a little background

hi, my name is mandy and I have two amazing little boys. My oldest son, Ty, has been diagnosed with autism (which is what you will read most about in this blog); I also have Tripp, who is an amazing little brother to Ty (who you will also hear alot about). I was encouraged to start this blog to document our journey through life and life with autism... my world has been rocked in last few years and i have responded in good ways and bad ... but Jesus has gotten me through all of it...





i hope i can be an encouragement to you, and for the friends and family that will read this - maybe this will keep you posted indepth on what Ty is learning! :) and the adventures of Tripp too





thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, comments or smart remarks; feel free to post them.



Monday, July 18, 2011

July update

Well, we have a lot going on for my little Ty man.  We found a student who is looking into OT as a career and she is currently learning the ABA style of therapy from a friend of mine and doing weekly sessions with Ty.  This has been great! I have watched and done therapy with Ty many times; but it is hard for me. Mainly bc i like to give him the benefit of the doubt and he knows this, for example; if I say "Ty say pa pa purple p" and he opens his mouth without making a sound but his lips touched together ... then i would try a few more times but eventually I would be satisfied and think that he tried but the words just wouldn't form. (side note: as long as he says "pa" that is what we are going for but we say the whole word or phrase so that he learns from repetition ... and in case you are wondering "purple p" is a chew toy) ... but the proper thing to do is to wait, no matter how long it takes until he makes the sound "pa". sometimes it is instant and then there is cheering and laughing. But other times he is stubborn and makes every noise and signs every sign he knows except the one you want him to do?! another example of this is stacking blocks; Ty knows how to stack blocks and I have seen him do it. But for whatever reason one day when he was asked to stack a block during a session he refused, he screamed and fussed and then just sat there... maria would ask him to stack the block and then help him stack the block... and ty would pick up the block, hover it above the others and then lay it flat on the table right next to the others in a row... he would even just pick it up and put it down but refused to stack it on top of the others ... after a while he finally did it! it seemed like an eternity, but then there was laughing and tickeling and lots of hugs for the little Ty man... Now I know some of you are probably thinking that I am torturing my child ... but I assure you that I am not. It takes a little more strategy and patience to get Ty to communicate and once he makes a noise like "pa" then we find as many words to go with that as we can so that more noises will form. And it takes a lot of work... and more work than I am able to do (not bc i give up, but bc i am more willing to give in to him but my 2 awesome therapists are rock solid) ... Maria and Kamrie push Ty bc they know he can do it and bc they know how to not let him get away with "almost" ... ( i am sooo greatful for these two!)
And to show you the benefits of this therapy - Ty has been more vocal in the last two months than he has been in a long time and not just making random noises but in purposeful talking! He has said "papaw" more "momma" "pa pa pabby" and just "pa" when he wants his pabby or purple p. He is responding to questions or statements like " time to get a bath" - he will then run to the bathroom giggling and jumping with excitement! "time to go" - runs to the door determined to out smart that spinning child safe door lock that is even hard for sam and I to open! If i ask him if he's thirsty - he will run to the fridge, and when i ask if he is hungry - he will go to his high chair... and there are many more!

He has also been eating alot better - depending on the type of food, he either has trouble getting started (pulling the food out after each bite or he has trouble halfway through the meal pulling his food out) ... but all in all there has been less food on the floor and more in his tummy!

I am very excited to see where he goes from here, with all the extra therapy time I know his language will begin to form and stick with him!

We are also looking into getting him into the Childrens Center at USM, so if you are a praying person then pray that this works out and that he will benefit from all they have to offer. Lord willing!

and a side note on my little tripp, Sam said he read the word "helicopter" when they were watching TV - according to him the word popped up on the TV, Tripp looked at sam and said Helicopter! ... and then a helicopter came up after that?! crazy yes i know .... but true :)

thanks for reading and for your prayers!
love you all!

1 comment:

  1. SO glad you started this blog! you know Ty man has a very special place in my heart as well as you all 4 do! Love yall so much and giving God all the glory for the things Ty has and WILL accomplish!

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