I've been slacking on this blog. Big time. So I'm going to give some brief up-dates of a few things we've been up to.
ISSP
From the ISSP meeting we came up with the following three major goals:
1. To increase expressive vocabulary to 100+ words. To be implemented by family, home therapist (HT), and senior therapist (ST) in the home environment. To be reviewed October 2010.
2. Jesse will navigate his environment using heel-toe pattern. To be implemented by family, HT, and ST in the home and in the community. To be reviewed October 2010.
3. Jesse will understand and follow one and two step commands regarding safety. To be implemented by the family, HT, and ST in the home and in the community. To be reviewed October 2010.
As of now though, I think Jesse has likely already met goal #1. His vocabulary has just exploded. Jesse's SLP has told us that we're not going to be able to keep up with writing down his new words. And it's true! I'm going to try though. Probably tonight at work. I'd like to have a better idea of exactly how many words he does have. I suspect though, that it is around 100 words. Jesse's already come a long way in terms of meeting goal number 3 as well. I can actually hold his hand in parking lots now, whereas I used to have to carry him. He's much more compliant about important things, like holding my hand, and not running off. I'm still cautious, of course, and hold his hand tightly, but it so much better.
I think that the most difficult goal to meet is going to be #2 - dealing with the toe-walking. We have activities and exercises in play to encourage heel-toe walking, but so far, he goes straight back to toe-walking. I'm hopeful, but not convinced, that this goal will be met by October.
Home Therapy
Our HT is working out really well thus far. She's here from 8 am to 12 noon Monday - Friday. Jesse really seems to like her, and she's really patient with him. He's even saying her name. The therapy is going well and Jesse is mastering his programs without much trouble at all. He's working on puzzles, letters, matching, body parts, animal sounds (he knows a ton!!), prepositions, and following instructions.
My only concern with the home therapy, and it's a big one, is that the ST and her mentor seem to be very reluctant to move Jesse's therapy outside. The weather's getting nicer, and I don't want Jesse stuck inside this summer. Yes, his therapy is only in the morning, but Jesse naps for 2-3 hours every afternoon. That leaves little time for getting out and about. So right now I'm trying to come up with ways of doing his home therapy outside the home. I need to do some research on this over the weekend.
Chiropractor
We've decided to start taking Jesse to the same chiropractic clinic Steve and I use. One of the chiropractors there works with kids with developmental issues. She's trained in Brain Gym. We had our first appointment yesterday. She did a physical assessment and asked me lots of questions about Jesse and his development. It was interesting to say the least. She does think that she can help with the toe-walking and the w-sitting. She wants to do some craniosacral work, and possibly do some adjustments as well. She assured us that adjustments in kids are nothing like adjustments in adults. I was very happy with how calm and respectful she was. She told Jesse everything she was going to do, and adjusted her assessment and treatment to suit Jesse's desire to be up and about and active. Some of what she does seems very strange (which she warned me of!) but I'm not going to discount it unless I see that it's not helping. I can't say that I understand chiropractic care very much, but I do know that it works for me, so I'm willing to give it chance to help Jesse.
And last, but not least, we took Jesse to feed the ducks at the park on May 24th. He had a blast! Here's a video. You can here him asking for "more" bird seed. Don't mind my voice.
Showing posts with label ST. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ST. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Jesse's ABA Client Report
I'm going to attempt to type this out, and post about the ISSP meeting as well. This will be pretty long. It'll probably be a hugely boring read for most people, but may be helpful to someone going through a similar experience.
The ABA Client Report was prepared by Jesse's Senior Therapist (ST). The report was based on her findings from the Brigance Early Childhood Screen II 0-35 months, and the Carolina Curriculum that she'd performed April 12, 2010. The following is taken directly from her report:
Findings and Service Plan:
The Brigance Early Childhood Screen II 0-35 months, as well as the Carolina Curriculum were completed through testing, and parental interview in April 2010. The results indicate that Jesse is showing the greastest delay in the area of Language development. My role as a Senior Therapist is to address these delays and in consultation with the therapy team, develop a program plan to assist Jesse with mastering skills appropriate for his age.
The purpose of today's report is to share information regarding Jesse's present developmental skill level and to project the program goals for the next six months.
Physical Develpment (Fine & Gross Motor):
This scale measures the child's ability to coordinate movements of large and small muscles of the body.
Jesse shows many strengths in both his fine and gross motor develpment. In terms of fine motor skills, Jesse attempts to solve problems by imitating adults, and is able to imitate sequences of two unrelated motor acts. He turns doorknobs with forearm rotation, puts small objects through small holes in containers, and builds block towers 8-10 blocks high. Jesse is able to put together and take apart pop-beads, and he demonstrates a right hand preference. He also demonstrates good tool use. He can hold a bowl and stir, and can transfer material with a spoon. Further, Jesse shows purposeful and well controlled scribbles and strokes.
Jesse also shows many gross motor strengths. He can jump on the floor, he can walk backwards, can take many steps on his tiptoes, and can run at least 10 feet without falling. He can rise on his tiptoes and can stand on one leg with a stable posture for 1-2 seconds. Jesse can throw a ball, can climb both slanted and vertical ladders, is able to use a slide independently, and runs in a variety of environments.
Goals:
-Jesse will unbotton large buttons found on clothing
-Jesse will imitate horizontal strokes
-Jesse will use heel-toe pattern when walking
-Jesse will walk up stairs, using an alternating pattern while holding onto a rail
-Jesse will pedal and steer a three-wheeled bike
Self-Help Development:
This scale measures a child's ability to cope independently with the environment and measure their skills with such tasks as eating and dressing.
Jesse shows many strengths within his self-help skills. He can use a fork, and can drink from a small glass held with one hand, but prefers a sippy cup. He is able to undress himself completely, is able to put on simple clothing such as pants, shoes, and socks, and can manipulate velcro and zippers. Jesse has strong grooming skills and is able to wash and dry his own hands, brush his teeth with assistance, and wash himself with a washcloth.
Goals:
-Jesse will put on a t-shirt
-Jesse will undo fasteners (i.e. large buttons and shoelaces)
Social Development:
This scale measures the child's interpersonal relationship abilities.
Jesse has very good eye contact and will respond to his name most of the time. He tolerates being taken into a variety of environments and frequently explores different environments. Jesse knows what toys can and cannot do and uses them appropriately. He tries to comfort others in distress and spontaneously shares with peers. He shows determination in choosing and continuing activities and shows pride in his achievements.
Goals:
-Jesse will share with another person
-Jesse will engage in simple turn taking games with another person
-Jesse will avoid common dangers in the home and environment
-Jesse will recognize himself and others in photographs
-Jesse will expand his play skills through imitation
Cognitive (Academic) Development
This scale meaures children at the preschool level and evaluates the child's development of skills pre-requisite to scholastic functioning.
Jesse is showing many strengths in the area of academic development. He sorts objects by size, builds block towers, and uses tools to solve problems. He can point to a hand that is hiding an object, and engages in adult role play. Jesse demonstrates good comprehension of cause and effect when playing, and understands the concept of "more" as an addition to some existing amount.
Goals:
-Jesse will demonstrate recognition of familiar objects
-Jesse will put together puzzles with four or five interconnected pieces
-Jesse will match identical pictures
-Jesse will attend to a story and repeat words and sounds
-Jesse will independently stack rings of graduated sizes
-Jesse will imitate block building
Communication:
This scale measures the child's expressive and receptive communication abilities with both verbal and non-verbal gestures.
Jesse is able to follow commands in familiar contexts and understands words used to inhibit actions, such as "wait," "stop," etc...He spontaneously uses words during play and spontaneously says familiar greetings and farewells at appropriate times. Jesse is able to point to many body parts, such as chin, neck, shoulder, and knee, and imitates the vocalizations of others.
Goals:
-Jesse will follow two-part related commands in novel contexts
-Jesse will use words to request actions
-Jesse will imitate two word phrases or sentences
-Jesse will increase his vocabulary to 50 words
-Jesse will increase his spontaneous communication
Summary:
Over the next six months Jesse will be followed by the Regional Autism Services division of the Direct Home Services program. I will conduct weekly visits to monitor Jesse's progress. Programs will be developed in accordance with the goals that will be outlined in the upcoming ISSP as well as parent priorities. At the end of this six-month period the assessments will be re-administered in order to assess Jesse's progress and to develop and implement new programs and goals for Jesse.
The ABA Client Report was prepared by Jesse's Senior Therapist (ST). The report was based on her findings from the Brigance Early Childhood Screen II 0-35 months, and the Carolina Curriculum that she'd performed April 12, 2010. The following is taken directly from her report:
Findings and Service Plan:
The Brigance Early Childhood Screen II 0-35 months, as well as the Carolina Curriculum were completed through testing, and parental interview in April 2010. The results indicate that Jesse is showing the greastest delay in the area of Language development. My role as a Senior Therapist is to address these delays and in consultation with the therapy team, develop a program plan to assist Jesse with mastering skills appropriate for his age.
The purpose of today's report is to share information regarding Jesse's present developmental skill level and to project the program goals for the next six months.
Physical Develpment (Fine & Gross Motor):
This scale measures the child's ability to coordinate movements of large and small muscles of the body.
Jesse shows many strengths in both his fine and gross motor develpment. In terms of fine motor skills, Jesse attempts to solve problems by imitating adults, and is able to imitate sequences of two unrelated motor acts. He turns doorknobs with forearm rotation, puts small objects through small holes in containers, and builds block towers 8-10 blocks high. Jesse is able to put together and take apart pop-beads, and he demonstrates a right hand preference. He also demonstrates good tool use. He can hold a bowl and stir, and can transfer material with a spoon. Further, Jesse shows purposeful and well controlled scribbles and strokes.
Jesse also shows many gross motor strengths. He can jump on the floor, he can walk backwards, can take many steps on his tiptoes, and can run at least 10 feet without falling. He can rise on his tiptoes and can stand on one leg with a stable posture for 1-2 seconds. Jesse can throw a ball, can climb both slanted and vertical ladders, is able to use a slide independently, and runs in a variety of environments.
Goals:
-Jesse will unbotton large buttons found on clothing
-Jesse will imitate horizontal strokes
-Jesse will use heel-toe pattern when walking
-Jesse will walk up stairs, using an alternating pattern while holding onto a rail
-Jesse will pedal and steer a three-wheeled bike
Self-Help Development:
This scale measures a child's ability to cope independently with the environment and measure their skills with such tasks as eating and dressing.
Jesse shows many strengths within his self-help skills. He can use a fork, and can drink from a small glass held with one hand, but prefers a sippy cup. He is able to undress himself completely, is able to put on simple clothing such as pants, shoes, and socks, and can manipulate velcro and zippers. Jesse has strong grooming skills and is able to wash and dry his own hands, brush his teeth with assistance, and wash himself with a washcloth.
Goals:
-Jesse will put on a t-shirt
-Jesse will undo fasteners (i.e. large buttons and shoelaces)
Social Development:
This scale measures the child's interpersonal relationship abilities.
Jesse has very good eye contact and will respond to his name most of the time. He tolerates being taken into a variety of environments and frequently explores different environments. Jesse knows what toys can and cannot do and uses them appropriately. He tries to comfort others in distress and spontaneously shares with peers. He shows determination in choosing and continuing activities and shows pride in his achievements.
Goals:
-Jesse will share with another person
-Jesse will engage in simple turn taking games with another person
-Jesse will avoid common dangers in the home and environment
-Jesse will recognize himself and others in photographs
-Jesse will expand his play skills through imitation
Cognitive (Academic) Development
This scale meaures children at the preschool level and evaluates the child's development of skills pre-requisite to scholastic functioning.
Jesse is showing many strengths in the area of academic development. He sorts objects by size, builds block towers, and uses tools to solve problems. He can point to a hand that is hiding an object, and engages in adult role play. Jesse demonstrates good comprehension of cause and effect when playing, and understands the concept of "more" as an addition to some existing amount.
Goals:
-Jesse will demonstrate recognition of familiar objects
-Jesse will put together puzzles with four or five interconnected pieces
-Jesse will match identical pictures
-Jesse will attend to a story and repeat words and sounds
-Jesse will independently stack rings of graduated sizes
-Jesse will imitate block building
Communication:
This scale measures the child's expressive and receptive communication abilities with both verbal and non-verbal gestures.
Jesse is able to follow commands in familiar contexts and understands words used to inhibit actions, such as "wait," "stop," etc...He spontaneously uses words during play and spontaneously says familiar greetings and farewells at appropriate times. Jesse is able to point to many body parts, such as chin, neck, shoulder, and knee, and imitates the vocalizations of others.
Goals:
-Jesse will follow two-part related commands in novel contexts
-Jesse will use words to request actions
-Jesse will imitate two word phrases or sentences
-Jesse will increase his vocabulary to 50 words
-Jesse will increase his spontaneous communication
Summary:
Over the next six months Jesse will be followed by the Regional Autism Services division of the Direct Home Services program. I will conduct weekly visits to monitor Jesse's progress. Programs will be developed in accordance with the goals that will be outlined in the upcoming ISSP as well as parent priorities. At the end of this six-month period the assessments will be re-administered in order to assess Jesse's progress and to develop and implement new programs and goals for Jesse.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Just a quick update
We had our Individual Support Services Plan (ISSP) meeting this week. In attendance were the social worker, Jesse's senior therapist, her mentor, and myself. Jesse's SLP sent along a progress report to be included as well. We discussed Jesse's strengths and needs, and picked three main areas to work on in the coming six months. I should have a copy of the formal report on Monday, so I can go into more detail then. We also reviewed and signed the service funding agreement, which will pay for the home therapist that will be working with Jesse.
Speaking of which, we're finally on the ball with regard to hiring someone. We've interviewed one person already, and it went REALLY well. The only issue is that she's looking for the full 30 hours per week (as it's her income and all) and we were hoping to find someone part-time. It's an option though. We have two more interviews lined up in the coming few days. Hopefully we'll have a decision made by Wednesday and can get everything lined up for home therapy to start the week after next.
Also, I received and invited to attend a program called "Making Connections in Autism" at the Janeway. It's a program of four education sessions for parents, caregivers, and therapists of children with autism - in particular those who have been waitlisted for SLP and OT services. It's taking place over 4 weeks in May. I've already notified them that I will be attending. I'm hoping our home therapist (if we have one hired by that time) will be able to attend as well. My fingers are crossed that this will give me some ideas for how to break Jesse of his toe-walking.
Speaking of which, we're finally on the ball with regard to hiring someone. We've interviewed one person already, and it went REALLY well. The only issue is that she's looking for the full 30 hours per week (as it's her income and all) and we were hoping to find someone part-time. It's an option though. We have two more interviews lined up in the coming few days. Hopefully we'll have a decision made by Wednesday and can get everything lined up for home therapy to start the week after next.
Also, I received and invited to attend a program called "Making Connections in Autism" at the Janeway. It's a program of four education sessions for parents, caregivers, and therapists of children with autism - in particular those who have been waitlisted for SLP and OT services. It's taking place over 4 weeks in May. I've already notified them that I will be attending. I'm hoping our home therapist (if we have one hired by that time) will be able to attend as well. My fingers are crossed that this will give me some ideas for how to break Jesse of his toe-walking.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Put yer feet up....
...this is gonna be a long one!
Tomorrow is Jesse's Individual Support Services Plan (ISSP) meeting. It'll be here at the house, so I don't have to find a sitter (thank goodness). There will only be a few people in attendance - the Autism Program's social worker, Jesse's senior therapist (ST) and her supervisor, and myself. Jesse's SLP can't make it, but she emailed me a progress note. Steve can't make it either, since he's already at his max vacation time this year. He helped me write up our own contribution to the meeting anyways. It's basically just a sheet of paper with the heading "strengths" written on the left and "needs" written on the right. We came up with the following...
Strengths:
-non-verbal communication
-growing vocabulary
-will attempt new words
-imitation
-high energy
-great fine motor and gross motor skills
-likes to be around adults and other children
-transitions easily from one place to another and from one activity to another.
Needs:
-to work on increasing vocabulary and phrases
-to work on decreasing toe walking
-to work on interactive play with other children
-to work on not running away when out in public
-has difficulty breaking certain routines
Jesse's SLPs progress note also listed some strengths and needs, none of which were a surprise to me. It was very encouraging though, that she seems so pleased with his progress thus far. It will be interesting to hear what his ST and her supervisor have to say at the meeting tomorrow.
I'm also really looking forward to this, because the funding for Jesse's home therapy program will be approved. We'll actually be able to pay whoever (whomever?) we hire to be Jesse's home therapist!
Speaking of which, we have an interview set up for Wednesday night! I'm very nervous about interviewing someone. I've never really done that before, aside from sitters for Jesse. I suppose this shouldn't be that different though. I definitely need to prepare for it though! I also have to go through the rest of the resumes and try to find a few more candidates to interview. I'm thinking 5-6 interviews should be sufficient. I really want to find someone who's high energy, friendly, creative, and dependable.
Also, I figured now would be as good a time as any to share an update on Jesse's vocabulary. It's growing so much! It's very difficult to keep up with now too, since he'll at least try to imitate almost any word you ask him to say.
Imitated/prompted words:
Koko (the daycare owner's dog)
ears
hair
knees
toes
on
out
boots
shoes
go ("doe")
duck
gone ("don")
ball
arm
god
mouse
purse
pee
cheese
Spontaneous Words:
Mom
Da/Dad
Nan
Pop
Josh ("Dosh")
Jesse ("esseez")
Anna ("Nana" - daycare owner's daughter)
no
this
up
nose
baby
hi
bye
juice ("dooce")
bees (refers to nursing)
boo
uh-oh
off
eyes
poop ("doot")
hot
beep
more ("no")
ta-da
night-night
hop
ding-dong ("ning-nong")
Jesse also has a handful of two-word phrases now too, including "bye bees/Mom/Dad/Nan/Pop/Josh," "my baby," "no, Jesse's!" and "uh oh Da!"
It's quite a bit better than the list from March 11th, which was the last time I did this. And so, so much better than the 5 words he was using when we had our first speech therapy appointment with his current SLP on March 8th. That was only 6 weeks ago! His non-verbal communication has also come a long way since then, which is very helpful. He's much better able to communicate with us what he wants (to eat, for example) and when he wants us to play with him.
There's so much more to tell, but it's getting late and we have an early rise tomorrow. Speech therapy is at 8:30 and the ISSP is at 10 am! Hopefully I'll get a chance to update tomorrow.
Tomorrow is Jesse's Individual Support Services Plan (ISSP) meeting. It'll be here at the house, so I don't have to find a sitter (thank goodness). There will only be a few people in attendance - the Autism Program's social worker, Jesse's senior therapist (ST) and her supervisor, and myself. Jesse's SLP can't make it, but she emailed me a progress note. Steve can't make it either, since he's already at his max vacation time this year. He helped me write up our own contribution to the meeting anyways. It's basically just a sheet of paper with the heading "strengths" written on the left and "needs" written on the right. We came up with the following...
Strengths:
-non-verbal communication
-growing vocabulary
-will attempt new words
-imitation
-high energy
-great fine motor and gross motor skills
-likes to be around adults and other children
-transitions easily from one place to another and from one activity to another.
Needs:
-to work on increasing vocabulary and phrases
-to work on decreasing toe walking
-to work on interactive play with other children
-to work on not running away when out in public
-has difficulty breaking certain routines
Jesse's SLPs progress note also listed some strengths and needs, none of which were a surprise to me. It was very encouraging though, that she seems so pleased with his progress thus far. It will be interesting to hear what his ST and her supervisor have to say at the meeting tomorrow.
I'm also really looking forward to this, because the funding for Jesse's home therapy program will be approved. We'll actually be able to pay whoever (whomever?) we hire to be Jesse's home therapist!
Speaking of which, we have an interview set up for Wednesday night! I'm very nervous about interviewing someone. I've never really done that before, aside from sitters for Jesse. I suppose this shouldn't be that different though. I definitely need to prepare for it though! I also have to go through the rest of the resumes and try to find a few more candidates to interview. I'm thinking 5-6 interviews should be sufficient. I really want to find someone who's high energy, friendly, creative, and dependable.
Also, I figured now would be as good a time as any to share an update on Jesse's vocabulary. It's growing so much! It's very difficult to keep up with now too, since he'll at least try to imitate almost any word you ask him to say.
Imitated/prompted words:
Koko (the daycare owner's dog)
ears
hair
knees
toes
on
out
boots
shoes
go ("doe")
duck
gone ("don")
ball
arm
god
mouse
purse
pee
cheese
Spontaneous Words:
Mom
Da/Dad
Nan
Pop
Josh ("Dosh")
Jesse ("esseez")
Anna ("Nana" - daycare owner's daughter)
no
this
up
nose
baby
hi
bye
juice ("dooce")
bees (refers to nursing)
boo
uh-oh
off
eyes
poop ("doot")
hot
beep
more ("no")
ta-da
night-night
hop
ding-dong ("ning-nong")
Jesse also has a handful of two-word phrases now too, including "bye bees/Mom/Dad/Nan/Pop/Josh," "my baby," "no, Jesse's!" and "uh oh Da!"
It's quite a bit better than the list from March 11th, which was the last time I did this. And so, so much better than the 5 words he was using when we had our first speech therapy appointment with his current SLP on March 8th. That was only 6 weeks ago! His non-verbal communication has also come a long way since then, which is very helpful. He's much better able to communicate with us what he wants (to eat, for example) and when he wants us to play with him.
There's so much more to tell, but it's getting late and we have an early rise tomorrow. Speech therapy is at 8:30 and the ISSP is at 10 am! Hopefully I'll get a chance to update tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Denial
It's so devious, isn't it? Everything's going well and so it creeps in and you start thinking, "they have to be wrong." Jesse had his assessments yesterday by the senior therapist (ST) and her supervisor yesterday. It went so well! He was so compliant with the testing (which mostly just resembled structured play) and was so interactive. ST and her supervisor were really pleased with how things went and how easy it was to work with him. He seemed so normal. I mean, really normal! There were things that he couldn't do, of course, like identify colours, and he did have trouble with one of the matching games, but so would neurotypical 2 year olds, I would think. So all day yesterday I kept thinking that they must have made a mistake when they decided Jesse has autism.
Then last night he started spinning. And he's been doing it today as well.
I guess it's a good think his ISSP is next week.
Then last night he started spinning. And he's been doing it today as well.
I guess it's a good think his ISSP is next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)