This was a super awesome day for Judah. He is so in tune with everyone suddenly. He is putting his dishes in the sink after every meal. He watered some of the garden tonight. He is swinging well - kicking out and pulling in with his legs even! (He started copying Sebastian.)
I was able to talk with his caregiver tonight. Sebastian & Willow were off getting haircuts with Papa and Gramma. She mentioned that she needs more one-on-one time with Judah, which was awesome because I had just been talking to Scott the day before about the line becoming fuzzy for Sebastian. She was trying to think of things she could do to make that happen. I told her not to worry about it - that I could find PLENTY for them to do! When we all do stuff together pretty consistently, it's completely understandable that Sebastian would think that she is now here to be with ALL of us, when she is really here just for Judah. But it was a really good talk with her tonight. She wants to do all she can for Judah. She let me know that she really believes he will be talking - maybe not right away, but at some juncture. We talked about many of the amazing characteristics he has. She shared with me that she loves his personality & talked about how fun he is to play with. Other aides have talked about this too - two fill-ins told me at the same time that they wished they could work with him regularly! Judah's aide always tells Sebastian what a big imagination he has & gives him positive support when he talks about his very unique inventions, thoughts & ideas. Our other regular aide compliments Sebastian on his wonderful creativity as well. So they aren't only really good with Judah & eager to help him progress, but they are exceptionally great with the other two as well.
Judah & his caregiver were home all day. He had a lot of "screen time" today. She reassured me that this wasn't something she would normally do, she just felt that he was having a rough day. She was able to turn videos on YouTube into somewhat of a learning experience though. In a big way she was showing him that she was interested in what he was interested in, which he absolutely loves.. who doesn't?! But obviously that strengthens their bond a lot, and gains more of his trust (specifically that he will be supported & listened to) & attention. That's the thing with autism, it's important to follow the kid's lead as much as you can. And it's also just common sense, people learn & progress more when they are doing things that they enjoy (besides watching TV I mean). The TV screen time has been cut down a lot since his aide has been here. Today was different, but today was probably comparable to many days in the past when I did not have an aide here.
I suggested Play-doh when I was trying to come up with things that Judah enjoys that are hard for him to enjoy with his siblings joining in. I didn't think he would be able to make a big mess if he had someone doing it with him one-on-one, but I was completely wrong. Halfway through their Play-doh adventure I got out the picnic table cover & told her that I usually put it on the floor when we do Play-doh. Whoops. After that activity the aide & I were on hands & knees trying to pull Play-doh out of the carpet for quite some time.
This afternoon the aide took Judah & Sebastian on a big walk while I was at my neurologist appointment. Scott was home with Willow. My neurologist wants to do blood work & make sure my b-12 levels are normal, as well as other levels. I was there to talk with him about my migraines & memory problems. He was very nice, patient, listened well, had a sense of humor & seemed genuinely interested in helping me. I'll see him again in 6 months if my memory issues have not disappeared.
Scott went out with one of our friends after work. Scott shared some disheartening stories about our last aide with him. Our friend was kind of shocked & related by telling him that he really didn't have a good feeling about their aide. She was new. He also has a boy on the spectrum. Scott asked him what the new aide's name was... haha, sure enough! Same lady!! She found another job pretty quick! Scott told him about the company we recently found & how amazing our experience has been with them. I'm so glad that he could share this info with our friend, because this friend ALWAYS has helpful info to share with us every time we see him. It's hard to find people with kids on the spectrum and that are willing to openly discuss spectrum-related problems, info, etc. It's even harder to find people that do as much research as our friend and his wife do AND to be so lucky as to become friends with them! We've been graced with some amazing people lately. Our aides & these friends are eager to give us tools & information that will change our lives & Judah's. I don't know how we could ever begin to repay them.
Tonight I spent HOURS working on a schedule for September to send into the aide's supervisor. After that I spent hours writing up our appointments, dates, etc. and adding them to the aide schedule, so I could see in front of me what each day would be like. I've been wanting to do that for weeks - I had no idea it would be THAT time-consuming! I sent the full month of September on to Mom & Dave, so they can utilize in the future it if they need to.
Judah didn't have coconut butter (broken microwave - we melt it), nebulizer, folinic acid in b-12 shot, powder b-6 (needed by now), beta or iron up. He had 1 dose of miralax.
Judah had one big poop.
Judah had eye drops.
I was able to talk with his caregiver tonight. Sebastian & Willow were off getting haircuts with Papa and Gramma. She mentioned that she needs more one-on-one time with Judah, which was awesome because I had just been talking to Scott the day before about the line becoming fuzzy for Sebastian. She was trying to think of things she could do to make that happen. I told her not to worry about it - that I could find PLENTY for them to do! When we all do stuff together pretty consistently, it's completely understandable that Sebastian would think that she is now here to be with ALL of us, when she is really here just for Judah. But it was a really good talk with her tonight. She wants to do all she can for Judah. She let me know that she really believes he will be talking - maybe not right away, but at some juncture. We talked about many of the amazing characteristics he has. She shared with me that she loves his personality & talked about how fun he is to play with. Other aides have talked about this too - two fill-ins told me at the same time that they wished they could work with him regularly! Judah's aide always tells Sebastian what a big imagination he has & gives him positive support when he talks about his very unique inventions, thoughts & ideas. Our other regular aide compliments Sebastian on his wonderful creativity as well. So they aren't only really good with Judah & eager to help him progress, but they are exceptionally great with the other two as well.
Judah & his caregiver were home all day. He had a lot of "screen time" today. She reassured me that this wasn't something she would normally do, she just felt that he was having a rough day. She was able to turn videos on YouTube into somewhat of a learning experience though. In a big way she was showing him that she was interested in what he was interested in, which he absolutely loves.. who doesn't?! But obviously that strengthens their bond a lot, and gains more of his trust (specifically that he will be supported & listened to) & attention. That's the thing with autism, it's important to follow the kid's lead as much as you can. And it's also just common sense, people learn & progress more when they are doing things that they enjoy (besides watching TV I mean). The TV screen time has been cut down a lot since his aide has been here. Today was different, but today was probably comparable to many days in the past when I did not have an aide here.
I suggested Play-doh when I was trying to come up with things that Judah enjoys that are hard for him to enjoy with his siblings joining in. I didn't think he would be able to make a big mess if he had someone doing it with him one-on-one, but I was completely wrong. Halfway through their Play-doh adventure I got out the picnic table cover & told her that I usually put it on the floor when we do Play-doh. Whoops. After that activity the aide & I were on hands & knees trying to pull Play-doh out of the carpet for quite some time.
This afternoon the aide took Judah & Sebastian on a big walk while I was at my neurologist appointment. Scott was home with Willow. My neurologist wants to do blood work & make sure my b-12 levels are normal, as well as other levels. I was there to talk with him about my migraines & memory problems. He was very nice, patient, listened well, had a sense of humor & seemed genuinely interested in helping me. I'll see him again in 6 months if my memory issues have not disappeared.
Scott went out with one of our friends after work. Scott shared some disheartening stories about our last aide with him. Our friend was kind of shocked & related by telling him that he really didn't have a good feeling about their aide. She was new. He also has a boy on the spectrum. Scott asked him what the new aide's name was... haha, sure enough! Same lady!! She found another job pretty quick! Scott told him about the company we recently found & how amazing our experience has been with them. I'm so glad that he could share this info with our friend, because this friend ALWAYS has helpful info to share with us every time we see him. It's hard to find people with kids on the spectrum and that are willing to openly discuss spectrum-related problems, info, etc. It's even harder to find people that do as much research as our friend and his wife do AND to be so lucky as to become friends with them! We've been graced with some amazing people lately. Our aides & these friends are eager to give us tools & information that will change our lives & Judah's. I don't know how we could ever begin to repay them.
Tonight I spent HOURS working on a schedule for September to send into the aide's supervisor. After that I spent hours writing up our appointments, dates, etc. and adding them to the aide schedule, so I could see in front of me what each day would be like. I've been wanting to do that for weeks - I had no idea it would be THAT time-consuming! I sent the full month of September on to Mom & Dave, so they can utilize in the future it if they need to.
Judah didn't have coconut butter (broken microwave - we melt it), nebulizer, folinic acid in b-12 shot, powder b-6 (needed by now), beta or iron up. He had 1 dose of miralax.
Judah had one big poop.
Judah had eye drops.
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