Friday, April 3, 2015

march - second half (1 year post-diagnosis).

There is a lot to cover in this post. Some big things happened in the second half of March!
1. Emmett caught a bad virus that was going around and he was SICK. Fever, chills, body aches, and a runny nose. He hasn't been that sick in a really long time and I felt so bad for him. He gets really quiet when he's sick and it's hard to read him. He isn't really able to describe his symptoms/feelings so I feel like I need to monitor him very closely. I also have to force medicine down his throat because he hates it so much. He was on the couch miserable for five days straight. :( He missed three days of school and two days at Fraser.
^^ He is such a trooper. I was so glad when he finally started to perk up.

2. Emmett had his first trip to the dentist! Yes, I know he is almost five and has just gone to the dentist for the first time, but it took us long enough to get him to let us brush his teeth, let alone have a stranger stick foreign objects into his mouth.
I took him to Maplewood Pediatric Dentistry, which specializes in patients with special needs. They deal with a lot of kids who have sensory and anxiety issues. Emmett blew me away with how well he did! I tried to prep him for the appointment as best as I could. I expected to see a lot of tears, but there weren't any!
It took him about ten minutes before he would agree to sit in the red patient chair, but once he did he became interested in what the hygienist had to show him.
^^ feeling the polisher vibrate on his finger
^^ it tickled a lot :)
^^ another hygienist in her autism-supporting scrubs :)
The x-ray portion of the visit was tough for him, but he hung in there. He did not like the chair being up high or the x-ray machine. It was also difficult for him to put the forms in his mouth.
Lastly, the dentist came in and checked him out. She said his teeth were very healthy and had perfect spacing! She also said we were doing a good job helping him brush. Man, that was a relief; hopefully his lifetime of dental visits will all be this easy and simple. He did so well at his visit; the ladies let him choose three prizes out of the prize drawer. :) Great job, bud!

3. Therapy has been a little tough the past couple of weeks. Zena and Teanna both agree that a "therapy break" is in order soon. It is very common for kids to hit a wall or plateau after about a year of therapy because they get burnt out. Emmett has been showing signs of needing a break. A therapy break usually last 3-4 months, then when the child comes back there is usually a jump in progress. So we will be doing one more session with Zena and possibly eight more sessions with Teanna, then start the break. It's actually coming at a good time because he will have the summer off.

OT just got really exciting because this week Teanna decided to start some water therapy. She will be doing this with him for the next six to eight weeks until he takes his break. This therapy pool at Children's is the most amazing pool I have ever seen! The floor is like an elevator, so you can make it as deep or shallow as you want. It is also a treadmill, which is mostly used for physical therapy patients.  If that wasn't cool enough, this pool also has underwater cameras in the walls of the pool so therapists can record the patient walking, etc. And it has jets. Nice, huh?
This first session in the pool was just getting familiar with everything. Emmett got pretty scared every time Teanna lowered the floor the make the water deeper. He also didn't like the jets at first, but got used to them.
Normally, when I take Emmett to a pool he gets very amped up and cannot control his splashing or throwing toys. But he seemed very calm in the therapy pool. I'm sure having the quiet atmosphere and no one else sharing it with him helped a lot.
Teanna was trying to get Emmett to swim his toy toward the jets. He kept his distance.
When Teanna starts doing exercises with him in deeper water she wants me to come in too. Then I can learn the exercises to do with him over the summer.
^^this is what the floor looks like all the way up. so cool!

4. Emmett had his school conference and it went well. His teachers are seeing more signs of socialization and being interested in socializing. He is also trying much harder to write his name by himself. :) He still needs a lot of prompting and motivation. He is still unwilling to try to go potty at school. 
We found out that Emmett got into the school we want him to go to next year! He will be going to EXPO Elementary and I am so excited about it. This school has an amazing autism classroom that will be adaptive with the mainstream kindergarten classroom. He will be in the mainstream classroom throughout the day for periods of time, then back to the autism classroom. I am so grateful he will be getting the support he needs to thrive in school. This school also has an awesome principal and a strong community feel to it. So excited for him!

6. I attended a toilet-training workshop at Fraser that was put on by the Autism Society of MN. It was very informative and worth going,  but I didn't leave with the feeling of positivity I was hoping for. I actually left feeling very overwhelmed, like I have a daunting rode ahead of me in helping my son become fully potty trained. The professional was very honest and real about everything; saying that it could take years, and that we should prepare ourselves for that. 

7. It has been one year since Emmett was diagnosed with autism. Much has happened this past year. I feel like Emmett has gotten "more" out of life this past year than any other year because doors are opening for him and he is making progress. In general, he can function better, which gives him so many opportunities. I think about all of the therapy and new experiences he has had that have helped him this year and I feel so grateful. I feel grateful to know about his autism so he can start getting more out of life.
Symptoms of autism that Emmett displays:
  • Doesn't often have appropriate facial expressions
  • Unable to perceive what others might be thinking or feeling by looking at their facial expressions
  • Doesn't show concern for others (*but recognizing when someone is upset)
  • Unable to make friends or uninterested in making friends (*willing to play next to other kids)
  • Repeats exactly what others say without understanding the meaning
  • Doesn't always respond to name being called
  • Refers to people in third person and mixes up pronouns
  • Doesn't start or can't continue a conversation
  • Doesn't use toys or other objects in pretend play (*but copies Ethnie in pretend play)
  • May have a good rote memory, especially for numbers, letters, songs, TV jingles, or a specific topic
  • Rocks, spins, sways, walks on toes, flaps hands (stimming)
  • Likes routines, order, and rituals; has difficulty with change
  • Obsessed with a few or unusual activities, doing them repeatedly during the day
  • Plays with parts of toys instead of the whole toy
  • Sensitive to smells, sounds, textures, and touch
  • Unusual use of vision or gaze - looks at objects from unusual angles