Evie
I am inthe same place as you are - just wanted to send you an empathy hug
running around doing a ton of things - not really getting as far as I need to !And always aware that time is slipping by
And Shelley, thanks for the tip about the Baby Bumblebee videos...I'll have to check and see if our library carries it in DVD, since all we have is a PS3. We bought that earlier this year after the old DVD player rolled over and died, and we've never even had a VCR...stinks, though, since our local ARC and a few other places have a lending library of autism related videos that are all VHS. I might have to cave in and buy one, along with a digital camera. Haven't had one of those in a good long while, but the ones I've seen lately are pretty reasonably priced. Thanks for the ideas! Y'all please keep your fingers crossed for us on that loan...we could really use it for all this kind of stuff (as well as a fence for the backyard so Jason and Gabe can play safely back there)!
Kajoli, hugs to you, too. Rohan is such a precious looking little guy, and you are doing a great job, I'm sure! He can't help but do well with such caring parents!
The library is a great resource!
I saw Baby bumble bee videos there, they have books, flashcards..and its free! I got majority of our pecs/pics from our dig. camera..printed 12 pics on a sheet of paper and lamenated them for less than bucks~cut them out and they last forever! You can make posters with velcro:) We made small photo albums with real pics of us, pets, foods, and toys she liked and went over them all day..getting her to point and try to say the words~ eventually she did!
WE rewarded heavily for ALL attempts to say what she wanted even if it was grunt or raising her hand to something.. ..
We placed high value items up high to motivate her to grunt/point or look towards them..slowly expecting more utterances out of her in order to get them till she actually said the word for them. We kept doing it this way till after months she could actually point to item and state " I want chips please:) "
It is much harder than it sounds..a ton of screaming involved but a necessary evil to teach her that her words had power and she had to use them in order to get her needs met. Making sure to use plenty of rewards and praise was key to her success in talking. Good luck!!
Does he have certain toys or items that he really favors - something that you could control - something that he'd prefer even over Gabe's toys?
Thanks, fred. We don't have the books yet, or anything else (grr, money issues!), but I've been trying in my own way. His eye contact is a little better now, but I can't get him involved with playing with the other kids. He pulls away...it's too overstimulating for him. We've tried doing what he does, but he'll push our hands away, or pick up whatever he's playing with and remove himself to the basement to play alone. If I follow, he'll start freaking out.
We've gotten him to (rarely) engage in some parallel play with baby brother, but it's really hit or miss. Usually, he just takes whatever toy Gabe is playing with, which leads to a temper tantrum from Gabe!
I laugh so that I don't cry, sometimes, I swear. At least he'll let me sit next to him, or he'll sit on my lap and listen to me talk to him or tell the other kids stories for a little while, so there is that, I guess. Thanks for understanding!
It's really discouraging sometimes.
Not really. He's not a big toy person, to be honest. Besides, if I actually manage to redirect him into playing with something else, Gabe will take his revenge by going over and messing with Jason's stuff. LOL
Sibling rivalry, it seems. But, right now, they are watching Star Wars together while Jason chews on a spoon handle. So long as Gabe doesn't take the spoon from him, he'll be okay. We're going to try playing some games later with the big boys, so we'll see how he does.
*shrug*
Dear Evie,Okay, my son has his arena meeting with the school district next week, along with his regular checkup and baby brother's birthday...so it's going to be a busy week. In any event, after this arena meeting, I know we will finally be able to really get him started on therapy, and after meeting with the regular doctor so we can start checking for other co-morbidities, I'll finally have some guidance on getting started.
DH and I are also attempting to get another student loan (through his school) which will hopefully pay for some PECS supplies, along with some other things we'll need for RDI, as that is what I've decided to try first with him.
But all this stuff isn't happening yet, and so I feel like I'm just running in place, getting nowhere. Reading y'all's posts is sooo frustrating sometimes, especially since so many of your kiddos are talking, and can communicate with you in some way other than just tantruming. Jason is doing better about smiling, and yesterday he actually sort of flung himself at me and hugged me! It was so wonderful! I'm really anxious to get therapy started, because I am really hopeful that he will maybe start talking (at best) or at least learn to use pictures to communicate.
Something, anything to help him at this point would be great. I'm tired of feeling like time's awastin' here!
Anyway, sorry for the vent. I'm just tired of feeling anxious and helpless about this whole process. I need to be doing something productive!
Hi Evie,
Normal feelings. Never goes away ;)
Just keep trying to engage and interact with your child and use lots of language around him. Look at LittleBoPeeps RDI videos for some ideas, or, if you have the books, pick one or two of the activities to get started. You can do a lot yourself just by understanding the nature of the disorder and trying to work around it to get your son meaningfully engaged in some mutually enjoyable activity. The therapists hold no magic and you'll soon learn that what they do is more like directed play than anything else.
Hang in there!