I am so excited to share with everybody what the teacher shared with me today when I picked Brycen up from school! They have successfully taught him how to sort different color figurines into the matching color bowls! They demonstrated to me before we left...she gave Brycen 4 different bowls (red, yellow, green, and blue) and a handful of various colored animal figurines. They play the game of "bounce, bounce, bounce goes the duck" and Brycen bounces the duck right over to the matching bowl! He did this about 7-8 times with different colors and it was amazing at how fast he did it...like it was second nature. And he was sooooo proud of himself and loved when the teacher picked him up and gave him a huge hug!
Earlier this summer, his speech pathologist had tried this with him and Brycen was not successful at that time. Now that he is getting the consistent teaching and the teachers are figuring out the way he learns best, he was able to accomplish this major task! I can't wait to practice this with him at home with various blocks and to move onto teaching him the difference between square, circle, etc and the names of the colors.
Kelsi, BV student that works with him twice a week, has been working hard with him on counting 1-2-3. Brycen is doing a great job of imitating this and holding up his fingers for each number like she does. She also took him successfully to the library to look and check out books a couple weeks ago. When she did this last Spring, he wanted to run in the aisles after some time of being there. But this time, his attention span was so much better and he sat down on the floor and looked at books and did not try to run at all!
It's really these little steps that make a difference! Despite having to deal with a difficult situation with him on Saturday during downtown trick-or-treating...it's these positive moments that definitely out-weigh the difficult and stressful times.
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
Monday, November 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Autism and Our Family
"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
It makes me smile and cry at the same time for all the things Brycen is learning from so many people that care about him. Grandma is soooo proud of you Brycen! Grandma kisses and hugs to you!
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful! I'm glad school is working out so well for Brycen and that he is making progress! Very exciting to hear!! :)
ReplyDeleteAngie Snyder
www.fightautism.webs.com
So happy to hear about his positive progressive behavior and learning.
ReplyDeleteYippee! It's amazing, sometimes, what teachers can do with lots of practice, games, and songs. I know my kindergartners prefer practicing their letters and sounds through games and songs. They seem to remember them better that way.
ReplyDelete