State of the Bug: May 2011

We’re now over 2 months in to Graham’s therapy. It’s definitely become a part of our regular lives. (Even moreso for the nannies.)

The first month had such exponential growth that we were bound to hit a bit of a slump. It’s not that the Bug ISN’T progressing. But the rate has slowed. (Remember the difference between velocity and acceleration from your physics class? No? I suggest you study up. Your kids will be asking you for help before you know it!)

It hasn’t helped that we just had a big move and that we suspect Graham’s 2-year molars are coming in. Plus the variety of illnesses that have made their way through our house.

Still, I’m really happy with how far Graham has come.

Expressive Language

Last time we finally had words, about 2 constant words and 10 or so occasional words. Perhaps 20 more that he used only once or twice.

Now I’ve noticed Graham is much more likely to repeat a word we tell him. Lately that’s included Pasta, Berries (he loves blueberries) and Geese.

His favorite word is no longer Train or Truck. Hard to believe. But somewhere in the last couple weeks he replaced both of them with Bye. It’s Bye Truck, Bye Train, Bye Bus, Bye Everything.

Sometimes this is helpful to transition him from one item to another. And he can use it appropriately.

But… Bye has presented some of my concerns for the future. He says it so frequently and so often inappropriately that I think we may be seeing signs of echolalia.

Still, he is so often verbal that I’m trying not to be too concerned. Remember, 3 months ago all he did was hum and say Ga. We established that he WILL talk. That is a massive accomplishment and I don’t want to take it for granted.

Non-Verbal Communication

Signing has made a lot of progress this month. There was a lot of effort in ABA to get him to work on this. For much of the month when you’d make a sign to encourage him (like “more”), he’d scream to show his approval. This was not really what we wanted.

Slowly but surely he’s adopted signs on his own. Now he has More pretty much down pat. He uses two other signs commonly: All Done and Help. But he doesn’t make either sign correctly. He uses it in an appropriate context, he just doesn’t form it with his hands correctly. No matter what we do. Hopefully we’ll make some progress in a month.

Social Interactions

This is another Most Improved category this month. He plays with other kids.

Let me say that again. He plays with other kids.

He used to run away from them. Then he tolerated their presence. Now he is upset when he goes outside and the neighbor kids aren’t there to play with.

He hasn’t figured out that he can chase them, but he really loves being chased and running around and throwing balls. I hear excellent reports from playgroup, too. He lets himself be hugged by other kids!

Holding hands is also holding strong. We are able to run errands without the stroller quite often, and giving him a little freedom seems to help him stay more calm.

Motor Skills

Last month he was willing to try stairs. Now he is happy to do them. He still goes downstairs assisted. He still sometimes crawls up stairs. But he has finally figured them out.

It definitely helped having stairs in our new apartment. We went up and down a lot the first few days, now we just have to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t try to go down alone.

In fact, he’s well on his way to working ahead of his gross motor milestones. He’s already an excellent runner and kicker.

Eating

His palate has expanded a bit, though blueberries have been the source of many a tantrum. His therapists have helped us implement a routine of eating while sitting on his little chair and that’s helped make meals more regimented. I feel pretty safe removing this as a concern since he’s doing so well.

He’s mastered straws lately and he’s doing quite well with silverware.

Overall Manner

This is another happily stable thing. He has good and bad days, of course. Every now and then we see flashes of Graham 1.0, the screaming and flailing one. But mostly he’s very happy and comlpiant.

A good example of this is his new toddler bed which was purchased to combat his escape attempts from his crib. He doesn’t have to be put in his bed. He gets in it voluntarily. He sits in his room quietly, sometimes singing or talking to himself, until he goes to sleep. And when he wakes up in the morning he doesn’t screech until he’s retrieved. He just sits there calmly and makes non-urgent noises when he’s ready.

Okay, now that I’ve written all of this I’m realizing that maybe this month hasn’t been such a bummer after all. I guess that’s the point of these posts, to help me keep a real perspective. It’s been a frustrating two weeks or so with the move.

I tend to focus so much on his verbal skills that it’s easy for me to miss his progress. It’s hard for someone who talks and writes and communicates as much as I do to have a child who still finds communication to be more of a chore than a tool.

I got a lot of video this month and I posted them on Facebook, but if you missed them I’ll throw them in here as well.

Related Posts:

• Some Heavenly Peace
• With an Autistic Toddler, What IS Normal Anyway?
• Making Together Better