Off and Running

What a crazy time it has been in the Long house!!!

First the big news......(drum roll please)  Wally has a new job!!!!   He has been hired by the wonderful people at Harbor Capital Investments as the IT guy in their Boston satalite office.  It's a very big job for him with a lot of opportunities to turn it into a full fledged adult type career.  We are all very excited for him. 

In the process of this, we have had to find a place for Grayson to spend his time while not in preschool.  We had a wonderful woman who you have all heard about and sadly she has moved on to her own new wonderful adventure.  We are so lucky that he will be joining an in home preschool/daycare setting just a few blocks away. Grayson has been loving the preschool experience at school and we really want to continue to encourage that social interaction as much as possible and since he couldn't return to his last spot this one seemed like the next best thing. 

Grayson's follow up to his IEP, which is mostly to discuss the extend evaluation period since he joined school has been scheduled.  It is currently scheduled for May 8th at 1pm.  Sadly, due to Wally's new gig I will be heading into this one solo.  It's a little frightening but I'm sure they will have nothing but wonderful information to share. 

Grayson has had an entire day today without any accidents!!!! He has requested (or just ran) to the bathroom when he needed it.  We are very excited about this and he was treated to some delicious ice cream as a reward for being such a big boy.   We got to spend our last week with everyone at home together this week, I did a few hours in the morning for one of my students but other then that there has been lots of family time.  In the process we have made some big changes around the house and those of you that have been there should be ready for a whole new look coming to the Long house very soon!

Everyone is very eager to return to a more normalized schedule, even though the new schedule will turn all of our lives upside for a bit.  We are so incredibly thankful to you all for the love and support you have given us through this time and we are so ready for all the adventures up ahead.  Have a great week!!

Potty Training Adventures

As I have mentioned quite a few times in recent posts we are currently in the process of potty training Grayson.  We have been using an ABA/parenting method of setting a timer and having him go at specific intervals. We aren't using pull ups unless travel requires it and all in all he's been doing really good.  That being said, we have certainly had our ups and downs.

I know that there are a lot of different methods, I know that some people believe in waiting till the child is ready. Grayson has been waking up dry from naps and bedtime for quite a while now.   Some believe in letting the child run freely naked and letting them figure it out (sorry but my finances don't allow me new living room furniture or carpets).  I am a firm believer in I'm his mom, Wally is his dad and if we say this is what we're doing this is what we're doing.

Currently Grayson is up to 50 minute intervals, no accidents in school unless they have been poops and is working on asking to go.  It's a totally different experience trying to potty train someone who in all reality, doesn't make independent requests.  Grayson is getting good at asking for things, but if you give him a choice between two words he still always repeats the last option.  So while shopping or running errands we like to take him to the bathroom as soon as we get into the store, and then keep a timer running while we're there so no one loses track of the real task at hand.

Have you ever really listened to the sounds of a public bathroom?  I don't mean the guy in the next stall.  I mean the automatic flusher, the automatic hand dryer, the echo from the walls etc.  Public bathrooms are TERRIBLE! Now try taking a sensory child, who has issues with loud noises into a public bathroom and explain to him that as much as I don't really think you need to flush the small amount of pee you managed to produce, we don't have a choice.  Yes we have to wash your hands, but we can't dry them because the trauma of the actual dryer will be worse then you having wet hands for the next 20 minutes.  No I can not make the 3 girls who are playing around with the toilet in the next stall stop flushing because you are having a total breakdown while I hold your ears.

Grayson all in all is really good with noises, especially since he's started school and has gotten used to bigger groups of kids.  However, this is the one place in the world that he really stands out.  I have learned that as soon as we tell him it's time for the potty he will run through a store saying "No Flush" until we reach the bathroom, until we leave the bathroom and probably 10 minutes after.  I know that there are people in the store who think I'm gross because he will walk to a sink and say "No wash" and I don't force him to wash his hands (we use sanitizer when we get to the cart) because he's too traumatized by the 9 different flushes and hand dryers that were going.

What happened to paper towel dispensers?? Toilets that you flush yourselves?  I'm not saying I want the world to cater to my child but...it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world would it?  In reality, I am aware of why these new items have been created.  I know that automatic flushers use less water, I know that hand dryers produce less trash.  I also know if I want Grayson to function in these spaces we need to start looking into headphones for him to wear that will help block out the sounds.  That doesn't mean that I don't cheer when I find a store with a 1 toilet bathroom option, or a family bathroom that I can lock the rest of the world out of.

At the end of the day, I know this is something we have to work on with him.  I know this is a part of his life now.  It doesn't mean that I won't get really excited when I see that family bathroom sign.

Happy Easter

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter (if that's the holiday you celebrate).  We spent our Easter with my in laws.   Saturday we spent the day running errands and then dying eggs.  Grayson loved it.  He just kept wanting to pick out different colors and eggs.  They came out fantastic and he's super proud as you can see below.

Sunday we were all up bright and early to go to church.  Grayson was looking very dapper in his little 3 piece ensemble .  (Thanks Noni)  After the service the kids all went on an easter egg hunt in the church.  We of course still have some snow hanging around and it was just easier for them to stay in doors.  Though you will notice that Grayson is now rocking his dino boots.  We changed him just in case.  

School is going very well for him.  We got a report back from his teacher this week that he is starting to really interact with his peers.  He has started using their names when interacting with them and is coming out of his shell quite a bit.   Wally said that there is one little boy who likes to call his name while they are waiting to go into school and have Grayson chase him.  They apparently will play this game the entire time they are waiting and my guess is that it continues onto the playground.  It makes my heart happy to know my little man is starting to develop friendships. 

Our Wally update isn't very exciting.  He had his fourth interview on Monday, references have been requested and called.   We are now just waiting on their final decision.   Keep those fingers crossed for us!!! 

As a side note. If anyone was interested in our thirty-one fundraiser, not only is it still going on but Michelle our rep has increased the amount that will be donated to the cause for this weekend only!! Visit the link below and share with others.  Have a great week!

http://www.mythirtyone.com/.../Party/EventDetail/8061057

Light it up blue!

Happy April 2nd one and all!

As I am sure most of you are aware April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day, and the official kick off of Autism Awarness month.  It's the perfect time of year to let someone you love with Autism know that you are there for them  or to learn a little more about it. 

The Long Family was all decked out in their blue today.  We also got a blue lightbulb for our outdoor light which will be used all month long to show we support the community.  

   

Grayson is making some amazing progress lately.  Potty training is still an occasional battle, but we have mad it almost a full week sleeping in our undies during nap time with no accidents! We bought pull ups to use at daycare, hopefully we won't need them for long.  The teacher is very impressed with his progress even after such a short time.  She said he is finally starting to come out of his shell and really make attempts to interact with the other kids.  He really wants to be involved, Wally tells me how every day there are multiple kids who make an effort to say hi or bye to him.  

We are up to 4 word phrases!!! 4 words almost everyone will understand too which is just as important.   His words are becoming clearer now, he's making more attempts at new words and is super proud when they come out as planned.  Tonight he was playing with his Lego duplo book and blocks set he got from his birthday (thanks Liz and Ian and girls) and we realized he is starting to read.  He has always been a boy who was super into letters and loved spelling his name.  But tonight, he was actually using his finger to follow along and was actually trying to read some (I'm sure memorized) phrases on his own.   

   

We are blessed by this little boy in our house every day.   I have included a few photos below of some of the wonderful support pictures we've gotten.  I also added a link to a wonderful article I thought you would all enjoy.  

Please feel free to share any images of your and your family lighting it up blue! 

                Grayson's cousins Logan and Carter

    Racheal and Tommy both showing their support from NY!

http://kerrymagro.com/68-things-to-know-about-autism-for-autism-awareness-month/