Eli had a wonderful week this week. He went on his first field trip with his dad on Wednesday. They went to the park and the library and had a wonderful time. Andrew had the opportunity to speak with Eli's teacher about how he is doing in school. She said he does wonderful, especially for being a very young 3 year old. He shares excellently. She always has to ask if kids took toys from Eli instead of if Eli took a toy from someone because he is so giving. One of the staff told me this week that she has seen a huge difference in Eli's speech so that made me a very happy mama!
We have to get his ears and eyes checked before we can begin ILS so after his field trip, Andrew took Eli to go get his eyes checked. He did very well. He has perfect vision in one eye and 20/25 in the other but we were informed he would probably grow out of the slight far sightedness . There was a light that they shined in his eye of Tigger with a birthday hat on and Eli LOVED it. He followed instructions well and left with a huge smile.
Eli did EXCELLENT in his therapy this week. He played very well with the OT and moved from each transition with ease. He was not aggressive at inappropriate times. There is a book called No No Puppy that Eli loves to read. He gives really big belly laughs with each page. His laugh puts a big smile on every one's face. After OT we had speech. Again, another wonderful session. Our G sound is still a toughie but our K's were much better. We started on SH for this week which he seems to be grasping with ease.
After therapy, Eli had a hearing test. We sat in a room with a bucket of blocks and waited for a sound to come over a speaker. After each sound, Eli would drop a block in a bucket. I did not think he would do this activity because of his short attention span and his love of building with blocks but he was such a champion. He listened with 2 types of head phones and one with out and passed with flying colors. One of his tubes has come out and the other is still doing its job. Having 3 appointments in one day is a lot for anyone, especially a 3 year old but I could not have asked for him to be a better trooper than what he was.
Since we had such a busy day with lots of appointments, we decided to reward his behavior with a trip to the fair. My dad has so many memories of going to the fair with my sisters children that he wanted to continue the tradition of taking Eli to the fair. Andrew, Eli and I met up with my parents at the fair and talk about fun! Eli felt like he was on heaven on earth. He wanted to ride everything! No matter how fast, high or dizzy the ride made you, he had NO FEAR! He wanted to ride the roller coasters 2 times, wanted the monster trucks to go faster and wanted the bumper cars to "bump something else". We ate popcorn and lemonade, rode every ride we possibly could, won prizes and had a wonderful night with the family. Eli crashed hard on the way home.
Today we had an appointment for a second evaluation with the school system for his speech. It lasted an hour and a half so his patients were really tested today. I asked the speech pathologist if she thought he would qualify and she said 100% he does. I will meet with them again in 2 weeks to go over his results and figure out a schedule to meet with them weekly.
Eli has his first dentist appointment on Monday. He is very excited so I hope it goes well and he always gets excited about going to the dentist/ doctor. (He does not get that from me!!)
I am so beyond blessed to be Eli's mom. He teaches me new things everyday. He has such a big personality in that little body. His innocence is something I pray he holds on to for a very long time. I pray that I am always led by God in all of the choices I make for him. I am so thankful to have him.
-Brittany
Friday, September 27, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Busy Busy Busy!
We have decided to take a trip to Disney! We are going in February. The trip is more for Andrew and I since we have never had a vacation but what better place to get away for a week with a toddler than Disney World! I feel like a kid the night before Christmas and I have 5 months left to go... Looking very forward to the trip.
This week was a very busy week. We had a meeting for parents interested in the Integrated Learning System on Tuesday night. It confirmed our commitment to the program and we look forward to starting it after Eli passes his hearing and vision test. There was a lot of information and we are very excited to give this a try.
Eli has been a VERY active 3 year old this week. I know all toddlers have good weeks and bad weeks. This one was not our very best. He has had such a hard time focusing on any one activity for a period of time. If we are at home, he is usually OK but when we go somewhere outside of his comfort zone then he is a whole new child. He gets so wound up over everything around him that he goes into melt down mode. I know so much of this is typical little boy but it also does not take much for him to get over stimulated and throw a tantrum.
We had OT on Thursday. He was not as cooperative as what he usually is but Cindy is so patient in working with him and what his needs are that we worked through it. She keeps giving me ideas on how I can work with him outside of the house which is where we have our biggest issues. After OT we worked with Katie for speech. He was so good! Katie and I were very pleased with his progress. He followed directions well and transitioned from one task to another with ease which is HUGE for him. He also did not have to take as many breaks and was able to work through the session without getting angry or having a meltdown. He even worked in a normal play classroom. We have not been able to do that because he would get too distracted in those rooms before. So all in all, it was a great week. I am already able to see a HUGE improvement in his speech and so can others around him. He is trying very hard to pronounce all of his words clearly. (Although, sometimes I like the way he says some of his words wrong.)
We are meeting next week for his 2nd eval for the school system. I am very excited to start that also. Although I only work 2 days a week, we have speech and OT every week, school 3 days a week, and now a second speech class every week, I am one busy mama! I love it but the weekends sure are nice to be able to relax with the family.
On a different note, Eli has slept in the bed with me since he was very little. He hated his crib. We transformed his crib into a big boy bed. He liked it better but still liked our room the best. I actually enjoyed him sleeping with me because Andrew works nights 1/2 of each months. I enjoyed having him close to me with the dog in the room. For some reason I felt safe. I have known that it is probably for the best that he sleeps in his own bed soon because 3 of us in a queen bed was not the best night sleep anymore. Last week, I was putting him down for a nap in my room and he told me he wanted to go sleep in his big boy bed. I was just sure that he didn't mean it and he was going to say anything to get out of bed but we tried it and he went to sleep in his bed! For the last 6 nights he has voluntarily slept in his own room. I am sleeping so much better but I miss my boy at night! I am so glad it became his idea to sleep in his bed instead of having to force it.
So that is what has been going on in the Thomas house for the last week.
-Brittany
This week was a very busy week. We had a meeting for parents interested in the Integrated Learning System on Tuesday night. It confirmed our commitment to the program and we look forward to starting it after Eli passes his hearing and vision test. There was a lot of information and we are very excited to give this a try.
Eli has been a VERY active 3 year old this week. I know all toddlers have good weeks and bad weeks. This one was not our very best. He has had such a hard time focusing on any one activity for a period of time. If we are at home, he is usually OK but when we go somewhere outside of his comfort zone then he is a whole new child. He gets so wound up over everything around him that he goes into melt down mode. I know so much of this is typical little boy but it also does not take much for him to get over stimulated and throw a tantrum.
We had OT on Thursday. He was not as cooperative as what he usually is but Cindy is so patient in working with him and what his needs are that we worked through it. She keeps giving me ideas on how I can work with him outside of the house which is where we have our biggest issues. After OT we worked with Katie for speech. He was so good! Katie and I were very pleased with his progress. He followed directions well and transitioned from one task to another with ease which is HUGE for him. He also did not have to take as many breaks and was able to work through the session without getting angry or having a meltdown. He even worked in a normal play classroom. We have not been able to do that because he would get too distracted in those rooms before. So all in all, it was a great week. I am already able to see a HUGE improvement in his speech and so can others around him. He is trying very hard to pronounce all of his words clearly. (Although, sometimes I like the way he says some of his words wrong.)
We are meeting next week for his 2nd eval for the school system. I am very excited to start that also. Although I only work 2 days a week, we have speech and OT every week, school 3 days a week, and now a second speech class every week, I am one busy mama! I love it but the weekends sure are nice to be able to relax with the family.
On a different note, Eli has slept in the bed with me since he was very little. He hated his crib. We transformed his crib into a big boy bed. He liked it better but still liked our room the best. I actually enjoyed him sleeping with me because Andrew works nights 1/2 of each months. I enjoyed having him close to me with the dog in the room. For some reason I felt safe. I have known that it is probably for the best that he sleeps in his own bed soon because 3 of us in a queen bed was not the best night sleep anymore. Last week, I was putting him down for a nap in my room and he told me he wanted to go sleep in his big boy bed. I was just sure that he didn't mean it and he was going to say anything to get out of bed but we tried it and he went to sleep in his bed! For the last 6 nights he has voluntarily slept in his own room. I am sleeping so much better but I miss my boy at night! I am so glad it became his idea to sleep in his bed instead of having to force it.
So that is what has been going on in the Thomas house for the last week.
-Brittany
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Staying on the go
We have had such a busy couple of weeks. Between evaluations, classes, and work, I do not feel like there has been very much time for play. I kept Eli out of school to go to the beach yesterday. We had so much fun. It was our first time to go this summer, (which is so sad because we are only 45 mins away), but it was a wonderful day since most kids are in school and it was not a weekend. It was like we had the whole beach to ourselves. We went with our friend Mrs. Jessica and Rylee. It was a nice getaway before we are back to our busy schedule this week.
We had OT therapy today. Before therapy we went to the park with Rylee. I think when he is able to run and play before he has to sit down and work, it makes him calm down and listen better. The OT put Eli on a swing and played some different games with him. I was amazed that she was able to keep his attention for so long. She told me that because the swing was moving, his brain was tricking him into thinking he was moving. So he was able to sit still and focus while his body was still in motion on the swing. He loves his therapist and works with her so well. I am loving all of the ideas that she gives me to work with him since I have felt like I was at a road block with new ideas. We have decided to work with the ILS at therapy with each session instead of doing it at home. I think it will be helpful for him to have a therapist work with it and financially the best decision for us.
We had speech last week. Katie was amazed at how much progress he made with his G sound and how quickly he was to picking up his K sound. Before we left home for speech that morning, we had a major dance session (thank goodness no one was around to see my 'graceful' moves). I was hoping that if we burned some energy, he would participate better. We moved him into a room where there was not many distractions and just a few toys. It made a HUGE difference. I was very pleased with his progress. Now we are working on applying the sound with our words. Eli talks so fast so making him slow down and pronounce his sounds is difficult but I do see progress.
We are still waiting to hear back from the school system to see if he was accepted into their speech program. I am sure we will be and excited to hear their ideas also on different ways to work with Eli.
With all of the things we have had going on (work, school, speech, ot, etc...), it was so great to have a relaxing day with my sweet boy yesterday. Watching him grow and capturing his innocence is something that I enjoy so much and I just pray that I never get too caught up in everything else to stop enjoying the precious time I have with him.
-Brittany
We had OT therapy today. Before therapy we went to the park with Rylee. I think when he is able to run and play before he has to sit down and work, it makes him calm down and listen better. The OT put Eli on a swing and played some different games with him. I was amazed that she was able to keep his attention for so long. She told me that because the swing was moving, his brain was tricking him into thinking he was moving. So he was able to sit still and focus while his body was still in motion on the swing. He loves his therapist and works with her so well. I am loving all of the ideas that she gives me to work with him since I have felt like I was at a road block with new ideas. We have decided to work with the ILS at therapy with each session instead of doing it at home. I think it will be helpful for him to have a therapist work with it and financially the best decision for us.
We had speech last week. Katie was amazed at how much progress he made with his G sound and how quickly he was to picking up his K sound. Before we left home for speech that morning, we had a major dance session (thank goodness no one was around to see my 'graceful' moves). I was hoping that if we burned some energy, he would participate better. We moved him into a room where there was not many distractions and just a few toys. It made a HUGE difference. I was very pleased with his progress. Now we are working on applying the sound with our words. Eli talks so fast so making him slow down and pronounce his sounds is difficult but I do see progress.
We are still waiting to hear back from the school system to see if he was accepted into their speech program. I am sure we will be and excited to hear their ideas also on different ways to work with Eli.
With all of the things we have had going on (work, school, speech, ot, etc...), it was so great to have a relaxing day with my sweet boy yesterday. Watching him grow and capturing his innocence is something that I enjoy so much and I just pray that I never get too caught up in everything else to stop enjoying the precious time I have with him.
-Brittany
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Occupational Therapy Evaluation
I'm going to go ahead and say sorry for another really long post. I am wanting to use this blog to inform family and friends about what is going on but to also keep track of Eli's progress so there will be a lot of details that are probably only important to me.
We met today with the OT and the SLP. We spent 2 hours talking with them about how to work on the same page to get the best results for Eli. A LOT of information was given to us. Again, I cant express how great it feels to have someone understand where I am coming from and is very willing to work along side Andrew and I to work with him.
One of the first things we learned that an official diagnosis of SPD can not be given until he is 5 years old. Eli has not been diagnosed and can not be until he turns 5 but he has a lot of red flags that we will work on with him and test him again when he turns 5. Eli has 3 areas of SPD that need a lot of attention: Auditory, Visual, and Vestibular. A lot of research has been done about integrated listening and the benefits it has on children with SPD. We would use headphones with a transducer on the top of the head to listen to classical music. The transducer at the top of the headset is a bone conductor which helps clear up how his ears hear things. Over a period of time, the music starts to remove low frequency sounds which can distract from the other sounds. This activity should help with frequencies that are difficult for him due to past ear infections. The benefits of integrated listening are very high and if it does not work for him, then it is not like trying it has done any harm.
Eli has colored on the wall multiple times... I have tried to talk to him about where we color and where we do not color. He does not seem to understand me. I have put him in time out. He does not seem to know why he is in time out. I have spanked him. He still does not get it. Within the last month, he has colored on the wall 6 times. I felt like I have tried everything to make him stop. I have not known how to handle him. Why does he keep doing this? How can I get it in his head to stop? How can I make him understand where we color and where we don't color? Cindy will help me figure out what I can do to work with him. Andrew and I are learning that we may have to parent differently than most parents do and that is ok with us. We may have to think out of the box a little to get Eli to understand things. She said instead of trying the methods of punishment that have not been working, OVERCORRECT whatever he did. Make him clean the whole area, if he screams and cries it is ok but after he cleans it, go color where we are supposed to color. Just talking to someone who is willing to give us new ideas when we are lost for what to try next is very helpful.
Eli CRAVES hard play. His body needs it. He loves to spin, jump, run, hammer, and hit. Cindy is working with us on different activities we can do to give him the fulfillment of hard play/ pressure activities.
After our meeting this morning, Andrew took Eli to meet with the special services director for the Baldwin county public school system. He got evaluated for speech with them. We are going to work with both places. I could not be happier at kids kount but having someone work with us for free and work with the school system will be wonderful too. We will find out this week if he qualifies for their services.
We are learning so much and I am looking forward to what else we can learn about how Eli hears and interprets things. I started this journey to strictly address Eli's speech. I had no idea that the struggles I was having with him would be addressed. I am so grateful to have 2 great therapist willing to work with us as a family to get the best help for Eli we can get. I am continuing to pray that God will lead us in the right path and for clarity on what we need to do for him.
Here are a few pictures from our play date with a friend we had earlier this week:
We met today with the OT and the SLP. We spent 2 hours talking with them about how to work on the same page to get the best results for Eli. A LOT of information was given to us. Again, I cant express how great it feels to have someone understand where I am coming from and is very willing to work along side Andrew and I to work with him.
One of the first things we learned that an official diagnosis of SPD can not be given until he is 5 years old. Eli has not been diagnosed and can not be until he turns 5 but he has a lot of red flags that we will work on with him and test him again when he turns 5. Eli has 3 areas of SPD that need a lot of attention: Auditory, Visual, and Vestibular. A lot of research has been done about integrated listening and the benefits it has on children with SPD. We would use headphones with a transducer on the top of the head to listen to classical music. The transducer at the top of the headset is a bone conductor which helps clear up how his ears hear things. Over a period of time, the music starts to remove low frequency sounds which can distract from the other sounds. This activity should help with frequencies that are difficult for him due to past ear infections. The benefits of integrated listening are very high and if it does not work for him, then it is not like trying it has done any harm.
Eli has colored on the wall multiple times... I have tried to talk to him about where we color and where we do not color. He does not seem to understand me. I have put him in time out. He does not seem to know why he is in time out. I have spanked him. He still does not get it. Within the last month, he has colored on the wall 6 times. I felt like I have tried everything to make him stop. I have not known how to handle him. Why does he keep doing this? How can I get it in his head to stop? How can I make him understand where we color and where we don't color? Cindy will help me figure out what I can do to work with him. Andrew and I are learning that we may have to parent differently than most parents do and that is ok with us. We may have to think out of the box a little to get Eli to understand things. She said instead of trying the methods of punishment that have not been working, OVERCORRECT whatever he did. Make him clean the whole area, if he screams and cries it is ok but after he cleans it, go color where we are supposed to color. Just talking to someone who is willing to give us new ideas when we are lost for what to try next is very helpful.
Eli CRAVES hard play. His body needs it. He loves to spin, jump, run, hammer, and hit. Cindy is working with us on different activities we can do to give him the fulfillment of hard play/ pressure activities.
After our meeting this morning, Andrew took Eli to meet with the special services director for the Baldwin county public school system. He got evaluated for speech with them. We are going to work with both places. I could not be happier at kids kount but having someone work with us for free and work with the school system will be wonderful too. We will find out this week if he qualifies for their services.
We are learning so much and I am looking forward to what else we can learn about how Eli hears and interprets things. I started this journey to strictly address Eli's speech. I had no idea that the struggles I was having with him would be addressed. I am so grateful to have 2 great therapist willing to work with us as a family to get the best help for Eli we can get. I am continuing to pray that God will lead us in the right path and for clarity on what we need to do for him.
Here are a few pictures from our play date with a friend we had earlier this week:
-Brittany
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)