It's been about a month and a half since we got confirmation that Michael was indeed on the Autism Spectrum. It's amazing, that even though we were pretty sure he was on the spectrum, how difficult it is to process the diagnosis of PDD NOS. There are times that I have these doubts that he actually has PDD, but then something happens and I realize that it is just my denial that he actually has PDD. I'm not in total denial that he has it, I guess at times, I hope that he does't have it, but in reality I know he does.
One of the things that makes it so difficult to fully accept (or at least I think that this is one thing) is that people (family and friends) want to deny that he has it and when we tell them that he has this diagnosis, they say that they don't believe he has it. I know that they mean well, but it just fosters that doubt in my own mind.
He was just evaluated for sensory issues, and the occupational therapist that saw him felt that some of the sensory seeking behaviors that he has are ways that he has developed to help him when he is over stimulated. This is another area where people say things like: all 4 year olds do that or that's normal behavior. I think on some level what Michael does is normal behavior, except that how often he does it and when and why he does it, is not normal developmental behavior. On the other hand, if his behaviors are his coping mechanism for overstimulation, I am pretty impressed with his ability to figure out what he needs to decompress. I think at this point, we need to find ways to help him so that he doesn't need to seek out these regulating behaviors.
We are going to see OT for 3-5 sessions to help figure out a "sensory diet" to see if that will help him not need to seek out things to decrease him stimulation, or at least help him not to get over stimulated on a regular basis. I'm sure that there are going to be times where he will still get overstimulated, but if we can help to decrease these times, maybe he will feel better.
It was amazing to watch him after his evaluation. It kind of brought home, once again, that there really is an issue. At the end of the evaluation, when my husband and I were getting the results, Michael started doing his water play. He started at the sink, then he started leaving the OT room and repeatedly going back and forth between the OT room and the water fountain in the waiting room. The other 2 kids, who had been there as long waiting for Michael's evaluation to be finished, were playing in a more "normal" or "appropriate" way, such as playing with the different toys in the room. When Michael gets like this, it can be difficult to distract him and get him to focus on something else.
Michael is still my sweet lovable boy and all of his evaluations start with a similar description. All I want for him is to be happy. I want him to have a happy, fun, good life. I think with the appropriate interventions, he will do fine. I think he may always have some "quirkiness" to him, but I think he will be fine.
I'm not sure that this is totally clear. I guess, I am still processing everything that we have just learned and I know that there are still things that we need to learn. If anyone has any thoughts that they want to share or stories that they want to share, please do. I know that I am going to more than likely start looking for a support group to talk to others who either are in the situation that we are, or who have already been there!
Amy
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Pre-School Parent/Teacher Conference
We had Michael's first parent/teacher conference about 2 weeks ago and for the most part it was all good. Behavior wise, Michael is doing excellent. Given his fairly severe speech delay, his frustration level is at a pretty good level, but speaking of his speech, he is definitely delayed and I don't know why. I think the only thing that bothered me about the conference is that when we asked the teacher about about fears of autism, the only thing she could say was that she didn't feel that he was on the spectrum given his ability to be comfortable sitting in her lap and being affectionate. That was a good sign, but the fact that teachers are not allowed to give their opinion about testing because it may cause issues with parents really frustrates me. I mean, these are professionals, who in our case, spend 5 hours a day 5 days a week with my son. I am not frustrated with the teacher, but the system. Michael's teacher is wonderful. She is sweet and kind and motherly and I feel very comfortable with her as his teacher. I just wish I could get a sense if we need to do more.
I have a feeling that going gluten and dairy free is a really good step. I hate that we have to do this and we were really bad over the holiday, but we are now back on track and no gluten or dairy for Michael (so to be me too). I really do think that it makes a difference! It sucks, but I do think it helps! The other issue that got brought up at the conference (by his teacher), is wether or not to get Michael tested for diabetes. I am hoping that this isn't an issue. Michael seems to drink a ton and then pees a ton to the point of having multiple accidents. It kinds of makes sense that if he drinks a lot then he will pee a lot, but it is the drinking of fluids that makes me wonder, though I have to say, sometimes limit setting helps and his accidents are getting better. He has even slept with underwear on for the last 2 nights and the first night woke twice to pee, and then last night didn't soak himself. Maybe going gluten free and dairy free will really help with just more than digestive issues!
The twins are being evaluated for further needs in the school system. They are going to be 3 in just under 2 months. I can't believe that I have an almost 4 year old and almost 3 year old twins. Eva Rose has been in early intervention since the beginning of the fall for a speech delay and has improved immensely (which is another reason I am increasingly concerned with Michael's delay). She went from barely putting 2 words together and dropping the endings of words to the point of not understanding what she is saying, to still dropping the endings of words but putting more than 2 words together. There are still often times that I don't understand her and at 3 I probably should understand almost everything that is said. Thomas just amazes me with his vocabulary! That being said, when I look at friends kids I can't help but compare and still think my kids are behind, but maybe not. Then there are those people in your life who try to tell you that your kids are very behind and that they should be doing certain things, but in reality maybe those people are over estimating kids development.
It will be interesting to see how the kids further develop. Will Michael all of a sudden come out and just start talking? Is there more to his delay? Do Thomas and Eva Rose need more help with their expressive and receptive communication? Only time will tell and will see how things go!
Amy
I have a feeling that going gluten and dairy free is a really good step. I hate that we have to do this and we were really bad over the holiday, but we are now back on track and no gluten or dairy for Michael (so to be me too). I really do think that it makes a difference! It sucks, but I do think it helps! The other issue that got brought up at the conference (by his teacher), is wether or not to get Michael tested for diabetes. I am hoping that this isn't an issue. Michael seems to drink a ton and then pees a ton to the point of having multiple accidents. It kinds of makes sense that if he drinks a lot then he will pee a lot, but it is the drinking of fluids that makes me wonder, though I have to say, sometimes limit setting helps and his accidents are getting better. He has even slept with underwear on for the last 2 nights and the first night woke twice to pee, and then last night didn't soak himself. Maybe going gluten free and dairy free will really help with just more than digestive issues!
The twins are being evaluated for further needs in the school system. They are going to be 3 in just under 2 months. I can't believe that I have an almost 4 year old and almost 3 year old twins. Eva Rose has been in early intervention since the beginning of the fall for a speech delay and has improved immensely (which is another reason I am increasingly concerned with Michael's delay). She went from barely putting 2 words together and dropping the endings of words to the point of not understanding what she is saying, to still dropping the endings of words but putting more than 2 words together. There are still often times that I don't understand her and at 3 I probably should understand almost everything that is said. Thomas just amazes me with his vocabulary! That being said, when I look at friends kids I can't help but compare and still think my kids are behind, but maybe not. Then there are those people in your life who try to tell you that your kids are very behind and that they should be doing certain things, but in reality maybe those people are over estimating kids development.
It will be interesting to see how the kids further develop. Will Michael all of a sudden come out and just start talking? Is there more to his delay? Do Thomas and Eva Rose need more help with their expressive and receptive communication? Only time will tell and will see how things go!
Amy
Friday, September 16, 2011
Toys, Toys, Toys!
School has started! The weather is getting cooler. Christmas will be here before I know it. I have actually started a list of things that I want for gifts for the kids. This year, I am hoping that we don't wait to the last minute and end up not really getting the things we want. I think I want to get some more car toys and some older doll house toys as well as some duplo blocks. The twins are playing with some toy doll house pieces with EI and they seem to really like it. I am also thinking that I want to get a few more dolls. I had gone out looking for a Barbie doll for my daughter and even though I got so many thoughts about Barbie not being an issue for girls, when I looked them they were just so skanky and I couldn't spend $20 on a barbie for a 2 1/2 year old. As I looked for something that I felt was more appropriate, I found a small doll that was bigger than a barbie, but still small enough for a 2 1/2 year old to carry around. It came with a couple of changes of clothes that snap on to the doll and there are a few different dolls to choose from. The kids love this doll and it was such a good choice.
Now, with Christmas approaching faster than I care to admit, I really need to weed through a lot of their toys and get rid of things that they wither don't want to play with, or that seem too young for them. That way I can make room for new toys and hopefully keep a cleaner more organized house.
I am really looking for toys that are going to have a developmental benefit to the kids. I am not crazed about the type of toys that they get, but I do want to make sure that they actually do stimulate some learning. One of my goals is to also make a few gifts for them. I am hoping that I can make some things to go along with toys that they will potentially get for Christmas. A friend of mine made a great map quilt for her kids to play with their cars. I am thinking of something like that, or maybe even just a simple case for the kids to carry their cars in. I want to make a doll or 2 or 3, their quilts, and on and on and on. I have way to many thoughts and not enough time to complete them. I am hoping to have a few travel projects so that I can take them with me, for example when there is down time at work. Right now, I need to utilize what ever time I can find to complete my projects!
Amy
Now, with Christmas approaching faster than I care to admit, I really need to weed through a lot of their toys and get rid of things that they wither don't want to play with, or that seem too young for them. That way I can make room for new toys and hopefully keep a cleaner more organized house.
I am really looking for toys that are going to have a developmental benefit to the kids. I am not crazed about the type of toys that they get, but I do want to make sure that they actually do stimulate some learning. One of my goals is to also make a few gifts for them. I am hoping that I can make some things to go along with toys that they will potentially get for Christmas. A friend of mine made a great map quilt for her kids to play with their cars. I am thinking of something like that, or maybe even just a simple case for the kids to carry their cars in. I want to make a doll or 2 or 3, their quilts, and on and on and on. I have way to many thoughts and not enough time to complete them. I am hoping to have a few travel projects so that I can take them with me, for example when there is down time at work. Right now, I need to utilize what ever time I can find to complete my projects!
Amy
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Updates
Well, I was going to write some really positive updates, such as potty training and returning to Early Intervention, at least for Eva Rose, but now I also have a not so positive update, not horrible, but definitely not great.
For the positives, we have continued to attempt to potty train all 3 kids. There continue to be lots of accidents, but they want to wear underwear, and they do go on the potty, they just don't always tell us when they have to go. On the other hand, over the past couple of days, Michael's accidents have greatly decreased and he is even taking himself to the bathrooma nd even pooping on the potty. We are most likely going against every rule in potty training, but it is working. The one rule we haven't broken is attempting to not make a big deal out of the accidents, but making a big deal when they use the potty. We continue to muster on and hopefully this will work.
Eva Rose tested in to Early Intervention again. The good thing is she will have more speech help and given that she had some fairly significant hearing loss prior to the tubes, I think this is a great thing. She will also be able to go to a drop off group, hopefully, and I think given that Thomas is her twin, he'll get to go also. The other positive is that they will make the referral to the school system like was done for Michael. I am hoping that she will also need an IEP which will get her services for pre-school. I will more than likely have Thomas evaluated, but I have a feeling he will just be going to a regular pre-school program. Maybe he'll be able to be one of the mentors for the pre-school program!
Now for the not so positive news. About a month ago, Eva Rose had a pretty high fever and a couple of swollen areas that had us concerned so I brought her to the doctors, which I never do for just a fever. The covering doctor sent us to the ER so that lab work could be completed and we would hopefully get the all clear. Both my husband and I were concerned about Lyme, which was one of the reasons we went to the doctors. The doctor thought it was a possibility, but when we went to the ER the ER pediatrician said that it wasn't presented in the normal manner for Lyme, but she wanted to test for it any way. All the lab test came back fine, but we needed to wait for the lyme, which takes about a week, and we were sent home. Things cleared up fairly quickly and we got the results from the lyme test which was negative. It was recommended by both our doctor and the ER pediatrician to repeat after a couple of weeks just to ensure that it was a true negative. Well, today I got the results and it was positive! I'm not sure how I am feeling now. We need to treat with antibiotics for 14-21 days. I hate that she has to be on an antibiotic so young and we will definitely have her start eating some kefir so that we can hopefully ensure that the good bacteria that is killed off along with the bad will be replenished and she won't end up with an imbalance to her system. My other concern is what are the long term effects of lyme? Not that she's had any long term effects from her RSV, but I am always watching for that, now we have to watch for long term effects of lyme. It's so not fun being a parent, but yet it's the best thing I've ever done!
Amy
For the positives, we have continued to attempt to potty train all 3 kids. There continue to be lots of accidents, but they want to wear underwear, and they do go on the potty, they just don't always tell us when they have to go. On the other hand, over the past couple of days, Michael's accidents have greatly decreased and he is even taking himself to the bathrooma nd even pooping on the potty. We are most likely going against every rule in potty training, but it is working. The one rule we haven't broken is attempting to not make a big deal out of the accidents, but making a big deal when they use the potty. We continue to muster on and hopefully this will work.
Eva Rose tested in to Early Intervention again. The good thing is she will have more speech help and given that she had some fairly significant hearing loss prior to the tubes, I think this is a great thing. She will also be able to go to a drop off group, hopefully, and I think given that Thomas is her twin, he'll get to go also. The other positive is that they will make the referral to the school system like was done for Michael. I am hoping that she will also need an IEP which will get her services for pre-school. I will more than likely have Thomas evaluated, but I have a feeling he will just be going to a regular pre-school program. Maybe he'll be able to be one of the mentors for the pre-school program!
Now for the not so positive news. About a month ago, Eva Rose had a pretty high fever and a couple of swollen areas that had us concerned so I brought her to the doctors, which I never do for just a fever. The covering doctor sent us to the ER so that lab work could be completed and we would hopefully get the all clear. Both my husband and I were concerned about Lyme, which was one of the reasons we went to the doctors. The doctor thought it was a possibility, but when we went to the ER the ER pediatrician said that it wasn't presented in the normal manner for Lyme, but she wanted to test for it any way. All the lab test came back fine, but we needed to wait for the lyme, which takes about a week, and we were sent home. Things cleared up fairly quickly and we got the results from the lyme test which was negative. It was recommended by both our doctor and the ER pediatrician to repeat after a couple of weeks just to ensure that it was a true negative. Well, today I got the results and it was positive! I'm not sure how I am feeling now. We need to treat with antibiotics for 14-21 days. I hate that she has to be on an antibiotic so young and we will definitely have her start eating some kefir so that we can hopefully ensure that the good bacteria that is killed off along with the bad will be replenished and she won't end up with an imbalance to her system. My other concern is what are the long term effects of lyme? Not that she's had any long term effects from her RSV, but I am always watching for that, now we have to watch for long term effects of lyme. It's so not fun being a parent, but yet it's the best thing I've ever done!
Amy
Friday, August 5, 2011
Frustrations!
The other day was one of my more frustrating day's as a parent. I'm not sure what was going on with me, maybe just normal parenting issues, but no matter what happened, I just felt like I had no petience. We have had my brother in law living with us for the last 3 months and it has not been easy. In fact it is definitely one of the biggest stressors right now. The other big stressor is potty training and trying to get my health back.
Potty training is probably the absolute worst developmemtal stage that I have gone through so far. I'm sure there will be worse, but in 3 1/2 years, this is the worst. The kids are definitely into going on the potty, but they are not quite ready to go without us telling them to go on the potty every so often, like every 1/2 hour or so. Sometimes, we have great days and there are absolutely no accidents the whole day. Sometimes, it seems like all we do is clean up pee and poop. I is finally seeming like Michael is getting it. He will go into the bathroom and either sit on a potty or pee in the toilet. He has even pooped twice on the potty after bringing himself to the bathroom with no prompts from us as parents. His biggest issue is that he loves to pee in any container he can find. This is one thing I am working really hard to try to break. I love his aim, but he needs to learn that there are places to pee and places not to pee. The twins are good about going when we bring them, but no so good about telling they have to go. Though, I have to say, Eva Rose woke up twice last night and after going on the potty went right back to sleep. I think we will just keep on moving forward and hope that they will get it soon.
Lastly, not only are we dealing with the terrible two's times two, but a three year old also. The behaviors and the whining are absolutely driving me mad. I can handle crying, but whining is not something I handle well. I am also not digging the defiant behavior of Thomas. My sweet little boy has all of a sudden started saying no when I ask him to do something. I guess he is just asserting his independence and I just have to remember my favorite developmental theorist, Erik Erikson states that people have different conflicts in life that they need to resolve in order to move on to the next stage of development. My kids are in the autonomy vs doubt stage, at least the twins are. They need to figure out how to have a sense that they are able to have some control over their environment. I guess, I need to figure out how to maintain some independence without giving them free reign. Michael, on the other hand, should be moving into initiative vs guilt. This almost seems like a continuation of more advanced independence and that is exactly where Michael seems to be. As I re-read some of the negatives, I think this may be what we are seeing with Michael's frustrations. He is learning to master different tasks and be much more independent and when he is unable to achieve a goal, he becomes frustrated.
Wow, writing this post has really made me feel better about things! I really like Erik Erikson's theories. I know that there are some people that criticise them, but I have always liked his theories. I actually used them in my theoretical perspectives paper in grad school. It's good to start looking at things again. I may need to start looking at more child development to help me feel better about my parenting skills and to help me remember that what my kids are doing is probably just normal developmental tasks that they need to achieve.
Amy
Potty training is probably the absolute worst developmemtal stage that I have gone through so far. I'm sure there will be worse, but in 3 1/2 years, this is the worst. The kids are definitely into going on the potty, but they are not quite ready to go without us telling them to go on the potty every so often, like every 1/2 hour or so. Sometimes, we have great days and there are absolutely no accidents the whole day. Sometimes, it seems like all we do is clean up pee and poop. I is finally seeming like Michael is getting it. He will go into the bathroom and either sit on a potty or pee in the toilet. He has even pooped twice on the potty after bringing himself to the bathroom with no prompts from us as parents. His biggest issue is that he loves to pee in any container he can find. This is one thing I am working really hard to try to break. I love his aim, but he needs to learn that there are places to pee and places not to pee. The twins are good about going when we bring them, but no so good about telling they have to go. Though, I have to say, Eva Rose woke up twice last night and after going on the potty went right back to sleep. I think we will just keep on moving forward and hope that they will get it soon.
Lastly, not only are we dealing with the terrible two's times two, but a three year old also. The behaviors and the whining are absolutely driving me mad. I can handle crying, but whining is not something I handle well. I am also not digging the defiant behavior of Thomas. My sweet little boy has all of a sudden started saying no when I ask him to do something. I guess he is just asserting his independence and I just have to remember my favorite developmental theorist, Erik Erikson states that people have different conflicts in life that they need to resolve in order to move on to the next stage of development. My kids are in the autonomy vs doubt stage, at least the twins are. They need to figure out how to have a sense that they are able to have some control over their environment. I guess, I need to figure out how to maintain some independence without giving them free reign. Michael, on the other hand, should be moving into initiative vs guilt. This almost seems like a continuation of more advanced independence and that is exactly where Michael seems to be. As I re-read some of the negatives, I think this may be what we are seeing with Michael's frustrations. He is learning to master different tasks and be much more independent and when he is unable to achieve a goal, he becomes frustrated.
Wow, writing this post has really made me feel better about things! I really like Erik Erikson's theories. I know that there are some people that criticise them, but I have always liked his theories. I actually used them in my theoretical perspectives paper in grad school. It's good to start looking at things again. I may need to start looking at more child development to help me feel better about my parenting skills and to help me remember that what my kids are doing is probably just normal developmental tasks that they need to achieve.
Amy
Monday, July 18, 2011
How Time Flies!
I can't believe that I haven't posted a single thing for over a month. This blog was going to be my version of a scrapbook and yet, I can't seem to get motivated to write. I read all these other blogs that have such great writers behind their posts and I can't seem to feel like there is anything big enough to write down as well as just not finding the time to actually write!
I don't have anything profound to share, but summer is here and we are on a different mode. Tom is home for the summer, which has been awesome. It is so nice to parent with another person and not be the only adult in a house of a 3 year old and 2 1/2 year old twins. It is also so nice to be able to take the kids places and feel comfortable letting them be a little more independent than if I were doing it alone.
So far, we have started a garden, gone swimming in a pool (large in ground pool), gone on a picnic in the park at the lake, saw fireworks, gone to the beach, gone to the Franklin Park Zoo, gone walking and then to the park, and probably more. We have started potty training all 3 kids, which has had it's ups and downs, but I don't think that I would change anything I am doing. All 3 kids are totally interested in using the potty and overall have been doing great, but there are still lots of accidents and they don't always tell us that they have to go.
Michael has been in summer school and has been doing great! I am really amazed at how he has been progressing. We still have a ways to go and Tom and I both have our concerns that there is something more going on with him than just a speech delay. Though I have to say, I have a gut feeling that he is just taking in so much information that he is just taking time to process it and all of a sudden he is going to just come out and have a conversation with us.
Eva Rose is still not really talking either, but is doing better. She is going to be eval'ed for speech through Earl Intervention, but I'm not sure that she is going to qualify. She is behind, but I am not sure that she is behind enough.
Thomas was just eval'ed for EI and did not qualify for speech. I am absolutely amazed at his speech over the last couple of months. His vocabulary has just exploded. He is doing way more than just naming objects. He is actually using action words and descriptive words. He is definitely the most advanced with his communication skills.
All 3 kids continue to amaze me with their gross and fine motor skills. They are running and climbing and actually even starting to jump. They are able to string beads and scribble on paper. Eva Rose and Michael tend to scribble on the whole sheet and Eva Rose is able to hold a crayon appropriately. Thomas on the other hand tends to use a small area of the paper when he has crayons. They are starting to do more pretend play and play with each other and even sometimes interact with other children. They have so much fun at the park and all the climbing structures! We have taken down their baby swings and put up the big kids swings. Michael will now say "Mommy/Daddy push me!".
Michael is my water boy. I can't wait to take him in the water again and do more swimming type activities with him. He was having fun in both the pool and the ocean. He even has fun in the new sprinkler pool we bought. All 3 kids are totally into container play. It absolutely blows my mind how much they love to put things in a cup, pail, watering can, and then pour it out only to go and do it all over again.
As sad as it is to see them getting bigger, I am so happy to watch them grow and change and develop each and every day! I am glad that I am finally writing a post and writing down all the newest changes that have been happening. I do wish more people commented on my blog, but I keep telling myself that this is for me and I don't need to have people comment to enjoy blogging. This is my way of keeping track of things and it is just a plus to have people comment. I wish I had more time to be an active blogger. I have one fellow twin mom who always seems to comment on the things I write and I am so grateful for her comments and any other comments that I get. I am going to try to find time to make sure that I am commenting appropriately on other blogger's posts so that I can hopefully network with others!
Amy
I don't have anything profound to share, but summer is here and we are on a different mode. Tom is home for the summer, which has been awesome. It is so nice to parent with another person and not be the only adult in a house of a 3 year old and 2 1/2 year old twins. It is also so nice to be able to take the kids places and feel comfortable letting them be a little more independent than if I were doing it alone.
So far, we have started a garden, gone swimming in a pool (large in ground pool), gone on a picnic in the park at the lake, saw fireworks, gone to the beach, gone to the Franklin Park Zoo, gone walking and then to the park, and probably more. We have started potty training all 3 kids, which has had it's ups and downs, but I don't think that I would change anything I am doing. All 3 kids are totally interested in using the potty and overall have been doing great, but there are still lots of accidents and they don't always tell us that they have to go.
Michael has been in summer school and has been doing great! I am really amazed at how he has been progressing. We still have a ways to go and Tom and I both have our concerns that there is something more going on with him than just a speech delay. Though I have to say, I have a gut feeling that he is just taking in so much information that he is just taking time to process it and all of a sudden he is going to just come out and have a conversation with us.
Eva Rose is still not really talking either, but is doing better. She is going to be eval'ed for speech through Earl Intervention, but I'm not sure that she is going to qualify. She is behind, but I am not sure that she is behind enough.
Thomas was just eval'ed for EI and did not qualify for speech. I am absolutely amazed at his speech over the last couple of months. His vocabulary has just exploded. He is doing way more than just naming objects. He is actually using action words and descriptive words. He is definitely the most advanced with his communication skills.
All 3 kids continue to amaze me with their gross and fine motor skills. They are running and climbing and actually even starting to jump. They are able to string beads and scribble on paper. Eva Rose and Michael tend to scribble on the whole sheet and Eva Rose is able to hold a crayon appropriately. Thomas on the other hand tends to use a small area of the paper when he has crayons. They are starting to do more pretend play and play with each other and even sometimes interact with other children. They have so much fun at the park and all the climbing structures! We have taken down their baby swings and put up the big kids swings. Michael will now say "Mommy/Daddy push me!".
Michael is my water boy. I can't wait to take him in the water again and do more swimming type activities with him. He was having fun in both the pool and the ocean. He even has fun in the new sprinkler pool we bought. All 3 kids are totally into container play. It absolutely blows my mind how much they love to put things in a cup, pail, watering can, and then pour it out only to go and do it all over again.
As sad as it is to see them getting bigger, I am so happy to watch them grow and change and develop each and every day! I am glad that I am finally writing a post and writing down all the newest changes that have been happening. I do wish more people commented on my blog, but I keep telling myself that this is for me and I don't need to have people comment to enjoy blogging. This is my way of keeping track of things and it is just a plus to have people comment. I wish I had more time to be an active blogger. I have one fellow twin mom who always seems to comment on the things I write and I am so grateful for her comments and any other comments that I get. I am going to try to find time to make sure that I am commenting appropriately on other blogger's posts so that I can hopefully network with others!
Amy
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Potty Training
So, I am starting to work with Michael on potty training. I think it's going to be a long road, and we may try it for a few days and then stop because I'm just not sure if he is ready or not. He is 2 years 8 1/2 months old and I figured it's time to at least give it a real shot. I don't think that I'm up for potty training boot camp. I give those mom's who can do it so much credit. I don't think that I could do it. Thanks to the suggestions of my twin moms, I went out and bought the potette plus potty chair. We already have 3 potty chairs from IKEA (1 for each kid) and a potty chair that is a Summer brand and pretty traditional. I like the idea of the popette plus for sitting on the regular toilet and also for travel. I'm not going to plan on being out of diapers for a while, but I think it's worth giving it a try. So hears to hopefully having one out of diapers sooner than later and if Michael isn't ready, I'll move on to Eva Rose, who may actually be more ready than Michael even though she is 10 1/2 months younger. Oh well, every kid is different.
Any potty training tips are very much appreciated and welcome here,
Amy
Any potty training tips are very much appreciated and welcome here,
Amy
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Early Intervention
So, Michael had his early intervention eval today and it was great. He did get picked up for services for his lack of receptive and expressive communication, but I was so impressed with the things that he was able to do. I loved watching the assessment. I loved watching him interact with other adults than just family and friends that have always been around. He did have a little melt down at one point, but thankfully regained control fairly quickly. He right at where he should be developmentally with regards to his gross and fine motor skills. There are things that we can work on with him to help him improve a little bit, but he doesn't need any intervention with regards to these areas. Of course, now that he has been evaluated, he is certainly doing a bit more imitating, but he is still not where he should be. The EI evaluators also said that his level of development with fine and gross motor should actually help him with his language development. They also pointed out that movement seems to make him more likely to use language. I will certainly be trying to use that bit of knowledge to my advantage.
Next week, the twins have their evaluations. I don't know if they will be eligible for services, but I am really looking forward to watching their actual evaluations. Part of me hopes that they do qualify, just so that they can get a little extra help. Again, I think for them, it is a matter of language development vs physical, but it will be interesting to see how they perform on the gross and fine motor skills. Today, we had 2 evaluators and next week, we will have 4 since they will be evaluating 2 kids. Luckily today, the twins went in for a nap during most of the evaluation so both my husband and I got to observe. Next week, I think I want to have someone watch Michael while we have the evals for the twins so that he can have fun and we can pay attention to the evaluation process.
I am really happy that we made the referral. I have a few ideas of things that I want to get for new toys for all 3 kids. I also want to kind of schedule the day a little bit more so that there is a little time for direct learning through play instead of just winging it. I want to get back to the park and this time I want to try to help Michael do some more socialization with other children his age. Any suggestions for toys, activities, or playgroups for 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old kids are totally helpful? Also, I am interesting in arts and crafts for the 3 kids. Any suggestions on supplies or even a class that we can take (probably a 1 time only depending on the cost)? Any good websites for learning for this age as well?
Thanks,
Amy
Next week, the twins have their evaluations. I don't know if they will be eligible for services, but I am really looking forward to watching their actual evaluations. Part of me hopes that they do qualify, just so that they can get a little extra help. Again, I think for them, it is a matter of language development vs physical, but it will be interesting to see how they perform on the gross and fine motor skills. Today, we had 2 evaluators and next week, we will have 4 since they will be evaluating 2 kids. Luckily today, the twins went in for a nap during most of the evaluation so both my husband and I got to observe. Next week, I think I want to have someone watch Michael while we have the evals for the twins so that he can have fun and we can pay attention to the evaluation process.
I am really happy that we made the referral. I have a few ideas of things that I want to get for new toys for all 3 kids. I also want to kind of schedule the day a little bit more so that there is a little time for direct learning through play instead of just winging it. I want to get back to the park and this time I want to try to help Michael do some more socialization with other children his age. Any suggestions for toys, activities, or playgroups for 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old kids are totally helpful? Also, I am interesting in arts and crafts for the 3 kids. Any suggestions on supplies or even a class that we can take (probably a 1 time only depending on the cost)? Any good websites for learning for this age as well?
Thanks,
Amy
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