My little guy is very speeched delayed. He can say lots of words in form of identifying and in form of mands (asking for something), he can say some sentences or fractions there of, but these sentences are very new to the equation and are for the most part echolalia. I have sometimes wondered if he doesn't have apraxia, as sometimes he opens his mouth to say something and his tongue will not cooperate and just shoot back and forth in his mouth.
We had a wonderful OT until recently, her services had to end because Connor turned 3 and was no longer eligible for her program. She is very tactile defensive, so it was very funny to see her with my very tactile/sensory seeking son. But she came up with the best ideas. I suppose maybe she did this going off of what she herself couldn't stand. So when she said during one of her visits,
"I would love to see what he does with a vibrator in his mouth."
I have to admit that my first reaction was one of shock. So she explain to me that she was talking about a zip vibe, which is sort of like a battery operated toothbrush but has rubber tips he can bite on instead of the brushes. This was intended to make him more aware of his jaw muscles and such. Well this worked but a little too well or maybe my timing for it was all wrong. Long story short he had to bite something and when biting his own leg didn't produce satisfactory results he bit into a bar of soap. Chaos then erupted for a big part of the night.
We have since decided to stick with more low key tactics. Even though he does have a touch screen and programs he loves along with PCS cards and such, he loves music. He especially loves children's songs where you either have to do dances or hand gestures while singing. (Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, etc.) He can only allow one person at a time to sing with him, any intruder will find a little hand over their mouth. If there are more than one intruder on the sing-a-long he will flee. As has been the case at every birthday party so far. Hubby hasn't been allowed to join in on the singing very often, because he either doesn't know the right words or he messes up the hand gestures.
Last night as Hubby was lying down, Connor came in to play. He takes Hubby's head in his hand to make sure he has his attention.
"Asses?"
"What buddy?"
"Asses?"
"Uh..asses?"
Connor starts to jump on the bed and taking big bounces he sings as loud as he can.
"Asses, asses, we all fall DOWN!"
2 comments:
Hi DGibbs - thank you for visiting my blog today. I have a daughter who is autistic, I have written about her often, the previous blog to the one you kindly commented on is about her also.
Connor sounds like a wonderful little boy. At his young age I am sure he will develop many skills which will make you proud.
Amy received excellent home help until she was 5 when she was (for some reason) discharged from her consultant's books. She is currently receiving a statement at school of 20 hours invaluable support. She is doing really well. I think you should get a second opinion regarding the comment made to your husband about Connor growing out of autism and developing ADHD (hope I didn't read that wrong). As far as I am aware, autistic children do not grow out of being autistic. They learn to cope with it. With help and support from their peers, advocates and educational assistants.
I look forward to reading more of your blogs.
Crystal Jigsaw xx
I think the "toddler Houdini" knew exactly what he was saying, "asses."
Sweet sweet boy.
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