Friday, January 30, 2015

january - second half.

The second half of January has been a lot for Emmett to handle, but I think he's been a real trooper considering how busy he is now! (and me.) He started day treatment at Fraser and it has been going VERY well. He handled it better than I did. I was so nervous I had a stomach ache and I was thinking about him every second he was away. I was able to ride in the van with him to Fraser on the first day to make sure he was doing okay. He LOVES riding in "the white van" and gets so excited each time it drives up to the house. There is also a two-way mirror to the classroom so parents can observe, but the children cannot see us. That way they don't get distracted.

^^Emmett's cool ride to Fraser ;)
^^this is Lindsay. she is one of the (awesome) teachers at day treatment.

We have been going to physical therapy each Thursday afternoon and it is going okay. Kevin is pretty strict with him (which is good), but Emmett tends to get frustrated and fights him on certain tasks. But Emmett is loving working with Kevin and asks me every day when we get to see him next. I thought PT would be the least of our worries out of the three therapies he receives, but I was wrong. After watching him at a few sessions and reading Kevin's evaluation, Emmett needs quite a bit of help working on basic skills, like climbing up and down stairs (a big one), catching his fall, balance, throwing, catching, and jumping. Kevin also recommends Emmett not be enrolled in any sports, unless they are adapted, until he has mastered more of these skills (for safety purposes). This news was hard to take at first, but I would rather know and make sure he is safe.
^^working on going across the balance beam.
^^floor keyboard
^^using the "stomping feet" to work on proprioception.

This week specifically has been hard. I think his new schedule has caught up with him and the "honeymoon" is over, sort-of-speak. He has been falling asleep throughout the day, irritable, and has even refused to use his words. I have been trying to give him down time as much as possible and put him to bed earlier. Yesterday he got pretty upset. We were at PT and Kevin had an emergency keeping him from work so Emmett had a substitute therapist. Normally when this happens Children's will call days ahead and let us know so we can prep Emmett for a new person, but that was not an option this time. When Laura came into the lobby to come get us, Emmett was mad. He almost started crying because he was so excited to see Kevin. So the session was not successful. Emmett did a lot of protesting, hiding and running away. :(
^^Laura helping Emmett balance while rolling a ball.
^^Emmett hid under my chair multiple times because he didn't want to cooperate with Laura and got really frustrated. :( 
^^thought this was adorable!

Saturday, January 17, 2015

january - first half.

Emmett had a legit meltdown on New Year's Eve. :( We had two families over to celebrate and there were four extra kids in our house. Emmett did really well with them almost the entire time. He tolerated them touching his toys and he shared really well. He didn't socialize with them; just observed. We were planning on letting our kids stay up later to "ring in the new year". At around 9:00, Emmett had had enough and got really upset when one of the other boys were being rough with his trains. :( He started throwing toys and rolling on the floor yelling/crying. He was really tired and overwhelmed. I took him back into his room and told him to stay there while I went to get him some milk. When I came back, he had stuffed himself into a doll tent that Ethnie got for Christmas. He was trying to hide from the world and had his head buried in Ox. :( I tried to coax him out, but he didn't budge. I felt really bad that he was having such a hard time. After a few minutes of "disappearing", he let me take him out and I snuggled with him and put him to bed. He was so happy to be alone in his bed. Lesson learned. So sorry, buddy!
 I have seen some progress with Emmett in the past two weeks. He has been doing so great with talking in more detail and not giving up when he's frustrated. He tries so hard to say the right words in the correct order. His brain is working really hard. He still has trouble processing questions and some sentences, but he wants to talk to you. :)
baby step: Emmett dipped a tomato and carrots in his yogurt! he didn't eat the veggies, but put them in his mouth to lick off the yogurt. way to go, bud!
^^ he has been loving his kinetic sand that he got for Christmas. he got three different colors and this cute sandbox to play with it in. he touches it a lot! a listening session goes really well with this too.
^^ playing in the tub has been his favorite thing to do lately. he will ask more than once a day to take a bath. I think it is calming for him.
^^ sometimes he likes to hang out in the tunnel.
^^ Emmett tried a new therapy swing in OT and he really liked it. it's a really soft, stretch material (it reminded me of material you would use for a cape) and hugs your body really tight. when Emmett got into this swing and started moving, he was SILENT. it was really interesting to observe.

  • Emmett had a PT evaluation with Kevin at Children's. It went really well. Emmett loved playing with Kevin and didn't want to leave. Kevin has such a great way of explaining how Emmett's brain works and how he is able to process information. When it comes to doing things with his body, he choses the simplest and most safe way of following through with a physical task. For example, to go down stairs, his brain tells his body to sit down when going down the stairs because it is easier and safer for him. Kevin wants to work with Emmett on how to do things necessary for everyday situations, such as recovering from tripping on something, rolling an ankle, or being pushed. He will help to teach his brain how to develop these necessary skills.
  • We went to an orientation at Fraser for the day treatment program. I am nervous, but really happy to say that Emmett will be starting day treatment on Wednesday, Jan. 21st. He will go MWF after preschool from 1:30-4:30 pm. At first, I will be driving him there and back. Eventually, there will be a bus from Fraser that will pick him up from school and transport him to and from day treatment. It will be a huge adjustment for him and a long day, but I am confident that this is the best place for him to be and know he will make great progress there. While we were there, Emmett was really comfortable and seemed excited to come back. He will be in a classroom of 7 children and the teacher-to-student ratio is 1:1! That is amazing. I think once Emmett adjusts to this new schedule he will be really happy.
  • Because we will be going to Fraser MWF, we had to switch Emmett's therapy day to Tuesdays. We will also be seeing Kevin for PT on Thursdays each week until he knows exactly how many sessions Emmett will need each month. Most likely he will need PT two times per month. Wow! So, basically my little boy will have something going on every day of the week. I'm hoping he will be able to handle everything okay. It is going to be so weird having him gone most of the day three times a week. I am going to miss him. :(

Thursday, January 1, 2015

the month of december.

It's that time of year when we are busier and focused on other things! Unfortunately, I've been neglecting Emmett's blog. Again.
I did some thinking and I've decided it would be better if I made posts every other week instead of each week. I feel like if there hasn't been much to report in a week, I forget to write. If there's a period where Emmett is making a lot of progress, I will blog weekly. For now, twice a month will suffice.
I've also decided to add some photos now and then. He's too cute not to. :)

Occupational therapy has been going really well. Teanna is very talented and we are lucky to have her working with Emmett. She recently started doing more physical things with him, like climbing, jumping and balancing.
This exercise was difficult for Emmett. He couldn't step from bucket to bucket without Teanna's help. If he tried himself, he would step onto a bucket, step onto the mat, then step onto the next bucket. He couldn't grasp the concept of shifting his weight and hips to step from bucket-to-bucket.  
^^ doing well!
Teanna has also been working with Emmett on getting more comfortable with having objects in his mouth, like a toothbrush and utensils. These exercises are stressful for him, but he tries to cooperate as much as possible.
^^ trying to keep the toothbrush in his mouth for 5 full seconds at a time. at first he kept turning away.
^^ doing better!

Emmett's speech therapist at preschool, Emily, has been kind enough to send us weekly updates about how school is going. I love seeing these photos of him learning. :) 
^^ Emmett told Emily: "I made a castle with big blocks and little blocks." great sentence!
^^ the kids were learning about their bodies and they got to hear their own heartbeat. not quite sure Emmett knew what to think...
^^ in this photo, Emily said the kids were playing "restaurant" and Madison was taking Emmett's order. she said he ordered bread. :) making baby steps with socializing. :) 

*Two new announcements:
  • Emmett was recommended by Dr. Amy to start physical therapy. He has a PT evaluation at Children's on Jan. 8th. The evaluation will determine the type/how much PT he will need. Personally, I am not looking forward to adding more to his weekly load, but if it's necessary, so be it.
  • I received a call yesterday from Fraser offering Emmett a spot in their day-treatment program! (Fraser is the #1 treatment facility in MN specializing in autism). It's exciting because we have been waiting 9 months for this call, but overwhelming as well because it would be a major adjustment for Emmett. He would go to Fraser after preschool from 1:30-4:30, MWF. The day-treatment program focuses on life skills, socialization, and any other autism-specific challenges the child has. Day treatment does not replace therapy, so he would have that during the week as well. It would be a lot for my little guy and I can't help but feel worried. However, I know he would be in the best possible place. Both of his therapists think we should go ahead with it. I am talking with Fraser on Monday to give them my answer. I'm nervous!

^^ I found this poem and absolutely love it. it is a perfect definition of the relationship Emmett and I have.