We took Little Bug on the local Santa Train, thinking that this would be a better way for him to meet Santa. While he didn’t cry or yell, he did banish Santa to the other side of the train. Santa was permitted to sit next to him briefly for a picture- a very tense picture in which Little Bug appears to be attempting to will Santa to move with his glare of doom.
That night, Little Bug decided he wanted to write Santa a note. He first had to scour the magazines in the house for the picture of the toy he wanted. Then he taped it to a piece of paper and wrote his name at the bottom. Yep, wrote his name. Not necessarily in a linear fashion, but all 6 letters are there clear as day.
Next, he instructed me to write the letter. I started with Dear Santa-, however Little Bug felt that we should address him by his first and last name. So, we wrote Dear Santa Claus. Next, Little Bug instructed me to write “I want Hiro and Sodor Steamworks.” This was to be followed by “PSTUV” and then signed by Daddy Nick and Daddy Blake. Little Bug then took over the letter and drew a picture. When asked what the picture and PSTUV where for, he replied, “A supise for my daddies!”
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Spelling
Little Bug has become fascinated with spelling recently. He stands at the fridge for hours ordering and reordering his letters. Not stimming, but trying to make a word. He will yell out the letters and I will tell him if it is or isn’t a word. So far, he has spelled Up, Dog, and Nice on the fridge.
Orally, he can now spell Up, Dog, and his name from memory. He has begun to beg Nick and I how to spell our names and then works through the finger spelling of them over and over. If he gets it wrong, he asks us to spell our names and then begins to try some more.
Orally, he can now spell Up, Dog, and his name from memory. He has begun to beg Nick and I how to spell our names and then works through the finger spelling of them over and over. If he gets it wrong, he asks us to spell our names and then begins to try some more.
School Conference
Well, we had another parent teacher conference last week and it went amazingly well. His teacher said that she is amazed at his progress- he is now able to share with another child without prompting from an adult for 10 minutes. She didn’t expect him to be as comfortable as he is until his second year in the program.
She impressed us by going to an Autism conference at our local children’s hospital. We spent time talking about the spectrum and the differences between each kind of Autism and how basically every person with Autism is unique. We also discussed the possible changes that the DSM V might contain and how that would affect diagnoses and as well as school eligibility.
Finally, she told Nick and I a few things that we didn’t expect to hear. First, that Little Bug is the best behaved child in the class and she uses him as a peer model for all the other kids- including the peer models. She looks to him as a little leader in the class. She also stated that he is making progress on all his goals and well on his way to meeting some already. Nick and I thought it would take a lot longer than it has for him to make this progress. Finally, she said that except for the speech delay- his MLU is 2.2 and the typical range is 5 for his age group- she doesn’t feel that he qualifies for special education. She is glad that they are only evaluated every 3 years as she is afraid he would be denied next year and she wants to keep him in her class. We do too. He is flourishing there and learning a ton- letter recognition of the whole alphabet, counting to 39, and vital social skills.
She impressed us by going to an Autism conference at our local children’s hospital. We spent time talking about the spectrum and the differences between each kind of Autism and how basically every person with Autism is unique. We also discussed the possible changes that the DSM V might contain and how that would affect diagnoses and as well as school eligibility.
Finally, she told Nick and I a few things that we didn’t expect to hear. First, that Little Bug is the best behaved child in the class and she uses him as a peer model for all the other kids- including the peer models. She looks to him as a little leader in the class. She also stated that he is making progress on all his goals and well on his way to meeting some already. Nick and I thought it would take a lot longer than it has for him to make this progress. Finally, she said that except for the speech delay- his MLU is 2.2 and the typical range is 5 for his age group- she doesn’t feel that he qualifies for special education. She is glad that they are only evaluated every 3 years as she is afraid he would be denied next year and she wants to keep him in her class. We do too. He is flourishing there and learning a ton- letter recognition of the whole alphabet, counting to 39, and vital social skills.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
It's holiday time again...
And this year is going to be fun. Little Bug has decided that he believes in Santa. This is huge. He is willing to accept the reality of an idea. Don't get him wrong- he isn't going to sit with him or hug him, but he will write him a letter or talk to him. Whenever Little Bug sees his dream toy, he says, "I'ma talk to Santa.".
Last year, the Christmas tree had to be tied to the wall and we had to fight Little Bug away from the light. This year, he has embraced it. Literally. When we put the tree up, he walked over to it and put his arms around it. "I love you fee." He gave it a hug and a kiss. He decorated it with fervor- directing where all the ornaments should go and what colors can be next to each other. The bottom half of our tree is regemented- same shapes with same shapes and same colors with same colors.
Little Bug has also decided that messy crafts are okay. He is able to tolerate paint on his hands as well as glitter, flour, sugar, and dirt. He still has a hard time with sticky stuff, but we have been able to do a ton of crafts. He has made four different kinds of ornaments, felt presents, and a paper chain for Christmas.
Nick and I are so excited. Its like a brand new experience. Last year was a bit hellish at times- he couldn't tolerate the family events and we didn't get to see many of our friends. This year is turning out different. He did amazing at a small Thanksgiving- he only needed 3 breaks in 4 hours. He was able to play with J and E this weekend for about 5 hours and only needed about 6 breaks. What's more exciting is that this year, he understands and is excited. Last year, there wasn't any understanding or excitement.
Last year, the Christmas tree had to be tied to the wall and we had to fight Little Bug away from the light. This year, he has embraced it. Literally. When we put the tree up, he walked over to it and put his arms around it. "I love you fee." He gave it a hug and a kiss. He decorated it with fervor- directing where all the ornaments should go and what colors can be next to each other. The bottom half of our tree is regemented- same shapes with same shapes and same colors with same colors.
Little Bug has also decided that messy crafts are okay. He is able to tolerate paint on his hands as well as glitter, flour, sugar, and dirt. He still has a hard time with sticky stuff, but we have been able to do a ton of crafts. He has made four different kinds of ornaments, felt presents, and a paper chain for Christmas.
Nick and I are so excited. Its like a brand new experience. Last year was a bit hellish at times- he couldn't tolerate the family events and we didn't get to see many of our friends. This year is turning out different. He did amazing at a small Thanksgiving- he only needed 3 breaks in 4 hours. He was able to play with J and E this weekend for about 5 hours and only needed about 6 breaks. What's more exciting is that this year, he understands and is excited. Last year, there wasn't any understanding or excitement.
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