Playing Catch Up

My grandma claims “the older you get, the faster time goes by”. Before kids I didn’t realize the truth of this statement. Now, I completely understand. Days are a blur; I can hardly recall what day of the week it is. Days turn to weeks, weeks to months and before my eyes, my baby boys are growing up. I can’t believe in 3 months, they turn 3.

I wanted to catch everyone up with what’s going on…

We transitioned from CARD to Connections(Infants & Toddlers) at the end of April. We will continue with Connections throughout the summer before entering into the school system. Also I’m still holding out hope for spots in the Achievements program at CARD. (Fingers-crossed).

Here is our new schedule (April 24th through August 24th, 2012)

Monday: Playground Group with aide 10:15am-11:45am.This group used to meet inside the library, but has moved outside for the summer.

Immediately following the group, we head to The Vines, Early Intervention Speech Therapy 12:15pm-1:15pm (both receive 30 minute individual sessions)

Tuesday: Connections Program 10am-11:30pm, afterwards we head to the playground or visit grandparents

Wednesday: Connections Program 10am-11:30pm, OT 12pm-1pm (sensory/feeding issues)

Thursday:  Connections Program 10am-11:30pm

Friday: Playdate or outing with Aide

Every other Friday, speech therapist and special educator come to the house for a 1 hour group session.

Saturday/Sunday: Family outings or one-on-one with me or my husband.

Aden and Alex continue to make great progress. With progress comes new challenges. Both can now open doors, locks, windows, refrigerators, car doors, basically anything with a handle. Alex can stick the key in the car ignition and turn on the power/radio! See video: http://youtu.be/v-76uXvkyJ8 (there are a lot of great things about this video, including words, joint attention, and imitation- when he holds up the E-Z pass for the tunnel. Sorry about the annoying beeping).

Eloping is still a major safety concern. Playgrounds and yards without fences are my worst nightmare. Climbing is also a safety issue, by this I mean climbing onto the stove or up on cabinets, in sinks, anywhere they please. I’m sure most parents with 2-3 year-olds deal with similar issues. The only difference is autism makes disciplining extremely difficult. Aden and Alex don’t understand when they’ve done something wrong, which makes bad/unsafe behavior hard to correct. Most of the time they think it’s a game; they don’t understand when I’m upset or angry. They just smile at me and keep going. Sometimes it’s hard not to smile back.

Both boys are strong, fast, and at times completely out-of-control. Or is it that I’m not in control? Either way, my stress levels have reached an all-time high. I keep hearing things get better, I sure hope so.

Okay enough about all the stuff giving me gray hair, onto progress, or things that make me smile.

As I mentioned in my last blog, Alex is starting to use 3 to 4-word sentences. It all began in the Connections classroom with “I want ____” usually chips or another snack. Aden’s words are also starting to emerge. With Aden I have to presume intellect (famous words of William Stillman). Although he may not say much, I know he is taking it in. If he would just open his mouth, I know words would come out! Our OT, Mindi, told me about this computer program called Starfall (www.starfall.com). For $35 a year, we have access to the alphabet, numbers, colors, songs, etc…it’s been an amazing resource to prepare for pre-school. Both of them can now identify letters, numbers, and colors. I know an I-Pad would be beneficial but right now our budget doesn’t allow for it. Here is a video of Aden singing his ABC’s along with Starfall: http://youtu.be/XD4LHqzk_aE (this is extremely rare, he hasn’t done it since the video was taken a few weeks ago)

Aden and Alex are starting to interact more, something I feel like I’ve waited forever for. This includes, hugging, holding hands, dancing, chasing, tickling, tackling, and jumping on each other. Unfortunately neither one understands the social cue “leave me alone”, which often leads to crying and me consoling. I’m afraid they’re going to hurt each other. I can’t take my eyes off of them for a minute, which makes housekeeping and showering impossible. Thank goodness for deodorant.

The boys have begun exit testing through Infants & Toddlers. This is done as the boys approach 3 years to determine progress, ensure eligibility for services, and set future goals. Our eligibility meeting is scheduled for July 30^th. The eligibility meeting will determine what services the boys will receive in the school system.

As time continues to fly by and the boys continue to progress, the future seems less scary. Let’s hope this holds true.