Progress...We have AMAZING PROGRESS

So in my last blog I wrote mainly about the trials and challenges of Autism, Today I want to share what faith perseverance and determination can do....

I will start with Michael, as our challenges with him have been some of the most worrisome. Michael as previously mentioned is a head banger, and not the heavy metal kind.... When frustrated, angry, sad, overwhelmed, Michael would run and bang he head on the hardest surface he could find, and there was not stopping him, we would try to restrain him and we would end up getting bashed in the face by his scull...Can you say OUCH!! Well it was quite normal for Michael to be seen with a big bruise or goose egg on his forehead, and when rubbing ones hand along the back of his head you would feel many bumps and .. divots in his poor little skull... It was so hard, so scary, it left us feeling soo helpless, we knew something was wrong, and would do our best to divert the situation (no matter how many smashes to the face we ended up with) but there was no stopping him...Finally early December we got a call from the behaviour intervention people, Michael and John had been fast tracked to the top of the "waiting for the waiting list", list (see we are still on the waiting list to officially be assigned a team, but in the meantime some workers come out and help us figure out how to solve the most severe issues)YAY!!! Finally our prayers and Hopes were being answered, 2 wonderful ladies came to our home and showed us a technique to stop Michael from banging his head (add in getting his own room which I will explain later)and within the first couple of days we had amazing results, Michael had gone from banging his head 30+ times a day to only a couple of times that week...oh the Joy, relief, and sheer happiness we were all feeling...Well that weekend We had an accident at Costco that involved Michael falling and hitting his head on the concrete floor (a story for another time) This triggered the head banging to start all over again..We figure it was because he was in pain from the fall and didn't know how to tell us...not that we could do anything for the pain, the boy will not swallow medicine of any form...That Monday our ladies returned to evaluate progress, they were sad to hear of our set back and we all agreed that we need to work on communication (yes they are in speech therapy, but this is different) So over the course of an hour They taught Michael how to ask for what he wants...very simple one word requests...within a few hours of them leaving our home, Michael was no longer banging his head repeatedly and he was beginning to ask for things...

Christmas came and went and Aaron and I continued to use the techniques we had learned, and by their first day back at preschool, Michael had completely transformed from a child who bangs his head to show emotion, to a child who asks for what he needs, for example: Pre strategy, Michael would need help getting his boots off, so he would scream and bank his head, now instead of that he will look at you and SAY "NEED HELP". Now we do still have incidents but they are far and few between, I am soo very proud of my little Munchkin...and his vocabulary has picked up amazingly too!

Now as for John... Well John has a very Jealous and posessive personality, and for those who know me well, you will know where he gets that from LOL. The problem with this is that for the most part John was Michaels trigger for head banging, and Michael was Johns trigger for lashing out, because John would appear to have a problem with all the attention Michael was getting, or because Michael would have a toy that John wanted and the fights would begin with hitting, biting, taking what he wants..and end with screaming, crying and head banging..Aaron and I finally decided that this type of a relationship was not doing either of them any good and perhaps they need a break from eachother. So Aaron and I packed up and moved our bedroom to the basement, put John in Hopes room and Hope in our room...Ahhh peace has been restored to a degree, as of lately John had been developing a true attitude problem, but I fear it has less to do with Autism and more to do with being 3. John has demonstrated the ability to follow a chain of commands, and his vocabulary had developed increadably, to the point where on a good day you can actually have a full conversation with him in cotext to the topic...Soo Proud of John as well, but he has a defiant side, when you ask him/tell him not to do something and he just looks at you with a grin and does it anyway..as much as this seems like a negative (which in a sense it is), it is also a positive, it shows that he comprehends exactly what is being said to him, it show that he understands right from wrong, and it shows that he has the ability to make decisions (good or bad decisions? well that is another story all together).

So as you can see we have had great progress the last couple of months, and the BEST news of all is that their Therapy team said they are definitely ready to go to JK in the fall, so we dont have to hold them back from joining school the same time as all the other children their Age!

Mom's and Dad's, my message to you is this....You child with Autism will not just "snap out of it" one day and be fine, increasing your child's development can only happen if you get the ball rolling, make the calls, fight with the specialists, Doctors, teachers...and anyone else until your voice is heard, because my friends, YOU ARE YOUR CHILD'S ONLY VOICE in that big cruel world out there...It takes hard work and dedication, but this/these is/are your children, they are worth it, and like I said in my last blog GOD CHOSE YOU TO RAISE THIS PRECIOUS MIRACLE, BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB... Nobody knows your child like you do, nobody loves your child as much as you do...This is your responsibility so wear it with pride, because when your child says their first sentence, or dresses him/herself for the first time, or follows instructions...or ... or ... or (the possibilities are endless) then you will see and feel the Joy of knowing you are doing right by your child...

They are worth it!

P.S. I want to give a special shout out to one of the greatest Speech Pathologists, Tanya without your "Rock Talk and Play" group, I don't know if we would be this far ahead, you taught us some great skills to teach our children with
...Thank you!!!