We received a note from his teacher regarding earning a timeout at school for invading another autistic child’s space during circle time.  This particular child doesn’t like being touched and Joshua, who likes to “make a big splash”, and has been quite interested in seeing different emotions on people’s faces, continued to pester the child, thus earning his first time out as school.  I’ve attempted to give Joshua time outs at home, but he didn’t seem to get it and I’d have to strap him in his chair to, in a sense, interrupt his behavior.  Now, he “gets it” due to seeing other kids in his class earn time outs and how he is to behave.  The teacher’s aide, Tonya, described Joshua as obediently giving up his sticker and then sitting in the time out chair and having big, crocodile tears with such a sad expression on his face.

Discussing this with Doreen, the occupational therapist doing the iLs study with him, thought a few things may be playing into this behavior:  1)  Joshua is interested in learning about emotions right now. 2) Joshua’s vision issues with his eyes not working together so perhaps he’s getting closer to kids to see better regarding expressions,  3) Joshua seeks out stimulation due to his sensory issues and, of course, 4) he’s a “normal” kid who likes to tease…which, I may add, he comes by naturally.

I was actually glad Joshua has learned this skill as it’s clear he knows what to do around time outs.  At school, they are going to be utilizing his glasses more during circle time to help with any vision issues that may be playing into this.  In the mean time, at home, he is  getting a lot of practice sitting in time out.  His first time out resulted from hitting Rachel so he could see her “cry”.  He has the most adorably, pathetically forlorn look on his face when he is sent to our time out spot.  He’s gotten better about not hitting his sister, so it seems to be making an impact.  Unfortunately, he still has a ways to go regarding not playing on top of the piano.  He likes to line up blocks and legos and re-enact the Veggie Tales story, verbatim:  Josh and the Big Wall.   As cute as he is, we can’t allow him to play up on our upright piano.  I’m honestly more worried about the piano than him, although he does use it, at times, as a means to sit up on the mantle and cause my heart to seize.  So, for my health, the piano and his, he’s having to find another place to line up his blocks that he can knock down.   While he is figuring out a more appropriate place, he’s becoming quite acquainted with the time out step.

"The saddest boy who was ever sad."

December was an interesting month for Joshua as he caught a cold and ended up, essentially, missing the last week of school before the Christmas break.  He had a sinus cold, with a cough, that he shared and I did all I could to get him healthy for almost 2 weeks before finally breaking down to get him checked by his doctor.  She diagnosed him with a double ear infection, which explained his lackadaisical behavior when doing his iLs program.  He never complained and rarely rubbed his ears, so it was hard to tell, aside from the slight fever he developed.  We went ahead and got him on an antibiotic and he started, almost immediately, feeling better.  We traveled to both sides of the family on Christmas Day and got home before 9 PM and Joshua did pretty well over all.  The exception was at his maternal grandma’s house, where there are ceiling fans that scare him for some reason.  The poor kid spent most of the time in the kitchen, where he got some attention from folks cooking and coming in and out.  I felt sorry for him, as most of the family was in the living room and he kicked and screamed when I tried to bring him in by the tree so as to open presents.  Not sure how to help him with this fear.   I think it may also relate to some anxiousness with being around family that he doesn’t see as often.  I’m trying to think of some solutions to help him feel included in larger family gatherings.   His sensory processing disorder  leads to him isolating himself as it’s too much, especially, visually with the fan. Perhaps asking his cousins, aunts and uncles to take turns spending time with him so as to get to know him better and seeing what a delightful person he is.  It would also help Joshua with social skills and connecting, even when he’s feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Even folks who don’t have autism can feel overwhelmed at our family events.  The key, I think, for Joshua’s development, and furthering his recovery from autism, is encouraging some one on one time with relatives he doesn’t see to much of and having mom or dad, or sibling, facilitate to help him transition.  As Dr. Greenspan describes working with autistic kids, “We need to go into their world to bring them into ours.”  We have enough characters in his extended family to help him do so and all can see that he has a lot to contribute.

Joshua enjoying a Rice Flour sugar cookie on Christmas

Joshua and Mr. Casey

Josh also started with the iLS program http://www.integratedlistening.com/ on Friday, November 4th, the day we got the system to work at home.  I am so excited for this opportunity and Josh seems to be able to tolerate a half hour at a time with the headphones on, although he does cry at my telling him that it’s time to use it.  There are exercises to do with it and lets just say, we are making progress.  As his therapist says, he is so delayed in many of these areas, we are going to have to do one and take a break, letting him play before doing another.  For example, one exercise has him laying flat on the floor and lifting his head to look at his toes, picking up one foot at a time, just off the floor.  He doesn’t do anything but lay on the floor and I lift his head trying to get him to partake in the exercise, just a little.  A few times he does lift his head by him self, but it’s few and far between.  An easier exercise involves sitting on the floor with his legs in a “V” and rolling a ball back and forth to me.  The biggest struggle with this one is simply cooperation as sometimes he’d rather just lay on the floor.  Another involves him sitting on a balance board and he is getting better with that.  On a positive note, he has lots of room for improvement!  I am truly grateful for this opportunity to have him be a part of this study and can’t wait to see how he will benefit from it.

"Reading" the exercises while balancing on the Balancing Board

This last week, Josh had a dentist appointment back at the Center for Pediatric Dentistry associated with the UW Dentistry School http://www.thecenterforpediatricdentistry.com/.  Josh was last there in January (I had not remembered to take him this past summer for a recall.).  He did so great!  Last time, he cried the whole time as I had to hold him on my lap and flip him backwards into the dentist’s lap, while squeezing him.  He responded well to the squeezing by complying and his body was relaxed, but he cried the entire exam.  This time, he explored the room and sat up on the chair.  The dental assistant got Thomas the Train on Netflix for him to watch above the chair on the ceiling and gave him sunglasses.  Despite not really putting the spotlight on, he was still sensitive to the light.  The dentist was able to work in his mouth while counting to “12″, the number Joshua counts to when we are brushing at home.  Josh was compliant the entire time and even was able to do the fluoride treatment without a complaint!  It was awesome!  The dental team was so encouraging regarding how we work at home with him as some parents really have a struggle brushing their disabled child’s teeth and often don’t persist.  I have been blessed so much by the people God has put in my life to give me tips on what would help with him, especially a dental assistant at our old dentist’s office where Josh had gone for his “Not so happy, Happy Visit”.  The key is counting while brushing fast.  Having a set number as a goal for when the brushing will stop really has helped us, and hopefully, just that little tidbit, will help others as well.  I have also started by giving Josh control with brushing his teeth.  “First Joshie’s turn, and then Mommy’s turn.”  It seems to work so we are going with it!

Lastly, we are dog sitting Ruby again.  We were having “the Jones’ ” for having a dog but want to really be able to not only be sure we can afford one, but also for Josh to be more comfortable.  Paula was so willing to loan us Ruby for 10 days.  Joshua is now to the point that he has cautiously petted Ruby on the head and back, even playing with her tail.  He is also quite interested in being sure she has enough water, trying to fill her water dish all by himself!  Ruby is so good with Josh and such a sweet dog.    We are so grateful for Paula, and the girls being willing to let us borrow her.  And, Mr. Bubbles, Ava’s cat, is quite willing to have a break from Ruby for a while, too!

It’s so neat to be able to see how far Joshua has come.  It gives me encouragement as to having hope that he will continue to improve.  We are also, currently, trying him on rice, which is not a part of the GAPS diet.  He has been looking at his hands more, and having loose stool, so we may need to abort this effort if it doesn’t improve.  Rice, may add to the bad yeast he had a history with, so perhaps we will see if adding a bit more carnitine will help, with removing any additional toxins.  His body is producing it now, but on the scale, he was on the low end of normal.  We so want him to be able to enjoy some of the treats I can make with the rice flour and it’s so darn cute having him up on the counter when I bake, willing to sample, pointing and saying “There!”  We let him sample a rice flour brownie and he was all over that!  I’ve also made some rice flour sugar cookies.  We have to be sure to keep these kind of treats to a minimum, as he already likes to invade the honey jug, pouring himself a smackeral with exceptional precision!  There’s currently a Thomas the Train spoon in the bottom of the jug, which will stay there until it is empty.  Since it’s a quart, it will be a while.

I am so excited about this opportunity for Joshua!  I had heard about this program and had wanted him to be able to do it for a long time.  I had first heard about this program when Joshua started speech therapy at Children’s Therapy of Woodinville with Amanda.   I had seen Doreen with some of her other clients and their families using the system and Doreen shared that she has been using this with her kids for 3 years and seeing great results.  We were certainly interested, however, it wasn’t covered by insurance due to being an alternative treatment, and the home system was cost prohibitive.  Doreen shared with me that upon the completion of the study, we would be able to keep the system for continued use at home (and perhaps some other kids could benefit from using it, too).

ILs, as mentioned above, uses music with various frequencies and large motor movement to improve brain function.  The website listed above, notes the benefits:

iLs has a global effect on the brain and central nervous system, influencing the following systems: balance, visual, auditory, motor, coordination,  behavior and emotional regulation.  As a result, it is successfully implemented for a wide variety of conditions:

• Learning difficulties such as reading, spelling, math, auditory processing and attention
• Sensory processing and integration
• Stress, sleep, emotional regulation and mood problems
• Those with autism and neuro-developmental difficulties

To start the study, Bryan and I gave our consent, which we eagerly did so, and I got to  fill out a copious amount of questionnaires.  Joshua was evaluated by Doreen on September 9th and I was set up with weekly questionnaires to fill out and send in as to how Joshua does, week by week.  Some of the delays Doreen noticed in Joshua was  in the learning hierarchy, as he is stuck both in the Primitive Reflexes and Postural Reflexes of the Learning Hierarchy (with the remaining levels as Motor Patterns, Perception, Language, Conceptualization and Academic Higher Level Functioning.  The following  website tells more about The Importance of Integrating Reflexes, by Sonia Story, which is really quite interesting:  http://www.moveplaythrive.com/images/pdf/integrating_reflexes.pdf. ) Doreen  gave us additional information on the Learning Hierarchy, which, according to Claire Hocking, Educational Kinesiologist and Brain Gym Instructor in Australia,

if the foundations, the primitive and postural reflexes are unstable, weak or have gaps in their development, they will undermine all other levels to some degree.  The motor, perception, speech and conceptualization will also be unstable and breakdown in any or all of these areas can occur causing the higher-level functioning areas to also be affected.  Although these stages do overlap to a certain extent, if a stage is missed, interfered with or not fully integrated, it can prevent full development of subsequent stages.  Unfortunately, the child will not “grow out” of their learning and behavior problems.  The problems may alter and appear to improve as the child learns to compensate in other ways, but he weakness in their system will remain, causing stress on their system.  They may also resurface when the child moves to more intensive learning situations where the demands of higher learning are greater and the pressure for academic progress more urgent.

Doreen encouraged me to get Joshua on her waiting list for after the study was completed so she could continue to work with him to overcome these delays.  I’m hopeful we can get him on an insurance she contracts with, so she can continue working with him.  Considering her high demand, we are going to go ahead and put him on her wait list, which is 6 months long, anyway.

To prepare Joshua for the study, Doreen loaned us a CD player with ear phones so as to help him get used to wearing ear phones, as he will need to wear them 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, while doing some prescribed activities.  The trick is to have him keep them on at least 30 minutes at a time, so we are building up his tolerance.  He did really well on Monday, wearing them while working on a floor puzzle with the kids.  He needed some redirection at first, but lasted the entire 30 minutes.  He wore them again on Wednesday, for another 30 minutes and later, for 20 minutes more until he dropped the compact cd player, causing it to stop working.  We will use one of the girls’ MP3 players until the equipment is available for him to use, and Doreen assured me it’s much more sturdy and will withstand Joshua dropping it on occasion.  In the mean time, filling out the weekly questionnaires have been quite helpful as to what behaviors to be aware of with Joshua to note his improvement.  As it is, he seems to be talking a little bit more, seeking out interactions and humming.  He’s quite delightful, despite his episodes of having occasional meltdowns for unknown reasons.  We will see how this program can help Joshua.  I am hopeful, which is what every parent of an autistic child needs:  Hope.

Joshua practicing wearing headphones

Joshua did quite well on the car ride and it was a delight to hear him sing Katy Perry’s “Firework” song, as well as some Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson songs that his older siblings have been listening to.  The challenge was in finding Joshua a way to get his needs met while touring about.  We were fortunate to have a great playground with two huge slides for him to play on while Daddy took the older kids fishing on the dock at the Day Use area of Heyburn State Park, (near the southern tip of Lake Coeur d’Alene 8040680).  This is definitely a place we’d like to visit again and explore!  Joshua played, for the most part by himself, until two children came to join us.  He referenced them while playing, but eventually, laid down on the platform for a while, before being ready to rejoin us to play, coming over and asking me to push him on the swing.

While at a toy  store in downtown Coeur d’Alene, we came across another family with an autistic child, getting a goop for their daughter to squeeze when stressed.  I perked up hearing her plea to the sales associate and not only bought some of the goop for Joshua (perfect for pulling out at Mass or anywhere he needs to be quiet yet occupied), but struck up a conversation with the lady, who told me of all the resources available in the area for autistic children, including the Katie Beckett Waiver for disabled children not covered by medicaid due to income disqualifications.  That really peaked our interest as Joshua has been on a 8 year wait list in Washington State for financial assistance from the Department of Developmental Disabilities for any financial assistance.  He would get at least 12-22 hours of service a week, or about $29,000 a year, for autism services, in addition to what we could get with the Katie Beckett, for OT or Speech.  This is all, outside what we could provide with our medical insurance.  In addition, there is also scholarships  available for folks from Spokane and the Panhandle, to help pay for alternative treatments for autistic kids, with the The ISAAC Foundation http://theisaacfoundation.org/.  There is a lot to look into, and compare, as I’m frustrated by how little we can provide for Joshua here unless we have exceptional insurance or loads of money.  Considering the beauty of Northern Idaho and the appeal of a smaller community with less traffic, natural beauty, more house/land for the money, yet still with resources that can help Joshua improve, (and Spokane 20 minutes away), we have a lot to consider.  The appeal is strong, not to mention, my older sister lives in the area and the home schooling is supported and with less restrictions in the state.  With Bryan’s internet business increasing every month and his marketability with working with computers/software, we really could live anywhere we wanted.  The difficulty, is with all the resources I have found here for Joshua, in Western Washington, most especially our family, friends and faith community, who provide so much support for us.  However, we are still close enough to come for visits, should we make such a move, and would do so for at least 4 weeks next summer when Joshua goes back to the DIR/Floortime Summer Camp.  Tough choices for us to pray over, and we would ask for all to pray with us to determine what is best for our family.

Joshua didn't care to get his picture taken. He'd rather go play at the Cataldo Mission. No can-do when his parental units keep a vice grip on him to keep him close.

Cataldo Mission, the oldest building in Idaho, with the rectory next door.

Getting set to explore the Silver Mine in Wallace, Idaho.

Michael and Joshua reading before bedtime at Coeur d'Alene Campground

Learning to pan for gold

Joshua, while the family panned for gold...

Joshua, after his first bath in 4 days, got cozy on the couch. Of course, we still wanted to do a group picture with Aunt Fran and Uncle Brad...

After visiting Cataldo Mission,  exploring Silver and Coal Mines, and visiting my older sister, Fran and her husband, Brad,  in Athol,we headed to Metaline Falls, WA, in the NE corner of Washington State and spent the day at Sullivan Lake, swimming.  Here, Joshua showed how social he has become with folks outside the family, taking what he learned from DIR/Floortime Camp and applying it to life.  After playing with his siblings, Joshua was enjoying walking around in the water, occasionally saying:  “I’m swimming!”  He’d throw some rocks in the water he found and play with the kids for a little, here and there.  At some point, however, he noticed two men playing catch with a water proof football (looked like a junior size).  The man nearest Joshua dropped it.  Joshua who had been laughing, while watching them, went over to retrieve the ball and the man bent down to play catch with him.  Joshua then proceeded to play catch with both men for about 10 – 15 minutes.  It was really neat watching him not only notice others, but seek to engage with them.  After playing elsewhere for a while, Joshua later went back and joined the guys again, to play catch.  They both were teachers and marveled at how well Joshua was doing when I explained he was mildly autistic.  Times like this sure encourage us as we see him progress socially.

Joshua playing catch with the guys at Lake Sullivan

The last place we stayed, near Republic, WA, however, while swimming, he went over to another boy about 8 years old, and poked him in the stomach, attempting to engage in a playful way, but was too a tad rough.  Of course, it was misinterpreted and I had to work with him to first apologize and then see how to play nicely with the boy.  It was kind of a bust, however, as the boy was put off by Joshua’s initial behavior, as well as his inability to verbalize an apology, and most likely had no idea what being autistic meant.   I couldn’t tell who/where his parents were and had to just let it stand with a quick explanation and apology, and a verbal message to Joshua to play gently, taking his hand to demonstrate how to gently pat the boy, and asking to play, while seeing the need to stay all the more closer to Joshua when around other children he doesn’t know, to guide him in his social interactions.  I was close, but not close enough.  I know, despite the hard work, that Joshua will continue to improve with his peers, but it will continue to take a lot of work, humility and good communication to encourage understanding.  Some will be supportive, but realistically, we will encounter those who are not and we need to be prepared for that, learn from the experience and go forward.

One of the many reasons Joshua wears a life vest. He doesn't listen to his sister to stay off the dock.

Joshua and Ben, getting ready to jump...Yikes!

Joshua trying to work himself down the slanted parallel bars.

Jan was matched with Joshua on Thursday, as Kevin wasn’t able to be there, and she noted that Joshua participated in an activity with another camper who also enjoyed the spinning playground toy.  She sat on the toy and Joshua and the Floortime players would spin her at Joshua’s direction.  Lilly would say “Faster” and the Players would check with Joshua who would say, “Faster” and they would all work together to spin Lilly, who loved it!  Joshua had a great time laughing along with Lilly as they played together.  It’s amazing hearing how he is so eager to get involved with other kids, more and more.

Jan helping Joshua climb up the wall to the slide.

Kevin, who was pared with Joshua on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Friday, noted that Joshua, aside from being a lot of fun, did more talking and while watching another child take apart a car, went over to join him.  This had happened while Josh had been laying down looking at a car he had and Kevin wisely moved Josh’s car slightly so he could see what the other child in the room was doing.

Kevin had so much fun with Joshua and mentioned that Friday, after Joshua had run his outside circuit, they had gone inside and Joshua tipped over a stroller to spin the wheels.  Kevin attempted to join in, but Joshua would not let him.  After 15 minutes of being present to Joshua, Kevin put his hand near the wheel and kept it there.  Joshua then guided Kevin’s hand to the wheel, inviting him to have a spin, too.  During this time, Kevin asked Rosemary White, Alek and Jeannette, why Joshua spins things and while they all joined in, Rosemary explained that Joshua seems to focus on spinning things in relationship to his eyes not working together.  He’s anchored, in a sense, to focusing on that activity and that is also related to his desire to jump off of things as he is tuned into gravity from where he is standing and when he jumps, even from a higher position (which scares us to death), he isn’t able to anticipate/predict where he lands so doesn’t tense up as most of us would do, thus, making him more relaxed, in a sense, and avoiding injury.  Most kids, as they prepare to land, would tense up and it leads to broken bones.  So, Joshua’s new prism glasses that he got this week, will help his eyes learn to work together, and as this happens, he may (hopefully) decrease this behavior (but I’m not going to bet on it and brace myself for trips to the ER).  I gave Kevin Joshua’s glasses for Friday, to see how he would do with them while being 100% supervised, but, alas, Joshua refused to wear them.  We’ll have to work with him bit by bit to help him get used to them.  (Since he mangled them within the first half hour of getting them from Costco, I think that would be most prudent, not to mention cost effective.)

Joshua trying on his new glasses, eating his snack with Kevin

It was so neat to see, throughout camp, how Joshua was getting in tune with his environment, the kids and other players.  Most autistic children are typically, in their own world.  The essence of the DIR/Floortime model is to “join the child in their world to bring them into ours”.  This was becoming more evident for Joshua with his camp experience. Friday morning, when met with another misty Summer morning, another child and Floortime Player remarked that the slide was wet.  Joshua, undeterred, went down the slide anyway, as per his routine, but referenced the other child and player, listening to their remarks.  After going down and getting his bottom wet, he went back up for another slide down.  Joshua, at the top of the slide, then looked at the slide he had just gone down and said, “It’s still wet.”  The other child and his Floortime Player, as well as Kevin and I, remarked that, “yes, it still was wet”, but Joshua decided to go down again, regardless.  If anything, he would serve his peers and sacrifice his bottom to dry off the slide (until Jeannette was alerted and came over to dry it with a towel).

Joshua and Michael taking turns on the slide with Kevin

As everyday was for Joshua, it was hard for him to leave.  He looked across the playground after most of the kids had gone home and saw Dylan, his Floortime Player from the first day and said to him, “Hi, Jackson!”  Jackson was the name of one of the other campers.  I said to Josh, “That’s not Jackson!  That’s Dylan!”  Josh kept calling him Jackson until I called him Jackson, and then Joshua said, “That’s Dylan!”.  He then got down from the slide and ran across the field.  I called after him and encouraged him to come back when he referenced me by looking back when he got to the end.  Of course, to ensure I keep up my exercise, he then proceeded to go over the barrier that was at the end of the field, to keep the kids from going up the embankment to the road above.  As I got there, adrenaline pumping wildly, I called out to him to “Stop!”  I was relieved to see he didn’t go up the embankment and had stopped after all, in the trees.  Whew!  We are making progress but have so much more to go!

Joshua seeking out fun and adventure!

We discovered, this last week of camp, that we could hire some of the Floortime Players to come into the home a few days a week.  Bryan and I are quite interested in this as it’s in the home that we truly need some direction and support.  Working with Joshua, while also running the affairs of  a family of 6, takes some juggling, and, I must admit, the housecleaning suffers as a result.  Additionally, there is also the opportunity to have Joshua attend some playgroups or Mini-camps during the school year.  I don’t think I will be able to swing that, given the afternoon activities of the family, and Bryan’s work schedule, in terms of driving Joshua to camp.  So, we are thinking that since we have four kids, we have a playgroup already built in and having a Floortime Player twice a week, would work better for us.  Besides, our family would really benefit from some suggestions as to how to help Joshua at home.  What’s really neat is the players would also record the sessions and bring the recordings back to consult with Rosemary and Alek.  I’m not sure how we will afford this, but we are invested in seeing how to make it work.  As it stands, right now, Joshua is set to start school on August 31st and will be going 4 full days in a contained classroom.  He is on a wait list to start OT at a facility that takes State Insurance, whereas he will attend once a week, most likely, in the morning.   I’m hoping it will be a more manageable schedule this school year and the bonus will be if we can not only get the services that would best serve Joshua, but somehow, have a little more time to put into keeping up with that housework!

Joshua clearly benefited from this camp experience, thanks to all the donors and prayer support,  and we are certainly wanting to make this an annual experience for him.  Perhaps we will be able to afford it, but perhaps we will make it an annual fundraiser, if folks are interested and able, given the economy. (Please let us know if you are interested.)  We are forever indebted to the 34 + donors, and to everyone, who has joined us on this journey and for making this summer camp possible for Joshua.  The progress he has gained and the  skills Bryan and I learned to help him in his development, are so valuable and we are so grateful beyond words.  Joshua will have this time to look back on and we will share with him how it was made possible by people who love him and care for him, whether they know him personally or not, because he is precious and made in God’s Image.  You have all added to the foundation of his life and his potential knows no bounds.  Thank you.  Be assured that we will keep you all in our prayers in thanksgiving to the Lord for His many blessings.

Joshua will have his share of struggle in life, but with support, he looks forward to a promising future ahead. Joshua called out, happily, as I put him in the car: "Good bye, everybody!" (See you next year!)

Joshua pretty much took us on a tour of what he does at camp and Alek, who was paired with us at first.  (Each of the 10 families in attendance had a Floortime Player or therapist who worked with them and their child, guiding us in our interactions so as to help our children in their interactions and development.)  After first meeting with Rosemary, who prepped us for our time, we met up with Joshua, who was outside, playing on the big toys, as was his routine.  Joshua was eager to engage in the “Catch and Spin” Game, of which Bryan and I took turns and then he showed us how he climbs up some parallel bars and slide down a spiral climber.  He then led us inside where he found the Mario Kart remote control cars and gave one to Bryan to play with, whereupon he ended up breaking off Mario’s head and worked to get it back on, doing so with Daddy’s help.  It was really neat how Joshua initiated the play and showing Daddy what he wanted to do while accepting suggestions to enrich his play experience, making it a shared activity.

Bryan and Joshua doing the Spin Game

Josh loves sliding down this spiral climber

Let's play Mario Kart, Dad!

"I'm trying to fix his head, Dad and may need some help."

Alek was remarkable, giving us insight as to how to help draw him out and encourage interaction, providing feedback as we played with Joshua.  At one point, Joshua laid down in one of the room with five cars surrounding him and looked at them.  Alek remarked that it seems he needs time to re-0rganize himself and encouraged me to woo him back into some interaction and become a point of reference for him as he demonstrated the plan he had for the cars he had lined up.  Josh would replace a car I had moved, back to where it had been, while then giving me a car to play with, wanting the interaction to continue.

"I've lined up all these cars for a reason...I'm re-organizing myself."

Josh and Annie get re-acquainted.

We then transitioned to Annie, Joshua’s former Occupational Therapist, who remarked how much she had missed Joshua and our family.  Josh, after reconnecting with Annie, took us back outside and to the play houses.  He then took off across the field and Annie had Bryan sit at  a mattress midway between Joshua and me.  Josh took Annie clear across to the end of the field and then looked back at Bryan and me.  He then decided to come back and ran all the way back to me, who was inside the play house.

Byran calling out to Joshua as Josh runs with Annie.

Annie and Josh running back to the play house.

Joshua was having a lot of fun with both of us, and we were too.  He then took us to a play structure and pulled Bryan into playing with him by doing another spin game and then climbing up on the structure to show Bryan how powerful he is and jumping off when he was at Bryan’s chest level with his feet.  He is such an amazing kid!

Here comes Super Boy!

As camp wound up, I got Joshua’s snack for him as Rosemary led the group in the “Goodbye Song”.  Joshua sat with Daddy and Alek, whom he began to play the “Nose Bop” game.  Alek is teaching him to modulate his behavior to “bop” in a more gentle manner by guiding his hand to her nose.  (Now to utilize that technique when he tries for our glasses!”

Rosemary and Annie singing the "Goodbye Song"

Joshua playing the "Nose Bop" game with Alek.

Alek, Joshua and Bryan at the end of a great Parent/Child Camp.

We were so grateful for the experience and learning various techniques and insights in regards to working with Joshua.  We are so blessed by all those who contributed to Joshua’s Summer Camp fund, to make this dream a reality.  We have so much to learn and although  I have Stanley Greenspan’s “Engaging Autism” book, I now just need to take the time to read it, as well as continue to work out ways to get Joshua back into therapy this coming school year, in addition to his special ed services at his school.  It’s encouraging to see some movement being made in his development.  I remind myself of:  Slow and Steady wins the race!  I’m sure in 10 years, we will be even more amazed as to how far he comes.

Alek and Keri is helping Josh with his snack that he dropped on the ground. He was quite upset.

Josh likes the climber and slide, can you tell? Keri is supporting Josh.

One of Joshua’s favorite people to play with at camp, is Alek, Rosemary’s daughter, who worked with him at Rosemary White’s office when Joshua was doing OT with Annie.  An activity he and Alek do is “the Nose Bop Game”, where Joshua bops Alek on the nose.  Alek has a great technique that she does with Josh, where she works to modulate his seemingly aggressive behavior, by taking his hand, slowing it down and gently tapping her nose.  You see, he is trying to engage but doesn’t know how to organize his behavior and so he is being taught how to be more gentle.  Simply telling him not to hit disrupts the flow of his idea that he wants to engage with someone.  Josh loves the game, and at home, it becomes the “Brow Blinker, Eye Winker” game, a family game done with toddlers since my dad used to do it with all of my siblings.  It is really quite neat seeing him connect with another in a playful way and learning the skills to keep the engagement going, which is key to working with an autistic child and helping them in their development.

Joshua leading the way for Ben

This last Friday, July 29th, we went over to the Ranch for the weekend and Uncle Bill, Aunt Toni and Dani remarked how much Joshua had improved in the last year.  We arrived on Joshua’s birthday and I bought ice cream and sorbet to celebrate.  Joshua had little interest in actually opening his gifts, but once they were open, he certainly enjoyed playing with the gifts his siblings got for him:  Balloon Rockets, Super Mario Car, and a Barrel of Monkeys.  Joshua really liked the Balloon Rockets (we all did) as he had been playing with those at camp.  He had to work on problem solving to get help getting the balloons on the little pump and he delighted in engaging with his siblings to get them to fly around the room, whistling as they flew.  The Super Mario car was fun to run on the floor, but Joshua had the most fun, surprisingly enough, throwing him down the stairs to where the dogs were.  Michael had to be convinced that he didn’t have to go down after the car each time Joshua threw it and we got Joshua to go down there, despite the dogs (usually only one or two were there at a time) and get the car back.  Of course, Super Mario eventually lost his head to this endeavor, but it made the task all the more involved and Joshua would stay down there until he found the head to be replaced upon Super Mario’s body once again (until the next time he threw it down the stairs).

Joshua pumping the balloon and preparing for the flash.

Joshua did play upstairs again, in the closet, but this year, he pretended it was an elevator and would come back down of his own will.  At one point, to my dismay, he informed us that something was broken “Oh, oh!  Broken!”  He had thrown down a globe (no globe has ever survived Joshua’s encounter with it, as of yet) and I had the job of cleaning glass and sparkly water up off the bathroom floor.  Luckily, no one got cut.  I am open to ideas as to how to break him of this habit as it’s bound to become expensive.  He was also needing redirection on not climbing on the couches and playing with the stuffed “house cats”, which he was beginning to learn about responding to those limits.  (Bill has a stuffed cougar he had shot, which had come onto his property, which is posed in his living room, as well as a Bobcat that Toni had shot, that is posed trying to catch a grouse.  If they get played with, they will fall apart, which would not be good.)  He certainly requires vigilant supervision when a guest in someone’s home.  This makes vacations not to restful for the parent at this juncture.

Joshua did spend a lot more time downstairs, not only due to the fact that I brought snacks for him that were easily accessible, but because Dani had her trampoline outside set up.  Oh, joy! Deep joint compression for a certain autistic boy!  Joshua, and all the kids, really enjoyed that!  Uncle Bill had a great time playing with Joshua on the trampoline and was a great responder to Joshua’s cues of engagement.  He also enjoyed running around the yard, and keeping a wide berth from the dogs, and gestured to me that he wanted me to help him get up on a hitching post that was attached to a tree.  “Help, please,” was about all he could request as I worked with him to say he wanted to get up.  His purpose, of course, initially, was so he could jump off of it into the grass.  The second time I got him up there, he discovered it was pretty fun to pick the bark off the tree, which he focused on for quite sometime as his siblings helped Uncle Bill stack firewood.

Joshua Monkey and the Big Monkey, Uncle Bill

Joshua on the hitching post discovering the joy of picking off bark.

Last year, I was a bit terrified as Joshua would not want to pet or get on the horses, when his siblings were riding, but would have no fear running around them.  With visions of the possibility of him getting kicked in the head (Luckily, the horses were not easily spooked), I was constantly hoovering around him and trying to keep him from such a ill fate.  This year, he remarked about “Ruby Doggie”(re: the dog we dog sit for) in reference to the various dogs he saw and “Blue Horse” via  the book he was exposed to this year:  “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?” .  We worked with him on the true color of the horses, but for the most part, they were all “Blue Horse”.  He did allow for me to hold him and through the arena fence, had his hand on mine as I petted the horses nose, remarking how soft the horse was.  Alek, from Summer Camp had given me some wonderful advice about holding him and excitedly remarking about both the dogs and the horses.  I was so grateful for her suggestions as it really helped him have positive experiences with the animals.  Bill and Toni were so encouraging, as well, seeing the baby-steps he was making.  At some point, when he was ready, they would help him transition to actually riding a horse.  Who knows, at some point, he may end up being a bronco rider, but I think I’d rather have him pass on that endeavor.

Sarah, Rachel and Michael getting riding lessons from Uncle Bill and Aunt Toni before going out for a trail ride.

We are so grateful for Uncle Bill, Aunt Toni and Dani for having us over and meeting Joshua where he was at, while encouraging him in his attempts to communicate while also wooing him to be engaged and enjoy his time at the ranch in such playful ways.  It comes rather easy to Uncle Bill for some reason.  Perhaps due to that childlike joy he has in life’s simple treasures.  Having the support of family on this journey with autism is such a blessing and vital to the entire family of an autistic child.  Yes, we are truly blessed.  There is still so much to learn, but this time of respite is so refreshing to us all.

Uncle Bill helping Joshua wash up.

Uncle Bill and Sarah, Rachel and Michael playing a rousing game of Parcheesi

Joshua was paired up with Danielle, his Floortime player for the second half of his second week of camp.  Danielle also has an autistic son in the afternoon camp.  When I dropped off  Joshua, he  was playing on the slide and climber with another boy, Jackson, who he called out to as he arrived.  While Josh was busy, both inside and outside, Danielle informed me that at about 10:30 each day, Joshua would lay down and seemed to need time to regulate himself before she would pick him up and work to re-engage him in some activity.  She  surmised that he might be tired or simply be overwhelmed.  As she would play with him, Danielle informed me of Joshua requiring “playful obstruction” to keep him from jumping off the climber, or redirect him from disengaging in some way, which he would respond to.  He also was attracted to the water activities and working on problem solving and taking turns with other children.

His birthday was on Friday, July 29th, and before the kids sang “Happy Birthday” to him, he bumped his head.  After being attended to, and wooed back to attending to the group with the “good bye” song, he then began weaving around the play structure while the kids sang to him “Happy Birthday”.  It’s hard to determine if he realized what  was going on, but he seemed somewhat interested in the attention he had been given.  He had about 30 children and adults who were so glad he was there, and we certainly were glad he could spend part of his birthday participating in this camp.  A bonus was being able to talk with Alek, the Coordinator of the camp, to get therapeutic gift ideas for Joshua’s birthday.  Such simple gifts that help him with his development.  How cool is that?

Joshua going up the slide with Jackson

Joshua with Danielle, on one of his favorite outside activity.

Alek and Danielle comforting Joshua after he bumped his head

Joshua listening to everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him.