Posts
He has been riding the tricycle at school -- first with help from me (holding his feet on and physically moving each leg to circle he pedals) and now, today, a little bit on his own. (still with re-direction, but he's keeping his feet on the pedals and beginning to push on his own)
He seems to no longer chew on his shirt collars as much as he did before. For about a week, he stopped doing it. Yesterday, I had to remind him to take it out of his mouth, but this was a huge preoccupation before.
John has had 15 sessions of Neurofeedback and fell asleep during Saturday's session. They say that is 'good' because it is training him to be relaxed and if he falls asleep, the training teaches him what it should feel like to be in a deep sleep. He woke up very alert and since then, has fallen asleep easily the 2 nights after it. Today's session was hard because he wanted to keep pulling off the EEG wires.
John worked with Angie, a different speech therapist today. She was good with him and wouldn't let him get away with sloppy speech. He zoned out a lot, didn't want to stay in his chair, and wasn't focused for lengthy periods, but she demanded a lot out of him and it was good for him.
John started swim lessons today. He'll just go today and Friday because of our schedule, but Katie is going every day. It's private lessons in my mom's pool from a swim teacher at the local pool.
Today, there was a summer camp going on outside on the playground at school. They were singing the hokey pokey and John wanted to participate, so he walked up to them and stood in the circle and played along. His speech teacher was helping to lead the group and she couldn't believe how he interacted.
John is becoming more verbal in class, but he is not singing the songs with everyone in class like he does at home. Row Row Your Boat, which involves holding another child's hands and looking at them, presents a challenge. He selects certain phrases of each song that he'll do and then he stares off for the rest of it. He likes it when it's his turn and he patiently waits while other kids get their turn. He's good at taking turns, passing to the other kids, and saying "my turn".
Overall, John's frustration level has significantly improved. Everything used to set him off, but now, he is able to problem solve better or ask for "help". His first week of school showed his teachers his frustration and all of them have commented on how well he adjusted and how quickly his frustration seemed to go away. When he is tired or hungry, however, he can be very aggressive.
Now that language is emerging, we have gained a whole new set of behavior. He has learned the word "NO". He never had it before and now, it seems like that's all I get. He's learning the independent side of communicating and not enjoying when he can't get what he wants.
He is noticing the world around him more and it has made him a lot more clingy. He is starting a stage he never went through as an infant -- separation anxiety. He always preferred me to others, but there never was a 'fear' of me leaving. He always insisted upon walking, now he would rather be carried. This is something that from the outside that may not look much different, but there is a different motivation in clinging to me than before. I can't explain it well, but it seems like he is starting to sense the danger that exists when separated from me that he never had before (like running in the street, not holding my hand in a parking lot, leaving him to run an errand).
His posture seems to be improving. He wants to be a big boy these days and prefers a booster seat over the high chair. He is less clumsy and walks with less stumbles.
His imaginary play is developing. Last Wednesday, in class, he picked up a baby doll and told me he wanted to go outside and get the shopping cart. We went and got the 'play' shopping cart and he put the baby in the basket and told me 'buy apple bah' and he pretended to take the baby shopping. The other day, my mom and I had the blocks and a car out and he moved a block over and told us it was John's school and he drove the car to John's school.
Things John is struggling with:
- opening the scissors (he can cut by closing, but opening back up is hard)
- doesn't always react to being in trouble - he sometimes seems like he isn't reading the emotion behind the voice, especially me;
- doesn't understand certain behaviors & actions are wrong - he's played in his poop twice this week - doesn't seemed phased when scolded - almost excited he gets to play in water to get clean
- Interacting with other kids (row row your boat) or initiating play
- the hard e sound
- the concept of 2
- staying attentive for 3-5 minutes for a story or activity
- singing in a group
- riding the tricycle without re-direction
- jumping in a direction
No comments:
Post a Comment