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.

Lunch at school

Mr N has done so well at preschool lately, that we decide to attempt lunch. The last few weeks he's washed his hands with the other children and tried to join them for lunch. Last week we decided that we'd give it a go for this week. Today I arrived at lunch time so that I could be there to assist. He got in line, washed his hands, found a place next to one of his friends to sit, sat down and promptly pushed the food away. He was so happy to be having lunch with the class, but had no desire to actually eat the food. He lapped some of the milk out of his cup like a kitten, but there was no eating involved.

After talking with the specialist that works with Mr N we decided that next week I'll pack him a lunch to take so that maybe he'll eat along with the other kids. Lesley, the specialist, said that Mr N has two friends that he plays with most of the time, but that he still gets overwhelmed. When he gets overwhelmed he'll step away from the other kiddos and play alone for a few minutes then join back in with them. I'm super impressed that he's figured out how to self regulate, being able to step away, regain control, then join back in is such a vital skill.

As Mr N has progressed leaps and bounds these last few weeks, it's become quite apparent that 1 hour of preschool each week is just not cutting it. It's time to increase his time spent either at the preschool he's been joining or somewhere to get him what he needs to succeed. We discussed this as well, getting Mr N into at least half day of preschool.

The last few times he's had preschool or therapy, the pick up does not go well at all. There is no bribe big enough to get him to leave in a good mood. He starts crying and fighting from the moment I start dragging him to the car until well after we arrive home, the meltdown is of epic proportions.