Here are some really crappy pictures of some really pretty flowers - the roses are for my parents from my cousin Wendy and her husband Curt and the Yellow flowers are from my Dad's siblings, for their 50th wedding anniversary.  Once I get home and can fix them I will but right now I have to save my parents' house from Felicity, who is throwing everything she can to the floor!

BIG MOMENT

I have to write this down and I have to record what has happened.  I know that it's super lame, especially because it's FRIDAY NIGHT and this is what I'm doing, but I have to have a record AND I'm really, really happy and proud.

Tonight Anthony got home from school and he hung out for a while, then at one point he went upstairs and I followed him, because we didn't know if the doors were open or whatever.  Normally, we'd just let him go outside and run around, but it was pouring down rain.  ANYWAY.

So I went upstairs and he was lying in Maria's bed.  I said, come on let's go downstairs, and he got up and went into Felicity's room.  I shooed him out of there and then he was kind of pulling on the railing, making me nervous, so I said hey, let's go downstairs.  He went downstairs, but backward and I was facing forward, so it was kind of hair-raising but we made it with no one falling.

SO.  We kind of wound our way around toward the kitchen and the bathroom and then ANTHONY HANDED ME THE 'BATHROOM' ICON AND WENT IN TO THE BATHROOM AND POOPED ON THE TOILET.  That's RIGHT!

Ooh it was exciting!  I said yay, Anthony!  Maria came running in to look at the poop and she said, barely able to contain her excitement, HE IS POOPING MORE AND AGAIN!  Once again, as always, I am glad we don't live in an apartment, ha!

He was so proud and happy.  It was an amazing experience.  He is also doing a thing where he screams and screams, just to feel it or hear it or whatever and THAT is driving us mad, but I am going to dine out for a LONG time on this poop. Eww.  You know what I mean.

Occupational Therapy vs. (?) Applied Behavior Analysis

I don't really think OT and ABA have to be at odds, but it feels like it sometimes.  In four years that Anthony has been at Little Star, he's also gotten OT for maybe ... three years of that time?  Maybe two, I'd have to go back into my files (that do not exist) and find out, so let's say 2.5 years.  I think he does much, much better when he is in OT as well as ABA.  I think the perfect combination was about one year ago, when there was an OT at his school, one who worked with the ABA therapists and also with Anthony.  That OT is the one who recommended that we have Anthony see someone about getting him into some leg braces, she was a wonderful resource.  Of course, now she's not there anymore, there's a part time OT but he sees a lot of kids and it's just not the same.  I don't hold anyone accountable for that, it's just the way it is - the insurance company cut Anthony's school's reimbursement by 20%, which STILL makes me mad but whatever, that's not even as bad as it's going to get, I'm guessing, so I am saving my ire for when it really counts.

Anyway, when I approached Anthony's school about him getting OT outside of school hours, billable hours, I felt some pushback.  One of the reasons was because Anthony is prescribed 40 hours of ABA a week, and they have to charge for all that to stay on track, so he can't have an OT come in during the time that he should be doing ABA, because what would the ABA therapist do while he was getting OT?  This is a good point, I feel, but it still left me kind of stranded when it came to getting him some OT on a regular basis.  I found a place that does OT and that has evening hours.  He now sees an OT on Tuesday nights at 6:00 - this is perfect because I never work on Tuesdays, so I can take him and sit in the waiting room for 50 minutes by my damn self and it's just great.

I went last night and he did very well.  I could hear him - or I should say I *couldn't* hear him, for most of it, which tells me that he is content and doesn't need to hoot and holler to stim vocally.  Amy, his therapist, told me that he picked out colors when she asked him to and she said she should have known that he knew his colors, but it surprised her for a minute.  I said he knows everything and she laughed.  I said I know it sounds silly but he does - I feel like he knows everything he's ever been taught.  When he was Felicity's age, he knew how to count to 20, his colors, all animals, his alphabet, just everything. Felicity only knows Max and Ruby but because of some different wiring, SHE is going to be fine and he struggles and struggles.  It's such BS.

Anyways, I think this is an interesting link, which describes the differences between OT and ABA, and which talks about what they ARE and what they ARE NOT.  One of the most interesting things is that Occupational Therapy is not a new phenomenon - it's over 100 years old.  I think that might be interesting to people who are in their 20's and who think OT is some kind of magic voodoo or something, that there's no science behind it.  Not that I know anyone who thinks that, ha!

Video

Here's a video of Anthony, from yesterday.  I watch it over and over and try and figure him out but I don't think I ever will.  Why does he move his head like that?  He is watching the Wiggles here, which is the only reason I think he's sitting as still as he is.  He moves a lot, it's one of the reasons I think it's been so hard for him to get a lot out of his art class.  I imagine it's hard for lots of seven or eight year olds to sit still for 90 minutes but man, he needs more and more breaks every week.

Today we had a little party for Veronica, she'll be four on Tuesday.  It went fine and we just had our parents and my sister and a friend of mine and her kids and Anthony just lost his mind, a little before 5:00.  He was absolutely inconsolable, screaming and crying, and basically, I guess, having a meltdown, like he used to.  I hate to think that it's starting again.  I guess we just have to take one day at a time, but if anyone was ever reading this and thought they had anything for us to try, I'd listen.  I'd listen a LOT.

Five for Friday

• Anthony had a good week, he went to school every day, he did well at school.  He is 'testing out' of a lot of stuff, which is good but I'm not sure exactly what it means.  Yesterday his afternoon therapist said how well he did yesterday and she said said, I mean, of course he did.  He's a genius.  He really is.  
• Here's an article about how kids with autism see, basically it's NOT LIKE WE DO.  I feel bad about my lack of knowledge about how Anthony sees, if his sight is okay, if anything I do bugs him.  I don't know what to do about it, though.  
• I got Anthony all signed up for his summer camp this week.  He's going to go the week before and the week of July 4.  I'm glad it's all set up.  
• He went to the dentist, did I say?  I may have, it was last week, but I am too lazy and squished by Felicity on my left arm to look.  He had no cavities.  
• He'll be eight years old next month, one month from today.  EIGHT!  

New OT - Evaluation

So Anthony is going to start with a new OT soon, but every time you start with a new therapist (OT is occupational therapist, sorry), they have to do an evaluation and because they are not doctors, they have to have Anthony's doctor sign the prescription for it.  Anyway, they send me a copy of his evaluation and it's so depressing.  I mean, how old will he be, how long will I know all I know, before it doesn't bug me so much that they write this stuff down about him?  It's one thing to live your life, and another thing entirely for people to talk about it, or heaven forbid, write it down.  It feels so different.

Anyways.  It says his tone is hypotonic, which means he has low muscle tone.  That's probably because he doesn't use his body like he should, I guess?  There are 10 "underlying impairments" in which he is "moderately impaired" and just one that he is "severely impaired".  He's severely impaired when it comes to Left Right Discrimination.  There is something funky with his vision, I know, but I will be damned if I can figure out what we'll do about it.

Anyway, he has year long-goals, so that's good.  There are many good things about starting with this new OT.  I really liked her, she's been at OT for 20 years, the office is very close to our house, they have appointments in the evenings, it's one more thing to do with just Anthony.  It will be good but it's hard to read, every time, all the things that they think are wrong with my sweet baby.

Five Things

Okay, I started this on Friday!  I'm determined to do Anthony's Five Things (for Friday) and Maria's and then I'll be caught up.

1.  We went to art class again this week, he has not had a bad time like he did the second week again, but I wouldn't say he loves it.  He doesn't love all that sitting!  This week we took a lot of breaks and jumped up and down.  I have to say something about the art teachers - that is probably not the right title.  They are art teachers but they are also like Master Artists or something so I don't mean anything bad against them but they are Anthony's art teachers and I know that for sure, so that's what I'll say.  Anyway, they are so nice.  I appreciate them so much, they are patient and talented but mostly they are KIND.  The clay teacher always signs to Anthony and even though she never asked if he used signs, she makes the effort and I appreciate it and I bet Anthony does too, even though he maybe doesn't show it, ha!  The art teacher doesn't even blink, really, when we get up and jump around or Anthony tries to drink the paint.  They are so nice and beyond welcoming.  If you know anyone who would benefit from a community type class, you should look it up at Very Special Arts of Indiana.

2.  What else.  Anthony gets a note home every day, saying what he did, how he did toilet wise, if he needs any supplies, etc. Last week one of his therapists said that when he was waving BYE to someone he said "peace out".  Is that possible?  I want to investigate further, I mean I know they don't LIE, but ... peace out?  Anthony?

3.  I hate the movie Forrest Gump. I mean, I hate it a LOT and I really hated the book - Forrest goes to space with a monkey in the book, what the hell?  It's been on a lot lately and I find myself loving it, loving that Forrest Gump.  I love the thought that even though nobody had any faith in him ever being anything, his mother believed in him and he had such a great life.  Ugh, Anthony - making me love FORREST GUMP!

4.  Anthony had such a crappy morning yesterday that we brought the bounce house inside!  It's been cold and or rainy for months and now it's getting warmer but it's so muddy!  So anyway, he liked it, I think.  He still had a not-great day but it was better than it would have been, I bet.

5.  He went swimming at the Monon Center the other day, with school, and he loved it.  She said he went down the slide a lot.  I am hoping this summer to be able to take him to a not super busy Y around here and go to open swim sometime.  He loves it a lot and while I don't wish we had a pool, I am going to try to get him to a not-crowded-and-therefore-complicated pool more often this summer so he can do something he likes.

6.  (BONUS!) He should be starting with a new OT soon.  I am praying he can go on Tuesday nights at 6:00 so it doesn't affect my work schedule but we'll see.  I think it's going to be really good for him, I'll keep you all posted.