We managed to survive a 'gluten free' birthday tea (August 16th). Jasper requested a 'footy cake' and had a very happy day! We didn't 'risk' organising a party, but instead just had a family dinner.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Happy 5th Birthday!
We managed to survive a 'gluten free' birthday tea (August 16th). Jasper requested a 'footy cake' and had a very happy day! We didn't 'risk' organising a party, but instead just had a family dinner.
My journey with autism.......AND coeliac disease!
Forgot to mention....Jasper was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in October 2009. Oh well, what is one more condition to deal with?
It's been a while.....
"It's been a while since I could stand on my own two feet again" (Staind)
Wow! How long has it been? 16 months or so it seems. So why the silence? I jumped off a bridge in desperation? I strangled Jasper? I ran away from home? I am too busy, curled up in the foetal position in the corner, rocking?? Hmmmm...none of the above (although all those options have been, at one time or another, quite tempting).
No, I am happy to say that I am still here, we are all still alive and life is .......... not too bad, albeit crazy, busy. Most importantly, Jasper is thriving :)
Stay tuned for what has been happening.........
Wow! How long has it been? 16 months or so it seems. So why the silence? I jumped off a bridge in desperation? I strangled Jasper? I ran away from home? I am too busy, curled up in the foetal position in the corner, rocking?? Hmmmm...none of the above (although all those options have been, at one time or another, quite tempting).
No, I am happy to say that I am still here, we are all still alive and life is .......... not too bad, albeit crazy, busy. Most importantly, Jasper is thriving :)
Stay tuned for what has been happening.........
Monday, June 29, 2009
Back again!
It's been a while in between blog entries, which indicates how very busy life is. I feel though that we are slowly taking it all in our stride and this 'craziness' has become our 'new normal'.
Life is a flurry of appointments - Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Play Therapy, Group, Doctors/Specialists (and that is just Tuesdays and Fridays...........and that is just for Jasper). Then we have creche and work (Wed/Thur) , and a myriad other appointments for the rest of us (all of which are scheduled on a Monday). I don't think in terms of what day of the week it is anymore, I think in terms of what appointments I have on any given day!
Using our picture board Jasper is getting really good at knowing what day it is and what that means we will be doing.
Weekends are reserved for housework, running teenagers all over town and finally, crashing in a delirious heap!
Lots of little things have been happening for Jasper. We started him on fish oil about a month ago and despite what we were warned, he actually loves the stuff (strange being that he is such a fussy eater generally). We call it his 'magic sparkle juice' (as when stirred in to regular juice it makes sparkly bubbles appear on the surface). Whether or not it is associated at all, I have seen a real improvement in his cognitive ability and development, as well as his language.
He loves doing puzzles and is able to complete a 25 piece puzzle on his own, actually, the other day he completed a 40 piece floor puzzle on his own. I can see him starting to turn the pieces around to match where they fit, he is learning to turn all the pieces over before he starts so he can see the picture part of all the pieces and also starts with the corners and borders as I have shown him to do. He enjoys games such as memory and matching type games and is really improving with the turn taking.
I've also noticed Jasper is indulging in lots of dramatic and make believe play. The other day he came up to me and said "I'm not Jasper, I'm a puppy" and got down on all fours and started 'woofing'. I said 'Hello Puppy, are you tired"? He replied with a 'woof' and curled up on the floor pretending to sleep.
This morning we went to buy some fruit and vegies at the shop - Jasper loves to pick out the vegies and put them in the bag. When we got home he went into his room, got his little shopping trolley and asked me for 'a bag and some carrots'. I put a few carrots in a plastic shopping bag and he popped them in his trolley and 'went shopping'. He amused himself all afternoon pretending to buy the carrots and wheeling them around in his shopping trolley.
Another dramatic scene he will often act out is 'going to school. He comes out wearing a bag like a backpack and says 'I'm going to school now mum'....'see you later'....and off he goes! This one though is just copying what he sees his big brothers doing each day. I try to extend the play by asking questions - if nothing else it is good practice for his language development.
He still loves to constantly ask where everyone is - over and over - and he loves me to tell the same story of what we are going to do, over and over ('tell me again mum, tell me again'). He often asks (especially if we are out in the car) 'what's happening next mum'?
Food and eating continues to be a big problem. He eats a very limited range of food at home, although eats a lot of the one thing. For example, today he has been obsessed with carrots and has eaten four raw, peeled carrots (and asked for many more). He requests a lot of different things but then refuses to eat them - I have a lot of trouble trying to get across that he has to finish one thing before he gets anything else and I end up throwing out a lot of food. I am however having some success limiting the constant drinks he asks for all day (usually chocolate soy milk or juice). He is allowed either of those at a meal and then the rest of the time I keep his drink bottle handy with water and insist he drinks that between meals.
Over the weekend we gave his room a bit of a makeover and he spent his first night last night in a 'big bed'. I wasn't sure how that would go, he has never attempted to climb out of his cot although most nights he wakes and calls out to come in with us. He loves his new room and he went to bed and stayed there, sleeping right through the night (and not falling out which was my other concern). In the morning he called out for me to come and get him up!! I bought him a little dinosaur night light which he also loved I didn't know whether the constantly changing colours would be too stimulating for him to sleep through but he was fine - and at least he could see his way to our room if he happened to get up in the night.
The only other real news is that he has been sick for the past week with gastro and does not seem to be improving. We are off to the doctors tomorrow. He is complaining of really painful tummy cramps - he calls out in pain and clutches his tummy, saying 'sore tummy' and will usually lie down on the floor till it passes. He has had a week of really yucky, runny (and very smelly) nappies - so something is not quite right. I am beginning to wonder if it might be more about the 'gut' troubles autistic children tend to suffer, rather than just gastro and will bring that up with Ken when we see him in August. He is already mostly dairy free - may need to go gluten free as well.
Life is a flurry of appointments - Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Play Therapy, Group, Doctors/Specialists (and that is just Tuesdays and Fridays...........and that is just for Jasper). Then we have creche and work (Wed/Thur) , and a myriad other appointments for the rest of us (all of which are scheduled on a Monday). I don't think in terms of what day of the week it is anymore, I think in terms of what appointments I have on any given day!
Using our picture board Jasper is getting really good at knowing what day it is and what that means we will be doing.
Weekends are reserved for housework, running teenagers all over town and finally, crashing in a delirious heap!
Lots of little things have been happening for Jasper. We started him on fish oil about a month ago and despite what we were warned, he actually loves the stuff (strange being that he is such a fussy eater generally). We call it his 'magic sparkle juice' (as when stirred in to regular juice it makes sparkly bubbles appear on the surface). Whether or not it is associated at all, I have seen a real improvement in his cognitive ability and development, as well as his language.
He loves doing puzzles and is able to complete a 25 piece puzzle on his own, actually, the other day he completed a 40 piece floor puzzle on his own. I can see him starting to turn the pieces around to match where they fit, he is learning to turn all the pieces over before he starts so he can see the picture part of all the pieces and also starts with the corners and borders as I have shown him to do. He enjoys games such as memory and matching type games and is really improving with the turn taking.
I've also noticed Jasper is indulging in lots of dramatic and make believe play. The other day he came up to me and said "I'm not Jasper, I'm a puppy" and got down on all fours and started 'woofing'. I said 'Hello Puppy, are you tired"? He replied with a 'woof' and curled up on the floor pretending to sleep.
This morning we went to buy some fruit and vegies at the shop - Jasper loves to pick out the vegies and put them in the bag. When we got home he went into his room, got his little shopping trolley and asked me for 'a bag and some carrots'. I put a few carrots in a plastic shopping bag and he popped them in his trolley and 'went shopping'. He amused himself all afternoon pretending to buy the carrots and wheeling them around in his shopping trolley.
Another dramatic scene he will often act out is 'going to school. He comes out wearing a bag like a backpack and says 'I'm going to school now mum'....'see you later'....and off he goes! This one though is just copying what he sees his big brothers doing each day. I try to extend the play by asking questions - if nothing else it is good practice for his language development.
He still loves to constantly ask where everyone is - over and over - and he loves me to tell the same story of what we are going to do, over and over ('tell me again mum, tell me again'). He often asks (especially if we are out in the car) 'what's happening next mum'?
Food and eating continues to be a big problem. He eats a very limited range of food at home, although eats a lot of the one thing. For example, today he has been obsessed with carrots and has eaten four raw, peeled carrots (and asked for many more). He requests a lot of different things but then refuses to eat them - I have a lot of trouble trying to get across that he has to finish one thing before he gets anything else and I end up throwing out a lot of food. I am however having some success limiting the constant drinks he asks for all day (usually chocolate soy milk or juice). He is allowed either of those at a meal and then the rest of the time I keep his drink bottle handy with water and insist he drinks that between meals.
Over the weekend we gave his room a bit of a makeover and he spent his first night last night in a 'big bed'. I wasn't sure how that would go, he has never attempted to climb out of his cot although most nights he wakes and calls out to come in with us. He loves his new room and he went to bed and stayed there, sleeping right through the night (and not falling out which was my other concern). In the morning he called out for me to come and get him up!! I bought him a little dinosaur night light which he also loved I didn't know whether the constantly changing colours would be too stimulating for him to sleep through but he was fine - and at least he could see his way to our room if he happened to get up in the night.
The only other real news is that he has been sick for the past week with gastro and does not seem to be improving. We are off to the doctors tomorrow. He is complaining of really painful tummy cramps - he calls out in pain and clutches his tummy, saying 'sore tummy' and will usually lie down on the floor till it passes. He has had a week of really yucky, runny (and very smelly) nappies - so something is not quite right. I am beginning to wonder if it might be more about the 'gut' troubles autistic children tend to suffer, rather than just gastro and will bring that up with Ken when we see him in August. He is already mostly dairy free - may need to go gluten free as well.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Sponge Bob saves the day.
(and my sanity - once again)! I should know better by now, it is my own silly fault. I had to run into the supermarket for a couple of things - an hour and a half later we made it back to the car alive (just).
I don't know what it is about shopping with Jasper but I do know it is a nightmare - whether it is running into the shop for one item or doing a full on grocery shop. There are so many triggers for a meltdown. It starts when we get to the entrance of the supermarket and the automatic sliding doors - Jasper has to be the one to make them open. If they are open when he gets there he does not like it one little bit, and we are not allowed to enter the shop until the doors have closed completely (and 'he' has to be the one to set them off to open). With a constant stream of people going through the doors it is amazing we ever make it inside at all.
Next is the trolley saga - he likes to choose the exact one (which is more often than not, right in the middle of the stack, and therefore impossible to get at). He insists on walking and will not sit in the trolley, and instead spends the entire time insisting that I carry him. I repeat clearly and calmly - 'Jasper can walk or sit in the trolley, Jasper choose'......nup........'carry me'.........'Jasper can walk or sit in the trolley, Jasper choose'......nup.....'carry me' (and on and on it goes)!! For some reason when we are in the supermarket it is impossible to be able to get his attention (normally I would try to get his eye contact and tell him very briefly to 'stop, sit in trolley' and hold the eye contact, repeating the request until he obliged). Not in the supermarket - there is no way I can seem to make him listen, let alone comprehend.
Saga number three is getting into the supermarket through the little electronic gate thing because once again he has to be the one to make it open first (oh, and we HAVE to enter through the left gate, as well as the left door at the front - we once went out the right door and had to enter the supermarket again, through the left door so we could exit through the 'correct' door and avert a major meltdown).
As I attempt to push the trolley, Jasper insists on holding on to it and pulling it back towards us. By this stage I am normally ready to spontaneously combust through sheer frustration and rage. Unwelcome glares from ignorant people do not help any. I continue our trip through the supermarket slowly, speaking calmly, repeating over and over what we need to be doing. There are certain items of interest to Jasper we need to avoid walking past at all costs (chocolate soy milk for example) unless we plan to buy every last one from off the shelf. The dairy and frozen food aisle also set him off because it is cold ('I want a blanket mum' over and over).
Next saga is the checkout - give me strength - today was particularly a case in point. We normally do the self serve check out, and as fast as I am putting things into the bag, Jasper is taking them out, which sets off the silly checkout and necessitates a staff member coming over to reset the checkout. All this with Jasper harping and whining in my ear. At this point I usually give him some coins to put in the dog (which allows me a brief reprieve to gather together our things and be on our way). The only down-side to this little habit is that Jasper is unable to pass any sort of donation tin or coin slot without wanting to put money in it.
Then it is time once more to negotiate our exit through the automatic doors - I was just about in tears today as every time the doors just about closed someone would set them off to open again. In the end I managed to get out but Jasper refused to follow until he could open the doors from closed, himself. Hence the reason it took us 90 minutes to grab a handful of items.
As we set off in the car on the way home I was screaming silently, in my head, every known swear word such was the frustration and anger I felt. It takes so much mental energy to remain calm and to repeat things over and over to Jasper (also to listen to his constant chatter and answer him to his satisfaction) and sometimes I wonder how much of this frustration and anger you can silently take on before you explode.
Once I have exhausted myself with my silent, unheard screams I start to breathe deeply and slowly in an attempt to relax. All is good, it is over, we are in the car on the way home with a Sponge Bob dvd (Jaspers latest obsession) for him to watch and (hopefully) allow me a little bit of peace and quiet. My feelings at this point vary between being very angry at the situation, at Autism, at the fact I can not simply run into a supermarket without so much drama.......then my anger is directed at the people around me, family, friends, even strangers, who go about their lives with seemingly no comprehension of what I go through. I resent their perfect lives and I resent the lack of support and understanding, especially from family - I don't think anyone fully realises what I go through every day. I resent the fact there is no getting away from this, it is with me all the time - sometimes I wish it would just go away, even if only for a day.
Then the anger seems to turn into defiance - I will not let this beat me, I will not let it win, it will not break me. I will tackle it head on and I know that I can.........and will. I will devour every last piece of information and knowledge on autism to equip me with the answers I need to steer my way through this nightmare intact. It makes me feel strong, if this hasn't broken me yet then nothing ever will. There is nothing I fear anymore because I am living through what is surely among the cruelest of jokes life could throw at anyone.
After all this internal raging, I once again feel triumphant. I know what I have to do, I have seen results from strategies I have implemented - it empowers me to go on.
I don't know what it is about shopping with Jasper but I do know it is a nightmare - whether it is running into the shop for one item or doing a full on grocery shop. There are so many triggers for a meltdown. It starts when we get to the entrance of the supermarket and the automatic sliding doors - Jasper has to be the one to make them open. If they are open when he gets there he does not like it one little bit, and we are not allowed to enter the shop until the doors have closed completely (and 'he' has to be the one to set them off to open). With a constant stream of people going through the doors it is amazing we ever make it inside at all.
Next is the trolley saga - he likes to choose the exact one (which is more often than not, right in the middle of the stack, and therefore impossible to get at). He insists on walking and will not sit in the trolley, and instead spends the entire time insisting that I carry him. I repeat clearly and calmly - 'Jasper can walk or sit in the trolley, Jasper choose'......nup........'carry me'.........'Jasper can walk or sit in the trolley, Jasper choose'......nup.....'carry me' (and on and on it goes)!! For some reason when we are in the supermarket it is impossible to be able to get his attention (normally I would try to get his eye contact and tell him very briefly to 'stop, sit in trolley' and hold the eye contact, repeating the request until he obliged). Not in the supermarket - there is no way I can seem to make him listen, let alone comprehend.
Saga number three is getting into the supermarket through the little electronic gate thing because once again he has to be the one to make it open first (oh, and we HAVE to enter through the left gate, as well as the left door at the front - we once went out the right door and had to enter the supermarket again, through the left door so we could exit through the 'correct' door and avert a major meltdown).
As I attempt to push the trolley, Jasper insists on holding on to it and pulling it back towards us. By this stage I am normally ready to spontaneously combust through sheer frustration and rage. Unwelcome glares from ignorant people do not help any. I continue our trip through the supermarket slowly, speaking calmly, repeating over and over what we need to be doing. There are certain items of interest to Jasper we need to avoid walking past at all costs (chocolate soy milk for example) unless we plan to buy every last one from off the shelf. The dairy and frozen food aisle also set him off because it is cold ('I want a blanket mum' over and over).
Next saga is the checkout - give me strength - today was particularly a case in point. We normally do the self serve check out, and as fast as I am putting things into the bag, Jasper is taking them out, which sets off the silly checkout and necessitates a staff member coming over to reset the checkout. All this with Jasper harping and whining in my ear. At this point I usually give him some coins to put in the dog (which allows me a brief reprieve to gather together our things and be on our way). The only down-side to this little habit is that Jasper is unable to pass any sort of donation tin or coin slot without wanting to put money in it.
Then it is time once more to negotiate our exit through the automatic doors - I was just about in tears today as every time the doors just about closed someone would set them off to open again. In the end I managed to get out but Jasper refused to follow until he could open the doors from closed, himself. Hence the reason it took us 90 minutes to grab a handful of items.
As we set off in the car on the way home I was screaming silently, in my head, every known swear word such was the frustration and anger I felt. It takes so much mental energy to remain calm and to repeat things over and over to Jasper (also to listen to his constant chatter and answer him to his satisfaction) and sometimes I wonder how much of this frustration and anger you can silently take on before you explode.
Once I have exhausted myself with my silent, unheard screams I start to breathe deeply and slowly in an attempt to relax. All is good, it is over, we are in the car on the way home with a Sponge Bob dvd (Jaspers latest obsession) for him to watch and (hopefully) allow me a little bit of peace and quiet. My feelings at this point vary between being very angry at the situation, at Autism, at the fact I can not simply run into a supermarket without so much drama.......then my anger is directed at the people around me, family, friends, even strangers, who go about their lives with seemingly no comprehension of what I go through. I resent their perfect lives and I resent the lack of support and understanding, especially from family - I don't think anyone fully realises what I go through every day. I resent the fact there is no getting away from this, it is with me all the time - sometimes I wish it would just go away, even if only for a day.
Then the anger seems to turn into defiance - I will not let this beat me, I will not let it win, it will not break me. I will tackle it head on and I know that I can.........and will. I will devour every last piece of information and knowledge on autism to equip me with the answers I need to steer my way through this nightmare intact. It makes me feel strong, if this hasn't broken me yet then nothing ever will. There is nothing I fear anymore because I am living through what is surely among the cruelest of jokes life could throw at anyone.
After all this internal raging, I once again feel triumphant. I know what I have to do, I have seen results from strategies I have implemented - it empowers me to go on.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter.
It has been two weeks since my last post and things have been going along pretty well - which is quite a bold statement considering it is school holidays (I should be more frazzled than this)!!!
Easter has come and gone and Jasper was very excited about the whole thing. He seemed to really understand the concept of Easter Bunny etc. We talked a lot about Easter, we counted down the sleeps until Easter Bunny came and he was very aware that Easter Bunny would be leaving chocolate (and Jasper LOVES chocolate)!
Jasper was also taking part in Easter activities at creche (he made the cutest Easter Bunny mask and little basket to collect eggs in). They talked a lot at creche about the Easter Festival, particularly the dragon - and being that the dragon museum is directly opposite Jaspers creche, they got to witness a lot of activity in preparation of the festival. When I picked Jasper up from creche on the Thursday night before Easter, the smaller dragons were out practicing their festival routine, with the accompanying drum beat, so Jasper and I wandered over to take a closer look. He has always been a little wary of the dragon (especially the crackers and loud drums) and when we got too close he did ask to go home (and he buried his head in my shoulder, not wanting to look).
On Friday Garth took him down to the childrens' activities at the lake. Apparently he was quite fractious - wanting to go on rides but then shying away once Garth had bought a ticket for him!
On Saturday Jasper came with me to my workplace (a creche) and was so well behaved. I was there for about 2 hours cleaning out a toy storeroom and he very happily sat on the mat and played with the cars.
He could hardly believe his eyes on Easter Sunday morning when he woke up (after an unusual sleep in) to find a trail of little easter eggs from his bedroom door to our bedroom door. He immediately grabbed his basket (the one he made at creche) and collected each egg, laughing almost hysterically!! When he got to the end of his easter egg trail he found a chocolate rabbit and a humpty dumpty egg to add to his collection! He was just about beside himself at this point! He raced down to Jordys room to tell him the news "Easter Bunny....lots of chocolate" and to check out what the Easter Bunny left for Jordy! Then he peeped in Zacs room to see his Easter Egg stash!! When he saw that mum and dad also had a chocolate rabbit each he got his shopping trolley, put everyones chocolate into it and spent the morning wheeling it around!! At one point he had all the rabbits lined up (of course) and we were not allowed to touch them. They were HIS captive audience, watching him play.....and he talked to them all non stop!!!!
Sunday afternoon we spent wandering around Rosalind Park and the carnival and he absolutely loved it. He had a ride on the cup and saucer ride with Garth and again was laughing hysterically (although Garth said he was also holding on to him for grim life)!
As much as we tried to ration out the chocolate he managed to demolish at least half of his, and boy, did we know about it on Sunday night. He was not misbehaving, just completely off his nut!! It was like he was on drugs! Walking along the street to find a spot for the torchlight procession in town on Sunday night he was saying 'wow, mum, look at the trees' (like he had never seen them before). Somewhat scary!!
He loved the torchlight procession. I wondered how he would handle the crowds and the noise but we spoke to him about it beforehand ('there are going to be lots of people and it is going to be a bit noisy'). He loved all the fire trucks and also the dragons - he did not seem scared at all. He was also a big fan of the fireworks at the end. He was content to sit on my knee the whole time and watch the whole thing pass by, often asking 'what's that noise, mum'?
Considering the hectic and chocolate filled weekend his behaviour was not too bad on Monday. I tried to keep things quiet and lazy at home, and even though he was a little more hyped than usual he was pretty good. We opted not to venture into town again to see the procession, instead he came into work with me to set my room up, and while he was there he requested to do a painting.
Today in the mail I received the letter from Autism Victoria, confirming his eligibilty to access early intervention services under the Helping Children with Autism package. At this stage my focus is more speech therapy, more occupational therapy and more time with Andrea (hopefully on a weekly basis). His language has improved so much - I counted a 9 word sentence the other day. He is asking a lot of questions and making a lot of comments, but there is still a lot of evidence of purely echolalic chatter.
He is also due to start his early intervention group on Tuesday (21st) which will no doubt be very beneficial. He is really coming out of his shell and enjoying social interaction with other children - I really hope to build on this too. At creche he is spending Mondays in the big room and so far has been coping well. I am just really, really pleased with his progress at the moment. It seems that as long as we constantly talk him through what is going to happen he copes with it. He will ask me a number of times a day to go through what we are doing - and he still asks often about where each family member is, although now he is more likely to answer it himself (he seems very aware of what our normal movements are - when dad and mum are at work, when the kids are at school or work or with friends etc).
We have also been engaging in a lovely morning ritual where he calls out when he wakes (usually about 6am) and comes into bed with us for cuddles. He asks for cuddles and will lay there quietly until it is time to get up. As soon as he sees the sun peeping through the blinds he will say 'time to get up, suns up'. It is just a lovely way to begin the day with a good hour of cuddles!!! He gets very funny (I think he is a bit of a mummys boy at the moment and says to Garth 'move away dad, just 2 people'). He is just very cute at the moment although he has his trying moments (usually between about 4pm and 6pm). He gets very ratty at that time and demands a lot of attention.
I am having great success with redirecting him when he constantly asks for chocolate milk - I will allow him one drink with a meal and then explain to him 'after this drink of milk it is only water'. I have a number of drink bottles sitting around and I try to drink a lot of water in front of him. Today he has been great with the water. I really feel like we are getting somewhere!!! Finally!!!
This is not to say that things are easy......and I find by the time Garth gets home from work I have had enough of him and well and truly ready to hand him over. I avoid going out with Jasper as much as possible during the day (especially the supermarket) but I find that if I explain to him a few times what we are going to do he is not too bad.
Today I took him out to McDonalds for a treat, for lunch. We sat in and he was great. It was the first time I have ever seen him finish his chips and nuggets (he is normally not a fan - just loves his diet coke)!! We were able to sit there and chat, then he had a small soft serve cone to finish off. It was lovely.
I have found that the more 'strict' I am with the behaviour, the better he behaves. Before I was never really sure if his behaviour was 'just the autism' and he didn't know better, or if it really was bad behaviour I should be stepping on. I was reluctant to be too hard on him because I did not want to confuse him. But I find he actually responds really well to firm, clear guidelines - of course he loves to push the limits but if I stay firm he more often than not accepts that. I think that may be where Garth is struggling at the moment - Jasper seems to be able to walk all over him.
Anyway, tomorrow is a creche day (and a work day for me) so better go and get organised. Jasper has fallen asleep on my bed! He has been sleeping in with us a lot lately, probably not a great habit to get into but I just love that special time with him. I am not a real fan of attachment parenting but I can see some merits in it. I am happy for him to sleep in with us if he wants to.
Easter has come and gone and Jasper was very excited about the whole thing. He seemed to really understand the concept of Easter Bunny etc. We talked a lot about Easter, we counted down the sleeps until Easter Bunny came and he was very aware that Easter Bunny would be leaving chocolate (and Jasper LOVES chocolate)!
Jasper was also taking part in Easter activities at creche (he made the cutest Easter Bunny mask and little basket to collect eggs in). They talked a lot at creche about the Easter Festival, particularly the dragon - and being that the dragon museum is directly opposite Jaspers creche, they got to witness a lot of activity in preparation of the festival. When I picked Jasper up from creche on the Thursday night before Easter, the smaller dragons were out practicing their festival routine, with the accompanying drum beat, so Jasper and I wandered over to take a closer look. He has always been a little wary of the dragon (especially the crackers and loud drums) and when we got too close he did ask to go home (and he buried his head in my shoulder, not wanting to look).
On Friday Garth took him down to the childrens' activities at the lake. Apparently he was quite fractious - wanting to go on rides but then shying away once Garth had bought a ticket for him!
On Saturday Jasper came with me to my workplace (a creche) and was so well behaved. I was there for about 2 hours cleaning out a toy storeroom and he very happily sat on the mat and played with the cars.
He could hardly believe his eyes on Easter Sunday morning when he woke up (after an unusual sleep in) to find a trail of little easter eggs from his bedroom door to our bedroom door. He immediately grabbed his basket (the one he made at creche) and collected each egg, laughing almost hysterically!! When he got to the end of his easter egg trail he found a chocolate rabbit and a humpty dumpty egg to add to his collection! He was just about beside himself at this point! He raced down to Jordys room to tell him the news "Easter Bunny....lots of chocolate" and to check out what the Easter Bunny left for Jordy! Then he peeped in Zacs room to see his Easter Egg stash!! When he saw that mum and dad also had a chocolate rabbit each he got his shopping trolley, put everyones chocolate into it and spent the morning wheeling it around!! At one point he had all the rabbits lined up (of course) and we were not allowed to touch them. They were HIS captive audience, watching him play.....and he talked to them all non stop!!!!
Sunday afternoon we spent wandering around Rosalind Park and the carnival and he absolutely loved it. He had a ride on the cup and saucer ride with Garth and again was laughing hysterically (although Garth said he was also holding on to him for grim life)!
As much as we tried to ration out the chocolate he managed to demolish at least half of his, and boy, did we know about it on Sunday night. He was not misbehaving, just completely off his nut!! It was like he was on drugs! Walking along the street to find a spot for the torchlight procession in town on Sunday night he was saying 'wow, mum, look at the trees' (like he had never seen them before). Somewhat scary!!
He loved the torchlight procession. I wondered how he would handle the crowds and the noise but we spoke to him about it beforehand ('there are going to be lots of people and it is going to be a bit noisy'). He loved all the fire trucks and also the dragons - he did not seem scared at all. He was also a big fan of the fireworks at the end. He was content to sit on my knee the whole time and watch the whole thing pass by, often asking 'what's that noise, mum'?
Considering the hectic and chocolate filled weekend his behaviour was not too bad on Monday. I tried to keep things quiet and lazy at home, and even though he was a little more hyped than usual he was pretty good. We opted not to venture into town again to see the procession, instead he came into work with me to set my room up, and while he was there he requested to do a painting.
Today in the mail I received the letter from Autism Victoria, confirming his eligibilty to access early intervention services under the Helping Children with Autism package. At this stage my focus is more speech therapy, more occupational therapy and more time with Andrea (hopefully on a weekly basis). His language has improved so much - I counted a 9 word sentence the other day. He is asking a lot of questions and making a lot of comments, but there is still a lot of evidence of purely echolalic chatter.
He is also due to start his early intervention group on Tuesday (21st) which will no doubt be very beneficial. He is really coming out of his shell and enjoying social interaction with other children - I really hope to build on this too. At creche he is spending Mondays in the big room and so far has been coping well. I am just really, really pleased with his progress at the moment. It seems that as long as we constantly talk him through what is going to happen he copes with it. He will ask me a number of times a day to go through what we are doing - and he still asks often about where each family member is, although now he is more likely to answer it himself (he seems very aware of what our normal movements are - when dad and mum are at work, when the kids are at school or work or with friends etc).
We have also been engaging in a lovely morning ritual where he calls out when he wakes (usually about 6am) and comes into bed with us for cuddles. He asks for cuddles and will lay there quietly until it is time to get up. As soon as he sees the sun peeping through the blinds he will say 'time to get up, suns up'. It is just a lovely way to begin the day with a good hour of cuddles!!! He gets very funny (I think he is a bit of a mummys boy at the moment and says to Garth 'move away dad, just 2 people'). He is just very cute at the moment although he has his trying moments (usually between about 4pm and 6pm). He gets very ratty at that time and demands a lot of attention.
I am having great success with redirecting him when he constantly asks for chocolate milk - I will allow him one drink with a meal and then explain to him 'after this drink of milk it is only water'. I have a number of drink bottles sitting around and I try to drink a lot of water in front of him. Today he has been great with the water. I really feel like we are getting somewhere!!! Finally!!!
This is not to say that things are easy......and I find by the time Garth gets home from work I have had enough of him and well and truly ready to hand him over. I avoid going out with Jasper as much as possible during the day (especially the supermarket) but I find that if I explain to him a few times what we are going to do he is not too bad.
Today I took him out to McDonalds for a treat, for lunch. We sat in and he was great. It was the first time I have ever seen him finish his chips and nuggets (he is normally not a fan - just loves his diet coke)!! We were able to sit there and chat, then he had a small soft serve cone to finish off. It was lovely.
I have found that the more 'strict' I am with the behaviour, the better he behaves. Before I was never really sure if his behaviour was 'just the autism' and he didn't know better, or if it really was bad behaviour I should be stepping on. I was reluctant to be too hard on him because I did not want to confuse him. But I find he actually responds really well to firm, clear guidelines - of course he loves to push the limits but if I stay firm he more often than not accepts that. I think that may be where Garth is struggling at the moment - Jasper seems to be able to walk all over him.
Anyway, tomorrow is a creche day (and a work day for me) so better go and get organised. Jasper has fallen asleep on my bed! He has been sleeping in with us a lot lately, probably not a great habit to get into but I just love that special time with him. I am not a real fan of attachment parenting but I can see some merits in it. I am happy for him to sleep in with us if he wants to.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Camping trip.
After lots of forward planning we had our first successful camping trip with Jasper. We spent the past week talking about what we would do, showing Jasper our tent, getting him to try out his sleeping bag etc.
We spent 2 nights at Anglesea, right on the beach - it was a great spot. I can't believe how well Jasper coped, he really took it all in his stride. I also noticed (perhaps because we were in a completely different setting to home) he did not constantly ask for things such as milk, particular dvds etc. He loved playing at the beach, loved playing frisbee (or 'wheel' as he called it), beach cricket and kicking the footy - better still he loved doing all that with his brothers around to join in.
He loved sitting with us in his miniature matching camping chair. He also enjoyed exploring nearby and didn't wander off - he was quite content to stay close to the tent. Jordy took him for a ride through the camping area in a hired pedal car which he thoroughly enjoyed - until Jordy came to a screeching halt at the end of the ride and Jasper went flying over the handle bars!
There was a great park and toddler play room where he had a really good play and met another little girl, and he absolutely LOVED the giant jumping pillow! He slept really well, ate really well and generally was a wonderful little boy. Hopefully we can do it again soon (and often) and it can become something that Jasper really understands, even though it is different to our normal daily routine - and it gets us out of the house and 'doing' something rather than being driven by structure and routine!!
Other than that he has been going really well. He saw Ken last week and Ken was very pleased with his progress. He had a play with Andrea at the Fun Factory which he loved (and constantly asks when we can play with Andrea at the Fun Factory again)! He's just going along really well - or maybe we are getting a better handle on it?
His language has improved dramatically to the point where he is speaking 5-6 word sentences. I can't wait to get back to speech therapy with him (hopefully really soon). He can now 'almost' (with a teeny bit of prompting) say his name when asked, and his address. He can also tell 'us' (rather than us telling 'him') where everyone is going to be on a given day.....'it's Monday, what are we all doing today?'.........'Dad's at work, mum's got lots of jobs, Brayden's at work, Zac's at school, Jordy's at school and Jasper is going to creche'!!!! Then he claps and says 'yay'!!!
He went in to creche really well today, no tears, I thought he may have been tired and crabby after our big weekend - especially the drive, he got quite grizzly being stuck in his car seat for such a length of time.
I suppose tonight will really tell how tired he is!
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