This week Steve and I took the Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) Training course that home therapists are required to take to work with kids with autism. It's offered to parents so that we can understand the programs and assist as needed, and also so we can better understand our kids and our interactions with them. It was all very interesting. It's VERY much based on the principles of operant conditioning. The trainers were great, and the other parents and home therapist that attended were fantastic. It actually was a lot of fun, which I hadn't expected. It also helped me to see that this home therapy will actually be fun for Jesse as well. It's meant to be.
I was really surprised too, at how the discussion we had seemed to tie some things together for me. Some things that Jesse does have always been a mystery to me. Like a year ago when he repetitively rolled himself off the couch to fall sideways on the floor. When he repetitively bangs his head, arm, leg, back again the wall or furniture. It's all a sensory issue! It's not seeing, hearing, smelling, touching or tasting. It's proprioception! It's one of the seven senses we have (there's also vestibular), and Jesse seems to just need more of that sensory input!
There were other times though, during the course, that I though how Jesse really doesn't fit the bill. I know there's a huge range of abilities and issues when it comes to an autism diagnosis, but in many ways Jesse is just so NORMAL! For example, they explained that imitation usually has to be taught. Imitation or mimicry is one of the major ways kids learn how to do things or how to act, and it's often (usually?) absent in kids on the spectrum. Well, Jesse mimics EVERYTHING! From chasing around the kids at active play and "falling" when they fall, so mimicking Steve's mannerisms and speech. And there were other things too....I can't recall them all at the moment due to sheer exhaustion, but it really made me doubt, at time, the diagnosis. I guess all we can do it wait and see. His ADOS will be repeated at age 3 and he may or may not come away from it with the diagnosis again.
***edited May 1, 2010 to add:
The title of this post will tell you how far removed I am from my B.Sc. in Behavioural Neuroscience. I'm only now realizing it should be "Just call me Skinner".
Showing posts with label proprioception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label proprioception. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
What a breakthrough!
I feel like the big brick wall I've been bashing my head against for so long has started to crumble. We had Jesse's weekly speech therapy appointment this morning. Jesse's SLP, M., was THRILLED with his progress! I took my Flip video camera with the video of Jesse talking in the bathtub from last night and showed her. So right away she tossed her plan for incorporating signs into his therapy and wants to dive right into increasing his vocabulary and getting him saying things spontaneously.
During the appointment she got him to say "eat" and "bus." He's also now saying "bye." I can hardly keep up! She gave me some tips for how to play with him and encourage spontaneous talking and new words. Such a productive 1/2 hour!
In other news:
We had our follow-up with the physiotherapist. She gave me some more information sheets on how to deal with the sensory issues. We have some proprioception work to do with him. She's pleased with his range of motion in his ankles, but thinks that he could tighten up if he continues to toe walk so much. She advised me to do some stretches with him and keep an eye on his range of motion. She'll keep his file open, so that if I need to, I can call her up and make an appointment and we can get Jesse right back in to see her without the
wait. She did think Occupational Therapy would be a good idea though, to help with the sensory issues, and I will be asking for a referral to OT at our appointment with Dr. C on Wednesday.
I also spoke with the social worker, J., this morning. We still don't know when we'll be assigned a senior therapist. It was supposed to be a 2-3 week wait. It's now been 4 weeks. And J. said that she "hopes" it'll only be "another week or so." So frustrating! I told her that this makes it REALLY difficult in terms of hiring a home therapist. They want someone hired by the next ABA training session (April 6-8). But how am I supposed to hire someone when I have no idea how many hours I'll be hiring someone for? I don't know if it'll be 15 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours? Something in between? Who would even be willing to take a job if they have no clue what kind of hours I can offer them? So I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do about that right now. I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed that someone will get the lead out get moving on this.
I have to focus on the positive though, right? And I am. I'm going to work on Jesse's speech with him and do as much as I can. He's already come SO FAR in just the last couple of weeks. It's actually really exciting!
During the appointment she got him to say "eat" and "bus." He's also now saying "bye." I can hardly keep up! She gave me some tips for how to play with him and encourage spontaneous talking and new words. Such a productive 1/2 hour!
In other news:
We had our follow-up with the physiotherapist. She gave me some more information sheets on how to deal with the sensory issues. We have some proprioception work to do with him. She's pleased with his range of motion in his ankles, but thinks that he could tighten up if he continues to toe walk so much. She advised me to do some stretches with him and keep an eye on his range of motion. She'll keep his file open, so that if I need to, I can call her up and make an appointment and we can get Jesse right back in to see her without the
wait. She did think Occupational Therapy would be a good idea though, to help with the sensory issues, and I will be asking for a referral to OT at our appointment with Dr. C on Wednesday.
I also spoke with the social worker, J., this morning. We still don't know when we'll be assigned a senior therapist. It was supposed to be a 2-3 week wait. It's now been 4 weeks. And J. said that she "hopes" it'll only be "another week or so." So frustrating! I told her that this makes it REALLY difficult in terms of hiring a home therapist. They want someone hired by the next ABA training session (April 6-8). But how am I supposed to hire someone when I have no idea how many hours I'll be hiring someone for? I don't know if it'll be 15 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours? Something in between? Who would even be willing to take a job if they have no clue what kind of hours I can offer them? So I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do about that right now. I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed that someone will get the lead out get moving on this.
I have to focus on the positive though, right? And I am. I'm going to work on Jesse's speech with him and do as much as I can. He's already come SO FAR in just the last couple of weeks. It's actually really exciting!
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