He's gaining momentum!

I have been hesitating to blog about Brycen's recent progress...because I worry that once I get too excited and make it known in words to so many people, that it will stop. I know I should just be happy that he is making progress, and I am...but it is still so hard grasping just how far behind he is. He should be able to talk in sentences, identify colors, count to 10, take turns, share (at least a little bit), and not need so much attention and supervision being that he will be 3 1/2 in a couple weeks. But he is still functioning at about a 16-18 month old level.
Now onto the good things! Over the last week in school, despite many days being cancelled for snow, he has shown better listening skills at school with directions, he began matching the letters of his name, and he began identifying various pictures through pointing that we didn't know he recognized. Each week, the teacher is developing a list of words/pictures they will work on that week. This week's list has a few he already knows and can say such as ball and car, but has a few difficult ones like chair and house that he has yet to recognize or imitate.
His imitating of sounds and words has come so far in the past couple months and he gets so excited when he knows he is doing something right! And he even has a cheerleader by his side when we work on puzzles or flashcards as Aubree loves to cheer and clap for him every step of the way. They have almost reversed roles in that Aubree is acting like the older sibling now and helping Brycen along!
With matching letters of his name, they have a paper strip in front of him with his name spelled out..then they put the different letters of his name scattered on the table in front of him and he must grab the letter B and put it on the B on the strip in front of him. They said when he worked on this, he did it several times in a row correctly! This boy has definitely been holding out on us!
I feel like we are on the edge of a breakthrough and I don't think it is because of anything I am doing specifically. I really think that all the time and resources the teachers have at school, as well as my parents visiting for 5 days and constantly working on words, puzzles, flashcards, and fun activities with him is what is making his progress so evident at this moment. I was completely ready to work on many things with him over Christmas break, but I definitely don't have the patience to sit down and do more than a few minutes of something with him...I get easily frustrated with his lack of attention span and his aggressive behavior that I just give up on trying to work with him on certain things. I think he also is very aware of how he can drive me nuts, and he does it on purpose just like any other kid that knows how to push their parent's buttons. He definitely understands more than what he can express!
Please keep Ellie, Angie and the rest of their family in your thoughts and prayers as they are going through a very difficult time. Not only is Ellie cycling with her physical health with her reaction to gluten, but Angie and Ellie just also endured some of the same testing we went through with Brycen back in August. I can distinctly remember my feelings and emotions that day...I remember calling my Mom in the middle of the morning in IA City and telling her I still had hope that they were going to tell us Brycen was just fine, would catch up to his peers in no time, and that it definitely was not Autism. It has taken us several months after that appt to grasp the extent to which Brycen is behind and what lies ahead of him and us as a family. I hope that Angie and Ellie are able to get through this difficult time and come out on the other end stronger than ever!