Hello everyone! I want to apologize for the long gaps between posts. Life catches up to you sometimes no matter how ‘organized’ you think you are. With school, therapy and all these ‘No School’ days, things just get very hectic.
Anyway, I just wanted to post and give those wondering a quick update on life in the “Wackadoodle” house hold.
As some of you know, the little Butterfly is officially spreading her wings this fall and is now registered for KINDERGARTEN. We were told when she was two, and first started therapy, that there was a chance she wouldn’t be able to mainstream, but guess what, like most of her goals, she’s reached them and surpassed them!
When we went for registration, she was the most excited I’ve ever seen her and so proud to stand on the steps of her future “big school” as she calls it.
She will be a part of the special needs class, which includes your average number of students, but with more teachers and more aides to assist the kids. She’ll still ride the smaller bus, as we’re not really comfortable with her riding the ‘big kid bus’, that consists of kids from kindergarten to 8th grade. She’ll still have a one on one aide in class since she’s still quite the escape artist and still likes to sneak away and into other classrooms.
Outside of school, we continue to struggle with sleep issues and the newest thing we’re trying to counteract is her behavior. She’s a headstrong little girl, but sometimes that gets in the way of following directions.
Little Bug has been making small steps forward and will soon be officially evaluated by the Kirsch Center for an official autism diagnosis. This will help us narrow down what therapies will best benefit him and, with an official diagnosis, he’ll qualify for therapies that he can’t get right now.
In other news, he’s learning sign language (as are we) which is a very slow process. His attention span isn’t really set for learning signs, but he’s picked up on the signs for ‘more’, ‘food’ and ‘drink’. You wouldn’t believe how much those three little signs have helped.
Unfortunately, we’re noticing more and more that he’s much more behind than Bella was at this stage in the game. He has still said no real words, although he’s babbling much more than he used to. He has the same sleep issues and food issues that she did, but unlike Bella, he’s a very solitary child. When Bella would feel overwhelmed, she wanted reassurance in the form of a hug, or being held. Nikolas on the other hand, prefers to be alone, in this room with his music box. To an outside party, it would look as though he’s being neglected, or ignored, but sometimes, children with autism just need to be ‘away’. Alone. In the quiet, comfort of their own space. Niko’s room is set up with minimal items. His bed, a few toys and most importantly, his music box. He responds so well to music, that even his teachers and therapists have mentioned that music therapy seems a fantastic option for him when he begins therapy full time.
As always, we take things a day at a time. Having two kids on the autism spectrum isn't exactly a walk in the park, bu you do what you have to for your kids. I'm so proud of the progress that Bella has made and I have high hopes for Nikolas as he continues his therapy.
