Wednesday, February 3, 2016
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!"
Saturday, January 30, 2016
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!
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!
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!
Friday, January 29, 2016
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:
Then I got to this one:
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!
 |
| I am guessing the ones with the stickers were just for fun and fine motor skills practice |
 |
| "After several prompted trials Dylan did these independently" |
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!
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
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
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
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Supplements
I have been giving him this Willards Water and C salts for a week or so now but haven't really seen a lot of changes. I do feel like he is trying to vocalize a little more at times, but still no words. Then after this picture and peoples comments about yeast I have decided today that I will add in the third supplement she has talked about being, Syntol AMD. That one is supposed to help rid the body of the yeast and not cause the die off effect, so we will see. I am adding it in at a much lower dose than it says and will increase gradually. I don't really know what I am doing and so it scares me a bit and I don't want to worsen his digestive system, especially since we are working on potty training at the moment. This yeast stuff makes sense to me since all he eats is sugar and refined carbs. Now only if I can figure out how to get him off of them, or at least decrease it tremendously, or that this new supplement will still work when continuing to bring in the sugars daily. Here's hoping we see something!
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Tender Mercies!
After the day we had the other day, we were thankful it was MLK day and Lori had invited us down to come play for the day. We headed down there and knew Dylan would spend the majority of his time swimming, which he did! I think that was a big comfort and stress relief for him because he woke up this morning and didn't put up any sort of fight to get ready for school! When we got down there Lori gave me this article that Grandma Lucille had copied for me and thought I should read it:
Can you say, "wow, I needed to see this!" This really spoke to me and I see so many things in that article that fit our situation. I don't know that I was specifically chosen to be Dylan's Mother for the reasons it says in here, because I am a huge let down in the way I handle it. I know there are people in much worse situations and handle it with a smile on their face and accept what they have been given. I respect them!
The part about not sure if she even believes in God. Well, let me be honest(and Brandon doesn't even know this) but I have had my doubts lately and I absolutely hate this feeling. I used to just know there was a God and life was great! This person in our old neighborhood requested me as a facebook friend awhile ago. Apparently, he was struggling with this and was posting all sorts of stuff on his facebook page. For some reason one day, something just clicked and I thought "what if there isn't really a God." No I have not read into anything and I deleted him from Facebook because I can not deal with the constant things he puts on there and the doubt that he has now created in my mind. I don't want my children to go through this because it is awful. Reading that particular part in here that said, "But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you." And the timing of this being shown to me was perfect and as some say a "Tender Mercy." I know that He is there and I just need to put my doubts aside and have faith. I need to know that things will not always be perfect but just do the best I can and let Him take it from there.
Brandon read this and laughed because the "Guardian Angel" part(I think any way) and that was the part of the article he didn't see being accurate. That says a lot about how he sees the way I handle things. Although, I believed somewhat the same things and didn't think I was "guardian angel" material. It opened my eyes and made me realize I really need to step up. If my husband thinks I can handle things better and be a better person then I really need to figure it out. After he read my last post, he said I was "airing out my dirty laundry and making him look bad." That is not my intentions because he is a great guy/husband/father but we just handle things differently and because of that sometimes we expect more. In my case, I expect more help and in his case tuning things out helps take the stress off. I am not saying he is wrong or doesn't deserve that but I just needed to get my feelings out and am pretty much counting this as a journal, so there you go.
 |
| https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1906&dat=19930904&id=LPkfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OQIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4961,191448&hl=en Here is a link to a different newspaper, same article |
Can you say, "wow, I needed to see this!" This really spoke to me and I see so many things in that article that fit our situation. I don't know that I was specifically chosen to be Dylan's Mother for the reasons it says in here, because I am a huge let down in the way I handle it. I know there are people in much worse situations and handle it with a smile on their face and accept what they have been given. I respect them!
The part about not sure if she even believes in God. Well, let me be honest(and Brandon doesn't even know this) but I have had my doubts lately and I absolutely hate this feeling. I used to just know there was a God and life was great! This person in our old neighborhood requested me as a facebook friend awhile ago. Apparently, he was struggling with this and was posting all sorts of stuff on his facebook page. For some reason one day, something just clicked and I thought "what if there isn't really a God." No I have not read into anything and I deleted him from Facebook because I can not deal with the constant things he puts on there and the doubt that he has now created in my mind. I don't want my children to go through this because it is awful. Reading that particular part in here that said, "But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you." And the timing of this being shown to me was perfect and as some say a "Tender Mercy." I know that He is there and I just need to put my doubts aside and have faith. I need to know that things will not always be perfect but just do the best I can and let Him take it from there.
Brandon read this and laughed because the "Guardian Angel" part(I think any way) and that was the part of the article he didn't see being accurate. That says a lot about how he sees the way I handle things. Although, I believed somewhat the same things and didn't think I was "guardian angel" material. It opened my eyes and made me realize I really need to step up. If my husband thinks I can handle things better and be a better person then I really need to figure it out. After he read my last post, he said I was "airing out my dirty laundry and making him look bad." That is not my intentions because he is a great guy/husband/father but we just handle things differently and because of that sometimes we expect more. In my case, I expect more help and in his case tuning things out helps take the stress off. I am not saying he is wrong or doesn't deserve that but I just needed to get my feelings out and am pretty much counting this as a journal, so there you go.
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