"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

Thursday, November 11, 2010

One step, two step, three step and so on

Brycen has always been behind in his gross motor skills. He did not crawl until 12 1/2 months and did not walk until 17 1/2 months. When I addressed this with the doctor at his 1 yr well child visit, they did not have concern because at that time, he was meeting all of his other milestones. He was saying quite a few single words, stacking blocks, making eye contact, pulling himself up, eating finger foods, etc. The doctor specifically said that sometimes kids just don't crawl and if he reaches 18 months without walking, we would look at starting him in Physical Therapy. About 2 1/2 weeks before he was 18 months, he started walking and it was a joyous moment! I was 3-4 months pregnant with Aubree and I was fretting about having to carry a newborn and a toddler around when she was born if he didn't start by then.

Here we are, a few years later and he is still behind in gross motor skills. He does not run as fast as other 4 yr olds, and cannot turn a corner while running which I guess is something he is supposed to be able to do. He cannot pedal a big-wheel, has trouble with walking up and down stairs without holding onto something, as well as he is very slow at learning various obstacles at the playgrounds. The picture to the right was taken when he was about 3 and shows he needed and still needs a lot of guidance while trying to climb up certain areas of playgrounds.

But after explaining all of these areas we are still working on with him...I am so happy to share his accomplishment from yesterday! I watched as he tackled the 10 or so cement steps that led to the entrance to the therapy clinic. While going up stairs, he will either hold onto the railing or walk up them "Spiderman style" with balancing himself on his hands in front. If he is upright and holding on, he still brings his feet together on each step before putting one foot on the next one. I was absolutely amazed to see him be able to walk up those steps without holding on and without needing to use his hands for balance. It was slow...but it was FANTASTIC!! He was so proud of himself and stood at the top with a huge smile on his face. He knew what he did...and I know he has been working so hard on this!

Another moment that I will not take for granted!!
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  1. UnknownNovember 15, 2010 at 7:23 AM

    It is funny how children on the spectrum are very similar and also very different. Sierra was the opposite, she never babbled except for a few ma mas all she did was hum. She had bad eye contact as early as 5 months, she wouldn't look at certain people at all. She wouldn't feed herself anything, but she was running non stop at 12 months!

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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.