October Update

Happy Fall! October was filled with many events and exciting happenings. Check it out guys👇🏼

• This month started off with a road trip. Our ultimate destination was Greenville, South Carolina for a wedding. On the way, we stopped in Savannah for an afternoon and spent three days at Stone Moutain outside of Atlanta. Isaiah had a great time and he tried new things. We did a rope course with Chase and Trinity and he was definitely nervous about the height. See pics below 😍 He was a trooper and finished the course (perhaps a bit unwillingly)! He loved access to the pool and hot tub at our hotel and he enjoyed climbing around Stone Mountain and Stone Mountain Theme park. We had a minor issue with his skin (pretty much all over his body) being irritated from the heavy chlorine in the pool. Hydrocortisone was a life saver. We definitely would consider going back! There was so much activity there for Isaiah to do and he was always busy. The pace slowed down a bit for him as we attended a rehearsal dinner and wedding. In those types of environments where sitting and pretty much doing nothing is required, Isaiah does not excel. I am VERY thankful for YouTube access on my phone 😂
• Isaiah missed 4 days of school (one day was a field trip). As he returned to school (still unmedicated), my communication with his teacher increased about Isaiah’s focus and hyperactivity during school. Much greater effort was needed for Isaiah to pay attention and his need for “jump” breaks increased significantly. At first, we waited a few days to see if he was just out of routine from being on vacation. But, I too noticed how difficult it was for Isaiah to sit still and focus. So, he is back on his ADHD medicine. His focus and attention is better at school and at home although I do notice he is much more lethargic. He seems to be waking up earlier too and is more tired throughout the day. I suppose being a little tired is better than bouncing off the walls all the time. 🤷‍♀️ 
• A new goal in school is for Isaiah to look at a number written down and draw that many lines underneath it. This is a foundation for more difficult math. I hope to practice at home too. Chase is working on him answering the question, “What is your favorite _______?” I’m trying to convince him that there is a baby in my belly, but he doesn’t seem too convinced 😏
• Thanks to Nathaniel’s Hope (a charity for children with disabilities), we were able to attend Fun Spot for a very minimal cost. Isaiah loved the roller coasters and the go carts. He rode two roller coasters that were his biggest ones yet. Go carts were new for him and he really enjoyed them and asked to do it again! He is getting so tall too, which allows him to ride more rides! 48″ and about 46lbs. 
• Otherwise, school and therapy are going well. His days are long and are filled with constant instruction and teaching. He did attempt to bite his teacher this month when time was up with the computer. He also bit his teacher when his teacher made him hold her hand as they practice “trick or treat” walking around on the sidewalk. Each time, he is angry about some denied access. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes he gets mad enough. Of course, it doesn’t ever happen at home so it’s difficult for me to correct. But, I have been talking to him every morning about how biting is bad and he needs to hold his teachers hand. It has been going better. 
• Isaiah has a new routine that he established for himself after school…. iPad, dinner, walk or backyard, papa’s bath, snack, books, and bed. And in the mornings he comes out of his room (after a quick “hi mom”) searching for Papa. He even looks in the shower for him 🤣
• Isaiah still loves chicka chicka boom boom 123 and ABC. We notice him dancing when listening to Pete the Cat books too. 

 

Lots of pics from this month. Thanks for reading! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September Update

Hey guys! September finally came and I can feel a cooler breeze in the air! 85 degrees is better than 95 any day 😏 September is Isaiah’s birthday month so now he is 6! He had an awesome birthday and party. Here is my review of this past month…

• We did a thing this month. We decided to take Isaiah off his medication that was meant to decrease his hyperactivity. It’s been a couple weeks now and after talking with his teacher and therapists, we are gonna continue to hold off for now. So far, so good. I don’t see much of a difference but somedays I’m like “chilllll outttt son”. 😂
• I have been feeling great so we had lots of fun stuff for Isaiah to participate in. School and therapy have been the same except he had two days off from school where Isaiah and I got some alone time and he did well! We have gone to the beach, legoland, and his birthday party. Isaiah did so awesome at his birthday. We rented a large inflatable water slide and invited a bunch of friends from church over. He blew his candle out with his mouth (not his nose) and then proudly clapped for himself 😆. With pizza, cupcakes, and sliding, Isaiah loved every piece second and kept going for hours! That slide is still in our backyard and gets used every afternoon 🤣. 
• His recent favorite books have been chicka, chicka, boom, boom, and 5 Little monkeys jumping on the bed. He still loves his Pete the Cat books (I love my red shoes and Four Groovy Buttons). He also loves our children’s picture bible and always turns to the page about Acts 9 where Saul is in Damascus and he escapes by being lowered in a basket through an opening in the wall. I have no idea why he likes this story so much but he gets a little irritated when I try to read something else and insists on Saul in Damascus. 🤷‍♀️😆
• One thing that is one of his goals in school is to write his name independently. Right now he traces his name in pencil after I write it in marker. There is an example below. He does pretty good tracing! I notice he doesn’t always pick up his pencil in between letters, he needs to keep practicing. 
• He is doing well in school and moving along in his curriculum. He just had his first mastery test in language and math and received a 100% in language and 91% in math. So he will continue moving toward lesson 40 in language when he will start his reading lessons. I’m excited for that!  I was able to attend a curriculum night and see what they use and how they use it. I was also able to have a parent teacher conference with Isaiah’s teacher and she explained how Isaiah is doing. Chase and I have been talking and seeing how well of a fit Isaiah is for this school. I think we are pretty determined to continue to make it work so he can go there next year too. 
• Isaiah has been sleeping well and even a little later than normal the last couple of weeks. And, he hasn’t wet his bed in several weeks! 
• He loves deep, tight hugs and wrestling. He comes to my bed every morning after he wakes up to snuggle under my covers. That’s the only snuggle time he allows for 😁. 
• He also received several board games for his birthday. We have been playing “hungry hungry hippos” and “kerplunk” and a Pete the Cat cupcake board game. He still likes to play the matching game and candy land. He also got a dominos set and he is really good at playing with us as a group. He can always find a match for his domino. 

 

It was hard to choose all the cute pictures from this month, enjoy!!!!

 

February

Hey guys! Thanks for checking out this blogpost. There are many updates from February that I actually took the time to write them all down so that I don’t forget to mention anything on here. Take a look! 👇🏼

• All 4 of us went to visit our developmental pediatrician. It’s becoming clearer to Chase that Isaiah doesn’t just have a social and language disability. There is more that seems to be off. Although I have already accepted this possibility as highly probable, it’s never been in my face like it is now. It’s still too soon to tell but a cognitive/intellectual disability seems rather likely at this point. Things could still change but I am already coming to terms with this likely possibility. Ultimately, a cognitive disability diagnosis does not really change anything, practically speaking. We are already doing what is best for him with ABA, speech, and teachtown. There is nothing more we can do. It won’t be 100% clear for another few years if a cognitive disability is what we are dealing with. I would say, it’s about 85% clear with a 15% chance of a miraculous light bulb going off in his head. But, the Lord is mighty and great! He does whatever He pleases. He is good and does good to those who love Him. He can work a miracle today. With these truths, I wrestle with almost daily. 
• Looks like there is a very good chance that Isaiah will start kindergarten at a highly accredited ABA school for children with Autism. Chase and I went to the open house and took a tour of their facility. We received an in-depth look on how the school is ran and how they teach their students. I think it’s the best thing out there for Isaiah. I honestly don’t know of a better option. I want to give Isaiah the best, even if it does cost me an arm and a leg. Hopefully, he will start in August. The enrollment process is in progress but not completed yet. Good news is that there are spots available. 
• Isaiah is grinding his teeth. During the day, he bites down really hard and his teeth slip and therefore causing a terrible grinding noise. I’ve talked to ABA and speech about this. So far, we just give him the chewy to bite instead. Isaiah’s teeth are something that I’m concerned about for the future. In speech, his therapist has introduced gum which he loves! She puts a piece in a mesh like material and holds it towards the back molars and lets him chew 10 times on each side multiple times. He loves the flavor of gum and it gives his that oral feedback that he loves. Over time, I hope he can appropriately chew gum and not swallow it. He’s not there now but I think he can learn that. 
• Isaiah has been night time potty training and so far so good! He hasn’t worn a pull-up since Thursday night. It’s only been 6 days but no accidents! Trinity still has accidents from time to time so I know that it’s normal sometimes. I have been limiting his liquid intake an hour before bed.  Asking sure he goes before bed and waking him up at around 11pm and making him go again. Sometimes he goes, sometimes he doesn’t. This has been successful for both kiddos. There’s not a diaper or pull up in the house y’all!!!! 🙌🏼
• Teachtown, Isaiah’s homeschool iPad ABA curriculum, is sanctifying. He gets things wrong and it drives me nuts because it’s simple and he knows it. One thing that he is struggling to get is “rhyming”. Specifically… man/pan/fan…. swing/sing…. tree/knee/bee… owl/towel. I am struggling with patience. I know he will get it but it’s going slow. We only work on his homeschool for 30 minutes a day and it’s on top of what his other therapies are working on. He has constant bombardment of info so I should expect proficiency to be a little slower. We just keep working on it everyday 💪🏼
• Isaiah was having some sleep issues a few weeks ago, he was waking up as early as 5:40. At first I was letting him watch freeschool videos on my phone while I showered. That was a mistake. He kept getting up early and coming to my bed asking for “bats” or “castle” immediately. Not asking for potty. That would be understandable. So now, he is allowed to get out of his room at 6:30 and he is sleeping longer! I think he slept till 6:15 today. When he wakes up,he finds something to do in his room to play with. 
• Isaiah LOVES candy land. We play almost every day, sometimes twice a day. He does an amazing job waiting his turn, flipping over his card, saying “two green or one orange”. He LOVES the pink cards with the gingerbread man or candy cane, etc. sometimes I find him playing with the cards and getting all those special cards out to look out. He calls the game, “candy man”. It’s so stinkin cute!! He still has some issue with finding the next color to go to,he sometimes goes backwards or just sees the first green on the board and moves to it instead of the next green on the road in front of his piece. He also sometimes forgets that he is the green man and moves someone else’s playing piece. But, I have seen tremendous improvement and he needs almost no assistance at all. I just give him verbal cues like “my turn”, “Isaiah’s turn”, etc. 
• Tuesday evenings have been movie and popcorn night at our home. Isaiah use to hate popcorn and now he loves it. Isaiah is very particular what he watches and does not want to watch new shows but wants to watch the same thing over and over. But, he has sat through about 45minutes of a different Disney movie every Tuesday night. He really loved “monsters inc” and “monsters university”. Probably because there are a couple “monster” books at ABA that he enjoys looking at every morning. He’s also watched some of “planes” and “Madagascar 3”. Just trying to get him away from baby type stuff, he is gonna be 6 in September!
• Every morning, Isaiah has been asking for a “waffle” for breakfast. It used to be “cereal” every day. 
• Isaiah still has some weird stims. I’ve seen him lick his fingers, throw himself on the ground, grind teeth, run back and forth, stop the ground, vocalize loudly, squeeze, pinch,etc. All sensory seeking type stims. Can’t really hide it anymore, he’s getting older and taller. It was easier to hide at 3 years old for sure. The more engaged he is, the less he stims. I’ve never seen him stim while playing on his iPad… interesting 😏. He loves to play Starfall the most. We got a subscription and there is so many educational things to do on there that are perfect for Isaiah. It’s also helping him memorize site words. Chase will write some basic words on the board and Isaiah says the word. He certainly can memorize. His puzzle skills are getting better. He enjoys doing table top jigsaw puzzles now. We have a couple that are 100 tiny little pieces and he helps me put them together. Soon, he will be able to put them together himself. 
• He’s eating different foods too. He enjoys chicken quesadillas so that has been a go to dinner for him. But, he has eaten hamburger, chicken breast, pasta, chicken ‘n dumplings, etc. If it’s not spicy, he’s gonna eat some of what we are eating. Oh, how he loves jello lol. 👏🏼👏🏼

Thanks for reading! Here are a few pictures from the month of February. It’s averaged over 80 degrees this past month which was a nice blessing and provided for lots of outside time. We enjoy our almost daily morning and evening walks.

 

October/November

Happy Fall y’all! Thanks for catching up on a few Isaiah updates 😊 Overall, it’s been a good month but there has been a few changes in schedule and behavior.

• Isaiah has been getting excessively emotional when told “no”. Crying in a whiny/emotional way a lot when he doesn’t get what he wants. He usually does not react so dramatically. 
• I have noticed how tired he gets in the early afternoon and that definitely affects his behavior. He has been obsessive over iPad time. Looking for his iPad often and crying when I say no. 🙄 I am trying to play with him more intentially now. I would say having a 4 day thanksgiving break with no “structured” time was difficult for him and for me. Now, I need to work harder with him in the afternoons. 
• Speech therapy stopped last week when Isaiah hit 60 sessions for the year. A request has been submitted with our insurance for an extension of covered therapy sessions but I highly doubt Isaiah will get another session for the remainder of this year. Lord willing, we will start back up in January. 
• His vocal stims have increased significantly and it drives me crazy. Even his therapist noticed. He does it more when we are out of the house or at home or in the car. 😫
• His medication has remained the same…. .25mg in the morning and .25mg in the afternoon. 
• His mouthing has also increased, constantly finding leaves, beads, grass, little balls, etc and putting them in his mouth. 
• Progress on his iPad curriculum is slowly since I am trying not to “help” him through it. But, I still need to sit next to him while he does it or he doesn’t care and gets all the questions wrong. 
• He is currently working on at home on Teachtown: surprised, identifying singular vs plural (brush vs brushes), boy vs girl, loud vs quiet, identifying bedroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, pineapple. 
• His sleeping at night has gotten better since the time change and he goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at 6:30am….. usually. Sometimes he still wakes up in the morning. He hasn’t been resisting going potty before bed quite as much which is leaving his pull up dry in the morning. He has been preferring to stand when he goes potty but he makes a mess typically so I have been making him sit. 
• We switched Isaiah to a booster seat as a trial run for when we go on vacation in January. He definitely has a lot more freedom but he doesn’t mind the change at all. He sits in the booster and doesn’t complain about the seatbelt across his chest. But, he does pull it until it locks up and is super tight on him. Which is fine with me, more restriction. 😜
• Isaiah very much has enjoyed our pool/beach time while we visited grandma’s house and he actually will now eat chick fil a chicken nuggets too. I’m still introducing new foods often and making him eat it and rewarding him with Halloween candy or some ice cream. It’s extremely motivating to him to have a lollipop to work towards and helping him have a clean plate. 
• Sometimes we catch him singing to himself… it’s so darn cute! He will sing the wonder pets theme song or one, two, buckle my shoe song, Isaiah LOVES to play “get you” aka “getchu” in the backyard when one of us chases him around and tickles him. I also catch him “dancing” and watching himself dance while looking at the reflection of a window. 
• In therapy, Isaiah is now working on 3 word phrases in ABA and also social interaction. Isaiah ignores children. A child will walk into the room and say “hi” and Isaiah won’t respond but when the therapist says “hi”, Isaiah will say “hi” back. I have also noticed how he frequently ignores Trinity and her requests and I have to get his attention to look at Trinity and respond to her. 
• Isaiah is still very much interested in the words of the back of a book. I saw him moving a legoland pamphlet around so that each line of words were uncovered line by line. It’s like watching the credits roll at the end of a movie or seeing a ticker flash words quickly at the bottom of a news channel. 
• The most quite and calm that I ever sea Isaiah is when he gets to play on his iPad. 
• Isaiah does really well playing games. He likes to play candy land and his Pete the cat matching game. Shuts and ladders takes a little too long but he will sit for that game as well. Isaiah’s favorite toys right now are electronic games that play music or make sounds. I’m looking forward to Christmas when he gets some new toys because I’m getting a little tired of playing with the same ones over and over. 😆

Overall, we have been able to function normally and Isaiah has participated in lots of fun activities. Her are some cute pics from the past month or so. Thanks for reading!! ❤️

August Review

August came and went so fast! Thanks for stopping by and reading a quick update on Isaiah’s life. Many exciting things have happened in August! 

• Isaiah received the gardener scholarship (praise the Lord) and so I used some of that money to buy Isaiah an iPad! Wooohooo! I have kept Isaiah away from this form of screen time for a loooong time but we felt like it was time. Isaiah will be 5 in 2 weeks! Gasp! 😭😳😍 Isaiah has started “teachtown” a computer based curriculum specifically designed for children with autism and incorporates ABA techniques into learning. Isaiah has done about 2 weeks now and so far he is really liking it and doing well. We started with teachtown basics and he tested out of a lot of the easier matching, etc. He is now working on “which picture is the arrow pointing to?” And “which picture is the big/little animal/object” and “which one has many/none”. He’s also working on labeling body parts and overall getting used to the program. He does about 30 minutes a day in the evenings after therapy. It is very rewarding for him because after about 7-9 questions, you get to choose a 45 second “reward” which is either a game or cartoon clip. We are on a 30 day free trial right now but I think I will use his scholarship money to purchase the curriculum for a year. I need to do some of the generalization activities but first I need a new printer 😁 

• Evrything is going well in ABA and he is doing lots of social interaction with peers like taking turns, asking questions, responding to peers, etc. 

• After about a month of trying out that disgusting liquid vitamin and after years of trying a variety of expensive supplements and vitamins…. Chase and I finally decided to try out a medication for Isaiah. His developmental pediatrician couldn’t help but notice his extreme hyperactivity has persisted (as well as his anxiety and OCD) and recommended a non stimulant prescription medication. Let me know privately if you want more details about 😉 So far, I have definitely seen (therapists have also seen) a difference in Isaiah especially before lunch. The first day, he was a little space but not anymore. He is more calm and not running around. He is more focused on his work and less fidgety. His overall attention has increased. I have not seen any bad side affects and he has been on it for 1 week. The medication wears off after lunch which for right now is fine. We will continue monitoring his behavior. Anyone who knows me, knows this is a BIG deal…. which is why I only give him a quarter of a tablet a day 😂

• The other day, Isaiah choose a rainbow to color out of a coloring book. He proceeded to grab markers out of the bucket to color the rainbow in order, one by one….. red, orange, yellow, green, purple. I was so impressed! 

• Potty update…. sometimes he pees outside 🤦‍♀️ I’m working on that. 

• Sleeping update… pretty good. Trinity slept in Isaiah’s room for about a week but they kept getting up so early so now they are separated. I can’t do 5:45am. 😐 Isaiah still typically sleeps about 7:30pm-6:30am with no nap. 👍🏻

• Trinity can be very loving to Isaiah. Wanting to help him, sometimes it’s too much though lol. She wants to help him keep his hands down when he stims or uses ABA technique and shows him two items that he can choose from. She praises him when he does something well and she gives him forehead kisses often. 

• Isaiah can almost independently put his socks and shoes on. His socks are tough but the shoes he can do on his own. 

• We have had a lot of fun this month swimming, feeding the ducks, going to birthday parties, going on walks, playing with bubbles. Isaiah requests “bubbles” every morning. He does very well at birthday parties playing on the playground and closes his eyes during the “happy birthday” song. I am already planning Isaiah’s 5th birthday party!!! 🎉🎉🎉

• Speech is…going… His speech therapist no longer works in the office and so now we are in a transition period. The work on big/little, answering “where” questions, “ing” action words, etc. We work on speech a lot at home and ABA is very heavely working on Speech with Isaiah. Specifically, demanding at least 2 word phrases from him. Like “Color Pete” without prompt, instead of just “color”.

Thanks for reading! Looking forward to all that September has in store for Isaiah! 

July ☀️

Hi guys! Thanks for taking the time to read a quick summary about Isaiah’s life this past month. Although there hasn’t been anything seriously monumental, I’ll give you the major highlights/lowlights.

• ABA therapy is going very well. He is mastering all his goals. A couple weeks ago, a goal was made to have Isaiah put on his socks and Velcro shoes on all by himself. He has made significant progress on this and can almost do all the steps by himself! 👏🏼
• A slight issue with ABA Isaiah has recently developed is his asking for a certain therapist. Isaiah has therapist A on Monday/Wednesday/Thursday and therapist B on Tuesday/Friday. Isaiah constantly asks to see Therapist B. He was even asking for her over the weekend! But, it’s an issue because he is crying when I tell him “it’s therapist A today” 🙄 I try to console him by saying “therapist A today and therapist B tomorrow” but he just has anxiety over it and cries.
• We have a daily issue of crying when we don’t go where he wants to in the car. Last week, we had an appointment with he developmental pediatrician after ABA. Isaiah cried as we passed by highways, familiar rides, McDonald’s, playgrounds, etc. he was in full tantrum mode when we got there. Thankfully (after some biblical discipline), he got his act together. I had to implement an “if/then” technique while seeing the Doctor. “If you do your work, then you will get a lollipop”. This worked pretty well and she was able to get a lot out of him. She definitely saw progress in his language. But, she noticed his anxiety issues and his hyper activity. She recommended to look into a medication but for now I’ve chosen a more natural route to help calm him down. Isaiah has been taking “Added Attention” which is basically a liquid vitamin supplement. It has “GABA” in it which is supposed to be a key ingredient for helping with anxiety and hyper activity. I haven’t really noticed any difference yet but it’s only been a few days. I mix a tablespoon into some applesauce. It smells disgusting, poor kid.
• I took the kids to Aquatica on a weekday when ABA was cancelled. Unfortunately, I lost sight of Isaiah in the kids water playground area. This was the second time I’ve had a scare like this. Isaiah went down a slide and I followed after him. By the time I got down, he was gone and in the huge water playground somewhere. I’ve learned 2 major things from this. From now on, #1 I’m going down the side first. And #2, Isaiah now has a wristband that has his name, disability, address, and our phone numbers on it. The wristband/bracelet stays on 24/7. Isaiah still messes with the clasp (doesn’t know how to take it off) but overall, tolerates having it on. That’s been a big deal, Isaiah will not tolerate a sticker, stamp, or any type of wristband on his arms.
• Isaiah has been enjoying going on walks, feeding the ducks/turtles, swimming in our backyard pool etc. We still fight the balance of living normal lives and keeping Isaiah engaged and not stimming all the time. It’s a daily struggle and sometimes a tiring balancing act. I try as much as I can to do what both children would enjoy doing while not having them run my life.
• Isaiah has still been eating a variety of foods although peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are still his #1 asked for item. Isaiah also currently asks for “Theo, little bear, & wiggles” the most when wanting to watch TV.

That’s all I can think of, I’m sure I forgot many things though 😬 Here are some sweet pictures of our month of July adventures 😁 Thanks for reading!!!

Hey June!

Hey there! Thanks for looking at my page! As promised, here is my post about the month of May 🙂

• Isaiah has been moving right along in ABA. He has very good days and is progressing through his goals. His goals are constantly changing because he meets them. One of the biggest things he has learned is saying “Casselberry” when asked “Where do you live”. But, he accurately responds to questions such as “How old are you?” “what is your name?” “What is your sisters name?” “What is your last name?” He is working currently on “what is your mom/dad’s name”. He is doing more verbal goals that do not have a picture as a cue. For example, answering the following associated items…. “Paper and…” “socks and….” “table and…” “toothbrush and….” bed and…”. He is also engaging in lots of social interaction with peers, waiting his turn, greeting his peers, asking peers to play, etc. He also is learning how to identify specific parts of different objects. For example, when shown a picture of a house…. “Where is the door/roof/window?” and identifying correctly.
• Right now in ABA his goals include… waiting for certain periods of time, following 2 step directions, imitating oral motor movements with tongue, blowing successfully, discriminating objected based on adjectives (full/empty, tall/small, hot/cold) etc. I have also noticed a decrease in biting behavior (with an exception of yesterday) but I have seen an increase of stimming using his hands/fingers. He wiggles them around. Its hard to explain.
• So Isaiah is a little sick for the first time this year (I think). I am so thankful that he doesn’t get sick often! Its honestly hard to tell when he does not feel well but he has a noticeable cough and he has done SO MUCH BETTER with medicine. I don’t need to pin him down and force the syringe into his mouth and keep his mouth closed until he swallow. He just drinks the medicine out of the little cup and doesn’t spit any out!  But otherwise, he is full of energy and you would never know something was goin on there.
• I have been doing the insurance dance on a weekly basis and it is very time consuming and frustrating. I am so thankful we pay someone else to do Isaiah’s therapy so that I can spend hours on the phone trying to get these therapists paid… LOL! Seriously, sometimes it feels that way. We even had to take a break from Speech Therapy because all of his sessions were denied and deemed “not covered by plan”. After calling and calling and having these claims resubmitted for reprocessing, the claims are being approved and we started speech back up this week! Each time I call, the representative tells me that my plan does not cover “xyz” and then I have to explain to them what my insurance overs. After they verify that what i just said was true then they start to work with me. Its rather silly that I would have to explain what my benefits are to my insurance rep. ANYWAYS, with that being said, only 1, ONE day of ABA has been approved. February 1. It is currently June 6. The drama continues….
• May kinda dragged its feet in a way as we anticipated our family vacation in June and now its almost here! But in May we did a variety of things (swimming in our little pool daily) and Isaiah is continuing to talk more and more. You can ask him questions and he can tell you what he wants. He replies accurately to “yes/no” questions which is VERY helpful. He cries sometimes when we go the “wrong way” in the car. Like when we take a different road or pass by a road that goes to a park. Isaiah points and says “this way!”. One time, Chase and Isaiah got in the car in our garage and Chase asked Isaiah where he wanted to go and Isaiah directed him (by pointing and saying “this way”) all the way to his favorite playground that is about 15 minutes from our house. He knows where he is going that’s for sure!
• He has become fascinated with the garage and regrettably SOMEBODY taught him how to press the bottom to open the garage… One time, I was in the shower at about 6am and I heard the garage open. Thinking, Chase just left for work, I was in no hurry. When I went to the garage, I found Isaiah standing on the driveway! This was scary and now we have a double lock policy at all times on the door to the garage. And we will not be teaching him how to unlock or open any more doors!
• Isaiah also likes to make loud noises, particularly slamming doors. I have been hammering down on that behavior as well. But, he also enjoys sitting quietly on the couch and looking at books, specifically “Pete the Cat” books.
• In regards to food, Isaiah has been doing really good! Eating deli meat, cheese, carrots, cucumber, fruits on a regular basis. He has also accepted spaghetti, broccoli, and red bell pepper.
• When we have a friend come over or someone to stay with the kiddos and babysit, Isaiah wants them to leave. He shows his discomfort by tugging at the persons arm towards the door and saying “Bye! Bye!”. I just assure him by saying “XYZ is staying.”
• Isaiah has had less “peeing in the bushes” and more telling me he needs to go or just going to the bathroom by himself. He has started walking to the bathroom by himself at 2 different parks we have been too recently. I have to keep my eye on him at ALL times and make sure he isn’t alone in a public bathroom. One time, we were at the library and I knew Isaiah wanted to leave but I wanted him to color for a little bit longer. He kept on saying “go car!” but I told him to wait. while standing 2 feet from Isaiah, I said one sentence to another mom there and then turned around and found Isaiah was gone. He had ran out the doors and was standing on the side walk looking at the door. Again, dangerous. Need to keep my eye on him at ALL times.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy these pictures of these cuties!

 

5/1/2017

Hey guys! I’m trying to stay true to my word and actually write an update once a month. Isaiah had a great month of April and its exciting to see all the progress he is making.

• Isaiah is in a season of “vocabulary explosion”. I know this typically happens at around 2 years old and Isaiah is 4.5. But, its very very exciting to see! He uses his words soooo much now. Isaiah does so many cute things. For example, he comes up to me and says “I love you” and sits on my lap and then I sing the Barney “I love you” song and he sings it with me and hugs and kisses me. Another phrase he picked up was from a video (leapfrog, I think). He says “Hey!! Whats goin on here?” He thinks its so funny when I say it and Trinity and Isaiah frequently say it together.
• It is really interesting to note how much Trinity is helpful to Isaiah. She understands that Isaiah goes to therapy to learn words because he has Autism. She sees that Isaiah is different then the other kids. She seems to know how to interact with him and what he likes. She tries to “help” him with his puzzles and frequently tells him what to do and what not to do. And I frequently have to remind her that she is not Isaiah’s authority and that she needs to be kind and loving towards Isaiah. Isaiah won’t stay “stop” when he doesn’t like something but he will show signs of frustration that are easy to see. Trinity can definitely be an annoying little sister to Isaiah but sometimes she can be very sweet to him. Isaiah has been opening her car door in the mornings (without prompt) because she can’t pull it open herself.
• I have also seen an increase in social interaction. Even this morning, I heard them screaming and laughing as they chased each other back and forth between their rooms. The door would slam and an eruption of laughter. I didn’t dare break that up. I often see them under the covers in Isaiah’s bed pretending to “sleep” as Isaiah frequently requests to play. He says “goodnight” and “sleep” and gets under the covers. Its one of his favorite things right now. That and being in the backyard. He is particularly liking the backyard right now. We got a small above ground pool and that is probably adding to his desire to spend all his time back there. Problem is, he has a hard time waiting for me to catch up and I frequently find him stripping down and trying to put his bathing suit shorts on lol!
• I’ve noticed how Isaiah will watch doors close or cars drive by. Or he will watch his feet as he climbs up and then down stairs or playground steps.
• The other day, we were in the backyard and I heard an airplane fly over us (as we typically do, living just north of MCO. Isaiah (without prompt) points up at the airplane and says “airplane”.
• He is doing really well with saying “hi” and “bye” to adults but seems to ignore when peers greet him. I’m going to intentionally work on this at home with Trinity. It is also much easier for him to share his toys/activities with adults than it is with peers.
• Isaiah is LOVING splash pads this year and we have been going to one at least once a week now that its frequently hitting the upper 80s and low 90s.
• Isaiah is continuing to eat new foods. He consistently eats ham, cheese, cucumber, carrots, and red pepper on a daily basis. He is also eating more bread like items such as bagels, garlic knots, and pita bread. He has tolerated trying a variety of items such as pork, chicken, rice and pinto beans, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, mango, banana, etc. And, I no longer have to pick everything off of pizza, he will eat the veggies and meat.  He loves to eat apples. Unsliced and with the skin, apple. He will eat it down to the core and chooses an apple over crackers!
• We are now on our 3rd week of Speech Therapy. Isaiah has been going 3 times a week for 30 minutes in addition to his 23 hrs of ABA a week. It has been going well. The first day, Isaiah cried as we drove there, parked, walked to the office, went back with the therapist, and during the session. Slowly he has been crying less and less. Today, he whimpered a little when we pulled into the parking lot but that was it. I am trying to give him plenty of heads up, explaining where we are going and what he is going to be doing and how much fun it is going to be! This is definitely helpful and I frequently do this to “prepare” Isaiah for the next activity we are going to do. It is really interesting how things throw his schedule off and how much he doesn’t like it. We have been faithfully going to the same church every Sunday since before Isaiah was born and he STILL whines/mildly cries on the way when we pass by McDonald’s, the rode to the park, the highway, the rode to therapy, etc. Even though, all morning I keep saying, “It’s Sunday, we are going to CHURCH”. It is really silly.
• Isaiah was granted the Gardiner Scholarship for the 2017-2018 year! Praise God! So, I have decided to not enroll him in preschool this fall but instead, continue with therapy until his starts kindergarten in Fall 2018. The Gardiner Scholarship can be used towards therapy and private education. He is not allowed to be enrolled in a public school and still be awarded with Gardiner Scholarship money. This has really solved a lot of questions and I am thankful to finally have a plan for Isaiah’s near future.
• Isaiah has been meeting his goals in ABA and they have been making new ones for him. He has days of increased biting. He has bit his therapist and a peer this past month. But, I typically always hear that Isaiah had a great day at ABA.
• Isaiah also more consistently labels “Papa”. We were out to eat dinner the other night and Isaiah was sitting next to me and he wanted to get down from the table. I asked, “What do you want Isaiah?” and he said, “Papa” and went and climbed up on Chase’s lap. Or he will hear the garage door open and I will say, “Who’s that”? and he says with a huge grin “Papa!”.

I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking. I hope I didn’t leave out any super important detail. Looking forward to that June post! Thanks for reading! Bye!

4/3/2017

Hi guys!!! Where has the time gone? It has been 5 months since I posted on my blog and I have A LOOOOOOT to update on here! This week finally seemed like a less hectic week even though I have wanted to write a blog post for months now. AND, April is Autism Awareness month so in case you are not aware… 😉 My goal is to update once a month (hopefully the first week of each month). Because I have so much to say, I will try to cut out the lengthy details and get right to the main points.

• I officially pulled Isaiah out of preschool and placed him in Applied Behavior Analysis. He receives an average of 25 hours a week of one-on-one ABA Therapy/Intervention in a center that takes me about 12 minutes to drive there! (Praise the Lord) He started on February 1st and I have seen his spontaneous communication erupt. He is meeting goals, learning how to socially interact with peers, complying to commands, practicing speech and articulation, waiting patiently, learning independent play, communicating his wants, decreasing self stimulating behavior, learning imitation skills, etc. There has been ups and downs but overall, I am very happy with this decision and look forward to many more months of ABA!
• Eating: 5 months ago, I introduced carrots. Today, he chooses carrots over his beloved pb&j sandwich. Overall, eating has improved. We all sit at the table and eat dinner as a family together. Wow. Isaiah has to sit (without screen time) until he is all done eating. He also faithfully eats cucumber. I recently introduced deli ham, which he has been eating a cut up slice of on a daily basis. He eats it, but is not a fan. I typically have Isaiah try at least 1 bite of our dinner and he does better with new foods than another 3 year old that I know… The other night he had a cut up hamburger and a piece of pineapple. Wooohooo! My goal is to get him to eat ham and cheese sandwiches. Then I could easily introduce other sliced meats. Instead of just chicken nuggets, Isaiah has been enjoying crispy chicken tenders too.
• Isaiah LOVES “Pete the Cat” books, his new Series 2 of “Signing Time”, saying “Dinosaur GRUMPY!!!” (from a book), pretending to “sleep”, pretending to “swim” on the floor (its hilarious), leaning in for a kiss and saying “kiss” and then pulling away at the last second and giggling at my reaction, Signing/saying “sad” when we make him do something he doesn’t want to do, playing “red light green light” on the drive way, catching bubbles on his tongue, intentionally saying “no” and laughing at our “surprised” (“what?!?!? You don’t like ice cream? You’re kidding me!!) reaction.
• Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy ended in December and then I began a search to find another company that took my insurance. I found one and insurance was a nightmare. It didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. It just wasn’t the right fit. I found a new Speech Therapy company just 5 minutes from my house. We have gone through the evaluation process and hope to start services this week. I am really hoping this works out. I have decided to put Occupational and Physical Therapy on hold.
• Isaiah still has moments of frustration and bites. It is not very often though. We use chewy tubes very frequently now and make sure there is always one in his lunchbox at therapy and one in the car.
• I am currently awaiting approval from the “Gardiner” scholarship. Hopefully, Isaiah will be able to receive some funding to cover additional therapy costs. I also have considered the “Mckay” scholarship but because of the public school requirement, I haven’t really pursued it.
• For the last 10 weeks or so, Chase and I have led a family devotion time on Saturday mornings. We read a bible story, watch a short video, color, do a craft, and pray. Both kids are struggling a bit but I have seen a lot of improvement in Isaiah being able to sit and participate for 10 minutes in bible time at home. We also have been going around our neighborhood to meet our neighbors and hand out gospel tracts and church invitations. Isaiah struggles a bit with going a different route than his usual walking route but I have seen GREAT improvement with this as well. Isaiah happily sits in the wagon or gets out an walks as we go to about 10 houses.
• Isaiah is doing better and better at church as well. In fact, this past Sunday he had no interest in going into the Sanctuary during the music worship time and cried to go back to his classroom. So, I let him go back for the full 2.5 hours. Our church has recently changed the bible curriculum/method of teaching and Isaiah is doing way better now. Still not perfect. But much, much better. He actually sits on his aids lap and listens during the bible lesson. I haven’t had to correct his behavior during church in a while and I have been getting good reports back. One aid even told me that Isaiah doesn’t need an aid anymore. (lol yes he does) For now it is going well and for that I am thankful to the Lord.
• Isaiah is understanding more and more and is demonstrating independence in a variety of ways.
• His favorite shoes: Flip Flops. This kid could not stand flip flops just last summer.
• We have implemented a “no jumping on anything other than a trampoline” and its a little rough on him sometimes. He defers to going to his bed, throwing all the sheets and pillows off, laying down, and pretending to sleep.
• Much improvement with playing with his sister. They chase each other and tolerate each other more. Isaiah looks at her and her reaction. He is sad when she gets disciplined or when she cries.

Thanks for reading! We have been very active with the kiddos… going to the beach, playgrounds, science center, Aquatica, Seaworld, Islands of Adventure, etc. I am so thankful to see Isaiah’s continual improvement in speech. I can’t believe he will be turning 5 in just 6 months!

Happy November!

Hey guys! WOW. Last week was insanely busy for the adult Burchetts in our home. Chase was out of town for 2 days, attended one couple’s engagement party, attended/participated in another couple’s wedding, hosted a women’s fellowship at out home, participated in “Friend Day” at our church, and took the kids “trick or treating” for the first time. Phew! Alright so lets talk about Isaiah….

• Isaiah’s week started off a little rough. I was having a hard time engaging him. But, as the week went on, he was doing a lot better.
• Last night, Isaiah and Trinity went trick or treating for the first time and it was a HUGE success. I thought Isaiah was going to hate how we were changing our typical walk routine and making him go up to houses but he did not have a single complaint about that. He was dressed up as an “athlete” and wore his baseball hat for little bits at a time. He even held his football at times. The only issue is that Isaiah wanted to eat the candy he received immediately after he received it. We probably went up to about to about 10 houses and returned home before it got dark. Isaiah ate a ton of candy. He was up in the middle of the night for over an hour. I could hear him in his bed. He went potty and I gave him another melatonin which didn’t kick in for a while. Maybe it was all that sugar he ate. This morning he woke up crying about 20 minutes before we need to leave the house. He was not a happy camper. But he calmed down at breakfast and was happy to go to school. He hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night in a long time so that was kinda weird.
• Isaiah participated in his school’s fall festival on Friday. His class was “weather” and Isaiah was “cloudy”. He did not like the fuzzy “clouds” glued to his shirt so when I picked him up at the end of the day he was no longer “cloudy” but instead “sunny”. lol. During the parade, Isaiah didn’t want to walk so his teacher held him. Overall he wasn’t diggin the whole thing and I think it was due to those clouds.
• He did well in ABA on Friday and yesterday (Monday). Which I was happy to hear that he wasn’t showing aggression.
• He did well for his 2 babysitters this week. Which I am beyond thankful for the body of Christ willing to watch our very active and busy preschoolers.
• Speech Therapy with Tahnee was cancelled due to insurance being poopy. But, Isaiah was in a happy mood and did well in OT with Lindsay. Isaiah also did well in Speech with Ms. Sharon. Working on saying sentences like “I want ___” and CVC words. Its pretty much the same every week lately which is why I don’t usually have much to say. She also has been testing out his tongue positioning by putting applesauce on different corners of his mouth and making him stretch his tongue out to like it. I do this at home too with yogurt or ice cream or whatever. This activity helps his brain practice motor planning in relation to his mouth/tongue/teeth. Making funny faces and having his imitate (tough for Isaiah) is also a good exercise for him.
• MEGA NEWS: Isaiah has eaten some baby carrot this last week! A few days ago he took a bite, chewed, and swallowed a VERY tiny piece of carrot. Yesterday, he took 3 bites of carrots (bigger in size) and swallowed. His first vegetable in years people!!! I’m gonna practice that every evening with him now. He also ate a couple of pieces of popcorn on Thursday night (which he typically won’t touch).
• I would say that I have noticed Isaiah (like last week) screaming in defiance when told to do something he doesn’t want to do. He even slightly bit his baby sitter on Saturday when asked to wash his hands. But, when she said “no bite”, he immediately stopped and went to wash his hands.

I have to go pick up Isaiah now from school but these pictures are so cute from this week! Bye!