Today was a hard day for Ronin. It started very early in the morning. Nikko was in his chair by 7:15a and I heard Ronin stirring around 7:25. When he got to his high chair, Nikko showed an interest in his Mater truck and Ronin's Cheerios. Ronin swatted at Nikko's head and protested loudly. It was downhill from there. Everything today was annoying Ronin and he showed it. Pete came for speech and I warned Pete that Ronin was not himself today. Ronin proceeded to whine a bunch of times during play and didn't say many meaningful sentences. If only Pete could listen to Ronin throughout the week, he'd bump his skills up! Ronin really doesn't represent what he can do during one speech session. When Nikko came home later, Ronin repeatedly got angry if Nikko was in his way, leaning on him, or coming near his blocks. I saw Nikko purposely try to take Mater from Ronin during lunch, and when I took Nikko's arm to tell him NO, I saw Nikko smirk so I knew he was totally aware of what he was doing. Sneaky devil.
I tried the crackers/cereal PECS pictures with Nikko during snack and once he saw what I wanted of him, and motioned for him to pick either picture, he proceeded to pick out Crackers and give it to me. He also did this for Peaches. Good job!
Denis was late coming home from work because of delays in the parking garage, and I almost decided to back out of going to that Westbrook event at the school simply because the day had been difficult for all the kids. Nikko hadn't taken a nap all day so he was bound to be cranky this evening, Ronin acted like a terrorist all day, and Audrey was in super fussy mode. But since it was only for an hour and wasn't a lecture format, I decided to speed out of the house and go. The kids cried, of course, and when I came home later Nikko was dozing on the couch so I had to wake him up (too close to bedtime to take a nap). Nikko was super cranky and obstinate during dinner, according to Denis, but that was probably due to his lack of a nap. I'm glad I went, however. When I got to the gym, there were four stations set up: Pre-Academics, Social Behaviors, Speech and OT. That's the order of the tables I visited. Each table had activities and games we could model and take home to try on our kid. Luckily, Margie was at Pre-Academics so she was able to talk directly about how Nikko would fare at a certain game. Same with Kathy at the Speech table, where I took home a sorting game where Nikko should try to categorize pictures into Food, Animals, Vehicles or Clothing. Kathy gave me a green tube that opens and collapses with a big ruffling sound. We've used this tube in OT back in the Early Intervention days, but Kathy told me that Nikko uses this tube to "speak" in one end while you hold the other end up to your ear. Then he reverses it and listens while the other person speaks. This is a great example of turn-taking! We've never used the tube in this fashion in the past, so I was happy to hear of this idea. The Social Behavior table was mostly about toilet training, and finally I was able to talk to Mrs. I at the OT table about Nikko's motor skills progress. Mrs. I described how Nikko had a hard day two days ago, but the next day he was able to bounce back and didn't seem to hold any grudges against her. She feared that Nikko would hate her because she pushes him to do more than one simple task at hand. I told her I sympathized because at home, Nikko can get pretty physical when he doesn't want to do something or get what he wants, and I wasn't happy that the people at school get to see that side of him. But Mrs. I was very nice and said she and the other teachers have seen it all. I also mentioned that I didn't think initially that Nikko was a routine kind of kid, that he seemed to go with the flow. But now that he has preschool and scheduled activities, he seems to transition well to school and likes going. He seems to like routines. I feared that I wasn't doing the right things because at home there's no real structure other than mealtimes. They all pointed out to me that at home he is more comfortable and there doesn't have to be structure at every point in the day, so he can relax and let down his guard. I gathered a lot of new reading material for me to pour over. Some of the games (pre-academic alphabet matching game) can also be used for Ronin, so I'll keep that in mind.
I came home to a happy bunch of kids, and we put them all to bed. I had to go run out to Wal-Mart to get 2% and whole milk because we ran out, and I listened to the Bears on the radio, losing to San Francisco. Pretty disgusted. Denis has to wake up really early tomorrow, and I finished cleaning up the kitchen but got a tad distracted because I decided to give myself a haircut. I sported a grown-out, shaggy bob that had long layers in the front and graduated upward in the back. It was an updated mommy haircut. But I have seen pictures of me lately that show how the layers have grown out and it looks incredibly scraggly. The thought about cutting my hair back into a manageable bob got into my mind and I couldn't shake it, so I did it after everyone went to bed. I'm sure no one here will notice. It didn't turn out too bad, but I'll decide in the a.m.
ONE MORE THING, AGAIN: (seems like I've been doing this a lot lately, finishing a post and then remembering to add something post-post) Today was the first day in - well, let's be honest, EVER - that I relatively kept my cool around the kids today, even in the face of adversity. I can't say I didn't raise my voice; I did, when Ronin pushed Audrey over and I demanded him to give her an apology, when Ronin went ballistic on Nikko's head in the early morning, and probably when Nikko was turning on and off the living room lights with Ronin screaming in the background. I needed to enforce the status quo. But when I felt like shrieking when Ronin got spaghetti on his sleeves during lunch, I squelched the negativity and silently cleaned him up. I think I took some deep breaths during a few other moments. When Nikko started yanking my hand to get McQueen from Ronin, I refused because Ronin had it first. Nikko protested, whining and getting angry even though I tried to direct him elsewhere. When that all failed, I put my hands over my ears and shut my eyes. He got angry and tried to pry my fingers apart, but I held fast and curled up into a ball so he couldn't dislodge my arms. I didn't get mad that he wrestled with me a little bit to get my attention, I just covered my ears and waited it out. He stopped after a few minutes, then gave up. This was a hard day for me, and just when I made a conscious decision to try hard to have patience and not yell at the top of my lungs at these kids, they all had a short-fuse day. But I didn't yell at the top of my lungs for once. I hope I can keep it up. *BIG, HEAVY SIGH*
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Nemo, and no nap
Instead of Lightning McQueen accompanying Nikko to school, today he picked Nemo. I worried that the teachers would get annoyed with me for allowing Nikko to bring a toy to school, so I emailed them with a warning. Later, they replied that they didn't notice Nemo, or McQueen the other day for that matter. It's possible that he put the toy and his burp cloth in his backpack before he went into school. I think that whoever was unbuckling him probably put the toy in the backpack, but when he got back on the bus he pulled them both out. When I unbuckled Nikko from his seat today, Mrs. Beyer told me he was crying in the beginning of the trip. His seat harness was on really tight, so I wonder if it was too uncomfortable for him. He was also sitting closer to the aisle instead of at the window, so there's another wonder. Not that I'm trying to be a sleuth, but I definitely pay more attention to Nikko's surroundings because I am noticing that if things are too much out of place, he will get upset or will notice. He hasn't been as rigid about routines as other ASD kids I've read about, but that may be forthcoming. His progress report today said:
Speech - using pictures to request bubbles and bus - not as easy as crackers. :)
Denis was off today, Veteran's Day, and in the morning he took Ronin with him for errands. He got back before lunch and then said that his friend Patrick was inviting them to go to a park near Menard's. Audrey was still sporting a temperature so I didn't want to take her out today. Denis took the boys and they didn't put up any resistance with me not coming along. I think they had a good time because they came back in good moods and hungry. Ronin had worn sweatpants and I saw some burrs stuck to his leg. When I changed his pants, I was horrified to see that the burrs had scratched his knee and upper thigh with some angry welts. They must have hurt him when he was sitting in the car, and I wondered if he cried out. I felt so bad so I put some hydrocortizone on it. Poor guy. Nikko, who wore jeans, was unscathed. Ronin and Audrey went down for naps soon after, but Nikko just didn't want to take a nap. At dinnertime he actually ate the elbow macaroni with spaghetti sauce I made, which felt great. Ronin, on the other hand, didn't eat it. He was probably used to me using spaghetti noodles instead of the macaroni, which he's used to eating as mac cheese. SHEESH! These kids and mealtimes drive me up the wall. When it was time to give Audrey a bath, Nikko sprung up and accompanied me to the bathroom. He runs in and out, but seems to like being nearby during this process. Since he hadn't napped all day, Nikko was ready for sleep after prayers. Good thing. I think I have to email Linda H. because she still hasn't given me the phone number to the lady that I'm supposed to speak to about clinical trials. I'm supposed to go to Westbrook tomorrow night for a sensory project, just for an hour.
ONE QUICK AMMENDMENT: Margie just sent me a picture of Nikko at school this morning. She said that he went up to the "friends" at school who were on a teeter-totter and got on it himself. It's a picture of Nikko sitting in the front of three kids on a teeter-totter in the playground. How surprising! :D
Speech - using pictures to request bubbles and bus - not as easy as crackers. :)
Denis was off today, Veteran's Day, and in the morning he took Ronin with him for errands. He got back before lunch and then said that his friend Patrick was inviting them to go to a park near Menard's. Audrey was still sporting a temperature so I didn't want to take her out today. Denis took the boys and they didn't put up any resistance with me not coming along. I think they had a good time because they came back in good moods and hungry. Ronin had worn sweatpants and I saw some burrs stuck to his leg. When I changed his pants, I was horrified to see that the burrs had scratched his knee and upper thigh with some angry welts. They must have hurt him when he was sitting in the car, and I wondered if he cried out. I felt so bad so I put some hydrocortizone on it. Poor guy. Nikko, who wore jeans, was unscathed. Ronin and Audrey went down for naps soon after, but Nikko just didn't want to take a nap. At dinnertime he actually ate the elbow macaroni with spaghetti sauce I made, which felt great. Ronin, on the other hand, didn't eat it. He was probably used to me using spaghetti noodles instead of the macaroni, which he's used to eating as mac cheese. SHEESH! These kids and mealtimes drive me up the wall. When it was time to give Audrey a bath, Nikko sprung up and accompanied me to the bathroom. He runs in and out, but seems to like being nearby during this process. Since he hadn't napped all day, Nikko was ready for sleep after prayers. Good thing. I think I have to email Linda H. because she still hasn't given me the phone number to the lady that I'm supposed to speak to about clinical trials. I'm supposed to go to Westbrook tomorrow night for a sensory project, just for an hour.
ONE QUICK AMMENDMENT: Margie just sent me a picture of Nikko at school this morning. She said that he went up to the "friends" at school who were on a teeter-totter and got on it himself. It's a picture of Nikko sitting in the front of three kids on a teeter-totter in the playground. How surprising! :D
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sad School Day
Today's progress report:
OT - Did a 6 part obstacle with cueing - rolling, jumping, stepping up and down, balance bean, reaching to target. Did really well. Also worked on snipping straws and coloring fruit paper.
Speech - Nikko had a sad day. We have the play area set up as a store with real food (empty) boxes. Wanted crackers and pop tarts really badly! At speech we worked on sounds, body parts, greetings.
I can imagine what the scene must have been like when Nikko saw the empty cracker box. He probably brought it to a teacher and signed Cracker or More. When he didn't get anything, he probably threw a fit or a tantrum or raced up and down the aisles. I can only assume that it was ugly. This morning Ronin was awake when I came in around 7a and that surprised me because he went to bed all sickly and lethargic. He remained that way in the morning only, and I put him on the couch to watch Cars. Nikko also watched Cars this morning, and wouldn't let go of one of the McQueen cars. Unfortunately, he took it with him to school despite my trying to trade it for his burp cloth or just to take it away. I thought he might lose it at school, but luckily he came home with it in his hand. I wonder if he wouldn't surrender it at school either. Sad school day, indeed.
Nikko got cranky after lunch, around 2:40p, wanting something else to eat, wanting the McQueen that Ronin was holding, and then ultimately wanting his burp cloth. I was getting irritated at him, and then checked on him in the living room to see that he fell asleep. I always feed bad after getting irritated at him, because his crankiness usually precedes a nap. Not always, but sometimes. Nikko woke up two hours later and wasn't in a bad mood at all. That led to a decent dinner for him and a happy medium mood for the rest of the night.
OT - Did a 6 part obstacle with cueing - rolling, jumping, stepping up and down, balance bean, reaching to target. Did really well. Also worked on snipping straws and coloring fruit paper.
Speech - Nikko had a sad day. We have the play area set up as a store with real food (empty) boxes. Wanted crackers and pop tarts really badly! At speech we worked on sounds, body parts, greetings.
I can imagine what the scene must have been like when Nikko saw the empty cracker box. He probably brought it to a teacher and signed Cracker or More. When he didn't get anything, he probably threw a fit or a tantrum or raced up and down the aisles. I can only assume that it was ugly. This morning Ronin was awake when I came in around 7a and that surprised me because he went to bed all sickly and lethargic. He remained that way in the morning only, and I put him on the couch to watch Cars. Nikko also watched Cars this morning, and wouldn't let go of one of the McQueen cars. Unfortunately, he took it with him to school despite my trying to trade it for his burp cloth or just to take it away. I thought he might lose it at school, but luckily he came home with it in his hand. I wonder if he wouldn't surrender it at school either. Sad school day, indeed.
Nikko got cranky after lunch, around 2:40p, wanting something else to eat, wanting the McQueen that Ronin was holding, and then ultimately wanting his burp cloth. I was getting irritated at him, and then checked on him in the living room to see that he fell asleep. I always feed bad after getting irritated at him, because his crankiness usually precedes a nap. Not always, but sometimes. Nikko woke up two hours later and wasn't in a bad mood at all. That led to a decent dinner for him and a happy medium mood for the rest of the night.
Monday, November 9, 2009
PECS meeting / Ronin, PLEASE??
Today was our house meeting with Linda H., Kathy and Margie (Nikko's teachers) regarding PECS pictures and how to get a picture schedule set up for the home. We sat in the living room and they pulled out little 2x2 pictures with velcro circles on the back. These were the 6 foods that I picked out that Nikko really enjoys: Peaches, Cookies, Popcorn, Cereal, Juice and Crackers. They put Cereal and Crackers on the floor in front of Nikko and asked him which one he wanted. Nikko stared at the squares and did nothing. Then Linda brought out the box of crackers and showed it to Nikko. He reached for it, but Linda put the picture next to the cracker and told him to take the picture. Margie helped Nikko pick it up, and then helped Nikko put it in Linda's outstretched hand. When he did that, Linda immediately gave him a cracker. We repeated this a few times until Nikko was able to pick up the picture of the cracker and hand it to Linda, getting rewarded with a cracker. BINGO! For Nikko to master this task in a few minutes was just awesome. I know he may forget it tomorrow and I'll have to show him how to do it again, but he has the capacity to pick it up. That's awesome. They also showed me a long strip of laminated colored paper that had velcroed squares of pictures of winter clothing. This is the picture schedule. If I am going to dress Nikko to go outside, the squares of clothing would be ordered by how they go on. Socks would go on first; after the socks are on, Nikko is supposed to take the Socks picture off and put it away in a pocket on the back of the strip. Next is the Shoes picture. After Nikko puts on his shoes, then he's supposed to take off the Shoes picture and put it away. And that's how the schedule goes. They hadn't finalized all the pictures and the velcro, so Kathy said she'd probably put it in Nikko's backpack tomorrow for him to take home. Nikko will need a picture schedule for when he eats, plays, takes a bath, goes to the bathroom and sleeps. Linda asked if I wanted to practice PECS more with Nikko before getting in contact with someone named Maria to move forward with discreet trials, but I said let's go ahead and contact her. I hope Linda will give me her number tomorrow because she didn't leave me with anything today. I was so incredibly grateful that Nikko's teachers came to our house and sat with him, even though they'll see him tomorrow. "Do you guys do this with everyone?" I asked them. Kathy and Margie kind of looked at each other (they must be a well-synchronized team since they've worked with each other for the past few years) and said, "Well, everyone that needs it. And there are a lot of kids that need it!" I am so grateful that they took time to come over with Linda to show us stuff. Teachers are a godsend.
Nikko and Ronin had temperatures today, about the 99.4 range. Audrey had a 101.6 temp before lunch. They didn't seem sluggish throughout the day, but I had to force a nap on Ronin and Audrey in the afternoon. Nikko didn't fall asleep until 5pm, even though I tried to coax him into a sleepy state to get some rest. Around 8:20p when I was headed to the bathroom to give Audrey a bath, Ronin suddenly looked like a zombie and was resting on an ottoman. He had a glazed look on his face and I could see that the sickness was hitting him hard. We hurried to give him a bath after Audrey, and he could barely keep his eyes open during the prayers. I'll have to check on these kids before I go to bed. I hope that Nikko's temperature goes down by tomorrow morning.
I FORGOT to add this one extra tidbit today: Nikko pulled me to the living room and signed Fish. He wanted to watch Finding Nemo, but couldn't find the DVD covers (I put them in the bedroom as I was cleaning up last night for the PECS meeting). I put it on and both boys were enjoying watching it. I went to the kitchen to eat lunch. Then I heard the screams and the crying followed by the thunder of feet running toward me. Ronin was holding the toy Nemo fish and Nikko wanted it by force. Ronin didn't want to give it up. I tried to show Nikko other cars/trucks to distract him, but he just wanted Nemo. Ronin was not willing to give in. Finally I was on my knees in front of the TV and said, "Ronin, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE will you let Nikko play with Nemo? Just for a little bit? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE??" Know what? Ronin held out Nemo, walked over to Nikko, and gave it to him. Nikko took it and ran to the couch and I took Ronin into a big hug and gave him a big kiss, thanking him for being such a giving brother. [At that moment.] Ronin may never do that again, but maybe it was the PLEASEs that made him change his mind. I don't know. But I'm proud of Ronin for giving Nikko the Nemo.
Nikko and Ronin had temperatures today, about the 99.4 range. Audrey had a 101.6 temp before lunch. They didn't seem sluggish throughout the day, but I had to force a nap on Ronin and Audrey in the afternoon. Nikko didn't fall asleep until 5pm, even though I tried to coax him into a sleepy state to get some rest. Around 8:20p when I was headed to the bathroom to give Audrey a bath, Ronin suddenly looked like a zombie and was resting on an ottoman. He had a glazed look on his face and I could see that the sickness was hitting him hard. We hurried to give him a bath after Audrey, and he could barely keep his eyes open during the prayers. I'll have to check on these kids before I go to bed. I hope that Nikko's temperature goes down by tomorrow morning.
I FORGOT to add this one extra tidbit today: Nikko pulled me to the living room and signed Fish. He wanted to watch Finding Nemo, but couldn't find the DVD covers (I put them in the bedroom as I was cleaning up last night for the PECS meeting). I put it on and both boys were enjoying watching it. I went to the kitchen to eat lunch. Then I heard the screams and the crying followed by the thunder of feet running toward me. Ronin was holding the toy Nemo fish and Nikko wanted it by force. Ronin didn't want to give it up. I tried to show Nikko other cars/trucks to distract him, but he just wanted Nemo. Ronin was not willing to give in. Finally I was on my knees in front of the TV and said, "Ronin, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE will you let Nikko play with Nemo? Just for a little bit? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE??" Know what? Ronin held out Nemo, walked over to Nikko, and gave it to him. Nikko took it and ran to the couch and I took Ronin into a big hug and gave him a big kiss, thanking him for being such a giving brother. [At that moment.] Ronin may never do that again, but maybe it was the PLEASEs that made him change his mind. I don't know. But I'm proud of Ronin for giving Nikko the Nemo.
Old, New, Red, Blue
A quick post...
During bedtime stories, Nikko sat in Denis' lap while Ronin crouched between us, reading a Disney Cars book called "Old, New, Red, Blue." Ronin has memorized the content of each page and reads it back to us in a very cute, squeaky voice. He was naming all the characters on a page while pointing to them. Suddenly I wondered, if Nikko could talk, would he sound like Ronin in a cute, squeaky voice? Then I wondered, what would Nikko's personality be like, if he didn't have autism? Would he be as friendly, funny and goofy as Ronin? Would Nikko be totally absorbed in Cars, pointing them out and naming them, playing with them and reciting the movie lines along with his toys? I got sad, sitting there, thinking about what Nikko would be like if he were normal, and I almost cried. Had to shake it off when we got to the page where Lightning McQueen is surrounded by tractors and Nikko starts covering his ears. But it's a nagging thought, and I feel like Nikko got robbed of his own self. :(
During bedtime stories, Nikko sat in Denis' lap while Ronin crouched between us, reading a Disney Cars book called "Old, New, Red, Blue." Ronin has memorized the content of each page and reads it back to us in a very cute, squeaky voice. He was naming all the characters on a page while pointing to them. Suddenly I wondered, if Nikko could talk, would he sound like Ronin in a cute, squeaky voice? Then I wondered, what would Nikko's personality be like, if he didn't have autism? Would he be as friendly, funny and goofy as Ronin? Would Nikko be totally absorbed in Cars, pointing them out and naming them, playing with them and reciting the movie lines along with his toys? I got sad, sitting there, thinking about what Nikko would be like if he were normal, and I almost cried. Had to shake it off when we got to the page where Lightning McQueen is surrounded by tractors and Nikko starts covering his ears. But it's a nagging thought, and I feel like Nikko got robbed of his own self. :(
Sunday, November 8, 2009
River Trails photo shoot
Didn't post last night because I was up late revising a resume for a good friend. The only eventful thing we did on Friday was to go on an outing to Target. I hemmed and hawed about how to handle the three kids in the store and decided that two kids would go in the double stroller while one walked. Luckily, Nikko fell asleep on the way there and continued to sleep as I put him in the stroller. Ronin got to walk, even though I put him on the stroller handlebars to get him inside. I brought along my reusable orange Target bag because the basket at the bottom of the stroller has dilapidated mesh sides that wouldn't hold lots of items securely. I don't have a clip to attach the bag to the stroller, for some reason. The lady at the checkout counter praised me for being "green" and said I saved 5 cents today. I wanted to tell her that I would have brought an IKEA bag if I had one, because it's bigger, but I just smiled and told Ronin to get up off the floor.
Today our major goal was to meet up with Atz at the River Trails Nature Center so she could capture a picture (or a few pics) for our Christmas card. The weather today was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, 20 degrees warmer than normal for early November. We were all in short sleeves! The place was busy with other families that decided to stroll the trails and march through the crunchy leafy floor. Nikko fell asleep on the way so we let him nap a bit longer while Ronin and Audrey were let loose to explore. Chinny had dropped Atz off and was so kind enough to stick around with us, helping to keep Ronin out of trouble while we tended to the other kids. Audrey was having a blast as she toddled through the leaves. Surprisingly, she didn't put many things in her mouth. I had to wake up Nikko so he could get his picture taken, so I went to the Pilot and unbuckled him. He wasn't crazy about being woken up early, and it showed in his scowl. Just as he was about to start whining, I pulled out a Dum Dum, one of many that he would eat along the trail. Instead of letting it sit in his mouth like many of the other lollipops I've seen him eat, he started taking bites and chomping them in half. My plan to preoccupy him with Dum Dums was short-lived. We walked past huge cages that held some local wildlife such as a skunk, a fox, a hawk and a bald eagle. Patrick Creen and his two daughters showed up to enjoy the weather with us, and Atz's family soon joined us as well. Atz was such a sport, running around us, bending every which way to try and capture a smile from the kids, or a little eye contact from Nikko. That was a rare thing! Nikko warmed up a little later in our excursion, especially after the outdoor pictures were done and we went inside the nature center. He enjoyed looking at one of the fish aquariums. In fact, he spent more time in front of that than in front of the turtle pond, which was the attraction he liked the last time we went there. I wonder if it was the Nemo effect. I made a mental footnote that we should consider getting an aquarium in the future, although I would not look forward to cleaning it unless I got one of those fish tank cleaners that cleaned the tank by itself, like in the Nemo movie. I might settle for an algae eater, but they don't eat everything. Nikko explored the activity room, running to the fish poles and trying one out for a minute. He didn't carry it around and get upset when we had to leave it, like last time. He stopped and worked the beads on a colorful metal bead table. I had pulled out a puzzle for him, but he flipped one or two pieces and took off again. We all ended up staying at River Trails until it closed at 4pm, which is a testament that we enjoyed the weather, the company, and the environment. Before we left, Atz gave me a bag of some toys that she found while cleaning her crawlspace: a toy car of McQueen, a toy car of Flo, a toy Nemo and a toy Dorie. They were all from McDonald's happy meals back in the day. Ronin loved carrying around Flo (and found Ramone at home later on to reunite the couple) and Nikko took an immediate attachment to Nemo and Dorie.
We had to make a Costco run after the Trails. I took Nikko inside with me because Ronin had fallen asleep and Audrey seemed to be fine watching TV. I had to change Nikko in the bathroom and for once he allowed me to lay him on the changing table. I realized that Nikko is a big kid and probably shouldn't be on the changing table anymore, but he had a messy #2 that I had to mop up. I should be thankful the table didn't break. :P Nikko stayed in the cart, banging Dorie against Nemo and making a grunting noise. I found one last Dum Dum and gave it to him in the checkout lane. He had depleted my supply for the day and I hoped he wouldn't ask for any more. We got home and had to give the kids a late snack, which affected their dinner, of course. Audrey got put down for a nap, and the rest of us were in the living room watching - - you guessed it - - Finding Nemo. I think I've watched it eight times in three days.
Today our major goal was to meet up with Atz at the River Trails Nature Center so she could capture a picture (or a few pics) for our Christmas card. The weather today was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, 20 degrees warmer than normal for early November. We were all in short sleeves! The place was busy with other families that decided to stroll the trails and march through the crunchy leafy floor. Nikko fell asleep on the way so we let him nap a bit longer while Ronin and Audrey were let loose to explore. Chinny had dropped Atz off and was so kind enough to stick around with us, helping to keep Ronin out of trouble while we tended to the other kids. Audrey was having a blast as she toddled through the leaves. Surprisingly, she didn't put many things in her mouth. I had to wake up Nikko so he could get his picture taken, so I went to the Pilot and unbuckled him. He wasn't crazy about being woken up early, and it showed in his scowl. Just as he was about to start whining, I pulled out a Dum Dum, one of many that he would eat along the trail. Instead of letting it sit in his mouth like many of the other lollipops I've seen him eat, he started taking bites and chomping them in half. My plan to preoccupy him with Dum Dums was short-lived. We walked past huge cages that held some local wildlife such as a skunk, a fox, a hawk and a bald eagle. Patrick Creen and his two daughters showed up to enjoy the weather with us, and Atz's family soon joined us as well. Atz was such a sport, running around us, bending every which way to try and capture a smile from the kids, or a little eye contact from Nikko. That was a rare thing! Nikko warmed up a little later in our excursion, especially after the outdoor pictures were done and we went inside the nature center. He enjoyed looking at one of the fish aquariums. In fact, he spent more time in front of that than in front of the turtle pond, which was the attraction he liked the last time we went there. I wonder if it was the Nemo effect. I made a mental footnote that we should consider getting an aquarium in the future, although I would not look forward to cleaning it unless I got one of those fish tank cleaners that cleaned the tank by itself, like in the Nemo movie. I might settle for an algae eater, but they don't eat everything. Nikko explored the activity room, running to the fish poles and trying one out for a minute. He didn't carry it around and get upset when we had to leave it, like last time. He stopped and worked the beads on a colorful metal bead table. I had pulled out a puzzle for him, but he flipped one or two pieces and took off again. We all ended up staying at River Trails until it closed at 4pm, which is a testament that we enjoyed the weather, the company, and the environment. Before we left, Atz gave me a bag of some toys that she found while cleaning her crawlspace: a toy car of McQueen, a toy car of Flo, a toy Nemo and a toy Dorie. They were all from McDonald's happy meals back in the day. Ronin loved carrying around Flo (and found Ramone at home later on to reunite the couple) and Nikko took an immediate attachment to Nemo and Dorie.
We had to make a Costco run after the Trails. I took Nikko inside with me because Ronin had fallen asleep and Audrey seemed to be fine watching TV. I had to change Nikko in the bathroom and for once he allowed me to lay him on the changing table. I realized that Nikko is a big kid and probably shouldn't be on the changing table anymore, but he had a messy #2 that I had to mop up. I should be thankful the table didn't break. :P Nikko stayed in the cart, banging Dorie against Nemo and making a grunting noise. I found one last Dum Dum and gave it to him in the checkout lane. He had depleted my supply for the day and I hoped he wouldn't ask for any more. We got home and had to give the kids a late snack, which affected their dinner, of course. Audrey got put down for a nap, and the rest of us were in the living room watching - - you guessed it - - Finding Nemo. I think I've watched it eight times in three days.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Learning independence
Nikko went to school dressed in a red, collared polo shirt for the picture retake day. He didn't take pictures the first time around because that was the day I took him to Marianjoy Rehab Hospital to see Dr. Keen. Nikko's lips have been really dry and I slathered aquaphor on them to moisten them. I also put mousse in his hair because he had a bit of bedhead going. When he came home, the progress report said he took a cute picture. I wonder what that means. Just getting him to look directly at the camera would make a good picture. I'm not betting on a smile, but it would be nice if there were one.
I had a schedule going because today was Audrey's 1 yr. well visit at the pediatrician and I opted to bring all the kids along. I packed the DVD player and the Cars movie, along with some Dum Dum lollipops, and that seemed to keep both boys at bay. When we arrived, I put Ronin and Audrey in the double stroller and had Nikko walk beside me. It was a big test, even though the distance from the car to the building was only about 100 feet away, because I wanted Nikko to independently walk without holding my hand. I didn't mind if he held onto the stroller. I couldn't hold his hand anyway since the stroller is heavy to push. Nikko did great, didn't stray from my side or dart away toward the busy street. Audrey had four shots and a finger prick for lead testing, so she's probably pretty sore. I have to keep an eye on her because one of the shots was the MMR shot, the one blamed for causing autism in so many kids. I think she'll be fine, but if there is any kind of regression in her behavior or eye contact, I think I'll have a heart attack.
Ronin fell asleep on the way home so I let Nikko and Audrey play in the leaves for just a little bit before taking everyone inside. It was snack time and Nikko was asking for a pancake again. As I served him, Ronin wanted some too but pancakes aren't safe for him. I offered him a safe waffle, same as what he had for breakfast, and that excited him greatly. No nap for Nikko today, so I hope he went to bed quickly. Denis didn't get home until after the boys' baths and during storytime, because he went to an RDI meeting held at the Elk Grove Village Library. Venus, the mom from the PEPS group and who I had run into at the Rec Plex, forwarded me an email through Kathy Winters regarding the RDI meeting (Relationship Development Intervention). Denis took notes and gave me his report upon returning, and from what I gathered from the meeting was that RDI was not going to cure autism, but was another way (like floortime) to work with Nikko, enhance his dynamic intellectuality by being a guide and encouraging him to experience things while challenging and supporting him. I'm sure that's the simplified explanation of RDI, but mine was also abbreviated. Denis felt that it was somewhat common sense teaching, and I agree along the lines that we probably won't totally invest in RDI but use the methodology in how we interact with Nikko. Every time we go out into the world and expose Nikko to a new place, a different event, and lots of people, it impacts him in ways I can't even see. At least that's the hope. Giving Nikko the chance to experience things will help stimulate his brain and hopefully give him insight on how to solve problems. Helping kids with autism lead a better life in the future - improve the quality of life for them, I believe was the saying - is supposed to be the goal of RDI. I also believe that it's my job as a mom to help my kids lead a fantastic life, so whatever I can do, or should do, to enrich their life experience, I should do. OK, that sounds very optimistic... let me remember that when I'm having a tirade about something stupid. Shame on me!
I had a schedule going because today was Audrey's 1 yr. well visit at the pediatrician and I opted to bring all the kids along. I packed the DVD player and the Cars movie, along with some Dum Dum lollipops, and that seemed to keep both boys at bay. When we arrived, I put Ronin and Audrey in the double stroller and had Nikko walk beside me. It was a big test, even though the distance from the car to the building was only about 100 feet away, because I wanted Nikko to independently walk without holding my hand. I didn't mind if he held onto the stroller. I couldn't hold his hand anyway since the stroller is heavy to push. Nikko did great, didn't stray from my side or dart away toward the busy street. Audrey had four shots and a finger prick for lead testing, so she's probably pretty sore. I have to keep an eye on her because one of the shots was the MMR shot, the one blamed for causing autism in so many kids. I think she'll be fine, but if there is any kind of regression in her behavior or eye contact, I think I'll have a heart attack.
Ronin fell asleep on the way home so I let Nikko and Audrey play in the leaves for just a little bit before taking everyone inside. It was snack time and Nikko was asking for a pancake again. As I served him, Ronin wanted some too but pancakes aren't safe for him. I offered him a safe waffle, same as what he had for breakfast, and that excited him greatly. No nap for Nikko today, so I hope he went to bed quickly. Denis didn't get home until after the boys' baths and during storytime, because he went to an RDI meeting held at the Elk Grove Village Library. Venus, the mom from the PEPS group and who I had run into at the Rec Plex, forwarded me an email through Kathy Winters regarding the RDI meeting (Relationship Development Intervention). Denis took notes and gave me his report upon returning, and from what I gathered from the meeting was that RDI was not going to cure autism, but was another way (like floortime) to work with Nikko, enhance his dynamic intellectuality by being a guide and encouraging him to experience things while challenging and supporting him. I'm sure that's the simplified explanation of RDI, but mine was also abbreviated. Denis felt that it was somewhat common sense teaching, and I agree along the lines that we probably won't totally invest in RDI but use the methodology in how we interact with Nikko. Every time we go out into the world and expose Nikko to a new place, a different event, and lots of people, it impacts him in ways I can't even see. At least that's the hope. Giving Nikko the chance to experience things will help stimulate his brain and hopefully give him insight on how to solve problems. Helping kids with autism lead a better life in the future - improve the quality of life for them, I believe was the saying - is supposed to be the goal of RDI. I also believe that it's my job as a mom to help my kids lead a fantastic life, so whatever I can do, or should do, to enrich their life experience, I should do. OK, that sounds very optimistic... let me remember that when I'm having a tirade about something stupid. Shame on me!
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