Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Welcome to Little Bug's world!

To me, Little Bug is a genius- perhaps an evil genius but a genius none the less. He has excellent problem solving skills. One of the many good uses for his problems skills is tricking adults- with distraction and covert operations usually involving our dog as an unwilling co-conspirator. I have to admit, I have fallen prey to more than one of his dubious schemes. He has an amazing smile and a laugh that stops our hearts. He can wrestle like nobody’s business. Like most parents, our world revolves around him.


Little Bug also happens to have several developmental delays- receptive and expressive speech, daily living, and social. He was recently diagnosed with ASD- more specifically, PDD NOS. He also has Sensory Modulation Disorder- which means meals are interesting and going out of the house is *always* an adventure.


Before we continue, let me introduce you to the team:
Blake- that’s me- I am one of Little Bug’s fathers. Now let’s set some things straight- our son was not adopted. Although, I have the title of father- or da! in Little Bug words, I am the person who carried him for 10 months and gave birth to him. I am a pretty neat/orderly kind of person who like my schedules and likes plans.
DN- Little Bug’s other spectacular father. He is a wonderful person with more patience than I can imagine. He is also a fierce drag queen and a dedicated partner. He makes a mean smoothie and thinks of some of the most interesting ways to create makeup out of everyday household items. DN is more of a go with the flow kind of guy, which means I drive him insane on a daily basis.
Ma- This is Bug’s mom. She is a wonderful friend with the biggest heart I have ever encountered. She also retains that child like side that so many of us “grown-ups” lose. Just to further clarify- she had nothing to do with the conception nor does she live with us. That doesn’t change the fact that she is Bug’s mom.


As you can see, we are quite the family. That aside, we all truly love our Little Bug and want nothing in the world but for him to reach his highest potential, whatever that may be. Here are some of our current missions, struggles, etc:


Get Little Bug to go to sleep without a fight- whether this means giving up naps, changing work schedules or a weighted blanket, we have yet to discover.


Beef up his sensory diet with daily activities that help him regulate his sensory system


Continue down our road of learning sign language with him. A little background on his speech, previously, his max speech capacity was 10 words. Some- like da, ma, away- for airplane, wuwu- for train, were constants. Others, like down, up, couch, sit- they would come and stay a while. Then like nomadic words, pack up their things and leave. Since beginning sign language, he now has 19 words- constant words that stay and build homes- and almost 20 signs- that currently have long term leases and we are hoping that they will buy the property.


Prevent self injuring behavior- like biting and head banging.


Help him realize and reach his full potential through realistic challenges.

1 comment:

Life on Pause said...

Yay, Go team! I'm so glad to see Little Bug is building vocab. Hope to see y'all soon!

P.S.
If you want updates on what's going on in my lil life, I update my blog nearly daily.