Today, Wes had a therapy appointment with his OT, Jodi. She is fantastic with him and he responds really well with her. It's great to see his face light up when she walks through the door with her "Bag of Tricks" as I like to call it.
Wesley did some really nice matching with a peg and shape board. He matched the colors with the peg. You could see he was really looking for the match. Next he played with the ball drop toy. He did alright with matching the color of the balls with the color of the holes. Jodi even got him to use the hammer that it comes with. Usually he would push the balls through the holes with his hands. I was very impressed that he later picked it up to bang the balls more. Later she brought out a rubbermaid bin full of red kidney beans. Wes was hesitant at first but after about 20 minutes, he was digging around for a stacking cup that Jodi buried. She said it was a great sensory tool and it helps Wesley coordinate his brain to get both his eyes and hands working together. Of course, I went right out after and bought our own bin to continue working with this. Wes sat right on the floor and we played until it was time for nap.
We are meeting with a Speech therapist next Thursday so we can work on Wes's language. I am interested in doing PECS with him. PECS is Picture Exchange Communication System. We use pictures of every day items or commands and Wesley uses those to communicate when he can't express what it is he wants. We've tried sign language, but he shows no interest in learning. I've already taken pictures of items around the house that he uses every day. I would like to learn more and how exactly to use them. I'm hoping we can start understanding Wes's wants and needs so there will be less frustration on both our parts.
Jodi gave me some great idea's on how to get around the whole referral and medically necessary crap. She also knows a lot of the people I mentioned who have offered to help myself, Tim and Wesley get the best help we can. I know we are headed for the right track and Wesley is already making great progress.
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1 comment:
Hi Jess,
Im so glad you had a good day. I was talking to Carter's OT, Maggie and she was glad to hear you are hooked up with Community Bridges. She said that EIP is the best thing for Wes and your family. I was curious if you had a hard time getting Wes to look at you - in the face? She was telling me that she had a child with Autism on her caseload that had a hard time with face to face interaction. She exlained to Mike and I that this is common for children with autism. She said that she uses a tent tunnel and sits at the opposite end peeking through it at the child. She said that it helps block out the rest of the room and allows him to focus on her face only. I was so suprised at some of the things she told me about autism that I did not know. She explained about the shounds and visuals around the child can be very overwhelming and it reminded me of one of your blog entries. She also said that she spends time just looking at the child without talking so that it doesn't overwhelm him. She said even simple changes to facial expressions can be difficult for some autistic children to proecess. I talked to her about the play group issue you were feeling. She suggested that you find a one on one play date with child who might be a little shy and reserved. This might be easier for Wes to handle.
I hope you don't mind that I asked her some questions. I figured any info I could get for you would only help.
Im so glad to hear that you had an awesome day.
I have to go get ready for surgery....wish me luck.
Hope this hleps.
Love Kelli
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