I Love You Because...

Puppet Shows

I love it when we're a little early for therapy. Ethan puts on a puppet show about Nolan and his pet dinosaur. It's so cute and can cheer up anyone's day.

Summer Camp 2010

This summer we jumped into something that we once thought would never be an option for Ethan. Summer camp! Just one week of the summer and only 9am-4pm and located at his OT Clinic but it was the perfect stepping stone for this 'not-wanna-let-go-momma'. The theme this week was cooking. He's loved every minute of it, he's made some fun friends and best of all it's transitioning to the new school schedule that starts next week. I've already promised him he can do it again next year so I'm taking that as a success.

 

Sensory Recommendations... from Ethan.

This one is for all my friends in the Autism/Sensory world... 

 Ethan's top therapy products.

Compression Vest (and let me just tell you that THIS model is the cutest ever, don't you think?!!!!) 
for decompression and calming him down. Totally helps him concentrate and calm down (helps his temper.)

Seat Cushion - We've used this everywhere! When we did our road trip last summer, this was on his car seat, at the dinner table, in school.... helps his lesson the figgeting. AWESOME.

Chew Stixx - This one was developed my Ethan's OT because he bites, chews and licks.... EVERYTHING. She gave him a proto-type over two years ago and it's still in the same brand new condition even though he uses it DAILY. They now have different colors, scents, flavors and shapes (and Ethan has most of them, his favorite is orange) they are all wonderful. He carries two in the car, one in his backpack, on for his desk and three for his bedroom. (oh yeah, and yesterday we just got the pencil topper version for school too!) I really could NOT live without these, he would destroy all of his toys, clothes, seats, and furniture without them. 

Weighted Blanket- A few years a go a few AMAZING friends got together and made Ethan a weighted blanket. Seriously, it's amazing and it has worked wonders. This was another item that has  to come with us on vacations. (Although when we fly the poor airline folks HATE it!) :) It helps get him to sleep, and KEEP him asleep. he hasn't used it as much over the last 6 months so I thought he had grown out of it but, this last week neither Doug or I have slept at all because Ethan can not stay asleep for the life of him and just wants to get up and play or stim all night. So I guess we'll be using it again because I am one tired Momma!

Slant board- This has been invaluable since the start of Kindergarten and I wish we had bought it earlier. We sent it to school (which actually irritates me that they didn't provide it.) and he immediately started actually completing his work, getting better handwriting and focusing more. HUGE HELP! Heck, I think all  kids would benefit from this in pre-school and kindergarten.

THE Swing- This is definitely the most popular toy at our house. Kids BEG to play on it and we have to remind them it's for therapy (although it's played with a lot too, so I guess that's the perk of FUN therapy) This is in our garage/therapy space and Ethan will fall asleep in it, read books in it, go there when he's annoyed with everyone... I wish they had something like this at his school. It helps him concentrate, it helps him wind down and it helps him use up all that energy. He loves it and I'm so glad we found something that isn't clinical! 

Trust me on this... we've had hundred's more therapy products and supports... these are the best! 

Wednesday's with Margaret

No wonder he wakes up excited on Wednesday's! This is what he has to look forward to! I've said before how much I love Peach State Pediatric Therapy before but I think it's only after I see sudden burst of progress that I sit down and think about how far back we'd be if we didn't have this amazing resource to help, support, push and encourage. Ethan's been going to OT there for 2 years and has been doing Speech there for over 6 months. The entire staff is near and dear to our hearts.

This past month Ethan's had a hard time developementally. I've had a hard time going through the yo-yo emotions of austism. Good days and bad, I know. I think a lot of it has to do with my own fears, rather than him. I'm scared he'll regress. I'm scared his violence will come back, I'm scared of him growing up and the same time I'm scared of him not proggressing. (see, I told you it was a yo-yo effect!) In the end I think seeing Margaret on Wednesdays, is therapy for both of us. She calms me nerves, ives suggestions on coping and encourages growth- from Ethan and me! Horray for Wednesday's! 

Pudding Paint

Ethan has always had texture issues. He hates to get his fingers wet or slimy. She won't use finger paints and is generally scared of soap. He won't even eat anything with that texture unless it's 'hidden' (ie; adding crunchy granola in his yogurt or freezing it and having him eat it frozen). His OT Miss. Margaret has been focusing on it and really trying to help him cope, because he has fits just being in the same room with textures he doesn't like and it's causing more problems in his daily life lately. Here at home we've been trying to expose him to new foods, textures and situations - just asking him to be in the room while I stir up a recipe or forcing him to allow something on his plate even though he doesn't have to eat it. A few weeks ago I let the kids turn the pudding into paint. Of course, Lorali and Owen LOVED it... Ethan on the other hand went running out of the room and hid under the table in his therapy room. Oh well... I guess this too will take time.

Developing at his own pace.

    This has been a very hard decision on me, in fact, I've started writing this post about three times and haven't been able to finish it because it's just been such an emotional roller coaster. When Ethan was first diagnosed 3 years ago, we already had him in Special Needs Pre-School, we already had him in Speech Therapy and we really felt like we were on the right track. We've seen huge progress in him over the past three years and it's been magical to watch him grow not only physically, but developmentally as well. Every few years we do a full psychology evaluation on Ethan to make sure he's reaching certain milestones and to make sure that he still qualifies for services through the school and also Katie Beckett/Deeming Waiver. Part of us really wishes that he didn't qualify for services but in the end we know we are going to have to hear where Ethan is at.... compared to other kids.
    In February his OT did an Eval and so did the School. Both with the same results. Overall, Ethan is developmentally 3 years and 10 months of age... Oh boy were those hard numbers to hear. He's a 6 years and 1 month old. Yes, some areas he is ahead (and others are as low as 2 years 2 months) but overall, he is a 3-4 year old. (No wonder I feel like I have twins most of the time!) So today Doug and I met with the school, AGAIN. We decided to hold Ethan back and keep him in Kindergarten next year. Same school, same teacher, same curriculum. It is so hard to know what is best for your child. Ethan is not typical, he's not picking everything up like other kids in his class and his is not quite enjoying it like he could be. Doug and I feel like developmentally he isn't quite ready for 1st grade and we are hoping that this decision will work out positively. I'm praying his confidence will grow this next year, I'm praying his reading skills will emerge and I'm hoping that he will be more socially on par with the kids coming into his classroom next year. This will put him just one grade above Lorali, which hopefully will push him more academically. So I guess the upside is that I get to enjoy the  Kindergartner stage a little bit longer. I'm certainly glad that he doesn't have to grow up too fast and I just need to remind myself that he is happy, progressing and  developing at his own pace.

The Therapy Room

Wednesday's at our house are golden. The entire family looks forward to to Wednesday afternoons. Because Wednesday's are Miss. Margaret days. Ethan goes to Occupational/Sensory Therapy at Peach State Pediatric Therapy. Seriously just click on this link, the facilities are amazing and the staff is even better. We have seen Ethan develope and progress in ways that we thought were years off, not months.

Inspired by Margaret and her ability to target Ethan's energy and ability, we transformed our messy garage into a mini-therapy room. This is now our garage. For Christmas we got the kids this swing, we put in child friendly flooring and we organized all of Ethan's therapy games and toys that we have collected over the last 3 years. We put in a kids table and some chairs, benches and pillows. A few things on the wall and it suddenly feels less like a garage and more like a play room. It was one of the best things we could have done for Ethan. He comes home from school and darts straight to the play room. He swings, he plays with Lorali, he crashes into his 'crash pad' (thanks Mom and Dad!), he does puzzles, now he will even do his homework and he is able to have a few minutes of therapy time everyday. THANK YOU MARGARET FOR TEACHING US HOW TO HELP OUR SON!