Today is I am just going to make it simple and sum up some
progress around here and just how we have gotten there. Keep in mind we are
still waiting to begin at the autism center and he has received zero therapy so
far. I can imagine if he had, we may be much further along, but still very
proud of him for what he has accomplished so far.
Phillip
has been practicing his speaking daily and on his own. That ambition started with
a video called Rock N Learn phonics and reading I bought him for Christmas. A
horrible video that repeats in my brain all day long but the appeal is the
close shot of a mouth moving to the letters and words. No other part of the
face is shown but a mouth and this has gotten his attention to the detail of
speaking. He watched this video everyday and with the help of a mirror he
practiced the movement of his mouth.
In a
few short weeks he went from saying just a few things unclear to saying the
entire alphabet followed by the sound of each letter and a word that begins
with the letter. Not all of it comes out completely clear and he does work to
do it but he is doing it! It’s is very cool to me the way he says the alphabet.
He doesn’t sing it like you and I would or say each letter back to back. He
begins with A, makes the sound, and says apple. Then he moves on to B and so
on. He is also working much harder at saying shapes and colors with great
success. A mirror and a close visual of how the mouth should move played a huge
role in the progress.
We
still aren’t going out public much but we are working on coming in the house
without an hour long protest. This is working similar to what our routine was
in Montana. We go around the house into the backyard. He plays for a bit and I
open the door a few times. It takes at least 3 tries before he steps in with
one foot and yesterday he stepped in and stepped out. Today he just stepped in
and stayed with no problems at all. A great accomplishment as lately getting him
in house has been nothing short of a nightmare for all of us.
A lot of
the progress Phillip has made lately has been entirely initiated by him. I wish
I could take more credit but all I can really take credit for is patience.
Patience has been the ultimate factor and if it takes an hour to see him step
into the house on his own it is an hour well spent. Luckily I have that kind of
time and I know many parents do not. On that note I also live in the great northwest
and we will see if he is able to change that pattern on our next inevitable
rainy day.
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