My little Ty man had a solid week of ABA (applied behavioral annalysis) therapy! He is more talkative and purposefully vocal! He asks for ball "ba ba ba", more drink by signing "more" and then "drink" and he also says "ma mo ma" while tapping his mouth for a drink, he has asked for purple p "pa pa pa" and he somewhat independently eats with a spoon!!! He still needs some help with the feeding but he is getting there! Now he doesnt always make his sounds in 3's sometimes its more than that and sometimes its just once; but you get the idea.
Kamrie has learned a whole lot and is really becoming a wonderful therapist! Maria taught us so much in the week she was with us; what to do/what not to do ... things we need to expect instead of just letting him get by with the minimum - now its not easy but I have seen the benefits! So as hard as it is for me to expect Ty to ask me for things instead of me just giving him what I know he wants, and he knows that and he challenges me with his little grin and smerk or his stubborn streak (he gets that honest I know!), I just have to suck it up and do it.
If I dont expect great things out of him then who will. We are here to teach our children how to function in this world and it might take more time and be more challenging for some but isnt that why God gave them to us?!
Now my little Tripp man has been amazing. He has laughed with Ty, clapped for Ty, and even sat quietly while Ty was in therapy sessions! He really loves his brother and I hope and pray that that never changes! I pray daily that he will be his protector and always include him in everything he does! Now I know kids will be kids, but I hope that deep down they will have a bond stronger than any other siblings bc of their unique ability to understand and play together so smoothly. Tripp was playing with the laundry baskets Sunday morning, just pushing them around the kitchen. So Ty jumped in them with a huge grinn... so tripp started pushing him around the kitchen in the baskets! Those are the moments I love, there was no whining or fit throwing bc Ty got in the basket, he just decided to make it into a game! thats pretty amazing for my little 2 year old...
Now I'm not saying that everything is that easy, they do whine and fuss over things that are "mine" ... but its just so awesome that there are times that they both just play...Ty even sat in my lap while tripp rolled a car to him and then he would roll it back (typically, Ty would take the car and run with it bc he loves to be chased); so it was really amazing to see him sit and play with it on Tripp's terms! So i think Ty is beginning to understand that in order to play sometimes you have to do what the other person wants...
awesome stuff in our little world! thanks for reading!
Showing posts with label 3 year old with autism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 year old with autism. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
my first post
the reason i decided to start a blog was because of a note i wrote on facebook - the response was overwhelming and i had a request to start documenting this journey in a blog .... i probably wont post weekly or even monthly but i will try to keep those that follow up-to-date on ty and his journey with autism (and some stories of tripp too) ... also i have discovered, that it does me good to share these thoughts that are in my head
as you can probably tell already i am not a grammar person, so i will just go ahead and appologize to those of you who are reading this and wishing i would capitalize and punctuate properly :) maybe i will get better as i go...
i wasnt sure how to start this blog so i will begin with the post i shared on facebook:
as you can probably tell already i am not a grammar person, so i will just go ahead and appologize to those of you who are reading this and wishing i would capitalize and punctuate properly :) maybe i will get better as i go...
i wasnt sure how to start this blog so i will begin with the post i shared on facebook:
if you dont already know, my 3 year old son ty has been diagnosed with autism (or pddnos, which is on the autism spectrum)
before you read this, i want you to know that i am not trying to say that my life is more difficult than yours or am i saying that this is some life threatening illness, there are so many childhood diseases or handicaps that are much worse... just sharing my thoughts on our life....
the puzzle piece is a symbol for autism awareness. many people say that this represents a puzzling condition or handicap that has captured their child and that it also represents how they(autistic kids/adults) dont "fit in" .... 
but recently i have decided to disagree with this statement. i know that it is obvious that life by itself is challenging; that life with autism(or any developmental disorder) is different and hard to understand or grasp for everyone involved. but over the last year and a half i have researched, read lots of articles and even a few books(yes i read books) about autism and sensory disorders... but this week i think ive discovered that maybe i am looking at this wrong. maybe its not that Ty is missing something (like a lost puzzle piece) ... maybe he is the puzzle piece that was missing from our lives. 
as a parent you do your best to provide everything you can for your child; argue with the insurance company, health care providers, and try your best to read the therapists working with your son; so that you leave no stone unturned - you do your best to put all the pieces together and try to find whats missing. you ask yourself questions; why cant i get him to eat properly, talk, listen, obey, and just enjoy life. then you search for answers. but what if he is the answer... what if nothings missing....
but recently i have decided to disagree with this statement. i know that it is obvious that life by itself is challenging; that life with autism(or any developmental disorder) is different and hard to understand or grasp for everyone involved. but over the last year and a half i have researched, read lots of articles and even a few books(yes i read books) about autism and sensory disorders... but this week i think ive discovered that maybe i am looking at this wrong. maybe its not that Ty is missing something (like a lost puzzle piece) ... maybe he is the puzzle piece that was missing from our lives. as a parent you do your best to provide everything you can for your child; argue with the insurance company, health care providers, and try your best to read the therapists working with your son; so that you leave no stone unturned - you do your best to put all the pieces together and try to find whats missing. you ask yourself questions; why cant i get him to eat properly, talk, listen, obey, and just enjoy life. then you search for answers. but what if he is the answer... what if nothings missing....
john 9:1-3 1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
i would insert autism for blindness in this case....
Ty is autistic so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
as hard as that is for me to accept; it is true.
i have learned extreme patients (tho not always displayed)
i am willing to give up more than i ever thought i could
and i have to rely on God to get me through the day
now i know that this is no life threatening condition and i almost feel silly for even feeling this way.but life is never what you planned... and when you pray for God to do something good with your life. it will come in ways that you dont expect.
now i dont always feel like God is on my side, and i have questioned many times "why" ... why does ty have to be challenged by this, why does he have to be frustrated by the inability to communicate, when there are so many kids out there that dont. and at first i was mad, and at times i still get mad. and i worry about what i will do when they get older and start to really get involved in different groups and have their own opinions - what will i do when someone makes fun of him, or looks at him or me with a strange look bc he threw a fit that i cant always stop.. and most will just assume i have an out of control child that is not diciplined, or that needs to be kept at home.... i imagine that i will loose my temper and end up on the headlines of the local newspaper.... but i pray that that time never comes... i pray that parents educate their children to love and be loved... to be understanding and compassionate to everyone they meet ....
because of these thougths and because i like to keep things simple ... we stay home alot ... and only go on very quick trips in and out of the store for diapers or milk....and ty is very happy and content at home...our home is our safe haven, everything is locked and put away so that ty can just have the run of the house. tripp will challenge his authority on that at times :) but when we are home, there arent as many worries, we play, laugh, jump, and swing like most families.... and tripp has been a huge help with ty; bc they are so close in age - ty is able to learn from tripp, he can see how tripp communicates and gets what he asks for and it challenges ty to do the same. and they love each other, ty is a very social child bc of tripp - he still likes to be by himself at times and doesnt always play well with others, but he attempts to play in his own way - ty likes to be chased so he typically will take tripp's toy and run with it, looking over his shoulder to see if tripp is coming... and even though tripp does not understand this we encourage him to chase ty and give him hugs when he catches him.... now im not encouraging ty to steel but who ever said that you had to play with a "truck by rolling it on the ground" maybe in his mind it is like a team flag that he has captured and is waiting to be caught ??? who knows what he is really thinking ... but i seem to think these kind of things encourage him to interact with us and others so thats what we do.ty has overcome alot in the last year and is slowly but surely learning new things and hopefully on his way to communicating with us!i know that God has given me two very unique and amazing little boys and they are both beautiful in my eyes - Ty has taught me more in the last year than i could have learned in a lifetime and i know that there is still more to learn .... and tripp is going to be an amazing brother and friend bc of his ability to know, love and communicate with ty in a way that sam and i cant. i debated for a while before posting this on facebook, but i finally did ... and i hope it gives you a little insight on life and kids like ty...
now i know that this is no life threatening condition and i almost feel silly for even feeling this way.but life is never what you planned... and when you pray for God to do something good with your life. it will come in ways that you dont expect.
now i dont always feel like God is on my side, and i have questioned many times "why" ... why does ty have to be challenged by this, why does he have to be frustrated by the inability to communicate, when there are so many kids out there that dont. and at first i was mad, and at times i still get mad. and i worry about what i will do when they get older and start to really get involved in different groups and have their own opinions - what will i do when someone makes fun of him, or looks at him or me with a strange look bc he threw a fit that i cant always stop.. and most will just assume i have an out of control child that is not diciplined, or that needs to be kept at home.... i imagine that i will loose my temper and end up on the headlines of the local newspaper.... but i pray that that time never comes... i pray that parents educate their children to love and be loved... to be understanding and compassionate to everyone they meet ....
because of these thougths and because i like to keep things simple ... we stay home alot ... and only go on very quick trips in and out of the store for diapers or milk....and ty is very happy and content at home...our home is our safe haven, everything is locked and put away so that ty can just have the run of the house. tripp will challenge his authority on that at times :) but when we are home, there arent as many worries, we play, laugh, jump, and swing like most families.... and tripp has been a huge help with ty; bc they are so close in age - ty is able to learn from tripp, he can see how tripp communicates and gets what he asks for and it challenges ty to do the same. and they love each other, ty is a very social child bc of tripp - he still likes to be by himself at times and doesnt always play well with others, but he attempts to play in his own way - ty likes to be chased so he typically will take tripp's toy and run with it, looking over his shoulder to see if tripp is coming... and even though tripp does not understand this we encourage him to chase ty and give him hugs when he catches him.... now im not encouraging ty to steel but who ever said that you had to play with a "truck by rolling it on the ground" maybe in his mind it is like a team flag that he has captured and is waiting to be caught ??? who knows what he is really thinking ... but i seem to think these kind of things encourage him to interact with us and others so thats what we do.ty has overcome alot in the last year and is slowly but surely learning new things and hopefully on his way to communicating with us!i know that God has given me two very unique and amazing little boys and they are both beautiful in my eyes - Ty has taught me more in the last year than i could have learned in a lifetime and i know that there is still more to learn .... and tripp is going to be an amazing brother and friend bc of his ability to know, love and communicate with ty in a way that sam and i cant. i debated for a while before posting this on facebook, but i finally did ... and i hope it gives you a little insight on life and kids like ty...
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