Therapy starts back up today, Mr N's old (not as in old age wise, old as in previous) therapist will be here today to help train the new therapist. I'm already nervous, wondering how he will get along with the new therapist. I hope she doesn't smell funny.
I've been worried that a few weeks without therapy would negatively effect Mr N, but he doesn't seem to have regressed at all. But I'm sure we'll have a better idea of his progress once we start back with therapy.
Mr N has been stringing 2-3 words together and talking more every day. His words seem to be getting clearer and easier to understand. This morning I gave him breakfast and he clearly said "I don't want it", while I'd love him to eat, I was super proud of him for stringing 4 words together so clearly. We've been working really hard to get him to say "more, please" when he wants more of something. He isn't putting the words together yet, but we prompt him to say it and he'll say "more" we prompt again for "please" and he complies. I love seeing/hearing the progress he makes, baby steps.
Hearing Mr N say "mama" so easily, so readily, so frequently is like music to my ears. My little man has discovered the magic of "mama" and says it often to get my attention, to get hugs, and to express his love. The inflection in his voice as he says "mama" indicates exactly what he wants. Sometimes "mama" is yelled to get my attention, other times it's a soft, gentle "mama" with arms extended to receive hugs, it's also spoken through tears and sadness when he needs to be comforted. No matter the reason behind the "mama" my heart soars.
It seems like Mr N's progress and behaviors are the recipe for an emotional roller coaster. There are times when I really am astonished by his progress and think he'll be caught up in no time. There are other days when I think he's getting worse, days when his autism is so obvious that I worry that he'll always require 24 hour care. Today is a good day, he's been talking and engaging in typical play, interacting appropriately with his sister and using imaginative play.
The bad days don't even involve a full day of scary behavior. In the last week he has taken a late nap which resulted in not going to sleep at bedtime, this happened two nights. The first night when he wouldn't go to sleep he started engaging in self injury. This terrifies me, he's not been prone to self injury which is a huge relief, I can't even imagine how difficult parents have it when their child does this on a regular basis. Mr N was repeatedly punching himself in the eyes, I kept removing his hands, telling him no and trying to distract him. This went on for probably 30 minutes, I'm not sure if he was just intent on punching himself or if he was enjoying the attention from Mommy when he should have been sleeping. Regardless of his motives, it scared me. These are the moments that make me worry. I just want him to be happy and healthy.
This morning we took in our recycling and picked up extra garbage bags, since we forgot to put our garbage on the curb last week. When we went into the office I told the kids to sit in the chairs while I obtained the bags and wrote a check. Both kids climbed up into the chairs and sat quietly while they waited. I was so proud! Mr N looked so neurotypical sitting there next to his sissy. Days like today make me happy.
I am going to get brave and take the kids out to lunch for pizza before therapy today. This will be one of the few times I've braved a restaurant by myself with the kids. It'll be the first time I've done a place that didn't have a playground. :\
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