week 26 & 27.

Good week for Emmett, but not too much to report. It has almost been six months since his diagnosis, which feels weird. It still feels new and overwhelming, but at the same time like I've never known any different. We are still waiting to see if Emmett can get into a life skills program with Fraser. Fraser has a reputation of being the best place in MN to get services for autism. The wait list is long, to say the least.
Therapy was successful this week. Teanna was able to calm Emmett's body down really well so he could cooperate better. Now that he is going from preschool to therapy on Wednesdays, it's harder for him to cooperate and keep his cool. He tried a different therapy swing, but didn't last long. But he did some painting and Teanna got him to finger paint! At first he would hardly touch the tip of his finger to the paint, but after about 10 minutes he was dipping his finger into the paint and having fun. However, he wanted his hands wiped off between every dip of his finger. After trying finger paint, he has been more tolerant of touching shaving cream at home. He has covered his entire hands in it a few times for a few minutes. Thumbs up!
Also, Emmett has tried riding the bus home from school two times. :) There is an aide who sits with him and he is the first stop. The bus also drops him off directly in front of our house, which is so great. We are so proud of him for being so brave this past month. :)

Week 27 hasn't been the easiest because Emmett is battling a fever/cough. :( My poor buddy had to miss two days of school. It was crazy how hesitant and clingy he was going back after only missing two days. He needs consistency. Even though Emmett wasn't feeling the best, he was still cooperative in therapy. Teanna informed us that she will be gone for three weeks (eek!) in October and there will be a substitute OT. I hope Emmett does okay with the switch.
We have been reading a new book Go Dog, Go! to Emmett and he loves it. It is a very simple book to understand and uses many of the verbs that Zena is working on with him. He even tries to read it himself, which is super cute. He also loves to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

week 25.

Emmett had a very tiring week, but he was such a trooper. He has been adjusting to his new schedule of preschool every day and going to therapy on Wednesday afternoons (which means nap is skipped). Hmph. But I think he is really enjoying the change. Soon, we are going to try sending him home from school on the bus. 

Therapy was harder this week because he was so tired to begin with. He ended up getting very upset during OT and even tried hitting Teanna. :( He wasn't very cooperative with her. Then in speech Zena decided to end the session 20 min early because Emmett was laying on the floor exhausted. He was done. So therapy may be hard for the next couple of weeks because of the new schedule. 

Emmett has been touching new foods and even putting them in his mouth! He spits them out right away, but it is progress. We've gotten him to put tomato, green pepper, carrot, chicken, corn, spinach and cashews in his mouth. 

Other big news around here- Emmett has been sleeping overnight in underwear with no accidents! The past few nights have been successful!

week 24.

Another successful week for Emmett. Zena is still on vacation so he saw a different speech therapist, named Erin. Zena requested her for this week and she was awesome. Emmett felt really comfortable with her and cooperated the entire session. They mostly worked on using full sentences with verbs and proper nouns. 

OT went well too. Teanna was able to get Emmett to try out a new therapy swing. He hasn't liked this in the past, but this week he was tolerating it. Swings are hard for him because of his proprioception challenges. We have also been working on swinging at the playground and have been able to get him to swing three different times. Emmett also tried playing in a bounce house, which is similar to a trampoline. He has been afraid of these, but tolerated it for a few minutes laying down. Ethnie tried to get him to stand up and jump, but that was to scary for him. 

Emmett also stared preschool this week! I was so nervous about this. He seemed excited to go, but did not want us to leave. We stayed with him during breakfast and while he walked to his classroom. His teachers said he did really well for his first day. He has gone twice so far and both days went great. Therapy will still be on Wednesdays, but in the afternoon instead. 

week 23.

Emmett had another good week. He is adjusting to his headphones well and we are only seeing positive results! There was no speech therapy this week. Zena is on vacation for two weeks. Emmett will miss her. Teanna worked with Emmett on gross motor skills. She had him climb up a pile of matts. Teanna noticed that when Emmett climbs, he doesn't curl his toes forward to use them for pushing upward. He tries to climb with the tops of his feet. I had never noticed this before. So they worked on climbing the correct way. They also played in the bean pit with objects. 

Emmett is also prepping for preschool. We have been taking him to visit his classroom to make the transition easier. I am really nervous and worried about how he will act around the other kids. I hope he doesn't get too overwhelmed and become aggressive. I know he wants to behave and get along with others.