Thursday is OT day, which understandably focuses more on physical activities than speech, but as my son's challenges are multi-sensory, it all works together for his good.
I was thinking about how my little guy goes through cycles of words he says and then they just "disappear". For instance, he was saying "bye" to therapists and siblings when they left, but now he's not. I do not believe this has anything to do with ProEFA or anything else. It's just part of his special brand of challenges. It's not as though he has forgotten the word or how to use it, he just stops using it. He might say cow and moo during a round of "Old Mac Donald" or "e-i-e-i-o" or he might count 1-10, but tomorrow, I can't coax him to say it.
However, I know that the words are in his brain. He understands far more than he is able to express. So, how to break a hole in the dam that prevents him from expressing himself? How to let open the floodgates? I'll stay with the ProEFA until it runs out, but right now I'm not seeing the miracle change.
If I could also figure out how to get him to stop using the shelves in the kitchen cupboards as steps to climb onto the kitchen counters, that would be awesome. :-)
dg
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Day 8
It's early Wednesday morning so I'll give an update of the last couple of days.
Basically, we've had no big changes, thus I haven't felt a need to update.
During therapy, Dom often is attentive but quiet, or if he does not want to participate in the therapist's choice of activity, he tries to leave the room. On day 7, he did his usual escape artist tactics when he did not want to play.
Twice now he has done something with a shape puzzle that I thought was odd. He knows the shapes, and when given the shapes (triangle, circle, rectangle, etc) to put into a puzzle, his eyes go right to the correct place, but he often does not put the puzzle piece into the puzzle. Instead he just lines the pieces up around himself, turning them over onto the "back side" of the piece (the back facing up instead of the color/printed side). He wants all of the pieces to himself and he'll go back and forth with the pieces, putting them on the front or back sides, but not wanting to put them into the puzzle board. Maybe he is just bored with the puzzle itself?
But he was very interested in the spelling of the words under the shapes on the puzzle board.
On day 7 he saw a sign in a parking lot and we looked at the letters. He noticed an S, T, and said Z. But he put his finger on the N on the sign. I suppose he had turned that letter in his mind to be a Z.
We do not have a scheduled therapy today. I'm glad because I need a day to breathe. And he was up before 5:30am and that does not bode well for being attentive to therapy.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
dg
Basically, we've had no big changes, thus I haven't felt a need to update.
During therapy, Dom often is attentive but quiet, or if he does not want to participate in the therapist's choice of activity, he tries to leave the room. On day 7, he did his usual escape artist tactics when he did not want to play.
Twice now he has done something with a shape puzzle that I thought was odd. He knows the shapes, and when given the shapes (triangle, circle, rectangle, etc) to put into a puzzle, his eyes go right to the correct place, but he often does not put the puzzle piece into the puzzle. Instead he just lines the pieces up around himself, turning them over onto the "back side" of the piece (the back facing up instead of the color/printed side). He wants all of the pieces to himself and he'll go back and forth with the pieces, putting them on the front or back sides, but not wanting to put them into the puzzle board. Maybe he is just bored with the puzzle itself?
But he was very interested in the spelling of the words under the shapes on the puzzle board.
On day 7 he saw a sign in a parking lot and we looked at the letters. He noticed an S, T, and said Z. But he put his finger on the N on the sign. I suppose he had turned that letter in his mind to be a Z.
We do not have a scheduled therapy today. I'm glad because I need a day to breathe. And he was up before 5:30am and that does not bode well for being attentive to therapy.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
dg
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day 4
It is a Saturday so everyone is home, including Dom's older sisters and Daddy.
He has not said or done anything out of the ordinary, but he is saying more of the letters in the alphabet with clarity. He enjoys playing pre-school games on the iPod touch (we can't afford the iPad yet) and is next to me playing "Fish School" a very cute game by Duck Duck Moose. In fact, all of his favorite games are by Duck Duck Moose. If you are considering pre-school apps, I highly recommend them.
Check out Duck Duck Moose
I think the Fish School app is how Dom has learned to count and the alphabet, as he can play those games over and over, with the visual and the auditory working in concert. He is able to manipulate the games on an iPod touch, which is not a large screen, which I think is a tribute to the game designs.
Let's see what tomorrow brings. :-)
dg
He has not said or done anything out of the ordinary, but he is saying more of the letters in the alphabet with clarity. He enjoys playing pre-school games on the iPod touch (we can't afford the iPad yet) and is next to me playing "Fish School" a very cute game by Duck Duck Moose. In fact, all of his favorite games are by Duck Duck Moose. If you are considering pre-school apps, I highly recommend them.
Check out Duck Duck Moose
I think the Fish School app is how Dom has learned to count and the alphabet, as he can play those games over and over, with the visual and the auditory working in concert. He is able to manipulate the games on an iPod touch, which is not a large screen, which I think is a tribute to the game designs.
Let's see what tomorrow brings. :-)
dg
Day 3
On Day 3 -
Dom had his usual DT. Words that I heard more clearly were STAR (he was holding a star for a shape-sorter) and he said star very clearly.
The therapist got out flashcards that had images of objects on one side, a letter and the name of the object spelled on the other side. My little guy did not have any interest in the picture, but turned them over and studied the "letter" side. He said "Z", "P" and "B" as well as "D". My favorite thing that happened was he took one card that had a lower-case d and said d, then turned it upside down and said p. He can manipulate the image of the letter to make a different letter.
He still likes to say numbers in order, usually beginning at three, and up to ten, though sometimes he goes to eleven or twelve. However, his words may not be as clear to a stranger as they are to me. For the alphabet, he is beginning to say more of the letters when he recites the alphabet. Often children morph together LMNO, and Dom likes to ignore the grouping.
Let's see what we get tomorrow.
dg
Dom had his usual DT. Words that I heard more clearly were STAR (he was holding a star for a shape-sorter) and he said star very clearly.
The therapist got out flashcards that had images of objects on one side, a letter and the name of the object spelled on the other side. My little guy did not have any interest in the picture, but turned them over and studied the "letter" side. He said "Z", "P" and "B" as well as "D". My favorite thing that happened was he took one card that had a lower-case d and said d, then turned it upside down and said p. He can manipulate the image of the letter to make a different letter.
He still likes to say numbers in order, usually beginning at three, and up to ten, though sometimes he goes to eleven or twelve. However, his words may not be as clear to a stranger as they are to me. For the alphabet, he is beginning to say more of the letters when he recites the alphabet. Often children morph together LMNO, and Dom likes to ignore the grouping.
Let's see what we get tomorrow.
dg
Friday, August 26, 2011
Day Two - ProEFA
Notes on day 2 of the Late Talker "experiment"
I was recommended the book, "The Late Talker" by Mailyn C. Agin, MD, Lisa F. Geng, and Malcom J. Nicholl when we took our son to Melmed Center for his initial visit with a developmental pediatrician. I finally began reading it ... yes, it took me over a month to even crack it open (denial?) and I came to the Nutritional Interventions chapter.
I keep hearing and reading about a gluten/casein free diet for autism and I just have not been able to wrap my brain around that. My little one is a very picky eater as it is and if I had to take away the few things he does eat, I don't know what he would be left with. But the idea of Omega-3's having an effect on speech and communication was intriguing to me and I had already been giving Dom vitamin supplements, including a fish oil supplement, per the recommendations of the developmental pediatrician. However, when I began comparing the amount of DHA in the Gummi's versus the ProEFA that was discussed in the book, I knew it was no where near the therapeutic levels of the ProEFA. In the book, ProEFA was the ratio of Omega-3's that had the most effect on children with both apraxia and autism.
So, a week or so ago I took the plunge and ordered a bottle of ProEFA from
Professional Supplement Center-Free Shipping, Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
and I started my 2 1/2 year old taking the fish oil capsules yesterday, August 25. The only way I could manage to get him to take them, because they really do smell and taste like fish, with a lemony coating, is to get applesauce, hide the capsule in the applesauce (whole), and spoon-feed him the applesauce. Since he "gulps" down the applesauce without chewing, he swallowed them. I think it would work with yogurt or pudding, or other soft foods that are not chewed but simply swallowed down, that a child likes. I went with no-sugar added applesauce.
Currently my little boy has therapies three days a week, in home; speech, occupational, and developmental. He has made slow progress since November 2010, when therapies (speech, developmental) began, but is very far behind his peers in speech and communication.
On Day 2, I have not seen a change in speech since beginning the ProEFA.
I will be keeping a daily log to see if there has been a change and share my experiences with other parents who may be considering trying this product to help their child.
dg
I was recommended the book, "The Late Talker" by Mailyn C. Agin, MD, Lisa F. Geng, and Malcom J. Nicholl when we took our son to Melmed Center for his initial visit with a developmental pediatrician. I finally began reading it ... yes, it took me over a month to even crack it open (denial?) and I came to the Nutritional Interventions chapter.
I keep hearing and reading about a gluten/casein free diet for autism and I just have not been able to wrap my brain around that. My little one is a very picky eater as it is and if I had to take away the few things he does eat, I don't know what he would be left with. But the idea of Omega-3's having an effect on speech and communication was intriguing to me and I had already been giving Dom vitamin supplements, including a fish oil supplement, per the recommendations of the developmental pediatrician. However, when I began comparing the amount of DHA in the Gummi's versus the ProEFA that was discussed in the book, I knew it was no where near the therapeutic levels of the ProEFA. In the book, ProEFA was the ratio of Omega-3's that had the most effect on children with both apraxia and autism.
So, a week or so ago I took the plunge and ordered a bottle of ProEFA from
Professional Supplement Center-Free Shipping, Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
and I started my 2 1/2 year old taking the fish oil capsules yesterday, August 25. The only way I could manage to get him to take them, because they really do smell and taste like fish, with a lemony coating, is to get applesauce, hide the capsule in the applesauce (whole), and spoon-feed him the applesauce. Since he "gulps" down the applesauce without chewing, he swallowed them. I think it would work with yogurt or pudding, or other soft foods that are not chewed but simply swallowed down, that a child likes. I went with no-sugar added applesauce.
Currently my little boy has therapies three days a week, in home; speech, occupational, and developmental. He has made slow progress since November 2010, when therapies (speech, developmental) began, but is very far behind his peers in speech and communication.
On Day 2, I have not seen a change in speech since beginning the ProEFA.
I will be keeping a daily log to see if there has been a change and share my experiences with other parents who may be considering trying this product to help their child.
dg
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