Yesterday, I visited the all-autistic classroom that Stella will be joining October 1st. She will go to school all day, from 8:30 - 3:15 – like a first-grader. It is in Albion, MI, -- a small town about 30 minutes east of Battle Creek on I-94. We were at first worried about Stella riding the bus that far and being there that long (after all, she's so young!), but now that I've seen the classroom, I know it will be well worth it. She will be the youngest (by far) in her class. She's 2½ and all the other kids are over 4. But it's so structured. They're always collecting data and working on individual steps in the smallest imaginable increments. That's the nature ABA therapy.
I feel strongly Stella will make progress with this, because I've seen her pick up new words and ideas. The thing that bothers me so much, though, is that she has trouble holding onto her new words. We've been working so hard on verbs and word combinations. We feel so happy when she gets it. A couple of weeks ago, she would come to us with a book and say, "read book!" and we were delighted. Now we can't get her to do that anymore. I hope the reinforcement and repetitive aspect of ABA therapy will enable her to hold onto her new knowledge.
Tonight is our first appointment at UMACC for her evaluation, and I hope their thorough approach will give us the direction we need to really help her in the best way possible. Our appointments are Sept. 19, 21 and 26. Each appointment is 3 hours long.
After that, I'm thinking of looking into some biomedical solutions for her physical problems, like constipation. I have lately wondered if some dietary changes, like a gluten free/casein free diet might help. I know it does help some ASD kids.
In other news . . .
John goes to garage sales about every weekend looking for old record albums. He found something for us that I was really looking for -- a bread machine for $10. We had homemade bread with homemade clam chowder on Sunday and it was delish! Thanks honey!
Of course, Stella loved that warm bread too, so the idea of putting her on a gluten free diet really makes me cringe!
Karmel
P.S. I forgot to add that the Risperdal has been helping some with Stella's sleep. I've had more success with getting her to sleep in her own bed all night, which is a relief to me. Of course, things can always change with her (they usually do!), but for the last week or so, I've been resting a little easier and crying a lot less!
7 comments:
I hope your appointments at U of M go well and you learn a lot. I'll be thinking of you.
Stella is such a big girl to be going to school each day. The program sounds wonderful and I bet she will thrive there. I only wish the public schools offered ABA therapy in Oregon.
Hey guys!! So glad the sleeping is getting better - yeah!!! Sleep is good - can't wait to get some myself in a few months :) Hope your meetings go well, can't wait to hear what they have to share. Stella on a bus - I love it!! She's going to do awesome! Talk to you soon,
Aunt Corinn
That's awesome that Stella will be receiving ABA therapy at school. Oregon is so behind the times--all we could get for Elizabeth was a social language class for 90 minutes a week. No speech and language pathologist, no ABA therapy, no floortime, no RDI. When I asked about all these options, they acted so offended that the public schools should be expected to provide that. So, parents here spend $40,000 - $60,000 a year on private therapy.
We've got her in a playgroup at a private ABA school and are thinking of switching her over for her preschool, too. But, Little Flower is so neat and she's doing well there so far. We'll see how she does once they start their more rigorous schedule (Spanish, music, art, etc.).
We've also got an SLP coming to the house once a week and she's in another playgroup at the Speech and Hearing Institute. It's exhausting and expensive keeping up with her schedule, but it's worth it. She's already talking a LOT more. She actually told me a story about a boy named Christopher cutting himself at preschool. And, she came up to me the other day, gave me a hug and said "I love you, Mommy". So, the good news is that it all works!
Stella is very lucky to have such caring and dedicated parents. She's going to do so well since she's starting therapy early and getting a lot of it.
Now, the only thing missing is the therapy for parents of autistic children. Man, I could use some!!
P.S. There are some great recipes out there for gluten-free bread...
Thanks everyone. Michelle, it's so good to hear from you and it's incredible to hear how well Elizabeth is doing. She hasn't been in therapy that long, either, has she?
Our first two days of testing are over and we go back again Tuesday. I have to say, that after the testing, I'm really concerned about Stella's attention deficit problems. It was clear during the evaluation that she has a lot of abilities, but that she finds it almost impossible to sit still and focus. I wonder if I should see another specialist about that, as Risperdal isn't doing anything but help her sleep. And the only person that's good for is me, because she doesn't care if she sleeps or not.
I am so impressed by what you're doing for Elizabeth, especially since you have to seek it out and drive her around. Apparently, kids in Stella's class can get speech and occupational therapy while they're there. In theory, having her in school sounds great, but I wonder if I'll go through some type of withdrawal after having been with her 24/7 her whole life (give-or-take).
MB, thanks for your support and I'll keep you posted! Corinn, thanks for holding in the baby while we relied on Joe & Rynnie to babysit Tuesday night!
Karmel
I love reading your updates. I think about cute Stella all the time. I know the school will be great for her. I can't wait to hear all she'll have to say!
Aunt Mary Ann
Karmel, I've been reading all of your updates and keeping all of you in my thoughts. Stella's school sounds wonderful-- I'm so glad that opportunity is available for her. I'll be waiting for some baby pictures from Corinn and Chris!
Kathy
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