Alec DOES ABA!

Today, I mustered up my courage and did several ABA/Discrete Trial exercises with Alec. I have tried this before, and he threw a huge tantrum. I tried it again today, expecting the same.

At first, Alec did cry and I had to hold him down in his seat for a few moments. When he did that, I gave him a reinforcer, in this case, a bit of a Hershey's kiss. We did that a few times for one drill and then I let him go and watch a video.

After lunch, we tried it again with bits of some cookie. Something surprising happened: He loved it. We started with "Look at me" and when he did, I made a huge fuss with a lot of hoopla, whoo hoos and give-me-fives. Alec squealed with delight.

Next, we worked on facial parts. "Touch nose". Alec performed on cue! We went through nose, chin, cheeks, eye, ear and then tongue, which was the only one that stumped him. With each correct response, I gave him a bit of a cookie and the hooplas. Alec was actually having fun! We worked on tongue a few times and he got those right. More bits of cookie and hoopla.

I said, "Okay, go and play!" and he did for a few minutes, only to come back and say "Let's do more!". I was so excited, I got another cookie (forget about dinner, he was getting it. We worked on colors, starting with green. First, I would put out just a green block and say "Touch green." When he got it, he received a cookie bit and hoopla. Then I added another color, orange, and it took him a bit, but he figured it out and we had great fun. I used colored blocks, the words in color, colored objects as comparisions, always saying "Touch green". He got them all right, so I threw in orange, comparing it with green objects.

Again, I said, "Great, now go and play!" and he did, only to come back with "Let's do more!" So, worried about too much cookies, Alec began working for a goldfish at a time. We went through two little bowls with exercises. He really was having a great time and so proud of himself. Wow!

I am going to have to figure out some exercises and bone up on what I learned at the ABA seminar I went to in July. I am truly excited and believe Alec can learn so much this way. He was clearly proud of himself, too. And now I'm not afraid anymore.

Oh, I know he'll have fits again, especially when I try some harder exercises, but I am encouraged today. I'm holding onto that feeling!

WAY TO GO ALEC!!

Just Another Overwhelming Sunday...

It's Sunday...the day of rest. My husband, Matt, has taken over my nursery duty at the church so I can have a stress-free morning.

The problem is he forgot to give me some tips on living stress-free! I have been walking around this house in a stupor, not sure of what job to tackle first: the laundry (did that a bit), the floors (disgusting), getting rid of the general clutter (overwhelming), the dishes (let's not go there), the cat's box (Samson!), the office mess, the bedrooms, baths..ugh. I can't be stress-free looking at this mess, so I need to get up and do sometbing about it. But sometimes the magnitude of the many tasks that need to be done leave me walking around aimlessly not sure of where to start. Or afraid to even begin.

I'm so consumed with trying to figure out the best ways to help Alec and give the rest of the family the attention they need that I always feel like the plates I spin are beginning to fall. Somehow, by the grace of God, they spin on.

So here I sit, writing on this blog. (Avoidance!) Alec and Elise are downstairs fighting over the computer (Elise was playing a Barbie game...), so now it's time to referee.

I think I'll grab some music and do those chores. Maybe by this afternoon I can have that stress-free time Matt wants me to take.

Pulling Out of Pre-School

I'm sad today because I made the call to pull Alec out of our church preschool. This is the school that has had my daugher for three years and Alec for two. The main reason is that there is no staff available to help him change a dirty diaper.

I ate lunch with Alec's teacher-to-be, who is also a friend of mine. I asked her point blank how she felt about Alec in the classroom. She said that in all honesty, she wasn't comfortable with it and didn't know how she could handle changing the diapers or a possible tantrum in class.

I'm really saddened because Alec has come so far and is so close to being okay in a mainstream class. I know he could handle pre-school, and he has already been through what I believe have been his worst years there. Now he is talking some and on the way...and now the help is gone.

"I guess you are saying that there is no place at our church's playschool for a kid like Alec", I said to the teacher. "Unfortunately, yes, that is what I am saying," she said. I thought church was for the "poor in spirit", I thought. She said that she wants to make sure all the other kids' needs are met. "What about Alec's needs?", I thought.

To be fair, the administrator, when I called, was very upset about it, too. She's been a big support to me through the years, and was even the one who suggested I get Alec tested in the first place. I know her heart is for the kids. But her resources and funds are limited. WHY? Why can't the church give more to this? That is my frustration, and hers, I believe.

"I know you are frustrated," she said, "because you feel like Alec is falling through the cracks." That's exactly how I feel, I told her. He is not severe enough to warrant a lot of care, but he needs a little more than they can give. But it's only someone to change a few diapers, really. He needs to be potty-trained, and although he can go in the potty, he can't tell me when he needs to or do it totally independently. So he loses. At least here.

But I know there is more for him. I know there is help out there somewhere. I pray I find it soon.

Alec, Elise and me on the Smokey Mountains Railway in August of 2004. 

Alec and me at my 20th reunion.. ugh. 

Is Corn the Culprit?

Now, under the advice of a mom who has done research with PDD-NOS kids and their diets, I am trying a corn-free diet rather than the gluten-free/casein-free diet. Well, actually, Alec has been off of dairy for some time and I plan to continue that. But I think I will START with the corn. I have seen that after eating popcorn he is especially foggy and has incoherent babble. He pretty much has been eating corn constantly in lieu of the wheat. Hmmmm.

Alec starts school tomorrow. Excited and apprehensive for him. I am hoping for the best for my little guy!

Playschool Woes

Yesterday, I got a call from Alec's playschool, where Alec has attended for the past two years and is planning to attend on Monday and Tuesday mornings this year as well. She told me that Alec would need a shadow to be present with him all of the time because he was not potty trained and, as he is in a three year old class, he must be trained.

The frustrating thing is that Alec, who has sensory integration issues, will go to the potty but doesn't seem to have the ability yet to tell me when he has to go. I tried the panties and the mess doesn't even bother him. So, I think he is unable to be trained at this point.

I feel like it is unfair but there is not much I can do about it. Maybe it's God's way of telling me to get him into ABA right now...time is wasting. I try to look at everything, every hurdle, as an opportunity for God to show me what He wants.

God is so faithful, I have to remember that He knows what is going on.

I was reading about Moses in Exodus 4:

10Moses said to the Lord, "Lord, I am not a man of words. I have never been. Even now since You spoke to Your servant, I still am not. For I am slow in talking and it is difficult for me to speak." 11Then the Lord said to him, " Who has made man' s mouth? Who makes a man not able to speak or hear? Who makes one blind or able to see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12So go now. And I will be with your mouth. I will teach you what to say."

That made me realize that God is in control of Alec and his speech difficulty. It reminds me that God has the power to enable speech and can empower Alec to use his. God truly made Alec and allowed for this to happen, this disability, for a reason and promises that even in this, it will work for Alec's GOOD. "For all things work for the good of those in Christ Jesus". God has great plans for Alec!

I'm counting on that! More to come when Alec actually starts early intervention next week. What will it be like?

Great Interaction with Alec

This evening, I have spent about two hours playing a game with Alec that specifically helps him learn colors, shapes and numbers. His interaction has been great, and he had sucess with the color green. He seems to know that one...at least tonight. The rest he tends to confuse most of the time.

Still, Alec was working one to one with me with great attention for the entire time. I tired out before he did and went to sit on the couch, and he got up and pulled me back to the game. A great night for the boy!

Note: Carribou makes great games for kids. This one was a "treasure hunt" oriented game.

Kissing Boy

Alec has learned the word "kissing". After coming home from an early morning bike ride (thanks to Margaret, Matt's sister who babysat Elise and Alec), Alec greets me with long, long kisses on the face, the cheeks and the lips. I start laughing because, well, it's embarrassing a bit but I am tickled that he knows the word and is using it functionally. (I mean truly functionally!)

Right now, Alec is downstairs eating a gluten-free waffle. That is my next test: the Gluten-Free/Casein-Free diet. Actually, he is off of the dairy products already, but the wheat products are harder to avoid. I am so not a cook and I get stuck in food ruts so easily. Now I will need to be extremely creative about feeding Alec. It is so much work to follow the GF/CF diet, I truly hope we see RESULTS. Right now, I need a recipe for a gluten-free pop tart, which is all the boy wants anyway.