The screwdriver

Denis' Dad and worker Abe came over to start putting up the swing set. During speech Denis took Ronin outside while Nikko was in the living room with Gloria, Audrey and me. Nikko wasn't very cooperative in the beginning, wanting to go outside as well, but I wanted him to work. He took Gloria's pictures of Hot Dog, Banana, Toaster and Bread and lined them up. He seemed more interested in lining them up than in putting the plastic banana or hot dog on top of their respective pictures, but this is exactly the kind of exercise we need to do with him to get him to see that they are the same thing. Yesterday morning before playgroup Nikko had taken a picture I had of crackers, and a banana picture, and toted them around. I took real crackers and put them on top of the picture so he could see they were the same thing. So, in essence, I've been doing Gloria's job. Ha ha ha. Gloria says if Nikko can nail down this picture/object concept, he'll do much better with PECs in preschool. Kinda makes me want to tell Gloria that she should have incorporated these picture/object exercises months and months ago, instead of doing a final push with them these last weeks of ST. Grrrrrr.

The rest of the day passed by weirdly because we mostly watched the memorial service for Michael Jackson. The kids didn't argue for us to turn the channel, and Audrey was the most fidgety for attention. We did get another chance to take Nikko outside while the two babies napped. I wanted to help put together the slide at least because I had read the directions and knew it could be assembled while the others worked on the structure. Nikko was watching Denis and me drill screws into the slide to secure it. He took a long flathead screwdriver and put it into a screw hole, turning and twisting it as if to get that screw deeper into the hole. I think he was imitating us, or maybe even imitating my father-in-law because I was using a drill, not a screwdriver. It was cool to see Nikko acting like he was helping fix the slide and I said to Denis that we should get him some play power tools. Denis remembers the toy tool set Shelly brought to OT once, and at the time I figured that Nikko would just stim off the screwdriver or use the drill in a stim way. But the more Nikko becomes exploratory, the more I'm going to have to take more risks and expose him to more things, not just automatically assume that he will revert to old ways. This is both true and untrue, as I recall the fish pond vs. water table incident. Or with safety issues, he may still be a magnet to swings and possibly get knocked out. Regarding the power tools, I should try them on him again and see if he will be more purposeful in his play. Not much else happened tonight unfortunately. Tomorrow we don't have anything on the calendar, but Denis' dad will come back to finish the swingset so I've been told. It's supposed to rain, so I hope it will still be workable conditions. It's not finished yet but when it will be, oh joy the boys will have! I've got to look for some wood stain to protect the finish.

The bean/water table

We made it to play group this morning, but not on time. Ronin got dropped off at the daycare with resistance and I ran us back to Shirley's group. The bean table had been emptied of beans and turned into a *gasp* water table. Ooooooh greeeeeeeat. "You didn't know? Oh, you weren't here last week," I was told, "otherwise we would have told you to bring a change of clothes for Nikko." Luckily I usually have a spare change for him, which I needed to haul out after he was done drenching his tummy on the edge of the water table. I watched his feet carefully because sooner or later I'd probably see a gym shoe leave the floor and try to climb into the table. Yeah, that happened. Nikko was happy to splash and move some boats around. He started dipping his elbows in, and would have put his face in the water had we not restrained him. Andrew, the other autistic boy, already got the front of his hair wet so he got ushered away to the trampoline. I had to struggle holding Nikko in place during circle time, let him run away and wander back, but he managed to pick a red fire helmet to wear for a short period of time in front of the mirror. He didn't sit at all for the story book. Then it was back to the water table. I had to drag him away from it during craft time, which he also resisted, but during craft time I explained to him that snack time was next. I think he caught the words "snack time" because he then allowed me to clean his hands and he voluntarily climbed back into his seat waiting for Cheetos. I mentioned to Shirley that next week is his last session and did I need to bring anything? She suggested a camera. One other boy had brought some treats during snack time, so I wonder if I should do the same. On another note, I need to get a gift for Shelly and for Gloria, and later for Bo, for all their work with Nikko. I'm going to be venturing into that realm of Teacher Gift ideas. I'll ask Atz since she's had the most experience here. Lakeshore Learning gift cards?

We came home and it was speech time for Ronin, who did well using two-word combos (Hi car, hi train, up high, hi bike, hi ball, all done). After that, we had a nice visit from Regina and two of her four kids, Emma and Roman. Nikko didn't pay them too much attention and retreated to his spot at the picture window. Ronin was getting into Roman's way alot and messing up the play food for Emma. Naptime would soon follow for Ronin, then Audrey would follow. Nikko fell asleep in the afternoon as well, sitting up on the couch watching Hi-5. I couldn't catch a nap myself because each time a kid went down, another was up and demanding food or a diaper change or I was trying to clean up the kitchen. Denis called and proposed that we go to Lions Park to listen to a band play (classical music) and play on the playground. The Creens were going to be there, so I called up Pat and left a message about it. Eric and Leslie were in town as well and they were such dolls to meet us up there for a short time. I think the boys are more comfortable seeing their faces off and on in their lives because they didn't cry or freak out at them. Nikko even tolerated Eric picking him off the swings and bringing him back to the stroller. Forgot to mention that before we even left the house to go to the park, Ronin was acting so incredibly crabby and we didn't know what he wanted. He was kicking and screaming, and I stated, "But you're the one who even had a nap!!!" Nikko joined in and Audrey was fussy too. It was bloody hell getting out the door. Once we got to the park, however, the boys saw the jungle gym and they took off. I covered them in bug spray, too. There may have been a point where Nikko got tired of the jungle gym because as we all stood around chit chatting he started running up and down the sidewalk between us, running and stopping by my side, then taking off again. We tried not to get home too late, but Audrey's bedtime was still past 9:30 due to a late bath, and the boys were down after 10pm. I went to the grocery to get milk and came out with a whole lot of other stuff, of course.

One more thing before I forget... regarding Nikko's OC behavior, it's hard to predict but sometimes he sees something and returns to its rightful place. On more than one occasion while I've been doing dishes he'd run in, place a cup on the countertop (that erroneously made its way into the living room) and run away. He ran in, put a Cheerio on the table, and ran away. I saw this Cheerio on the living room rug earlier and was too lazy to pick it up and throw away. He could have eaten the Cheerio, or stomped on it, but it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Too bad he doesn't automatically clean up things in the living room, but there's hope, right?

Rex's Party

Today we ventured out to a birthday party for 2 year old Rex, our cousin. It was in their backyard and the weather was perfect [in the shade]. Nikko found some bubble wands and tried to whip the stick around, but opted later to line up the containers instead. He was also interested in the tub fish pond. I feared that he would start playing with the water, splashing it, and ultimately jumping into the tub, but surprisingly he didn't. I saw Nikko touch the water with the bubble wand and a finger or two, but he mainly just watched from above. Again, surprising. Another surprising thing he did today was sit in a swing hammock of his own accord. He did this twice, and I almost wondered what was wrong with him. I was able to observe him the second time around because he was right next to me. There was nothing odd about his behavior, he approached the swing, climbed into it and sat with his feet dragging. He didn't spin or rock out of control; he just looked like he was a dude chillin' in a swing. Shelly would have been proud of him. I was sitting on a Sesame Street blanket with Audrey, staying out of the sun. Nikko would come over and plop himself down on the blanket in a "dude chillin'" kind of way. He didn't do any stimming (except for lining up the bubble wand cases) and didn't do any running in circles, looking sideways, or crashing. Except for the bubble wand stuff, he looked like any other boy running around in a backyard, but not talking.

We came home and the boys got another opportunity to play outside. The rain had washed away the chalk drawings I made of an airplane, car, house, dog and street so I drew some lines down again. The boys seem comfortable outside, but I don't like the mosquitoes making a meal of out them. Nikko doesn't try to run down the driveway away from the house, but I still can't take chances. My bubble machine died, too, so I think I have to go buy another one. Grrr. Later in the evening I was watching Nikko look at himself in the mirror while Signing Time was on. He signed the word Hot. Clear as day to me. I was able to get him to sign it to me upon request later, and made him feel proud for doing it. He hasn't signed the other signs lately, and I wonder if he'll continue to do it when prompted. The imitation is fine, even if the meaning isn't there just yet. Tomorrow we have playgroup and I hope I can rally the troops out the door by 9am. We have two sessions left, so I hope I can see a glimmer of something in them.

Fireworks on the 4th

Nikko seemed rather sullen and withdrawn most of the day. I wonder if it's because he still had a leftover temperature from yesterday. Denis took the boys to see the Mount Prospect 4th of July parade while I stayed home with Audrey. The cold that the kiddos had this week finally caught up to me and I suffered with a headache, runny nose and coughing. I got a chance to nap before lunch because Denis took the boys to play outside while Audrey napped. During the parade, Audrey was awake but fussy, and when I finally put her down I didn't get much time to rest before the boys came home, but I survived. Nikko must have gotten bitten by a big bug at the parade because I noticed a big, round, red bruise on his right arm above his elbow. When I put my hand on it, the bruise felt hot. That was so weird because the rest of his body was cool. It also looked a little swollen. Ice didn't help, nor did it stay on his arm for long. I'll just keep an eye on it, since Nikko seems prone to getting bit by bugs and eventually it seems to go away. The bruise/bites just look really scary at first. I didn't see a glimmer of my regular Nikko until after dinner, when we sat in the living room with the boys playing with Denis. I saw Nikko smile for the first time today and wondered where he had went. Before 10pm we took a chance with the boys and brought them outside to look at fireworks waaaaaaaay off in the distance, behind rooftops and through tree branches. Nikko watched them and didn't get bored, although he did look away from time to time. Luckily he didn't squirm while I held him, but I felt my back starting to hurt from his weight. The smiles I saw on Nikko's face while he watched the big showers of colored lights and the BOOMs that followed made it all worthwhile. In the semi-darkness I saw Nikko point with his right hand toward the fireworks, and that thrilled me even more than the smiles. It was a late bedtime, but worth it for me. Tomorrow is Rex's bday party so I'll get myself mentally geared up to get us all packed and out the door. I hope my cold is better by then.

FS are back

We played outside a bit before going to the in-laws for dinner. My neighbor gave us a "rocking" horse suspended by springs onto a frame, similar to a trampoline. I accepted it because I want to see if Nikko will ride it and alleviate any stims. We tried to put him on the horse but he wasn't willing. Instead he opted to stand inside the frame next to the horse. I figured that perhaps Nikko doesn't know what to do on it, never seeing a cowboy on a horse, so how would he know how to rock on it? There were a few little delays in getting out of the house on time, one being Nikko is turning his attention back to fruit snacks. Good thing I didn't throw them all away, but yesterday at Costco he started clamoring for them and I sincerely didn't have a single bag on me. I rooted in the food bag and found two stray FS, but it didn't satisfy Nikko. He also didn't eat his mac cheese tonight at the in-laws, and I wondered if it's because Denis put some chicken nuggets in the middle of it. He said he probably spoiled his appetite by snacking late. Lose-lose situation there. I brought the instruction manual for the swingset over so that my FIL can read it. He looked at it and seemed challenged, but he didn't say it wasn't possible. I really hope he can make some time in the next week to come over, possibly with someone to help, and put it all together. I am dying for the boys to play on something in the backyard that will keep them entertained!!

Tomorrow is the 4th of July and we don't have any definitive plans set. We'll try to see fireworks near the gas station, instead of going to Melas Park, but I wonder if Denis will want to go to the park to experience stuff inside. Doubtful, with the three kids, but who knows? It's supposed to rain at some point so a rainy day plan is probably the route. This means being in the basement. Friday is Rex's 2nd birthday party so there's another opportunity to socialize. Nikko was running around tonight and allowed some interaction with Ronin. In fact, earlier today I watched them chase each other back and forth from the kitchen to the living room sofa. They were both giggling and looking at each other to see who would go chase the other. I liked that interaction.

As I mentioned the other night, Cyndi lent me another Behavioral Therapy book titled A Treasure Chest of Behavioral Strategies for Individuals with Autism (Fouse, Wheeler). It looks like an easier read than the first book I trolled through, but what bothers me about both books is the basis of ABA therapy or "reinforcers". I understand that if Nikko does a desired action, he gets rewarded a reinforcer. This happens many times until the reinforcer is diminished. But when I put the reinforcer in the picture of Fruit Snacks, I worry because I don't personally want to reinforce his actions all the time with FS. I know it could be praise, but I am also wondering if this kind of behavioral therapy is the right direction for Nikko. It might very well be. I know that I'm supposed to move forward after he starts preschool, but it's nagging me inside that I'll have to sit for two months until we start preschool. I'm not ignoring him in the interim, mind you, but I'm also not Jen the DT who seemed to make big gains with Nikko in only two months. I'll have to mull this over, over time.

Oreos

Cyndi came over yesterday and lent me another book that she says is easier to read than the last behavioral book she lent me. I haven't looked through it yet but I think it's based on ABA Therapy. I wonder if, for the heck of it, I should get Nikko tested for all those other things that the other moms with DAN! doctors are doing, like metals or yeast. Someone posted a few websites where you can get kits sent to your home and send out the urine samples. I'll look them up a bit later and see how much it costs per kit. When is a bit later? Just the other day I finally got around to looking at the Peapod.com website to see how to order groceries online. I don't have a problem with the concept, but it requires a minimum order of $50. Sometimes all I need is a gallon of milk. The wise thing to do is to plot out a weekly list, or compare the costs vs. Costco. I wish Costco had home delivery service.

Yesterday I got my Hi-5 Season Two DVD 3 disc set. Nikko is happy to watch these episodes because he hasn't seen them in a long time. Of course I'm glad for the distraction, but will continue to keep Signing Time around. Not much else happened on Wednesday. In fact, since we didn't have any therapies, yesterday and today are pretty much the same. Nikko and Ronin like the sunglasses that I got Nikko in Florida. They both fight over that single pair so I'll have to get Ronin his own pair. I'm thrilled to see Nikko approach me with the sunglasses to help put them on his face. Then he checks to make sure they are secure and he runs off with a big grin. I never thought Nikko would tolerate anything on his head, hardly a hat, and not even sunglasses, but he likes to look at himself in the mirror and run around wearing them.

Another great thing just happened today. We're sitting in the kitchen having snack and I'm giving out Oreos. Nikko looks at my Oreo and signs More. I ask More What a few times, More Bread or More Cookie? He signs More, and then signs Cookie. I said, "WOW!" and gave him an Oreo proudly.

Still no words, 2 ST to go

I wondered how Speech would go today for Nikko since he's not responsive to FS anymore. Gloria brought in her arsenal of toys but we spent a lot of time building with our own brick blocks since Nikko was interested in that from the start. We didn't work in the corner because Gloria thinks he's outgrown working there and we won't get good stuff from him there. She's back to the floortime model of taking his lead. He seemed responsive to her pictures of items such as a banana, pig, school bus and bread. Unfortunately he unbeknownst to us grew an attachment to the banana and bread pictures, so we discovered when it was time to clean up that he was going to throw a big fit over their removal. That's exactly what happened when we had to make the pictures disappear. Gloria said she was disappointed that Nikko still hasn't made the connection with pictures yet, but it shows me that she was at least aware that his concept of pictures was my original goal for him. On the outside, it really looks as if she just came in here every week, played some games or puzzles with Nikko, and left. Honestly, that's exactly what she did. But Gloria did try to enunciate words and make them meaningful. We have two sessions left with her, and if for some reason Nikko started talking before he turned 3, I think I'd have to give a huge donation to the church.

Nikko actually fell asleep between 2:30 and 3p. Luckily, so did his sibs, and I was able to snag a nap before we trekked over to Mom's house to wish her a happy birthday. I couldn't stay for dinner, however, because Denis was coming home from Georgia today and I wanted him to see the kids before or around dinner, not just as they were about to go to bed. He hasn't seen the younger ones in over a week, so I thought it was important. Also, Ronin and Audrey were sporting temperatures and I didn't want Jovy to catch anything. By the time we got home, Ronin had deteriorated a little more and they both had fevers. They're sleeping right now, I went in to check on them, and they seem to be doing much better. We'll see how hot they feel in the morning. Denis also feels crappy. I don't blame him, since he's been in hot, humid weather for a week and comes back to a cool blast (which I love!). I also felt crappy after being on airplanes for most of the day, so I wasn't about to force Denis to drive over to Mom's house and be miserable in the living room. Fortunately, Nikko and I aren't sick. For me, however, it's a matter of time before I get what Ronin has. That's why I'm going to try not to go to bed at 2:30 tonight.