We better catch up on what has been going on in Brycen's life since the beginning of August!
First of all, Brycen started 1st grade. He has been in school almost 2 months already and is adjusting very well to the schedule. He has made strides in attending to his homework at home, as well as trying harder for his spelling tests each week.
For the first 4-5 weeks we were having A LOT of concern about his hyperactivity and inattentiveness. He was being very aggressive, fidgety, could not sit still or pay attention, and doing A LOT of sensory seeking. We were originally thinking about changing his medication by seeing his psychiatrist earlier than we had scheduled, but first we decided to throw in more sensory breaks. The teacher/associates at school integrated some more sensory tools into his day, as well as we invested in some additional sensory tools at home. HUGE difference in the last couple weeks at home...and we meet with his teacher for conferences tonight so we are hoping to hear the same from her about school.
One of the main sensory tools we had been wanting for a long time for him but were unsure of because of cost and space was a therapeutic swing. He has always loved the swings at therapy and at school. Thanks to Brycen's Papa and Grandma Timmer, we were able to make that become a reality for him at home sooner than we thought!
The other sensory tool we were able to purchase recently was a weighted blanket for him. We chose a company that custom-makes them when ordered so we chose a Thomas the Train material to match his bedroom (and his likes) in a medium size-6lbs. This just arrived this week and he has only slept with it two nights already, but guess what?? He slept all night both times for almost 11 hours each night!
In August, Papa and Grandma O'Connell stayed with the kids while we took an adult only vacation :) While they were here, they went fishing and Brycen caught his first fish!
In September, Brycen went to his first high school football game for our town and he LOVED it! We were there about 3 hours through the JV game and then thru the halftime show of Varsity game when we asked if he was ready to go home (it was COLD!) but he firmly said "no" so we stayed a bit longer.
Also in September, we had our family pictures taken by Christi Marie Photography! Wow is all I can say when we compare the difference from last year's picture session to this year! Huge difference in Brycen's attitude and ability to handle the camera & even being posed for some :) Of course it helps that we start the day at an old train depot...happy boy!
We were even able to take some fun family pictures!
Lastly, I need to take the time to brag up Brycen's progress a little more here! Brycen not only saw the dentist for his check up this week, but he also needed to see the doctor for an ear infection. Guess what?! He did amazing! Minimal struggle with the dentist so I did need to hold his head still for her to look closely at his teeth, and he put up a little fight with the white toothpaste the dental asst was going to use (he recovered once she found some blue!), but overall huge improvement.
At both the dentist and the doctor's offices, he looked up when his name was called which shows his attention is progressing!
When seeing the doctor for what ended up being an ear infection, he let them look in his ears and do a basic check up with no fighting. Since he was not running a fever, I asked for him to get his flu shot while I had him in the office. Minimal struggle there too! I held his arm down while he sat on my lap, and though he pulled away when she did the shot, he immediately recoved and has shown pride in his band-aid :)
Sorry for the long post! I even deleted a few things because there is so much to catch up on. I really need to get better about this and post more often, huh?
Thanks for all the continued support for our little boy and his daily struggle with Autism!
