Regression and Progression

My sweet, loving, beautiful baby boy was 9 months old when he suddenly and drastically regressed socially. His social regression was immediate and profound, he went from the lovable baby that everyone held and played with to a terrified child who only let mom or dad hold him. It was nearly 2 years before someone else was able to hold him. To touch him meant to hurt him, he would react to a touch as if he was punched.

Next in his regression was his speech. It was profound and noticeable. My once brilliant toddler stopped using words and struggled with speaking. He was 15 months old when he had lost so many words that we were becoming very concerned. He had his first speech evaluation at 15 months old, he was still so advanced for his age (16-18 months), he didn't qualify for any further testing nor did he qualify for services. By 18 months he was nearly nonverbal, I believe he was down to about 5 words. His second speech evaluation he was so delayed  (10-12 months) they immediately began services before waiting for an autism diagnosis.

I'm not certain when his sensory issues really kicked in, but the thing we noticed most was his love for all things velcro. It started with his sandals, he'd suck on the soft side of the velcro until the shoes were ruined. His sensory issues soon spilled over into his eating, his diet dwindled down to a few items where it has stayed with very few additions in the last 2 years. I am so proud to say that he ate a pea the other day, he cringed and gagged but my little boy ate it and kept it down. He also ate an oreo dipped in milk, which is amazing because they are so super yummy that way.

Progression. I've got this entire blog, months worth of tidbits and epic moments, but to sum it up? I'm not sure where to start. Socially? I have no concerns, he has progressed so much that I'm certain that he'll do amazing in school interacting with the teacher, other students, and able to participate in class. He has learned quite well how to self regulate, when he's overwhelmed he'll step away until he's ready to join back into an activity.

Sensory? We've seen such huge progress that it really isn't even on our radar anymore. He'll rub stuff on his upper lip and that is the extent of it. Obviously, the eating issues are probably here to stay, but that is so much more socially acceptable than sucking on velcro for the rest of his life.

Speech? It's so hard to gauge. He's made immense progress, he talks in sentences, he'll repeat anything you ask him to, he asks questions, makes requests, uses words much more than grunting or gesturing. He intentionally irritates his sister by repeating everything she says. His enunciation and articulation have definitely improved, but not to an acceptable level yet. I'm anxious for his next speech evaluation so we have a better idea of where he stands.

I feel like speech and some cognitive issues (numbers, letters, colors, shapes, etc) are the only delays at this point.