Bushel & A Peck
  • Blog
  • Health & Fitness
  • Artist Biography
  • Paintings
  • Photography
  • Drawings, etc.
  • About Me
  • Contact Me






Autism & Progress

5/1/2014

2 Comments

 
   When you have a child with autism, "progress" can look a lot different than parenting a "normal" child. Caleb had some regular milestones like sitting up, learning to crawl, and learning to walk. But when he started falling behind in other areas, progress, as we thought it would come, started to look very different.
Picture
Caleb as a 3 year old. I'm not 100% sure who's glasses these where, but this is too funny!
   Our victories with Caleb would probably go un-noticed by many other people. He's 5 years old and finally looks at you when you call his name? Best day ever! 6 years old and finally pointed at something?....who cares? We did! He hadn't used a gesture properly yet in his life (think waving "hello" and "goodbye", putting arms out to be held, etc.). Being 7 years old and really starting to make eye-contact regularly? Amazing!
    How about the last few birthday parties we went to where Caleb wasn't overwhelmed and acting so poorly we had to coral him in a quiet bedroom somewhere? In fact, at his last birthday party, when we were leaving and prompting Caleb to say, "Thank-you, good-bye" to which he would normally echo exactly, or say "good-bye poo poo!" (he's not trying to be rude, he thinks it's funny, and I think it helps him with the awkwardness of goodbyes), he completely surprised us by saying, "Thank-you for the party!". I almost fell over! He thought of, and delivered, an appropriate response to the situation we were in! If other parents had still been around (besides the ones he was talking to who know him), they would have thought we were being a little dramatic over a simple phrase from a kid who looks old enough to know what to say. 
Picture
What a cute little guy
   I cleaned out our filing folder the other day, and was looking over some records we have from Caleb's many years of therapies. 
   In one report from when Caleb was 3 years old, the doctor said, "He struggles with following directions of others, understanding safety, attention and focus to task as well as directing impulse behaviour." When I look at Caleb now as a 9 year old, I can see the many (many!) improvements he has made in all of these areas. 
   Another report from when he was 5 years old and talking about a test to determine his intellectual aptitude says, "At this time Caleb was unable to complete the various test demands required for this individually administered cognitive test. As a result the examiner could not obtain an estimate of Caleb's intellectual capacity. Caleb was not able to verbalize as he has no real speech or language skills or could could he gesture to a response and appeared confused with the instructions of the cognitive test. As a result, Caleb was attestable at the time of the assessment and the cognitive portion of the testing procedures was discontinued". 
   Compare that to a test he was asked to do by a therapist who came to see him at school a while back. The test was meant to be done over three 20 minute periods (at 3 different visits), and involved following many steps and tasks (writing, following directions, answering questions orally, etc.) . In a meeting afterward she told us that Caleb was so willing, and was doing so well she just kept going, and he finished all three tests in one chunk & in under an hour. Her only concern when all was said and done was that he held his pencil incorrectly, and wrote his words too far apart on a line. That was it (hazaa!)!!
   I guess any parent would be so proud of a kid who demolished a test like that, but I felt so gratified knowing that he wasn't fitting into the tiny little mould doctors and therapists had put him in when he was younger. 
Picture
A math test Caleb came home with that he got 24/26 on. When I asked him what certain words were (like parallelogram!) to get a sense for how much of it he completed independently, he read them without missing a beat!
   Caleb is always holding lessons for me, sometimes obvious, sometimes not. I am at a stage in my life where I am looking at who I've been, and what people think of me, and trying to break that mould for the better. If you've been an angry person, and that's how people see you, why not change it? If people see you as overbearing, change it. You interrupt a lot? Stop it!! Do you tell lies big and small without a second thought? Become an honest person! How about "not able to verbalize as he has no real speech or language skills...and appeared confused with the instructions of the cognitive test. As a result...the cognitive portion of the testing procedures was discontinued"....?
Blow them away.
2 Comments
Jacqueline
4/30/2014 10:19:53 pm

Amy I love your blog. We often look back on videos that were made of Aidan when he was just diagnosed and how much he struggled. Today he is a totally different little boy. Yesterday Aidan wrote his name independently in front of me for the first time. I cried. Cherish those milestones. They are amazing children xx

Reply
Amy-Lyn
4/30/2014 11:59:45 pm

I just cried reading that he wrote his name independently in front of you for the first time!!! So amazing!

Reply



Leave a Reply.



    Welcome To
     Bushel &
    A Peck!

    Hi, I'm Amy-Lyn!

    Picture
    I am the lady behind this here blog! I live in the sticks with my animals, my super handsome husband, and my
    ​ 3 amazing kids! 
    Here you'll find things from recipes (gluten-free, paleo, and strait up junk food!), DIY ideas, thoughts on raising a son with autism, and whatever else pops into my brain! : )  

    Read more about me by clicking here!

    Want to Stay Connected?

    RSS Feed


    Subscribe to my mailing list!

    * indicates required

    Find What
    ​You're Looking For on the Site!



    Vitacost.com

     Most Popular Posts

    Meat & Potato Casserole
    Gluten-Free Meat & Potato Casserole
    Picture
    D.I.Y Tea Cup Bird Feeder
    Picture
    Mini Caprese Kabobs

    Featured in The Huffington Post

    Picture
    Paleo Double Chocolate Avocado Cookies

    Featured in Woman's Day

    Picture
    Chicken Bundles


    Categories

    All
    Antiques
    Autism
    Birthday
    Breakfast
    Chocolate
    Dessert
    Diy
    Family
    Five Minute Friday
    Giveaway!
    Gluten Free
    Health-fitness
    Lunch/Dinner
    Miscarriage
    Motivational Monday!
    Muffins
    My Thoughts...
    Nifty Ideas
    Paleo
    Primal
    Recipes
    Sandwiches
    Soup
    Tea Party


    Some of my favourite products! 


    Archives

    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    my foodgawker gallery
  • Blog
  • Health & Fitness
  • Artist Biography
  • Paintings
  • Photography
  • Drawings, etc.
  • About Me
  • Contact Me