Today, Ethan & I went to Walmart after school in order to pick up a few items for my grandpa who has recently moved to a nursing home in our town. Ethan had a weepy day at school today, so I thought I was in for a tough errand. So, I used bribery! I told him if he was good & didn't whine/cry, he could get a new toy. That kid was a good as gold! So, he picked out a new toy.
Why am I blogging about a new toy? The toy he picked is a car launcher, so in order for the toy to work, Ethan has to use TWO HANDS. He has been playing it without any trouble for about 1/2 an hour now. I took some video of him. He concentrates so much while lining up the cars to the launcher & uses his muscles to push the car onto the track. These are things that Ethan needs to work on, and he is doing it with this toy! AND LOVING IT!!! Check it out!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Inspired for DIY Summer OT!!!!
It has been CRAZY around here for the last 2 weeks. Ethan & I came down with strep throat last week, we had a death in the family, I have been helping my mom prepare to move my only living grandparent to a nursing home in our town, as well as doing our version of "Clean House" at her own house, and the end of school is nearing......we we are so close I can taste it!!!! It has been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY around here!
When I become overwhelmed with my to-do list, I often zone out to my favorite websites, and occasionally I will find a new favorite....AND I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE TODAY!!!!!
After a brief conversation with Ethan's current Occupational Therapist today (see suggested activities for Ethan below), I became re-inspired to search for new OT activities to do this summer. Ethan & I have become a bit bored with our current games, so I began searching PINTEREST.com (one of my favorite websites for zoning out). I came across this article 40 WAYS TO DO SENSORY PLAY. It is a short & concise list, and ALL kiddos will love it! It would be great to do these things when the long summer days begin to lead to bored children!
They have so many other articles and ideas that would AWESOME for summer play! So...check out my new favorite website, Make, Do & Friend.com!
Suggested OT Activities to do At Home With Ethan This Summer! (Just so I don't forget!!!)
1. Weighted pencil (do it yourself...click here for example.)
2. Thicker writing utensils
3. Continue to encourage coloring. Use Wikki Stix & have him fill in the created shape.
4. Continue to correct his pencil grasp. Correct his fingers to use pointer & middle finger with his thumb. Here is a great article & visual aid for what we are working towards.
5. The other fingers need to fold under. Have him hold a penny or small object in these fingers to help.
6. When working on cutting, place Ethan on his tummy. It stabilizes the muscles needed for this task.
7. Place sandpaper under coloring pages in order to give Ethan the sensory feedback he needs.
8. He is starting to be able to button large buttons on his own! WOO-HOO!!!!!
Thank you, Mrs. T! We are so grateful to have had you as our OT this year! We will miss you!!!!!
When I become overwhelmed with my to-do list, I often zone out to my favorite websites, and occasionally I will find a new favorite....AND I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE TODAY!!!!!
After a brief conversation with Ethan's current Occupational Therapist today (see suggested activities for Ethan below), I became re-inspired to search for new OT activities to do this summer. Ethan & I have become a bit bored with our current games, so I began searching PINTEREST.com (one of my favorite websites for zoning out). I came across this article 40 WAYS TO DO SENSORY PLAY. It is a short & concise list, and ALL kiddos will love it! It would be great to do these things when the long summer days begin to lead to bored children!
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| 40 Ways to Do Sensory Play |
They have so many other articles and ideas that would AWESOME for summer play! So...check out my new favorite website, Make, Do & Friend.com!
Suggested OT Activities to do At Home With Ethan This Summer! (Just so I don't forget!!!)
1. Weighted pencil (do it yourself...click here for example.)
2. Thicker writing utensils
3. Continue to encourage coloring. Use Wikki Stix & have him fill in the created shape.
4. Continue to correct his pencil grasp. Correct his fingers to use pointer & middle finger with his thumb. Here is a great article & visual aid for what we are working towards.
5. The other fingers need to fold under. Have him hold a penny or small object in these fingers to help.
6. When working on cutting, place Ethan on his tummy. It stabilizes the muscles needed for this task.
7. Place sandpaper under coloring pages in order to give Ethan the sensory feedback he needs.
8. He is starting to be able to button large buttons on his own! WOO-HOO!!!!!
Thank you, Mrs. T! We are so grateful to have had you as our OT this year! We will miss you!!!!!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Did You Light It Up Blue?
Maybe it didn't seem like much. A simple blue bulb lighting your porch. Why go to the trouble of changing out your bulbs for blue ones? What difference did it make? Well.......I can tell you friends.....that is not only means the world to my family......but to so many others as well. And guess what......you were not alone in participating! To see what the world did this past April 2nd, 2012, watch this video. It is so awesome to see the world coming together to shine a light on autism. And next year, we are going bigger! We are going to be buying out the blue Christmas lights this December!!!!!
Monday, May 21, 2012
What Exactly Is Autism?
I get asked this question a lot....and I'm so happy when people ask me. It is an opportunity to share with others our experience as well as help spread awareness & understanding. Recently, I was asked this question by a friend from high school via Facebook. He said he was looking on the Internet & finding a lot of information with technical terms....not to mention a vast variety of information.
Well, here is what I have been taught.....in a nutshell. Every person with autism is different. It shows up differently in each person. This is because it is a brain disorder. The brain of an autistic person is LITERALLY wired differently than the "typical" brain. So they receive & process information in a different way. What causes it? They still don't know, but they now think that it happens during development in the womb & is related to genetics.
So, how do you know? Basically, autism shows up in THREE areas. If your child is exhibiting traits in only one or two areas, they DO NOT have autism....it MUST be ALL THREE AREAS. AND IT MUST BE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE IN EACH AREA. Basically, it must happen/occur a lot of the time. Here is a list of the 3 areas & how they show up in our Ethan.
1. Speech - A person with autism will have snags in their speech development. Some may never speak, some may say only a few words, and some may have non-functional speech. Ethan falls into the last of these. Non-functional speech means that he is ABLE to speak & talk, but has difficulty communicating with his words. This is why speech therapy is SOOOOO important! Our Ethan doesn't understand the back & forth of a conversation. Over the last year, he has progressed a TON! Because of his hard work in speech therapy, he is now able to express his wants/needs with his words, able to answer questions with a definite answer (what color is the grass? Are you hungry?), and in the last few weeks.....actual non-scripted/spontaneous conversations have been emerging!!! Non-scripted means we haven't given him his words to say....he is coming up with the words on his own. (Examples of scripted would be like, "Thank you. You're welcome.") YEAH! More about that later this week....
2. Social Behavior - The second trait of autism is delays in social behavior. Lack of eye contact, wanting to play on their own, and being unable to function typically in social settings are examples of delayed social interaction. Ethan struggles very much in this area. Again, because of hard work, Ethan is okay with other kids playing NEXT to him.....although he would still prefer to play alone. For so long, he would wig out if any other child came NEAR him. But NOW he is able to sit next to kids during eating times & play next to kids during playtime. We are still working on sharing our toys & playing WITH kids...but progress is being made & we are so excited!
3. "Odd" behaviors - The last area is to look for strange behaviors. Rocking, spinning, flapping, not sleeping, picky eater, repetitive behaviors and lining up toys seem to be the most common behaviors in this field. Ethan exhibits constant chewing, not sleeping, picky eater, repetitive behaviors, lining up toys. However, there are some more subtle ones as well. For Ethan, we learned of 2 subtle behaviors during his diagnosis clinic. They showed up that Ethan only uses one hand when completing tasks. I had never noticed that before, but he did! For example, eating a bowl of cereal......he will use his spoon with one hand & the bowl moves all over the table....because he doesn't use his other hand to stabilize the bowl. Same thing for pulling up & down his pants.....he only uses one hand. Occupational therapy has been helping in this area as well! But think of the basic skills that you use two hands for....putting on socks & shoes, going to the bathroom, opening things, zipping, buttoning, snapping, etc. These are all difficult for Ethan because he only uses one hand. But it is getting better with practice. Another behavior that we never noticed was that Ethan plays with his toys at eye level. If his cars are on the floor, he is laying on the floor so his cars are at his eye level. If something isn't at his eye level, he will pull it to his eye....TV, computer, flash cards, toys, etc. His vision is fine, it's just something he does, but we never noticed it before. But apparently these traits are common as well.
So, that is autism in a nutshell. Usually anxiety is the underlying cause/reason for these behaviors. The world is very scary to Ethan.....people, animals, sounds, automobiles, stores, the environment....it's all changing & non-constant. Not knowing what to expect is almost paralyzing. So, we help him to take in the world a little at a time and teach him skills that will help him navigate through the scary/overwhelming environments. Our Ethan also has Sensory Processing Disorder which makes things that much more complicated. But we are soooo blessed to have a variety of talented & knowledgeable people helping us & Ethan learn & understand how to work through these challenges. He is doing so well, and I truly believe that his future is going to be so much better because of the work he is doing now! GO ETHAN!
If you still have questions about Autism Spectrum Disorder, please check out the links on this blog. They are very helpful!
Well, here is what I have been taught.....in a nutshell. Every person with autism is different. It shows up differently in each person. This is because it is a brain disorder. The brain of an autistic person is LITERALLY wired differently than the "typical" brain. So they receive & process information in a different way. What causes it? They still don't know, but they now think that it happens during development in the womb & is related to genetics.
So, how do you know? Basically, autism shows up in THREE areas. If your child is exhibiting traits in only one or two areas, they DO NOT have autism....it MUST be ALL THREE AREAS. AND IT MUST BE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE IN EACH AREA. Basically, it must happen/occur a lot of the time. Here is a list of the 3 areas & how they show up in our Ethan.
1. Speech - A person with autism will have snags in their speech development. Some may never speak, some may say only a few words, and some may have non-functional speech. Ethan falls into the last of these. Non-functional speech means that he is ABLE to speak & talk, but has difficulty communicating with his words. This is why speech therapy is SOOOOO important! Our Ethan doesn't understand the back & forth of a conversation. Over the last year, he has progressed a TON! Because of his hard work in speech therapy, he is now able to express his wants/needs with his words, able to answer questions with a definite answer (what color is the grass? Are you hungry?), and in the last few weeks.....actual non-scripted/spontaneous conversations have been emerging!!! Non-scripted means we haven't given him his words to say....he is coming up with the words on his own. (Examples of scripted would be like, "Thank you. You're welcome.") YEAH! More about that later this week....
2. Social Behavior - The second trait of autism is delays in social behavior. Lack of eye contact, wanting to play on their own, and being unable to function typically in social settings are examples of delayed social interaction. Ethan struggles very much in this area. Again, because of hard work, Ethan is okay with other kids playing NEXT to him.....although he would still prefer to play alone. For so long, he would wig out if any other child came NEAR him. But NOW he is able to sit next to kids during eating times & play next to kids during playtime. We are still working on sharing our toys & playing WITH kids...but progress is being made & we are so excited!
3. "Odd" behaviors - The last area is to look for strange behaviors. Rocking, spinning, flapping, not sleeping, picky eater, repetitive behaviors and lining up toys seem to be the most common behaviors in this field. Ethan exhibits constant chewing, not sleeping, picky eater, repetitive behaviors, lining up toys. However, there are some more subtle ones as well. For Ethan, we learned of 2 subtle behaviors during his diagnosis clinic. They showed up that Ethan only uses one hand when completing tasks. I had never noticed that before, but he did! For example, eating a bowl of cereal......he will use his spoon with one hand & the bowl moves all over the table....because he doesn't use his other hand to stabilize the bowl. Same thing for pulling up & down his pants.....he only uses one hand. Occupational therapy has been helping in this area as well! But think of the basic skills that you use two hands for....putting on socks & shoes, going to the bathroom, opening things, zipping, buttoning, snapping, etc. These are all difficult for Ethan because he only uses one hand. But it is getting better with practice. Another behavior that we never noticed was that Ethan plays with his toys at eye level. If his cars are on the floor, he is laying on the floor so his cars are at his eye level. If something isn't at his eye level, he will pull it to his eye....TV, computer, flash cards, toys, etc. His vision is fine, it's just something he does, but we never noticed it before. But apparently these traits are common as well.
 |
| This is a great visual aid for autism behaviors! |
So, that is autism in a nutshell. Usually anxiety is the underlying cause/reason for these behaviors. The world is very scary to Ethan.....people, animals, sounds, automobiles, stores, the environment....it's all changing & non-constant. Not knowing what to expect is almost paralyzing. So, we help him to take in the world a little at a time and teach him skills that will help him navigate through the scary/overwhelming environments. Our Ethan also has Sensory Processing Disorder which makes things that much more complicated. But we are soooo blessed to have a variety of talented & knowledgeable people helping us & Ethan learn & understand how to work through these challenges. He is doing so well, and I truly believe that his future is going to be so much better because of the work he is doing now! GO ETHAN!
If you still have questions about Autism Spectrum Disorder, please check out the links on this blog. They are very helpful!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Walk With Me Ambassador!
Guess what!? Ethan was asked to be an Easter Seals Ambassador for their Walk With Me event! These events happen all over, but the closest to us is happening on July 21st. We are putting together a team of people to walk together in support of Easter Seals & the amazing work they do for those with special needs. (If you would like to join our team, register with our Courage & Coffee group here....we would LOVE to have you!!!) We are sooooo honored that Ethan has been asked to be an ambassador! I still have some paper work to fill out & a short photography session with my amazingly talented sister-in-law (thanks Aunt Rachael!), but Ethan's picture & story will soon be featured on the Easter Seal's website with some other pretty amazing kids.
As I was reading through the bios of these kids, one story truly touched my heart.....and I just have to share it.
As I was reading through the bios of these kids, one story truly touched my heart.....and I just have to share it.
MEET DAVEY
"Davey’s family shared the following story about him. Davey has always been a “hugger” and loves people, to the point where we have had to have several talks about stranger danger. One day we were having breakfast in a café and a big burly man with a long beard and biker clothes came in and happened to smile at Davey. That’s all it took...for the next half hour Davey would smile and the guy would wave. As the man got up to leave he patted Davey on the head and said “Bye little Buddy.” Davey replied, “I wanna give you a hug!” The man squatted down in front of my little boy and embraced him. Davey said, “I love you.” Tears rolled down the face of this man as he simply relied, “Thank you Jesus for your love today.”
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| To Find A Walk Near You, Click HERE! |
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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Ethan's First Field Trip!
Last Friday, Ethan's entire morning preschool went on a field trip! I was so excited because parents were able to go too! So, I took they "day off" from watching my sister's kiddos, and headed to the park where the school buses filled with excited 3 year olds were going to meet us.
After I paid my entrance fee, I found Ethan & his class, signed him "out" to my care, got our animal feed (inside an ice cream cone that the animals could eat as well), and we were off! This particular park is a place full of barn yard type animals. We saw ducks, rabbits, chickens, horses, cows, goats, pigs, sheep, and a turtle.....which upon closer inspection was actually a floating clump of dirt in the water, but we will say it was a turtle.
To say that Ethan loved it would be an understatement.....he was ECSTATIC! He kept saying, "Let's go see ANOTHER animal!" It was so cute! Here's a short video.....
I was so impressed with my child during this field trip. He was getting right in there....in the midst of all of the kids.....and looking at the animals, playing on the playground, going down an ENCLOSED slide, and just being a kid! All of these things.....ALL OF THESE THINGS.....he wouldn't do at the beginning of the year. He was too terrified. He would be so overcome with anxiety to do any of these things that he would either cling to me or have a meltdown. So, I would have to do these things with him. BUT NOT TODAY!!!! YEAH!!!! I just watched in amazement as he did every single thing on the playground all by himself!....and was having FUN!!!! We did every single thing there and NO MELTDOWNS!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!
Before we left, Ethan wanted to feed the rest of his animal feed & ice cream cone to the "Big Horse." When we made our way over to the horse pen, someone was already feeding the big horse. So Ethan just threw his cone inside the pen, and was ready to go. It happened so fast that I didn't even realize what he had done until one of the park's volunteers retrieved the cone & handed it back to him. She took Ethan's hand & helped him feed the small horse the entire cone. She was telling him how to hold it while keeping her hand over his on the cone. She was very encouraging & calmed Ethan's nerves of feeding the horse as well as being so close to someone he didn't know. Ethan was laughing & smiling by the time the small horse ate every morsel of that cone. I am so glad that I had my sunglasses on because my eyes were red with tears. The kindness of this stranger is rare for us. Usually we encounter looks of confusion or stares of annoyance or smiles of pity....but not from this sweet young lady. She kindly took Ethan up to the horse without asking him & happily held his hand in place while they feed this horse.....and Ethan loved it. Here are some pictures of this wonderful moment.....
It was a great field trip, and I'm so glad I was able to go with Ethan's school. Ethan has asked us every day since last Friday if we could go to the Farm Park. He even had an entire spontaneous conversation with my mom about it! (Spontaneous means Ethan came up with his own words.) I am thinking we may be making many trips to this park & probably the local zoo as well. I love to see Ethan so happy & so independent. I never thought I would see him do the things he is doing.....and that calls for some celebration! Let's get another cup of coffee while we look at some more pictures!!!!
After I paid my entrance fee, I found Ethan & his class, signed him "out" to my care, got our animal feed (inside an ice cream cone that the animals could eat as well), and we were off! This particular park is a place full of barn yard type animals. We saw ducks, rabbits, chickens, horses, cows, goats, pigs, sheep, and a turtle.....which upon closer inspection was actually a floating clump of dirt in the water, but we will say it was a turtle.
To say that Ethan loved it would be an understatement.....he was ECSTATIC! He kept saying, "Let's go see ANOTHER animal!" It was so cute! Here's a short video.....
I was so impressed with my child during this field trip. He was getting right in there....in the midst of all of the kids.....and looking at the animals, playing on the playground, going down an ENCLOSED slide, and just being a kid! All of these things.....ALL OF THESE THINGS.....he wouldn't do at the beginning of the year. He was too terrified. He would be so overcome with anxiety to do any of these things that he would either cling to me or have a meltdown. So, I would have to do these things with him. BUT NOT TODAY!!!! YEAH!!!! I just watched in amazement as he did every single thing on the playground all by himself!....and was having FUN!!!! We did every single thing there and NO MELTDOWNS!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!
Before we left, Ethan wanted to feed the rest of his animal feed & ice cream cone to the "Big Horse." When we made our way over to the horse pen, someone was already feeding the big horse. So Ethan just threw his cone inside the pen, and was ready to go. It happened so fast that I didn't even realize what he had done until one of the park's volunteers retrieved the cone & handed it back to him. She took Ethan's hand & helped him feed the small horse the entire cone. She was telling him how to hold it while keeping her hand over his on the cone. She was very encouraging & calmed Ethan's nerves of feeding the horse as well as being so close to someone he didn't know. Ethan was laughing & smiling by the time the small horse ate every morsel of that cone. I am so glad that I had my sunglasses on because my eyes were red with tears. The kindness of this stranger is rare for us. Usually we encounter looks of confusion or stares of annoyance or smiles of pity....but not from this sweet young lady. She kindly took Ethan up to the horse without asking him & happily held his hand in place while they feed this horse.....and Ethan loved it. Here are some pictures of this wonderful moment.....
It was a great field trip, and I'm so glad I was able to go with Ethan's school. Ethan has asked us every day since last Friday if we could go to the Farm Park. He even had an entire spontaneous conversation with my mom about it! (Spontaneous means Ethan came up with his own words.) I am thinking we may be making many trips to this park & probably the local zoo as well. I love to see Ethan so happy & so independent. I never thought I would see him do the things he is doing.....and that calls for some celebration! Let's get another cup of coffee while we look at some more pictures!!!!
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| Holding his animal feed & excited to see the animals! |
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| He's not chasing the ducks...he is waving & saying hi. |
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| Watching the rabbits |
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| Checking out the chicken coop! |
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| He wanted to climb in with the baby cows.....future Dr. Temple Grandin??? |
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| This calf wouldn't go near the group of kids but came straight over to Ethan. He was so excited to pet her! |
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| His favorite of the day! Baby pig! |
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| Playing in the barn with the stuffed animals |
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| He WANTED to wait in line AND go down the curly slide INSIDE a silo! AWESOME! |
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| Playing in the old school house |
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| Resting for a bit... |
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| "Say Hamburger!" |
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| I was so excited to see him get right in there with the other kids & PLAY! |
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| Having a great time! |
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| YES folks! He is playing WITH other kids! YEAH!!! |
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| I just KNEW that he would want to play with this! |
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| The cutest little cow I've ever seen! |
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