Saturday, June 24, 2006

Wild Waves!!





We took the boys to Wild Waves today and we all had a GREAT time! Michael was just tall enough to go on the water slides and even some rides by himself! Thank you Dr. McClellan for getting Michael on the path to GROWING! Even Nicholas seemed to enjoy himself...until someone splashed him with water; he hated that. He really liked the flying ride with Michael. Although it is hard to tell in the picture above, Nick actually smiled every time he passed the guy in the operations booth;which we were standing right next to. Forget looking at mom and dad, that guy in the red booth is funny. This will be short today because it is 9pm and we are all a little wore out. The boys had a wonderful time today, and I have even convinced Mike to go out to a movie tomorrow!! Finally, we get to see a grown up movie!!

Friday, June 23, 2006

Phone tag....

I called U.W. yesterday to see if Nick would qualify for their toddler autism study. I got no answer so I left a message. Well, the lady called today while I was at work and Mike took a message. I came home not more than 10 min later and called her back-to no avail. So, I left another message for her to call me at work. I never got a call back, so I am going to have to call them again on Monday. The study that I am trying to get him in is a study of how the autistic brain is different from the normal brain. If we get selected to participate in this, U.W. will send therapists to our house and he will get more hours of therapy. It is called "Early STAART Intervention Study" and it is meant to examine how child neurocognitive factors moderate the effects of early intervention. Knowledge about this will help decide appropriate, individualized intervention methods for children with autism and shed light on questions regarding brain plasticity. Children who are placed in this study will recieve up to 25 hours of weekly intervention! The parents will also attend a 3 week course on autism and will be provided with information and materials on the disorder(as if I dont already have enough--but could always use more). So, you can see WHY I would like to get him in this study!

As for Nicholas, he stacked 4 pegs on his giant peg board today!! That means he is learning to play with toys appropriately, and all the work we have put into him is paying off in small amounts. We spent a good 15 min on the floor right when I got home from work. We were working on getting him to follow directions by having him "give me 5". He gets so excited that he does not know what to do and he makes a fist and his whole body stiffens up. We had to prompt him by taking his fist and slapping my hand. After about 10 times he would do it with little prompting, but not completely onhis own yet. The stacking pegs is a big step b/c he did that by HIMSELF without one of us doing it first.

Michael is over at a friends house right now, so I got a little bit of a break!! Although he is usually pretty sassy when he gets back :( Right now we dont have any real big plans for the weekend. We might head off to a water park so the boys can have a little fun in the sun. Other than that, it is the normal stuff. Laundry, cleaning, and more cleaning! Maybe I can convince Mike to take in a movie.

Nickland


Nicholas was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in May of 2006. We have had two lengthy evaluations done on him..one with Early Intervention back in March, and the second with the developmental ped. in May. There was no denying Nick was on the spectrum. He has virtually no language (although he will say some words..it is very sporadic), does a lot of visual stimming, and also does the hand stimming (flapping, waving, and moving his fingers). He has been making good progress with the therapy he gets through E.I. Right now he only gets it twice a week, but that is about to change. A referral has been put in for him to recieve speech, occupational, and we have also begun the paper trail to get him into the University of Washingtons Autism Program. He is being integrated into a classroom setting with his E.I. therapist which will meet Mon-Wed-Fri. That is on top of the Tues-Thur sessions. So, we will be doing LOTS of driving!
Living with ASD can be very challenging. Since Nick cannot talk, he easily gets upset when we cannot figure out what he wants. Getting him to say even the smallest word like "Up" is a major undertaking in patience. He is still working on learning to feed himself; it is made difficult because he often will start to stim while holding the spoon/fork, I have to grab his hand and redirect him to eat. Sometimes the slightest change in schedule will upset him and he will spend hours whining or crying off and on. Getting him to interact with us is challenging...Michael basically has learned to dart around if he wants Nick to play with him...Nick loves movement.
Some people may not know what to say to us for fear that we might get upset if they bring up the word "Autism". Do not be afraid....you can ask any questions you might have, we will tell you all about our little man. It can be challenging at times, but there are times where it is very rewarding. We dont take a single glance, word, or smile for granted when it comes from Nick. Any little time he can be brought from "Nickland" is precious. His laughter is sweet music to our ears, and his smile will make you melt. When he does look at you, it is from the very fiber of his being and he can see into your soul.