OT 12 months on..

Well today Thomas had his normal monthly OT session. It went amazing. The change in the last 12 months has been incredible. He pretends on the way he hates going, but once he gets there he gets straight to it. Following the instructions and rules.

Cathie his OT is amazing with him and he has come along leaps and bounds. Even just sitting still between activities he does so well. He knows where to wait and what is expected of him there.

His balancing and strength skills have even improved. I was so proud of him today. I just wish I had gotten more photos today, even Cathie mentioned we should have video taped it. Sigh. Hindsight. Next month I will remind her if she wants me to do some videoing and see what happens.

Sitting in the waiting chair.

Turning 4

Yes it has happened he has turned four. Gone from that little baby to an attitude filled 4 year old! Oh boy. They say two is bad. Four they talk back with sass and smartness. Golly gosh. I sense we are in for some huge fun (and lots of wine for mummy) in the coming months.

One big thing happened. We brought him a bike, unsure how he would go as he never grasped the trike idea or had the muscle tone to manipulate them because of the angle at which they sit on them. So imagine our surprise when he grasped riding a bike within the first few days. What a proud and happy mummy I was this sunny Saturday afternoon I took him out on his bike.

Technology and Potty Training.

Well with potty training boot camp on this weekend we have been looking at different ways to entertain this child whilst mostly indoors (the weather has been on the ordinary at best side.) So technology has come into play, especially seeing Saturday morning the wooden train set went on holidays after they were watered with Pear juice....

So out comes the Wii. Thomas got to create his own character, he also likes to change it's clothes daily too it seems. We have worked out games like baseball are best and he is an awesome pitcher, if we can keep him on task. In the end it becomes an amusing adventure of daddy batting and Thomas pitching as a team. Funny. competitive and not mummies domain.Oh and lots of, You can pitch the ball now Thomas. Any time Thomas. I think he is slowly getting it. But gets so easily off track.

But the Monday night funny comes as I was cooking dinner and Thomas found the iPad charging by my chair.
Next he come running up the hall way. Shouting need potty, good program on. hearing bob the builder on TV I thought. Ok. Bob phase again. Nope he was watching Thomas the Tank Engine clips on You Tube. So he grabs his potty to take back so he could watch the You Tube clip. I think I need to tell him about Pause and replay.

Proud moment. He recognised he needed to go. And whilst typing the last paragraph he did it again!

Two steps forward...

Many steps back.  We seem to be having a lot of these moments lately where we seem to be making awesome progress, then suddenly regress right back. This is in both areas of behaviour, toilet training and communications. All of which is probably related to each other.

We will have a couple of days where you think what ASD? Then a night mare run. Sleep is also on the decline again for every body. It just does not seem fair.

This week we are learning that appalling behaviour is not going to be accepted. Deliberately destroying items is not going to go down well, and toys will be taken away. Tough love is happening. Explanations are  in place and so are the expectations. Poster making here I come!!

Potty training is also still the bug bear and getting tough here. Deliberate defiance at home is happening and mummy is not happy as he is a perfect angel at kindy and school. (He can do this, but for what ever reason won't self initiate at home and gets aggressive if we do toilet timing with him.)

This last month or so we have also been dealing with a couple of virus's here which does play a part in the down slide. But it will not get the better of us. It can't!

We have been making progress with food though. Eating things that are not normally eaten like savoury mince. Turned out even though it was slimy (his words) it was very nice. So it seems in the words of Dr Seuss "Try it, Try it, you may see, Try it try it, you may like it".

The safari breakfast.

May madness

May has been an incredible month for Thomas. We have been on a short break, started a new diet, endured a super moon, (yep so far this was just in one weekend), started using weighted products and started to read sight words and letters.

It has also been a month to reflect on how far we have come since his diagnosis 12 months ago.

* Meltdowns have lessened to a degree
* Public meltdowns have at least halved.
* Toilet training has finally started. - we are not even close to saying he is perfect at it. But we are consistently working through this.
* We can now do a quick shop (or even a quick full shop) with out too much of an issue.
* Thomas can now verbalise occasionally what is bugging him, ie the fluro lights was a big one. Yes he can hear them and knowing this makes a huge difference.
* Early intevention is well established now.
* Reports are now starting to come in and the advancements and delays in various areas are now being spoken about.
* He has eaten mashed vegetables (not just steamed or pureed).

Sleep has only slightly improved. We can now get him to sleep, but still dealing with middle of the night/Early hours of the morning wakings. One day this may start to improve, but simply this maybe as good as it gets for a little while longer, only time and lots of patience will tell.

But the one thing that every one agrees on, he is a happy and very active little boy, with good manners - even when at his most defiant moments.

Some snaps from our short break!

Autism awerness month. APRIL

There was lots of going blue, coloured hair and even blue lights this month. I was even in a newspaper or two... LOL

 Our first blue morning Tea at the support group. posing with two of the young men of the group for the news papers.

 Blue haired mummy with her little man.

 Cup cakes and chocolate.... Great mix.

 The Go Blue Launch in the Queen street Mall Brisbane.

 Daddy even came down during his lunch break.

 Tender moment - maybe - but more like removing Vegemite's from a face and Thomas playing with the blue hair.

 Great mates, wanting to join in, but not sure how.

 Our frount door. Thomas rubbed the liquid chalk before it dried.

 He found my wig in the car.

In blue for School. The red thing on his chest is a chewy necklace. Great for stimming and perfect solution to needing a dummy still.

Spinning and stimming

Stimming and spinning are very much traits of Aspergers. People with Autism and Aspergers use these ticks and quirks to self center and concentrate. After a fairly stressful March we have noticed Thomas picking up the notch of stimming and spinning.

Thomas has taken to walking around the edges of room or around one item of furniture. This would be dizzying for some people but for other it helps them focus and make sense of their worlds. He has also been making annoying sounds (very loudly as nothing with Thomas is quiet!) repetitively. Lining toys up and having them in just the right order is not uncommon.

Today was the arm flapping and airplane motions complete with sound effects naturally, whilst we shopped. Today there was not hiding the fact he was just no ordinary boy in a pram. Which is always fun when you have shopping to do.

How we lessen his anxiety when out and about - iPad for distraction, head phones for positive noise input. Sun shade and covering blanket for light reduction. This sometimes works, other times he simply can't focus enough for it to work.

Other activities to lesson his stimming or creating a positive stimming activity is the Trampoline. This also has the added advantage of  using up excess energy.