Giddy Mommy

I am giddy today.  There is no huge reason, just a bunch of little ones.  Things like- every article of clothing I took to the consignment store on my lunch break was accepted except two.  Victory.  Jack got a report card and is progressing nicely- even on level for his grade in most areas.  My son is just so smart.  When I think of all of the challenges he faces with fixations on some things, lack of focus on others, sensory and fine motor issues, it hits me just how smart he must be.  If he can keep up with the other kids through all of that…..he’s just amazing.

Then I got to take him to swim, just the two of us tonight.  He was swimming laps beautifully, he let his instructor THROW him in the water, he jumped in several times on his own, dove for rings, and dove into the pool for the first time (with a little assistance).  These swim lessons are so wonderful for him- his self-confidence is just through the roof, and he never ever complains about going.  He loves it.

Then there’s Nate.  As always, I will qualify these developments with the statement “he is having a good week”.  His study doctor called just to check up on him this morning (no I am not kidding) and when I told her about this stuff she made sure to tell me that they could not “prove” that the Aricept is causing any of this.  I told her I was totally aware of that, and aware that he could lose these things tomorrow, but that today, I’m really really happy.  She said that is just the perfect way to go about this. 

So here is what we are seeing:

Bad:  sleep disturbances- he has been up from 1:30 to 4am for the past two nights- blech

Good: 

He is majorly opinionated and fighting going to bed in his own bed every night- and yes this does too go in the good column- in our world anyway.

He regained “go”, “chip”, and a couple of other words in the past few days.

He has learned how to give kisses, to mommy only, but it is the cutest thing ever and he does it whenever I ask- what more could a mom want?

He started clapping his hands today for the first time in close to a year.

Bear with me, I edited this video- but right now it's still long- the end is worth it- promise!!

 

He is choosing his food- I hold out two items and he (with his pointer finger) shows me which one he wants.

That’s all in the last week.  Once again all I will say is- this is a good week.  Oh, and everyone- please pray, ok?

Then there is my husband- I was trying at dinner to get Nate to clap, and of course he wouldn’t.  I was afraid John was going to think I was making it up.  Instead, while Jack and I were at swim class, he sent a video of him working with Nate to get him to clap- and he did it!  John was so patient, and tenacious.  He is a good autism daddy.

Yay family!!!!!

My Reluctant Fish

When I applied for grants over the summer, one of the services I applied for was special needs swimming lessons for Jack.  At first glance it may seem as though he would be fine in regular swim lessons, however we have tried that and let's just say it didn't go so well. 

The group nature of the activity was not a good fit, and honestly even though he is upright, running and walking, he actually has some significant gross and fine motor deficits.  Along with insecurity- not knowing where his body is in space.  I wanted him to have at least a good 6 week session or two of this (one on one lessons with a specialized instructor) and then maybe we can move back to regular lessons.  However, these lessons are expensive, so that is why I applied some of our funding to this area. 

So you can imagine my dismay when before the 4^th lesson last week, Jack was telling me he didn’t want to go back.  I was that mom “oh no, you WILL go back”.  I may not be paying out of pocket for the lessons, but believe me, I did the work to get that funding, and it will be utilized.  Last week he got his wish because when he arrived at his lesson there was a code brown and the pool had to be cleaned.  His lesson was cancelled.  Well, he started in again today after school, telling me he didn’t want to go, didn’t want to put his face in, go under, etc.  He has done this for a long time when he is at the regular pool so I was a bit perplexed.  So I asked him why.  His answer?  He can’t talk when he’s under water.  This from the boy who is literally incapable of NOT talking during any given moment of the day.  Clearly this compulsion is stronger than I thought if the idea of refraining from talking for a few minutes gives him this kind of anxiety and dread. 

This is where the brainteaser parenting comes into play.  Everything needs to be turned into an “opportunity” surrounding one of his areas of interest.  Not to brag, but I’m a pro.  I told him that if he didn’t learn how to go under water and speak “bubble language” that he would never be able to communicate with all of the animals in the ocean.  If you recall, about a year ago he was all about whales, crabs, lobsters, hermit crabs and sharks.  He asked if he would be able to say “real words” while he was under, so I demonstrated a very, umm, odd “hwelllo” in bubble talk.   He seemed satisfied with this answer, but was still reluctant.  His instructor also wanted him to start wearing goggles this week since he will be going under quite a bit more, and he was vehemently opposed to this.  Until I told him they were fighter pilot goggles. Then he wouldn’t take them off- score!

He did an absolutely AWESOME job at his lesson!  He went under, jumped in with and without pads, practiced some basic strokes and floated on his back (ok well only for a second).  I had told his instructor at the beginning of his lesson about the going under water thing and the pilot goggles thing, so she was able to keep that going.  At the end of the lesson she told me that Jack was making some funny sounds when he went under and was blowing bubbles.  I repeated my ridiculous hello to her and said “like that??”  She said, yes, exactly like that!  The boy is determined to speak no matter where he is. 

 

And no the irony of that situation is not lost on me.  Because while he was doing this, I was in the viewing area with Nate toiling to get him to say water- and he DID say it during bath time tonight.  I swear to God there are times that I think he sits there and bides his time, and then decides, oh all right, I’ll throw the old girl a bone and comes out with it “water”.  But only once- mommy has to work for those words.  Maybe this is a load of crap- but if you saw the smug expression on my sweet boy’s face when this is happening, you might just agree with me.

Someone wanted to join in the fun....

Well, That Was.....EASY??!!

I wrote earlier this week, on Monday to be exact, about my mother turning my boys' grant applications in for me so that I didn't have to miss work.  I am here to tell you that for once, when I did something right, I got results and FAST.  I got letters in the mail today for both Jack and Nate, and they both received full funding.  What does this mean? In Nate's case it means that sending him to Cisco Center will be much less of a financial strain for us for awhile.  I can feel better than good about sending him- he loves it and it's financially feasible.  For Jack, it means that he is going to be able to start one on one, special needs swim lessons!!!  And he will get to continue them for most of the year.

This is a wonderful day for our family.  So often the hurdles autism families face seem insurmountable.  We jump through so many hoops, and at the end of the obstacle course we see messages like "warning, these services may not be covered for a diagnosis of autism."  It feels pretty damn good to do the work and achieve the desired outcome.  Go our family!!!