Emmett's journey: three years - post diagnosis, and life lately.

^^class field trip to the planetarium

That smile. Those dimples. Such a special boy. I can't believe Emmett is going to by seven next month! I know, I have been terrible about posting on a regular basis; sorry buddy! Life is just so hard to keep up on sometimes...

It has been three years since Emmett's diagnosis. Here are the current symptoms of ASD he demonstrates:

Social Differences:

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 or empathy for others
uninterested in making friends

Communication Differences

repeats exactly what others say without understanding the meaning
doesn't respond to name being called but does respond to other sounds
mixes up pronouns
can't continue a conversation
has a good rote memory, especially with numbers, letters and song lyrics

Behavioral Differences

flaps, rocks, spins, sways, walks on toes
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
very sensitive to smells, textures, sounds
unusual us of vision or gaze - looks at objects from unusual angles
poor fine motor skills

I have seen progress with certain things in Emmett. His imaginative play has gotten SO much better. Ethnie has had a major impact on this. She works on helping him with his playing skills without even realizing it. Plus, she usually bosses him around and tells him what to say so you could say he is being "trained." He has also gotten better at some of his proprioceptive skills. He has always been interested in jumping on trampolines, but will only try it if he is the only person on it (which almost never happens if there are other kids around). He also would be too afraid to jump so he would just walk around on it. This year, he has been tolerating one or two other people on the trampoline with him, and doesn't get upset if he falls down. Jumping is getting a little better too. He is using equal force with both legs to jump instead of doing a "marching" type of a jump. And the joy on his face when he figures it out is priceless. :)

^^wacky outfit day at school. getting better at dressing by himself!

^^reading books naked is the best

^^Emmett has the talent of crossing one eye :)

Emmett has been pretty self reliant in the morning. He will get up, go to the bathroom (usually), then find something to do until either Ethnie or I wake up. Lately, he has been liking coming into our bed and snuggling for a bit before he goes to play. I love it when he does this. He comes in with his groggy little voice and crazy hair, hauling in all of his stuffed animals with him.

We did the Autism 5K for the fourth year in a row. This year I got team t-shirts made! Of course, Ox was incorporated. I think they turned out great and represent Emmett well.

This was the first year the weather was quite unfavorable. Unfortunately, it was 40 degrees, pouring rain, and windy. We were So. So. Wet. But it was easy to stay positive knowing why we do this every year. So we did not get any pictures outside. We also did not have as many able to make it this year. But the kids were real troopers! They were so good and there was minimal complaining.