where near professional looking but I think I did a pretty good job.  The last row I wasn't quite sure how to do it since it was a tight fit and you can't really snap it in like the rest.  So now I go on nightly, "Treasure Hunts" once I know he is asleep and we will just say 4 out of 7 nights(on average) I find some type of treasure.  Occasionally it makes it in the designated spot, but most the times I quickly clean it up and mop it!  As long as the "Waterproof" part is doing it's job, then the room should continue to smell ok right?!  We also had an obscured window installed, it looks like rain running down the window, to block the neighbors of having a nightly "Dylan in the Nude" show!

I do find one consistent "treasure" every single night and that is this sweet little guy right here!  He melts my heart and breaks my heart all at the same time!  He is my handsome little Bubber Boo and I can't help but just sit and stare at him every night!  As hard as it is at times, I could not imagine my life without this little guy in it!

 Dylan figured out the car seat belt clip.  I researched and found a belt clip for special needs kids and ordered it.  It has a key thing so you can lock it in place and then it loops behind their neck so they can not push it down and climb through the belt. You seriously have to get creative constantly trying to beat him to the punch on things!

Autism Is Hard, Loving Him is Easy

I found this picture one day and it has become a great reminder for me.  Times are always going to be tough, but I will always be here for him even if it is always myself that has to speak for him.

AUTISM IS HARD, LOVING HIM IS EASY!

This will continue to be a motto for me.  I absolutely HATE Autism and sorry if you are one that doesn't agree with that, but this has robbed my little boy of being a little boy.  But LOVING him is easy, no matter the change, I love him the same.  Would life be easy and a bit more enjoyable, YES but it is what it is and we have to make sure and live it to it's fullest because we never know how long we have, right?

2 years(in about a week)

Yesterday was 2 years ago that my Grandma Gene passed away and so with that comes the thoughts of Dylan's regression because it was the following week after the funeral that we really started noticing it.  My Mom has said that along with losing her we also lost a part of Dylan, which I agree with whole heartily.  Yesterday morning, Dylan woke up in an extremely bad mood.  I had to carry him to the bus kicking and crying.  He kept grabbing at the back of his head like it was hurting, so I wonder if he slept on it wrong.  When he got home they said he had a bad day at school in general and so that just set the mood to have a "poor us" day.
I was driving the kids to Boston's gymnastics class and was thinking about my Grandma and how she would be feeling about the way I handle this circumstance with Dylan. My Grandma was the type of lady that never said anything bad about anybody!  I can honestly only think of once or twice hearing her talk negative about someone and I couldn't blame her for what she was saying, I felt the same way.  I respected her for how she was!  I was thinking she may be disappointed at what I have turned into these past couple years and how I wish I could just talk to her.  I know she couldn't make it any easier to deal with but just having her there would be awesome!  As I was driving the feeling came over me that she knows I am doing the best I can and she is proud of me!  I couldn't help but start to cry.  Right then and there, I knew she is watching over me and cheering me on the best she can.  I just need to have faith and keep the hope alive that we are getting somewhere!  We can't do anything but keep on trying, right?

Then came bed time.  I woke up, in the middle of the dream darn it, when I was having a dream about my Grandma Cleo.  I had gone up to their house to visit, just like old times, except it was now.  I pulled up to the house in my van and had left Dylan inside because I was just running in for a few minutes, I guess.  I was talking to my Grandma in the kitchen and kept looking out to make sure the van was there.  All of a sudden there was a sound at the door like someone was trying to get in, so I went to open it.  It was Dylan and the I looked and the van was gone.  I ran out trying to find it, thinking that he put it in drive and somehow got out, but it was nowhere to be seen.  I thought someone must have taken it, but let Dylan out first.

At that point I didn't care where the van was or even to go look for it more.  I was just glad that Dylan found his way to the door and didn't take off running.  This door, by the way, is the last place I ever saw my Grandma alive at.  I stopped to visit and as I was leaving my Grandma sat at the door and waved to me.  She told me she loved me, which caught me completely by surprise because she never told me that before(or at least that I remember).  I always knew she loved me and could feel it, so I never needed to be told.  Us Molyneaux's just are not the type to share those feelings out loud, ha ha!  As my morning has gone on, it hit me, that Grandma Cleo is there cheering me on as well.  She is trying to help me understand that we may have "lost the car"(Dylan of 2 years ago) but DYLAN is still here.  I need to be thankful that I have him and just help him along the best I can!

Experiences like these are great and make me appreciate the relationship I had with my grandparents while they were alive.  Obviously, they are still a big part of my life and are probably up there trying to pound in my head to "keep the faith and hope alive!" They all(6 of them) played a major part in my childhood.  I never realized until I got older and went on to college and met so many people that didn't have their grandparents close by, that I was spoiled!  To me, grandparents need to be in their grandchildren's life and I wouldn't have it any other way.  My children have been very blessed and their grandparents and even great grandparents are a major part of their life.  I hope one day as they grow older they learn, like I have, that they are spoiled and need to cherish any chance they get, the relationship that they have been able to build with these grandparents!

Parent Teacher Conference 3rd Term

I met with Dylan's teacher the other day and she is pretty excited about how well his understanding of words is coming along.  She said in the past couple of months it seems to have clicked and he is really taking off!  She had 35 words documented that they lay out 3 items and ask him for a specific one, that he was able to identify.  She said probably with our family names and other things he knows that can't necessarily be tested, he probably has about 100 words in him!  So maybe this is a start to the talking, who knows but I will take it!  I do however have a little different opinion and think he has always had the understanding, but it's a matter of "if" he wants to do it.  So we differ here, but she is with him almost everyday, so she is obviously seeing changes.  Let's be honest, I do not work with him like she does either, so she probably knows my child better than I think I do in the learning setting!  Other than that things have remained pretty much the same.  Except for his social awareness!  She said last year he could care less they were there but now he is coming to them for things and wants to be around them.  I agree and have noticed more and more him coming around us and if we leave the room, he follows shortly after.

I love going to these meetings because she doesn't rush you out and I am usually there for an hour or so.  I get to hear a lot from her and see what they see.  I also love when she is talking about him and she pauses a bit and you can just tell she is picturing him in her mind and laughs!  A few funny stories shared with me this time are:

- Dylan is starting to love certain songs they do and has a couple different ones he picks out.  One of them being "5 little Monkeys"(not jumping on the bed but I forgot which one).  He picked it out one day and a little boy that was sitting next to him is verbal but has a very low raspy(she said imagine a rapper in the making) voice.  That little boy was singing along in his own little way and Dylan broke down with alligator tears and was so heart broken.  They said you can tell no one raises their voice in our family.  I told her the funny thing is anytime Brandon raises his voice(usually towards the other kids) we get this same reaction out of Dyl and have to really help him understand that it wasn't him!  They decided to try and keep these two separated so this didn't happen again.  Well the other day, the same scenario played out, except this time Dylan turned a stared down this little boy almost as if saying, "You are ruining MY song! STOP IT NOW!"

- They are working on verbal action commands such as, "Walk with me" and "Stop."  To do this they go out in the hall.  Dylan being Dylan is up and down the hall, getting into the fire extinguisher, grabbing at papers, you name it he is doing it!  She said hopefully once this sets in, it will make it easier for us to go places!  She said as busy as Dylan is they have one other kid that is a climber and in the windows, on chairs, would be in the rafters if they had them, so Dylan isn't so bad!


They are also focusing on the eye contact again, because once he started shaking his head and answering, "Yeah" the eye contact started going away.  So now they are really focusing on all three.  One day at school he really wanted some chips and they got "Ch" out of him a few times.  They said to try and hold out as long as possible and try and get any sounds out of him!  She also told me she spoke with the head Speech Therapist and shared her concern that she wonders if he has a processing disorder such as apraxia and the Speech Therapist told her to really focus on vowels because for some reason they tend to pick up on those first.  So when Sherry pushes him on the swing for example, she says "Weeeeeeee" and really emphasizes the "EEEE".  She said she doesn't know if it will do anything but she is willing to give it a go.  This concern leads me to the head injury, because he WAS TALKING and it stopped after the head bonk.  I asked her about testing and she said she doesn't really think there is much that can be done at the stage he is at.  She said she is going to be in contact with the main speech lady some more and will see how he progresses over the next year and see what can be done then.

He has also qualified for Summer School, no surprise there, and I couldn't be more excited!  I make sure to let Sherry know how much I appreciate her because I know with out them and this program we would not be seeing the progress we are seeing!  Brandon must have made his mark at our very first meeting because she asked how he is doing and handling this.  I told her it depends on the day, obviously, but for the most part doing good.  She remembered him asking about the communication and if they felt it would come and we aren't seeing it so she knows that has to be hard.  I told her about the ATEC test we have done and seemed interested in it.  She had never heard about it, so she was going to look into it.  I told her that we had had a rough couple weeks and I decided to take it and had him lower then previously so I had Brandon take it too.  I told her once he saw that he also had him ranked lower that helped him to see he was making progress and lifted his spirits a bit.  I really do love these teachers and am so glad that he is where he is!

MTHFR/23andMe/Dr Purser

On this Facebook group I am a part of, I have seen several people talk about a gene mutation(MTHFR) and wondered about getting that tested and where to go.  This gene mutation is also linked to depression(mental illness) and so since reading people talk about it, I have been curious since depression is strong on my Mom's side.  One day this lady that lived in our old neighborhood emailed me a link to a book that talks about this mutation.  She is very big into the essential oils and has cured her self of cancer several times.  Before Dylan and Autism, I thought she was a little strange because I was all about doctors knowing what is best for us and they wouldn't do anything to harm us.  I still support Doctors but am a bit more weary of some of the stuff now being "born" into the Autism world.  I have turned to Chris several times and she has been more than helpful and supportive with choices we have made with Dylan.  So when she emailed me this book I decided to read it.

After reading the book I decided to call the Dr that wrote this book because lucky for me, he is in Lindon.  He doesn't technically treat Autism patients but was willing to have me come talk to him and see where to go from there.  I explained Dylan and the head bonk and told him I am not completely convinced that has nothing to do with this, he responded by saying he is not either!  I also mentioned I am nervous to have any more testing on his brain that would have to sedate him because I have read some children have regressed due to anesthetics used.  He said they have something they could use that is different and would do no harm there, but he wants to check the genes first.  This test he normally runs, he doesn't think Dylan is old enough for so he wants us to do this 23andme genetics test.  It is a test that you spit into this vial and then send it in and they come back showing you different genes you have inherited and what they mean and can cause.  However, trying to get Dylan to spit into that just might not happen.  I thought we could force him by holding his mouth open until enough drool came out(aka: torture him) but then read drool does not work and it has to be full on spit.  He has actually been making spit bubbles lately, so who knows maybe he could do it.

You have to spit like 1/2 tsp or something and not eat for half hour prior to collecting the sample, so I don't know that we would be successful.  The Dr also told me that I could take this test and that could give him some direction because the mother is always the one that passes this gene down!  Not that that is good, but good in the sense that I can do it.  He said this gets deep and shows a lot about you and said if I don't mind him looking into my medical well being then he would like me to do it.  Of course I don't care what he finds out about me, if it is going to help my son then I am all for it!  So I have this test at home but have recently come down with the stomach flu/cold/pink eye combination so I figured it might be better to do it when that is gone.  I really could see the depression/mental illness that is in the family being linked to this in a way.  But then that is where I get confused because if the Mother passes it on then as far as I know my Mother's Mother side didn't have mental illness but my Mother's Father's side did.  So if the Mother carries it on, how did it get to my Mom? I am excited/nervous to see what this reveals about not only me and Dylan but ancestor history as well.  Science is really amazing and they have come a long way!  Once submitted it takes about 6-8 weeks to get the results, so I can't wait!  Hopefully it gives us some more direction too.

One thing I find very interesting is that depending on the mutations you have, there are 2 specific ones he is looking at but could have different combinations, then that determines treatments.  So if you have a certain mutation then lets just say that the medication a Dr prescribes most depressed people may actually cause more harm and make them suicidal.  If you have a different mutation that same medication may help your symptoms.  Or a different set of mutations it may completely wear you out, etc.  So if you catch what I am saying if you know the mutation that you have, you can work around it and use different sets of medication or vitamins to help your body function more accurately.  He said there are some vitamins out there that they have manipulated for these exact things.  So here's to hoping that this really gives us some direction and another path to try!

Progressing(years behind)!

It's been a bit since I wrote anything, but there hasn't been much to document but then again there has.  Day to day I wouldn't say I see a big change but then if I  think back I see things.  He seems to be trying so much harder to get some words out and we are starting to hear things, not consistently but consistently trying!  He was with Rick and Lori one day and came back repeating the word "green" for Rick.  When you tell him to say "eat" he smiles and says "EEEEE" but he definitely knows what that means!  I was blowing bubbles with him the other day and asked if he wanted more bubbles.  He responded by saying, "Bubba Mo" and signing more.  He also seems to be signing "more" a lot more often. Brielle has asked him if he wants something and then tells him to say "Please" and he has said "Pee."   Rick came and got Dylan since he was up this way and took him home to go swim in the hot tub.  When they got into Nephi they stopped at Lori's work to show who he brought home.  Dylan wanted Lori to get him out of the truck but when she asked if he was going to go swimming, he said "yeah." So it's coming, slowly but surely.

My parents stopped by the other day and when they went to leave I told him to tell them "bye."  Instead of his normal open and close hand wave, he actually did the full on wave moving the wrist back and forth wave.  That was a first and I have seen him do it more since then.  Like the other day the fence company came to fix our fence that broke due to the wind and as I was talking to them he ran over to the door.  I think he wanted me to come get him some food, so he started waving.  The guy started interacting with him and waving back and then asked Dylan for  a high five.  Dylan gave him five.  I wanted to jump for joy seeing this interaction and thank the guy at the door, but then he would have thought I was crazy ha ha.  To see Dylan actually interacting with a stranger in that way was awesome!

I was thinking last night about things people have mentioned on the Facebook group and they think they go back to where they regressed and progress from there.  I have never really given any thought to it, until the "wave" hit me.  If you think about it, when most babies begin waving they start with the opening and closing of the hand like Dylan was doing.  Then it progresses to the actual wave which for the past few days has been the case, so I think we are safe to say that is his "new wave."  So if you go on this theory then yes in this particular motion(the wave) he is at a, we'll just say 1 year old level, but he is progressing on.  Then that leads you to realize that the language is also progressing past the "1 year" level and he is trying to piece those sounds together.  So if this is what I am thinking we are actually starting to see some progress!  It may be a few years behind from where he should be, but PROGRESS is a word I love hearing!

An hour after I wrote this post I got a call from Dylan's teacher.  1. because he was being a little sad/fussy/crying they just aren't sure if he is not feeling good or having a bad day.  Since he can't tell them it is the guessing game and they have tried a few things, so wanted to know what I want them to do.  Watch him longer or have me pick him up.  At the end of the call he was seeming ok and Boston gets out of school in 30 minutes so they are going to watch him and call me at that time to decide if I come grab him or he stays in school. 2. Because they are AMAZED at his progress in the past month or so of his understanding!  She said he has made quite the jump in this area and they can not believe the progress!  She said they have been working on pictures and asking him to give them a certain object and he is pretty accurate when they do this.  AMAZING! She wanted to know if we have noticed this as well?  I have always thought his understanding is pretty good but it is a matter of "if" he wants to do what you ask him.  I think our opinions differ from each other in this area, but for her to notice a change then obviously it is something to be excited about!

I mentioned we feel he is trying to talk more and she agreed with that, that they are hearing more and more but like I said not consistently.  She wonders if he may have a "processing disorder"(she made sure to let me know just a thought but not saying he has it) but if he does she said she has read that it could take thousands of times of doing one thing where for the "typical" person it may take a few times,  for it to click, so to speak.  Have I mentioned before how much I love this school and the teachers!  They really are the ones working their butt off for my little guy and their hard work is paying off!

Dylan's Drawings

Here are a few of Dylan's artwork projects that were in his backpack the other day.  I miss talking to the teacher everyday to really know what these all mean.  Like the lines is he doing these on his own or is the teacher guiding him because if they are on  his own  I am really impressed!

I also wonder if they are guiding him on this, which I am sure they are, or if he actually did it on his own.

Attitude on the bus!

Today when I got Dylan off of the bus, the bus driver greeted me by saying, "Somebody is mad at Jo!"  It took me a bit to realize what he said and when it sunk in I laughed and asked what he did!  He has started to take his shoes off again on the bus and so I guess she asked the teachers how often he does that at school.  They looked at her like she was strange and told her that he never takes them off at school.  On the way home she decided to be more strict and get him to leave them on and so when he tried to untie them she would tell him "NO!"  We all know that Dylan has some "good looks(scowls)" and so she was introduced to those today.  She said every time she told him "No" he would stare her down.  I can imagine the look he gave her!  I laughed and said, "He has some good scowls!"  She laughed and said, "He sure does!"

Swimming in the Snow!

Today was all about Dylan apparently!  We woke up to a cold and snowy day, one of the days that would be great to stay home and relax.  However, there is no real "relaxing" at this house so we always are looking for something to do to get out of the house, even if it is just go to a store to walk around and spend money on random things!  About 10 AM, Dylan found a Little Caesars ad and when he comes across those he decides that is where we are going or he walks around with it most the day.(He actually did the same thing the night before with a Carls Jr ad.)  Anyway, he had the Little Caesars ad in hand and led me to the garage door so we could go.  I told him we would get out of the house later and we could go there, but they weren't even open yet.  He did not like that answer!

I got busy doing other things so I don't know what went on for the next half hour or so, but when I came upstairs Dylan and Brandon was sitting on the couch in the process of putting his swim suit on.  Brandon said he was looking at our calendar and came across the picture of Dylan swimming.  He said the light bulbs went off and he headed in to grab his swim suit.  I laughed and figured he would settle for a good swim in the bathtub because this had happened before, but no.  He led me once again to the garage door and was ready to go.  I told him it was too cold outside, so he went in and got his shirt that goes with his swim suit and led me to the front door.  I then told him he needed his shoes on, so he went and grabbed his shoes!  At this point we could not let the little guy down so we told the rest of the kids to get ready because we were going swimming on this cold(30*) snowy(snowed all day) day!  At first they thought we were joking but when they realized we were really going they were excited!

Dylan was so patient and waited around for us all to get our swim suits on and couldn't wait to go.  I had mine on and went to put clothes on over and he started to panic.  I reassured him that we were going but I didn't want to be cold!  I had to laugh because as we were walking into Provo Rec Center it was quite cold and the snow was coming down pretty good and the older two had decided to just wear their swimming suits and coat along with flip flops!  It's not every day you choose that outfit in the cold.  When we left they both regretted the flip flop decision, but luckily I had there actual shoes in the van!  We had a great time and Dylan was in heaven and we lasted about an hour!  Then he started trying to take his pants and life jacket off so we decided it was a good time to go!  Desi gets nervous at these swimming pools because the loud noises and the water buckets that randomly crash down so she didn't enjoy her time as much as she does in Rick and Lori's hot tub, but I think she had fun as well.

We decided to let Dylan's desires dictate the day and instead of Little Caesars we decided to go to Brick Oven.  When we first got there Dylan was screaming and throwing little fits right after we got seated.  I was nervous it was going to be a disaster.  I decided to take him to the bathroom while we waited for the food because for some reason when he swims his body really soaks up the water and I wondered if that may be the problem.  Sure enough he had a lot of pee and when we got back he was a completely different person!  Today was a good day and the fact that Dylan was the "party planner" made it even better!  He seemed to be extremely happy all day, so I hope he understands that we understood what he wanted and went out of our way to make his wishes come true!

Daddy's Glasses and ATEC

Brandon found a new pet peeve of Dylan's today.  He was talking to him and had his glasses up on his head so Dylan reached up and put them where they should go, over his eyes.  So Brandon did it again and got the same reaction.  After several times, Dylan started to get frustrated and when that happens he tends to grab on to you and put tons of pressure on you(for example, grab your face and push his hands hard and clench his jaw).  That seems to be a common reaction when you can tell he is stressed out about something.  Brandon decided to come and show me and this time we got a few screaming reactions, kind of like saying, "stop with the glasses, it's pissing me off!"  This continued throughout the day and every time he noticed the glasses were not where they should be, he would make sure to help Dad get them there!  I said maybe he can be an optometrist and he'll be so good at making sure people wear their glasses that he may just randomly show up in places to make sure they are wearing them correctly, ha ha!

On another note, I decided to take the ATEC for fun to see where we were at.  I was surprised with my results and asked Brandon to take it to see where he ranked him.  I got him at a 62 and Brandon got him at 70, so they were quite a bit different but I had him really high in speech(lower the better) and Brandon had him higher in sociability.  I told him I think that was because I was going off some things the teachers have told me he does at school and where I am the one that has talked to them, I may not have relayed that info back to him as good as I should, so that could be a big part of it.  No matter what though these were the results prior(my results, for some reason I didn't document Brandons):
February 21, 2015 results:
Speech, Language, Communication: 24
Sociability: 24
Sensory/Cognitive Awareness: 19
Health: 19
Overall Total: 86

September 27, 2015 results:
Speech, Language, Communication: 23
Sociability: 20
Sensory/Cognitive Awareness: 21
Health: 15
Overall Total: 79

So we are looking at a 9-17 point drop in 3 months!  I couldn't believe it and was so excited.  Here are the results for today:

January 30, 2016 results:
Speech Language, Communication: 24
Sociability: 10
Sensory/Cognitive Awareness:15
Health:13
Overall Total: 62

Brandon didn't have his emailed to him so I don't have his numbers exactly, but I know, like I said above, he was quite a bit lower on speech and higher on sociability. I was shocked when he told me his speech score because I thought I was being a little lenient on some of my answers so for him to be lower in the one area that is our main concern, excited me a bit.  Sociability made quite a jump, if you go based on my score, and that is a pretty big deal in "autism world!"  He is really starting to see the world around him and that is good!  Can you imagine if he starts talking and how quickly this score could go lower and lower!

Lines(It's the little things that excite me the most)

This seems so simple and weird that it is kind of a big deal, but I know they have been working on this for a while at school, so they were so excited that it finally happened!  Last year Dylan rarely even picked up a pencil/crayon/whatever and was not interested in coloring nor did it keep his attention at all.  This year they have been excited that he will sit down and scribble!  They have been working on imitation and so when I opened up his backpack and saw all these papers I was a bit confused:

I am guessing the ones with the stickers were just for fun and fine motor skills practice

 Then I got to this one:

"After several prompted trials Dylan did these independently"

At first I thought, "Oh, ok."  And then it sunk in that he actually drew a straight line and didn't just scribble like he usually does.  Although this note does not "show" the teachers excitement just the fact that they put this in his backpack for me to see demonstrates the excitement that went into this simple little line!

As you can tell I am an emotional roller coaster on this journey.  Somedays I feel like we are clear at the bottom on a long ride up and then other times we are shooting down at a fast speed with many twists and turns in between.  Today, I am beyond excited at this little task and couldn't be more proud of the little guy!

IEP Meeting

We had the yearly IEP meeting and I have to say that I left it feeling great!  That is good because the past couple weeks have been rough on us and so I was expecting to walk out of there almost in tears(I have heard a lot of people dread these meetings for that reason)!  It is plain to see that Dylan is loved at school and I couldn't be any happier!  I am so thankful he has got into this program and has the teachers that he does because without them Dylan would not be moving along like he is!

The obvious place he struggles in, in their eyes and mine, is speech/vocabulary and so that is where we need to focus.  However, if I understood correctly, they feel like he is right there ready to take the leap and try talking!  I couldn't be any more excited at that comment!  They said he is really paying attention and seems to "want to learn."  The speech therapist said that she has been working on having him hand her a card that she asks, such as colors or objects.  The plan is that he will eventually say the name as he hands the card.  He does really well with colors, although he doesn't hand the right color every time.  The reason she says he does well with colors is because she sees him looking and you can tell he is thinking about which one he should get.  When she does the exercise with objects he quickly hands it over, with no thought to it.  She figures that he knows if he hands something then he will be rewarded which is a treat, ha ha.  She said she doesn't know how to tell those cute brown eyes NO, ha ha!  I mentioned to them that he actually knew his colors just before starting school and could tell us them, but nothing since.  They seemed impressed with that and will try to incorporate it with his school!

I love talking to them because you can just see the love they have for my son!  While we were talking or they were reading what was on the paper, they would laugh at things like, "he through it aside and wanted nothing to do with it," or "he cries when it is time to go to recess because he wants to go where the treats are!"  You can tell they know him and know him well and as they laughed they were picturing the little guy in their minds.  I love the environment he is in!

Here are the goals for the year:

1.Dylan will engage in reciprocal interactions for at least three cycles when initiated by an adult 4/5 consecutive days of data collection, either at recess or free play time

2. Dylan will sustain eye contact for three seconds when he desires an item or activity when the toy or item is taken from him in a one on one setting with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least two different adults

3. Dylan will imitate varied actions, including play imitation in a one on one setting when an adult says "Do this" with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least two different adults

4.  Dylan will follow a picture schedule as arranged by an adult to complete three simple activities independently, including selecting the activity to match the picture, completing the activity and putting away the activity with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least two different adults

5.  Dylan will continue matching until he is able to match pictures out of three choices, similar non identical objects and pictures our of 3 choices and objects to pictures out of three choices with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least 2 different adults

6.  Dylan will sort items then pictures into basic categories of such as animals, food and toys out of three categories with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least two different adults

7.  Dylan will be able to follow at least 10 varied one step directions such as "throw in garbage, raise hand" with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least two different adults

8.  SPEECH: Dylan will use words/signs independently to request and get his needs/wants met in 80% of opportunities across 3 consecutive data collections
     -Dylan will imitate sounds/actions during familiar activities, such as songs, without cueing on at           least 8 out of 10 opportunities across three consecutive sessions
     - Dylan will imitate words/signs to request to get his wants and needs met in at least 8 out of 10          trials


9.  SPEECH: Dylan will point to target nouns and verbs (in a field of at least 3 pictures) with 80% accuracy independently across 3 consecutive data collections
     -Dylan will demonstrate an understanding pointing, targeted by having him point to single objects (point to eyes, point to nose, etc.) on at least 8 out of 10 attempts across multiple sessions

10.  Dylan will be able to pick out/identify at least 20 basic varied items out of a choice of three with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least two different adults

11.  Dylan will imitate simple marks on a paper with a writing instrument including vertical and horizontal lines and a circle when told "do this" with 80% correct 4/5 days with at least two different adults

12.  OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY:  Dylan will improve his fine motor skills by imitating 2 block designs, opening and closing 4 buttons, and imitating vertical, horizontal, and circular lines, all with verbal prompting, over 3 consecutive trials.
      a.  build a train and a bridge with blocks with physical prompting
      b.  open and close 2 buttons with physical prompting
      c.   trace vertical, horizontal, and circular lines