Welcome Back

Happy New Year!

Well it's been a while, and as all too often happens, life has gotten in the way and things have fallen to the side.  So much has changed since I last updated it's hard to even know where to begin.   I spent 6 wonderful weeks at home with Grayson, got to see him learn with his ABA teachers and help my father in law finish off our basement remodel.   The basement has completely changed our entire living experience.  Wally and I each have our own areas for hobbies and relaxation, Grayson has his own (and largest) area which has all of his toys and grants us to have a living room again.  

I have returned to teaching ABA again.  I am a Behavioral Therapist for a Private school who takes all levels and ages of children.   I am expanding my abilities working outside of my comfort zone working with a 16 year old, a 9 year old and a 4 year old.   I have learned a lot and am continuing to learn every day.  Wally has hit a slight bump in the road with his new job as they decided to downsize a few weeks before christmas and basically got rid of his position.   We are doing well, surrounded by wonderful people both family and friends and are ready for the next adventure.

Now, on to the real reason your all here.  Grayson is doing amazing! He is up to 18 hours a week with another increase in hours coming in the next few weeks.  He has increased his words from 5 to almost 50, he puts together 3 word sentences and has lots of demands.  His flapping has slightly decreased but is still pretty prevalent.  While he doesn't always walk up to his peers and interact with them.  

Playing with his cousins (Logan and Carter) has always been very easy for him.  Back in August we went to New York for Carter's 1st birthday.  Grayson while shy at first, was quickly engulfed in Logan, Carter and Bryan's activities.  The boys always made sure to include him, to the point that while jumping on a trampoline together (something Gray wasn't fully able to do at the time) Bryan made sure to grab his hands to keep him steady and would stop jumping so he could catch his balance.  It's an amazing thing to see the natural acceptance children have at this age.  Logan may notice that Gray has no words but he always makes sure to show him what is going and what he thinks is a good toy he might enjoy.  

This was the first Christmas that Grayson actually realized what was going on.  From the moment the lights were hung up in the living room to the day the tree left the house he was enthralled.  Thankfully, he didn't fully understand that the gifts under the tree were actually gifts, so up until Christmas Eve he pretty much left them alone.  Of course once he opened that first gift, he caught on and kept trying to open everything else whether they were for him or not.  We were lucky that he didn't fly away on Christmas morning once Santa had arrived with his new train set and race track.  

In more serious news, we have begun the process of his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) and transition to preschool through the school district.  I have high hopes and expectations for what they will provide. I am also aware that this will probably become a fight.  Currently, Grayson has had his first 2 assessments with the school, one with the teacher and one with the speech pathologist.  The school psychologist will observe him in group and I believe (I need to confirm this as she hasn't been mentioned) the BCBA will be observing the psychologists actual testing as well.  

The things that we know he will qualify for are 2 1/2 hours of preschool time.  There will some time with speech and their typical sessions of ABA are two 15 minute session per day.  The things that we are expecting are the half day of preschool until the September following his 4th birthday at which point we will want full day.   I would like for him to get three 30 minute sessions of speech a week.  He currently receives an hour a week so this isn't that much of a stretch.  In regards to his ABA I would rather them not bother with in school sessions and have the ABA instead spend some time in class helping to foster social interactions.  Instead, I would like to have in home ABA sessions of perhaps 2 hours a day in either the morning or after school to continue what has already been working so well for him.  

We won't really know what is going to happen until we get the reports back from the various assessments and the IEP meeting in February.   I plan to share my reports with my boss and find out where we really stand as things develop.   Obviously as things progress it will be shared here to keep you all in the loop.   Please feel free to post questions or things that you would like clarified for your own understanding.  Thank you as always for joining us in this adventure.