Saturday, November 18, 2006

Shadows on the wall

Nicholas had fun this morning playing with the shadows created on the wall when he opened and shut the front door. He was so amused, that he was dancing and screeching for a good part of the morning. He would open the door,stare at the wall,get close to the floor,and follow the lines the light created. He would then shut the door and watch the lines disappear. Then he would open it halfway,then all the way..and do his dances all over again. He can also count to five now. He uses "echolalia" now more than ever when he talks. When he talks,he copies what we say. An example is "Where is Michael?" Nick says "Michael". It is really funny when he gets going like he did last night.

Michael: "Nick NO!"
Nick: "NOOOO!"
Michael: "poop!"
Nick: "poop!"
Michael: "I love you"
Nick: "I love you"

He says it the exact way that you say it; so it is not like spontaneous speech. That is why it is called "echolalia". Most kids with autism use this form of communication. They use it because they dont fully understand what is being said to them; so they repeat it. We love it because the alternative is him not talking AT ALL. He has also proved to us just how literal he thinks.

Mike was putting both kids to bed one night last week and it turned into a tickle fest on the beds. Giggles were coming from everywhere,but after 20 min it was time to get to bed. So, Mike went over to Nicks bed and said "All Done". Nick promptly gets up out of bed, and walks into the living room. He took "All Done" to mean that he was "All Done" with going to bed. Both of us had a good laugh over that.

This week was a busy one. Wednesday we had a Thanksgiving potluck that was put on for the people on the EFMP program(Exceptional Family Member Program). We saw kids who were much worse off than Nicholas and Michael. It was a nice little get-together,and nobody looked at your kid strangely, and did not bat an eye if they could not tolerate the noise level and began to stim(Nick was uncomfortable and out of his comfort zone-but held it together long enough for us to eat). That day had been rather stormy out,and the lights went out just as we pulled in to park, so we ended up having dinner by candlelight! I cant even remember the last "romantic" dinner we had by candlelight, so this power outage was kind of a treat-though probably in the most "UNromantic" setting imagineable. Friday we had another potluck event put on by the Fabrication Flight. This time Nick even climbed into the chair himself! Did not eat anything,but progress nonetheless.

Michael's tooth is STILL hanging on! Not much to report there. He is looking very forward to our trip, and asks me everyday "How many days until we go to Florida?"

That is all from our little corner of the world. Cant wait to see everyone next month!

Monday, November 13, 2006

The end of a busy week!

It has been a busy week for us and I am glad it has ended on a good note. Nick continues to explore Stage 3 babyfood, and our use of pediasure has subsided. I never expected to be feeding babyfood to a toddler who is almost three, but I also never expected to have a son with autism. I will take what I can get! He has made some progress with feeding himself lately as well. I am just happy he is eating more of a variety of food!!

*****Check out the new video******

Michael's tooth is still hanging on by a very thin thread! Not too much else happening around here other than more rain! Here are some pictures of Nick with a new spinny toy:


He likes to feel the vibrations with his mouth and now his hand!